Keeping A Northern Alligator Lizard

0.4: The Importance of A Richly Prepared Vivarium

       As with any animal, it is extremely helpful, (if not essential), to prepare a vivarium before bringing the animal home. This ensures that the animal can settle into it's new environment steadily, and preferably won't be disturbed for the first few days of ownership. The initial few days that a Northern Alligator Lizard spends in its new home can dictate its way of thinking about the environment for years to come. Here are some tips on how to give a good impression:
       • Provide plenty of nooks and crannies for the alligator lizard to hide in, as security is what will make your animal feel safest in a frightening new environment.
       - To add on to this point, try to cover the two sides of the vivarium with the same material as the backdrop, so that the habitat doesn't feel so open and threatening. From experience, I know that this will make your reptile much more confident and active around it's home.
       • Keep handling to a minimum unless it is an emergency and your alligator lizard must be removed from it's home.
       - Set the animal gently into it's vivarium, then leave it be for a few days. Do not offer insects until it has been settled into the vivarium for at least 24 hours to avoid triggering an off feed period; it may even be helpful to wait several days before introducing clean up crew insects if they hadn't already been cycled into the vivarium. This will ensure that the alligator lizard will be eager for live food when you first offer it. (NOTE: If the animal is malnourished, dehydrated, or starving, do not wait to offer insects. Only use this method with alligator lizards in good health.)
       • Cycle a bioactive vivarium to offer the animal a sense of confidence in the presence of live plants and already thriving clean up crew insects.
       - Sterile enclosures may cause a Northern Alligator Lizard to become uneasy. They were only recently introduced to the hobby and are much more confident, by nature, when around live beings and vegetation.