New Guinea Legless Lizards

New Guinea Legless Lizard

Common Name: New Guinea Legless Lizard, Burton's Legless Lizard Scientific Name: Lialis burtonis Distribution: South New Guinea and Australia Size: 24" - 36"

Natural History

A cryptically colored limbless lizard native to New Guinea and Australia. It is the only lizard of its genus found in Australia, and is found through the entire island except the far south. Fascinating animals that feed entirely on lizards and other small reptiles, and rarely if ever feed on rodents in captivity. The body is long and snake like, with an elongated and angular head. These lizards' nearest relatives are actually geckos, and as they have no eyelids, they clean their eyes with their forked tongue. Pattern can vary among individuals, with some having almost no pattern whatsoever and others having stripes, spots, flecking, or other variations thereof. Most are shades of brown, but red, grey, and golden individuals have been found.
These lizards are active throughout the day and night, but are primarily crepuscular (active at dawn and dusk). They inhabit the leaf litter and lower brush of most scrubland and forest habitat.

Size and Longevity

These lizards hatch out at lengths under 12". The largest adults found have had a snout to vent length of 24", and including tail can be over 3 feet in length.

Housing

Small babies to juveniles can be housed in a 10 gallon or similarly sized cage. Adults should be housed in considerably larger quarters, and would appreciate cages that are at least as long as they are. This can be accomplished with a vision cage or penn plax cages.

These lizards will thrive in the environment created with a living vivarium, so if it is at all possible to set up a large enough enclosure complete with live plants and even a water fall... Go for it!

Heating and Lighting

A basking spot should be provided, with a temperature between 88 and 93 degrees. Use of a thermometer is highly recommended, and enables you to more closely monitor the actual temperatures your animal is living at. A basking bulb may be used to provide daytime basking temperatures, or in warmer climates, a day bulb may be used, as it provides a gentler and less focused source of heat. At night, a red heat bulb or ceramic heat emitter can be used to keep cage temperatures from dropping below 70 degrees, which is the coolest that New Guinea Legless Lizards should be kept.

A UVB light is highly recommended for these lizards, both to display them to their best colors and to ensure that they have the ability to metabolize and process vitamin D3. A ZooMed 5.0 fluorescent tube can be used to provide UVB across the entire cage, as well as provide light for any live plants you may have in the cage.

Substrate and Furnishings

Because of their need for relatively high humidity, use of a substrate that absorbs water and allows it to evaporate is highly recommended. Suitable substrates include orchid bark, cypress mulch, compressed coconut, coconut fiber, and forest bedding.

Furnishings can be as simple as a half log or as elaborate as magnetically attached bushes combined with grapevine and cork flats or cork rounds. Perches should be provided for the lizard to perch and hunt on, as well as numerous hiding places for it to retreat into.

Water and Humidity

A medium to large sized water bowl should be full of fresh, clean water at all times. In addition to the water bowl, the cage should be misted at least twice a day, either with a hand sprayer or a pressure spray bottle. Use of a fogger is highly recommended, both for its aesthetic value and for the boost it gives on the humidity.

Nutrition

As obligate lizard eaters, these animals should be fed a diet consisting entirely of live lizards. This requires a regular supply of feeder lizards, and cannot be substituted for anything else. If you have trouble finding feeder lizards locally, they can be ordered through our website here. A suitably sized lizard once or twice a week should be plenty.