How to Play with Leopard Lizards

Start exposure when leopard lizards are young. When you first buy it, you need to give the leopard lizard some time to adjust to the new home. Leave the lizard alone in the tank for up to a day if it doesn’t seem too stressed, then give the lizard a little more time to begin exploring and acclimatizing. If, after exploring your home, the leopard lizard refuses to leave its favorite hiding place, that’s okay too. As mentioned above, you should get acquainted with leopard lizards as soon as possible because leopard lizards are exposed and played with people from a young age, when they grow up, they will often be bold and like to be held.

• Ideally, you should start playing with leopard lizards when they are about 5 to 6 months old, although as long as you are comfortable you can start playing with them anytime, unless they are just right. newly hatched.

Understand that leopard lizards will be a little scared of you. In the wild, lizards will see large animals like humans as a threat, so don’t be upset if it takes some time to get used to.

• Don’t rush. If you are too eager to start holding and playing with leopard lizards, restrain yourself by learning more about them. When building a house for your lizard, don’t forget to create a hiding place so it can hide there. Sometimes lizards need time alone and remember, they are nocturnal animals so don’t disturb them during the day.
• Watch closely to get to know your new pet. Find out where the lizard’s ears are (their ears are like two large holes on either side of the head); Count how many toes each lizard foot has, count how many spots it has and keep track of those spots (the leopard’s spots will change over time).

Talk to the leopard lizard. Getting your lizard used to your voice is another way to make it more comfortable with you. Talk to the lizard in a gentle tone, and at the same time, look at it with loving eyes through the glass tank. Do lizards look back at you? Make eye contact while talking to let the lizard know that you are making the sound to communicate with it. ^[1]

Get the lizard familiar with your hands. This is very important, because otherwise the lizard will never be comfortable with you. Leopard lizards will be most active at night, usually when you’re getting ready for bed. During this time, put your hand on the bottom of the lizard’s cage and do not make sudden movements to avoid scaring it. Let the lizard explore your hand–it will probably lick your fingers, crawl onto your hand, and end up in the warmest part of your hand. You can encourage your lizard to lie on your hand by warming your hand before picking it up. When the lizard licks your hand, don’t pull it back. Before the bond is built, the lizard will treat you like a predator. If when it licks you withdraw your hand, in the future it will continue to lick you to drive you away and be alone. If humans don’t build friendships with lizards, it won’t have the need to make friends with humans either and will become unfriendly.

• Don’t be discouraged if the lizard doesn’t crawl onto your hand right away. Each individual lizard will have a different personality – some will be more curious than others. Repeat this step every night and place your hand on the bottom of the tank. Gradually, the lizard will come closer to explore,

Know how to lift the lizard properly. After the leopard lizard gets used to your hand and happily crawls up, just lift it out of the tank. Be sure to pinch your other hand and place it under or next to the hand holding the lizard so you can catch it if it suddenly moves and could fall out of your hand.

• If you want to lift the lizard without waiting for it to crawl into your hand, do so gently. Hold the lizard in the middle of the body with as many fingers as you can (using the maximum number of fingers to fit the body of the lizard will help you hold it more firmly), support the other hand underneath to prevent the lizard from falling out . Remember not to hold it too tightly because lizards are quite small and weak.

Pay attention to the lizard’s tail. Leopard lizards may lose their tails themselves if they think their tails have been caught by a predator or when they are startled. Therefore, you should never hold the lizard’s tail to lift it. Avoid making your lizard feel pressured or threatened. If the lizard doesn’t want to play or is always trying to get out of your hand, stop picking it up and try again another time. You can easily tell if your lizard is scared or upset because they will raise their tails and wiggle in warning, if they do, you can try talking in a soft voice to calm them down.

Know what kind of food to give your lizard. You can reward your lizard with a variety of foods, and most can be purchased at a pet store, such as waxworms, mealworms, and crickets.

• Wax worms: One of the most common types of rewards for lizards. Lizards love the taste, however wax worms are high in phosphorus and fat so you shouldn’t feed them often (no. more than about every two weeks, especially when the lizard is more than 1 year old as they can become overweight or hate other insects). Do not mix calcium into wax worms because when eating worms, the lizard can bite your hand (because of the smell of calcium powder remaining on your hand).

Know how to play with lizards at a moderate frequency. Each individual lizard has a different personality, but most owners recommend that for best taming results, you should hold the lizard for at least 15 minutes after it wakes up. If the lizard is stressed, shorten the time you hold and play accordingly.