How to Keep an Italian Wall Lizard

The Italian wall lizard's scientific name, "Podarcis siculus," translates to mean "agile feet," Herp France writes. In living up to its name, this wall lizard is very robust and able to climb on almost any surface. Italian wall lizards grow larger than typical wall lizards, up to 8 inches, and are characterized by the vibrant green color running down their spine. As pets, Italian wall lizards are quite shy and easy to keep so long as they have enough space to stretch their agile feet.

Things You'll Need

  • Large vivarium
  • Rocks and other vivarium habitat elements
  • Sand, grit or gravel
  • Water bowl
  • Spray bottle
  • UV lighting
  • Feeding insects
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Instructions

    • 1

      Purchase a disproportionally large vivarium for the Italian wall lizard so it has space to run around. Place rocks and habitat elements such as rocks, logs and fake plants into the vivarium.

    • 2

      Anchor the habitat elements with thick layer of sand, grit or gravel. Add a water bowl to the vivarium and fill it with tap water. Fill a spray bottle with water and give the lizard a light spray each morning to meet its water requirements.

    • 3

      Set up a UV light to shine down into the vivarium and keep the daytime temperature between 77 and 86 degrees Fahrenheit. Shine the UV light directly onto a rock to create a basking hot spot of around 104 degrees Fahrenheit.

    • 4

      Turn off the UV light during the night to drop the temperature to around 60 degrees Fahrenheit. Keep the average temperature between 40 and 50 degrees Fahrenheit during winter months to facilitate their natural brumation cycle.

    • 5

      Clean the vivarium regularly when it becomes dirty and monitor the water level in the water bowl, top it off if necessary.

    • 6

      Feed the Italian wall lizard once a day with mealworms, buffalo worms, and crickets. Provide the occasional treat meal such as a locust, super giant mealworm or a wax worm. Dust the feeding insects with vitamins prior to releasing them into the vivarium.