Things You'll Need
- Aquarium
- Substrate
- Full-spectrum UVB light
- Branches and hiding place
- Shallow bowl
- Dechlorinated water
- Insects
- Leafy green vegetables
- Vitamin supplements
- Plastic spray bottle
- 1/4 cup bleach
Instructions
Provide one to two ornate curly tailed lizard with a 20-gallon aquarium, or larger. Fill the bottom with a 3 to 4 inch layer of mulch or pellet substrate. Wet the bottom 1 inch of the substrate and allow the top layers to remain dry. If the lizard begins to consume this type of substrate, switch to a paper-based alternative that it cannot eat.
Heat the tank with a full-spectrum UVB light source. This will provide the curly tailed lizard with the heat it thrives in. Keep the light on 10 to 12 hours a day and maintain a constant temperature of the tank between 80 and 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
Provide the lizard with branches to climb and a hiding area such as a small cardboard box or plastic hiding enclosure available at pet stores.
Place a small, shallow bowl of water into the aquarium. Pay attention that the bowl is not too deep as the ornate curly tailed lizard could drown. Provide the lizard with a constant source of fresh, dechlorinated water.
Feed the curly tailed lizard a varying diet of gut-loaded insects every day. Insects include waxworms, crickets and mealworms. Feed a smaller ornate curly tailed lizard one medium to large insect daily and increase this amount to two large insects in adulthood. Provide the lizard a snack of green, leafy vegetables two to three times a week. Remove any unconsumed food from the enclosure after 10 hours.
Cover the lizard's food daily with a vitamin dusting supplement. This will provide the animal with the necessary nutrients it requires to thrive.
Maintain a constant humidity of around 60 to 66 percent in the enclosure. Create this necessary humidity by misting the tank five to 10 times a day with cool water from a plastic spray bottle.
Remove the lizard's feces from the tank daily. Wash the tank, food and water bowls and any hiding places with a mixture of 1/4 cup bleach to 1 gallon water at least once a week, or when necessary. Rinse the objects and tank well before replacing the substrate and reintroducing the lizard.