Things You'll Need
Large vivarium
Rocks and other vivarium habitat elements
Sand, grit or gravel
Water bowl
Spray bottle
UV lighting
Feeding insects
The Italian wall lizard's scientific name, "Podarcis siculus," translates to mean "agile feet," Herp France writes. In living up to its name, this wall lizard is very robust and able to climb on almost any surface. Italian wall lizards grow larger than typical wall lizards, up to 8 inches, and are characterized by the vibrant green color running down their spine. As pets, Italian wall lizards are quite shy and easy to keep so long as they have enough space to stretch their agile feet.
Purchase a disproportionally large vivarium for the Italian wall lizard so it has space to run around. Place rocks and habitat elements such as rocks, logs and fake plants into the vivarium.
Anchor the habitat elements with thick layer of sand, grit or gravel. Add a water bowl to the vivarium and fill it with tap water. Fill a spray bottle with water and give the lizard a light spray each morning to meet its water requirements.
Set up a UV light to shine down into the vivarium and keep the daytime temperature between 77 and 86 degrees Fahrenheit. Shine the UV light directly onto a rock to create a basking hot spot of around 104 degrees Fahrenheit.
Turn off the UV light during the night to drop the temperature to around 60 degrees Fahrenheit. Keep the average temperature between 40 and 50 degrees Fahrenheit during winter months to facilitate their natural brumation cycle.
Clean the vivarium regularly when it becomes dirty and monitor the water level in the water bowl, top it off if necessary.
Feed the Italian wall lizard once a day with mealworms, buffalo worms, and crickets. Provide the occasional treat meal such as a locust, super giant mealworm or a wax worm. Dust the feeding insects with vitamins prior to releasing them into the vivarium.
Tips
You can create a outdoor vivarium to keep Italian wall lizards if the climate doesn't fall below 40 degrees in the winter and stays around 80 during the summer. Feed them once or twice a week if you choose to go this route.
Warnings
Italian wall lizards are very aggressive towards other lizards, don't put more than one in a vivarium because it will create a highly stressful and violent environment.
Do not over feed your lizard.Typically, Italian wall lizards are fed a few crickets or other insect a day. It is best to feed them in frequent, small amounts.
References
Writer Bio
Based in Victoria, British Columbia, Sebastian Malysa began his writing career in 2010. His work focuses on the general arts and appears on Answerbag and eHow. He has won a number of academic awards, most notably the CTV Award for best proposed documentary film. He holds a Master of Arts in contemporary disability theater from the University of Victoria.
