Garden lizards, a.k.a. Green Iguanas, Iguana Geckos, and Little Green Monsters are small, green lizards that live in a variety of habitats around the world. Garden lizards are small green lizards with long tails that can grow up to 22 inches in order to help them balance.
They usually have one row of eyelids and enlarged front feet that can be used to dig in sand, dirt, or mud. Their bodies are covered with tiny bumps called tubercles which help the lizard grip tree branches or walls when climbing so that it does not fall prey to birds or larger insects.
what do garden lizards eat?
Garden lizards are omnivorous creatures and will eat anything they can find. Common foods include insects, crickets, worms, mice, and birds as well as plants. They will eat up to 15% of their body weight each day.
Some garden lizards in the wild may have a diet that consists mainly of spiders or ants instead of mammals or birds. You’ll often find these particular garden lizard species underneath logs or rocks for protection from predators and the heat if it’s summertime.
They usually feed on insects that are found in the garden and that include grasshoppers, butterflies, beetles, caterpillars, crickets, and other bugs.
Insects are usually more of a staple in the diet of the Garden Lizard than plants so they will usually stick to eating insects over anything else. Garden Lizards will also eat fruits such as mangoes or guava.
Do garden lizards eat plants?
Garden lizards will eat almost any kind of plant. They eat plants to gain nutrition and water and to keep their mouths busy.
Garden lizards have been known to eat the leaves of citrus trees, hibiscus, ficus, banana trees, asparagus, bamboo shoots, beans, cabbage leaves, and lettuce.
They do not usually tear off big chunks of leaves but chew the leaf into bits that they then swallow. Garden lizards will also sometimes eat flowers and fruit such as guava or mangoes.
The only plant that Garden Lizards cannot usually digest is grass because it does not contain enough nutrition for them.
Do lizards harm plants?
Some people believe that Garden Lizards are harmful to their plants. This is not true and it is a common myth that Garden Lizards will eat up all of the leaves on plants. Lizards do not usually eat more than ten percent of the leaves on any given plant and lizards prefer eating insects over plants.
How do I keep lizards from eating my plants?
Garden Lizards are not usually harmful to plants. There are some things you can do to keep them from eating your plants. Some plants such as asparagus, kale, cabbage, broccoli, lettuce, and other similar vegetables will not be eaten by lizards so you can plant a few of these in your garden or along the perimeter of your property to keep lizards away from other plants.
You can also place fruit such as guava or mangoes in your garden for the lizards to eat and reduce the amount of food they want from your vegetable plants.
Is it good to have lizards in your garden?
Garden Lizards are beneficial to have in your garden because they eat the bugs that you don’t want around. They do not usually eat plants and will only eat about ten percent of the leaves on any plant in your garden. The Garden Lizard is a beautiful small green lizard that will help keep your garden looking great!
What do they look like?
Garden Lizards are small and can be anywhere from 5-20 inches long with long tails that make up about half of their length; their tail can grow to lengths of up to 22 inches!
Their bodies range in color from bright green to brownish green with tiny bumps which help them grip surfaces such as tree branches or walls when climbing in order not to become prey for birds or larger insects like spiders. The bumps are called tubercles which are similar to taste buds.
They have one row of eyelids and enlarged back feet which they can use to dig in sand, mud, or dirt. Lizards have a forked tongue that they flick in and out of their mouth numerous times a minute in order to sense smells around them; this behavior is called ‘panting’ and lizards can be seen doing it as a response to being held.
What do Garden Lizards sound like?
When Garden Lizards are threatened, they will make a loud hissing noise to scare away any potential predators. They can be aggressive when cornered and will coil up and lash out with their tails to push away the threat or bite if the threat gets too close.
Garden Lizards are active day and night but will bask in the sun for warmth during hot days. They use their tails to help regulate their body temperature by positioning themselves so that the sun’s rays touch only a small portion of their bodies.
During cold weather, lizards are more likely to hibernate in rock crevices or underground than other small animals such as moles that bury themselves deep in the ground.
Types of Garden Lizards
Three common Garden Lizards are the Green Anole, the Carolina Anole, and the White Throat Anole.
The Green Anole
is found throughout Florida and Georgia. It is also found in Central and South America.
This lizard can be identified by its vibrant green color on its body, legs, and tail. It has a white underbelly with black dots. This lizard is usually smaller than the Carolina or White Throat species of lizard and has a much more slender shape.
The Carolina Anole
is another type of Green Lizard that can be found in southern states such as North Carolina, South Carolina, Louisiana, Texas, and Tennessee. It has a similar shape that is slender and scaly like the Green Anole lizard and it is usually a bright green color like its cousin.
The Carolina Anole also has different variations of green that include blue-green and olive-green. It also usually has two orange stripes that run down the length of its back from shoulder to hip.
These lizards are also usually smaller than their cousin the Green Anole but they can grow as long as twelve inches if they are well fed.
White Throat Anole
The last type of Garden Lizard is the rarest to see in gardens and backyards. and it can be found in South America. This lizard has a blue-green color with a yellow or white stripe that runs down its body from its head to its tail.
It has different shades of color from green to blue-gray to brown and dark green. Its legs are usually a grayish color with darker spots on them, but they can also be very colorful in some variations.
