Lizards on the homestead, they've been with us a long time.

Starting about ten years ago the kids went through a lizard phase, a crested gecko was our first lizard addition. She joined our family after we visited a pet shop with Colin to do some research. We were only there to ask questions but the staff member was impressed with Colin's approach to gaining lizard information and offered to give us a lizard that needed to be adopted for free. We had to think for a moment but learned that the crested gecko was a pretty easy starter lizard and it was within our budget to buy the starter habitat and food so we went for it. Cressy, the crested gecko was up for adoption rather than for sale since she had no tail and crested won't grow their tails back. She was a cutie though so we brought her home and she's still with us many years later. Crested Geckos can live into their teens so she may be with us a few years yet. Her diet is horrendous as she doesn't much like any of the standard crested gecko diets. She loves mango baby food so we mostly feed that. I try to sneak in some crested gecko diet from time to time. Sometimes I give her fresh mango or try other veggies. She is very, very fussy though and refuses most. She will very occasionally eat an insect or some insectivore diet. Cresteds are mainly fruitarians (fruit eaters) but will eat insects sometimes.

Eventually we added what was to be my favorite lizard the Mountain horned dragon (and later her hatchlings). Also a couple leopard gecko and later still 3 bearded dragons and for a short time a legless lizard. All have passed now except two of the bearded dragons. Kilgharrah and Saphira are now 7 1/2  years old and though showing their age they are still doing well.

I know what you've been eating, Kilgharrah has purple pansy remnants on his face!

The lizards enjoy going outdoors on hot days to watch the world go by.

The beardies often need baths when shedding to help loosen the skin.

After bath time drying beardies.

A non-standard cage many would cringe at but it works!

The beardies are much more engaged with life in this wire sided cage as opposed to a glass terrarium.

On hot days I try to get the lizards outdoors for some time. The natural sunlight and fresh air does them good. When the beardies are shedding I often need to give them a bath these days since it seems to be a bit harder for them to shed now they're older. The beardies mostly eat plant matter with insects added about once a week. Bearded dragons typically eat a lot of insects and only a little plant matter as babies but then become nearly vegetarian as adults. Some favorites these days are kale,  dandelion leaves and flowers and pansy flowers. The beardies current habitat is non-standard. They're in a modified rabbit cage. Previously they lived in a rather typical exo-terra glass terrarium. Starting at maybe 5 years old I noticed that the beardies were brumating (hibernation) more and more and we seemed to see them and interact with them less, they mostly slept. When I gave this very different style of cage a try I noticed that the beardies became much more interested in their surroundings and life in general. They're in the bathroom which we can heat appropriately for them in winter with a small radiator. It's not the suggested way to house beardies but it sure seems to work well.

The lizards are one of the wilder parts of our wild homestead!