Most lizards are omnivorous, insectivorous or carnivorous – meaning they eat live bugs, small animals and vegetables. But however, there are many people, especially beginners, that don’t want to keep insects or live food in their house, but want a pet lizard. In this post, you will find a list of herbivorous pet lizards that don’t eat bugs or live food or can be fed only some bugs from time to time.
1: Uromastyx
Uromastyx is a genus of herbivorous lizards – meaning they are entirely vegetarian. What is more, uromastyx are beautiful and interesting lizards, and they also make great pets. Their dinosaur looks, spiky tail and stunning colors are truly fascinating.
There are more than 15 species of different uromastyx, which vary in size, coloration and even temperament. Smallest uromastyx species reach around 10 inches (25cm), larger sized ones – up to 15-18 inches (38-46cm) long. The largest species – Egyptians – reach up to 30-36 inches (75-91cm), but they need a large enclosure, too.
Luckily, most uromastyx tame out and become tolerant of handling. Some uromastyx can take time to trust their owners – babies especially can sometimes be very active and skittish.
The main requirement for uromastyx keeping is a lot of heat and UVB – as they come from hottest parts of the world. Once you setup everything for your uromastyx – care is rather easy. Vegetables, greens, edible flowers, some seeds and fruit is all they need for food.
Uromastyx have a long lifespan – they live for 15-20 years with good care. But they only reach their adult size by the age of 3-5 years old. As they are vegetarian, they take longer time to grow. Most babies start with dull coloration, and then develop beautiful colors in 2-4 years.
If you are thinking of getting a uromastyx, read this post to learn whether uromastyx make good pets (new tab).
2: Chuckwalla
Chuckwalla is one of other pet lizards that don’t eat bugs and love heat. Just like uromastyx, chuckwallas eat vegetables, greens, edible flowers, fruit.
Chuckwallas will need high temperatures in the tank and a high source of UVB. There are 6 species of chuckwallas, and they are similar in appearance. They are medium sized lizards, reaching up to 15-20 inches (38-51cm) long.
A fascinating fact about chuckwallas is their lifespan – with good care, a captive chuckwalla can live for at least 20-25 years, and even double that number. And just like uromastyx, they take a long time to grow (think about their long lifespan though).
Chuckwallas make great pets – after they acclimatize and get used to you, they are laid back and tolerant of handling. They have interesting temperaments and personalities, and are curious.
Once you have setup its lighting and heating, chuckwallas are not hard to take care of. They also resemble green iguanas, but are much friendlier and smaller than their cousins.
3: Desert iguana
Desert iguanas are beautiful, white to grey colored herbivorous lizards from the Iguanidae family. These stunning lizards have very a long tail, and reach a full size of around 16-18 inches (41-46cm) long.
Desert iguanas are herbivores – eating various edible flowers, greens, vegetables and seeds. What is more, they need a high UVB source and high tank temperatures.
Desert iguanas are also rather active but also like to hide, so you must include both rocky hides and climbing spots in the tank. You will also need to provide around 10 inches (25cm) of substrate.
Desert iguanas make great pets – they are beautiful, rather easy to keep, and become quite docile and tolerant of handling. However, they are not easy to find and not legal to keep in all states. So, they make to find that out before you consider getting one as a pet.
4: Green iguana
Green iguanas are large herbivorous lizards, and are pretty common. They reach up to 5-7 feet (1.5-2.3 m) long, with males being bigger and heavier. Green iguanas are fully vegetarian. This means that despite their size, they only need to eat veggies, greens, edible flowers and some fruit.
However, iguanas are hard to keep and are definitely not for beginners. Green iguanas are temperamental, need a lot of work to become somewhat tame.
You will need to study its behaviors and learn when it’s warning you – if you agitate your iguana, it can bite or tail whip you. Bites are painful and will often cause deep wounds.
They also need a lot of space – a cage that’s at least 8 feet L, 6 D, 8 H. Sometimes, owners decide to dedicate a whole small room to their green iguana.
But if you are patient, dedicated and have enough space for it, it might work out for you. If you think of getting an iguana, please consider rehoming one, as there are many iguanas left behind due to difficult care. With patience and dedication, green iguanas make stunning large home pets.
If you are thinking about getting a green iguana, read this post on pros & cons of iguanas as pets (new tab).
5: Fiji banded iguana
While Fiji iguanas can and do consume some insects, majority of their diet (around 80% for younger iguanas and 90% for adults) consists of vegetation. Some owners do offer live bugs, but Fiji iguanas can be fed only vegetables, greens, edible flowers and some fruits.
Fiji iguanas are often happy to eat everything that you might offer, so feeding vegetation will not be a problem. If you can, get some nutritious worms (such as hornworms, silkworms or Phoenix worms) once in 2 months or so. Getting some worms might be very unproblematic as they are not same as crickets or roaches.
