A green crested lizard, like this one http://www.strictlyexotics.com/reptile-caresheets/lizards/calotes-tree-lizard_lucky-reptile.pdf crawled into our home and we decided to keep it. At the moment it scurries around on top of the TV and clings to some fake plants in the living room. We bought some mealworms for him, the first we fed him, he ate three mealworms in the afternoon, then another three in the night and two more in the following morning. However, he stopped eating after that. When I bring a container with a mealworm in it to him, he looks at it for a bit then turns his head in another direction. This has been happening for around 4-5 days already, and we are getting quite worried about him. Can anyone help with this?
Hello, and welcome to the boards! There are probably one of two things going on here. First, the lizard is likely catching and eating any bugs that may be wandering around your house, so he may not be hungry for another meal. Second--and this is very important--the green crested lizard needs access to unfiltered UVB light as well as proper basking temperatures in order to digest fully. Previously he would be getting these from the most natural UVB and heat source there is: the sun. However, now that he has strayed inside, he has no UVB and limited heat. (This is probably why he is hanging out around the tv, which will generate some warmth for him.) The kindest thing you can do for him is to return him to the outdoors where he belongs. If you choose to keep him in captivity, he will need an actual enclosure with heat and artificial UVB light. However, based on your location, these things may be difficult to come by on a regular basis without paying exorbitant shipping fees. If you decide to keep him, I can go into more care specifics, but I would highly recommend putting him back outside and letting him continue his life in the wild.
