Innovative Ectotherms: Fringe Toed Lizard Care

Fringe Toed Lizards

The Colorado Desert fringe toed lizards are found in the lower Colorado River drainage region of the Sonoran desert of southeastern California and Southwestern Arizona. They live in sandy areas and dunes with sparse vegetation. They are active during the day, and may be active even when the surface temperature is over 130 degrees F.

Fringe toed lizards are best housed alone. We have found that these lizards can be extremely aggressive towards each other, often wounding or killing their own species. At very least, they will likely bully cage mates. This may stress the lizards to the point that they may begin to refuse food, or simply want to hide all day. They spend a lot of their time buried in the sand anyway, but if they never want to come out, they will never have the opportunity to eat or thermoregulate. It is recommended that they be housed together only when you intend to breed them. Gravid females seem especially aggressive toward both males and other females.

We house adults in large aquariums or plastic tubs. 20 – 75 gallon aquariums are appropriate, depending on the size of the lizard. Males normally get larger than females and as a result, they may require more space. Play sand is used as a substrate. There should be at least 2 inches of sand covering the whole bottom of the cage. No cage decorations are required. A few small decorations may be added, but not too many, as a crowded cage is not desirable. Also keep in mind that the lizards may eat any plants that are put into the cage, so toxic plants should be avoided.

We place a basking light on one end. A good full spectrum fluorescent light is also recommended. We use halogen flood lights as basking lights. The basking spot should be between 110 and 130 degrees F. The other side of the cage can be anywhere in the 80s F.

Fringe toed lizards eat mostly insects, though some plant material may be eaten. We feed our lizards small (2-3 weeks old) crickets, wax worms, meal worms, small silk worms. Every few days, we will also offer them some finely diced vegetables. All of their food should be lightly dusted with a good calcium supplement with vitamin D3. We prefer to use Sticky Tongue Farms brand Miner-all, but Rep-Cal is acceptable also.