Fiji iguanas are truly beautiful – their green coloration, stripes and a long tail are truly mesmerizing. They do look a lot like common green iguanas, but are smaller and lack those long spikes that run along their backs.
However, Fiji iguanas are very hard to find and will require a permit in most countries to be kept as pets. If you decide to keep a Fiji iguana, please do your research. But overall, they are great lizards to keep.
6: Rock iguana
Rock iguanas are relatives of green iguanas, but are harder to find. They are also herbivorous, even though can accept some bugs from time to time. However, if you decide to offer some – do it once or twice a month in small numbers. Too much protein is not good for iguanas, and will cause kidney and liver issues over time.
Rock iguanas are often more tame and laid back than green iguanas, but you will need to regularly handle your rock iguana. It would be a better idea to get a baby rock iguana and handle regularly so it becomes tame.
Just like with any other lizards, rock iguanas have different personalities, and some might not become very tame. In general, rock iguanas are for advanced keepers only – as they require lots of space and patience. With regular handling, you can make your rock iguana tame.
7: Rhino iguana
Rhino iguanas are also harder to find, and will cost more (if buying). Make sure to only adopt or get a captive bred animal, because they are rather endangered in the wild. Rhino iguanas are entirely vegetarian and you must not feed them any bugs. They are truly stunning and look like small dinosaurs (all iguanas do).
Rhino iguanas are large lizards, that reach around 4-6 feet long, and will require a large horizontal cage. Just like green or rock iguanas, they will need a lot of handling and taming to become comfortable with you.
However, if you are a dedicated owner with experience, you can form a bond with your rhino iguana. But not all rhino iguanas will become friendly and it will depend on their personality. Please do a lot of research if you decide to keep a rhino iguana.
8: Crested gecko
Crested geckos are small geckos, that reach around 8 inches (20cm) in length. While crested geckos do eat both vegetation and bugs, you can manage keeping them at home without feeding bugs.
That’s because there are specially formulated diets for crested geckos – such as Pangea and Repashy mixes. For example, insectivore gel premixes like this (‘grub pie’), bug burger and more.
To feed your crested gecko, you would need to add some water to the mix and offer to your gecko. Of course, if possible, you can sometimes offer some bugs that you don’t hate – such as Phoenix worms or silkworms.
If you have always wanted a gecko but don’t want to deal with bugs – keeping them on the ready mix (fruit or fruit + insect mix) is totally possible. The mix contains all required nutrition as well as supplementation for crested geckos.
Crested geckos make great pets, and most become tame and tolerant of handling. They are also smaller than other pet lizards, and won’t require too much space. Crested geckos are crepuscular (active at dusk and dawn) and love climbing.
If you are thinking about getting a crested gecko, read this post on pros & cons of crested geckos as pets (new tab).
9: Many other geckos – a mix of some live food and pureed diet mix
While all geckos need to eat bugs, many can bed fed a Repashy/Pangea mixes and bugs. With most geckos, babies will require more frequent bug feeding, so you might decide to get an older specimen to reduce the need to feed bugs often.
While crested geckos can be fed only a Repashy mix (occasional live feed is preferred), other geckos will need both bugs and fruit mix.
Geckos that will readily accept the complete gecko diet as well as bugs are gorgeous and big New Caledonian giant geckos (leachianus). They get bigger than crested geckos – 14-17 inches (35-45cm), and have a unique look.
Gargoyle geckos, Eurydactylodes, Chahoua (‘Chewie’), Giant day geckos, and some more will need both bugs and a ready mix.
But with a ready mix, you can only feed bugs occasionally. If you don’t hate worms – you can feed Phoenix worms, tomato hornworms, silkworms and others. For most, that’s much less unsettling than feeding crickets or roaches. You can buy some worms (such as tomato hornworms), that come in a cup with a feed, and then feed with tweezers.
10: Blue tongue skink or a pink tongue skink – diet can be managed without live bugs
Blue and pink tongue skinks are interesting and intelligent lizards. Many people are highly interested in keeping them, but would not like to think about keeping insects. Luckily, you can amend the diet to suit your and your skink’s needs.
While blue/pink tongue skinks do need to eat insects, you can also tweak the diet a little bit. Blue and pink tongue skinks love snails – which are often sold for reptiles (can even be bought canned) and are less disturbing than roaches or crickets.
For another protein source, you can feed some premium dog food – but not as a staple, only occasionally. Avoid cat foods. Also, don’t use cheap dog food – it must contain only allowed vegetables, be grain free and contain high quality meat.
For another source of protein, lean ground mince meat and sometimes eggs. You can also buy a ‘bluey buffet’ or another omnivore food for lizards. On top of that, you must feed a variety of fresh vegetables and greens.
If you are thinking about getting a blue tongue skink, read this post on pros & cons of blue tongues as pets (new tab).