In Russia, these small and nimble creatures are found everywhere. Sometimes they can be seen in fairly large cities. It's about lizards. These are very cute, funny and cute creatures that cause delight and tenderness in us. In this article, we will take a closer look at their lifestyle, and also find out what lizards eat in nature and at home.

What does a lizard look like?

As noted above, the appearance of these creatures causes tenderness and delight. Their body is barrel-shaped, rounded laterally. It is strongly elongated and smoothly turns into a fragile tail. On each paw they have five fingers, equipped with scanty claws. Like all other reptiles, the body of lizards is completely covered with shields or scales that are gray or green.

Without heat - neither here nor there!

It is important to know not only what lizards eat, but also what their life depends on. The fact is that lizards, like other reptiles and amphibians, are directly dependent on the ambient temperature. For example, on a hot day, these rogues are nimble, nimble and agile. At this time, they actively hunt for their main food - insects.

However, as soon as the sun disappears, and the warm weather changes to cloudy, the lizards immediately feel the temperature drop, clog into their minks and sit there for days and weeks, lethargic and hungry. If the air temperature is acceptable outside, these creatures are tireless and agile, they crawl rather quickly, climb dexterously, and sometimes swim.

Little "music lovers"

Before we get into what lizards (small and large) eat, let's take a quick look at their preferences. These creatures have superbly developed hearing, sight and touch. Moreover, scientists from the American Research Institute have proved that agile lizards differ from all other reptiles in their great curiosity and ... love different music! You heard right! These nimble creatures can be called little "music lovers".

And lizards, in their ingenuity, surpass many of their reptile relatives. The fact is that these animals are constantly learning from their own mistakes, that is, they are able to gain experience from certain situations that have gone sideways for them. They quickly adapt and get used to changing living conditions. In addition, these creatures are easy to tame and keep at home.

What do lizards eat in nature?

The vast majority of lizards are predators. In nature, the food of most of them consists entirely of small invertebrates:

• insects;
• gastropods;
• arachnids;
• worms.

Sometimes almost all of them eat plants, but only mixed with live food. Scientists who observed lizards in nature came to the conclusion that these animals also eat their own cubs (as all reptiles do).

What does the largest lizard in the world eat?

The largest modern lizard is the so-called Komodo dragon - a giant Indonesian monitor lizard from the island of Komodo. Local natives call it buaya darat, or ora. What do giant lizards eat? The favorite food of all, without exception, monitor lizards are the eggs of other reptiles and birds. But the world's largest lizard, the Komodo dragon, attacks only large animals. His diet is:

• deer;
• pythons;
• Asian buffaloes;
• wild pigs.

What do other lizards eat?

Medium-sized lizards (eg, tegu) attack small vertebrates. Their diet includes:

• own relatives;
• snakes;
• frogs;
• small mammals;
• birds.

Some carnivorous species of lizards are so-called stenophages: they specialize in eating a particular type of food. For example, molochs feed exclusively on ants, and the pink-tongued skink in its natural conditions feeds only on terrestrial mollusks.

Vegetarian lizards

It's hard to believe, but you have to. Some large species of iguana, skink and agama lizards are completely or almost completely herbivorous reptiles. Representatives of these groups of reptiles eat the following vegetation:

• flowers of various plants;
• fruit;
• leaves;
• young shoots of plants.

What do pet lizards eat?

As mentioned above, most lizards are easily tamed. One of the conditions for the comfortable keeping of these reptiles at home is basic knowledge of their diet. It is necessary to feed your quick pet with the same insects that he once saw in his natural habitat:

• spiders;
• beetles;
• crickets;
• cockroaches;
• flour bugs;
• earthworms.

If possible, you can offer your lizard eggs of birds (for example, chicken or quail), as well as small mammals - voles.

What else do lizards eat at home? They love the specially prepared mixture. To do this, you need to mix grated carrots and meat, chopped in a blender, in equal proportions. A little lettuce and grated chalk (or other vitamins in the form of calcium) should be added to the mixture. Feed your little reptile only when it is most active.