Can Lizards Get Fat?

Lizards are everywhere, and you can see lizards in various sizes. Some of them are thin and small, and some of them are fat and big but is that genetics or something else? Are fat lizards fat because of genetics

Or can lizards get fat? Lizards have the ability to store fat so that’s why they can get fat. Fat is an essential component for survival, so everyone needs fat, but if lizard overeats them, then the lizard will get fat. Everyone will get fat if they eat excessive fatty food and lizards are no exception.

Why Lizard Gets Fat?

In normal circumstances, they don’t eat an excessive amount of fat, but if they get access to only fatty food for some reason, then they will only eat that food and will get fat. 

Lizard usually eats as much as they can, but they don’t overeat. In wild lizards don’t get that much food to become fat. To get fat, the lizard has to consume a lot more fat than the required amount, which is not always available in the wild. 

However, in captivity if you feed them a lot more than require and if that food comprises mainly of fat then the lizard will get fat. Although it won’t happen immediately, over a month the lizard will get fat. 

Excess fat can be dangerous for the lizard as they will have difficulty in moving. Lizard’s world is competitive and dangerous if a lizard is unable to react fast and move properly, then the lizard can die. 

Why Fat Make Lizard Obese?

Every animal store fat. Fat is the source of our energy, so when we are starving this fat can help us survive, and that is the reason our body stores fat automatically. Doesn’t matter what animal it is, it will always store fat to increase the survival rate. Every animal loves fat. This is programmed in our biology, and lizards are no exception. 

Do Lizard Eat All Kinds Fatty Food?

Many foods contain fat, but lizards don’t eat all of them. In the wild, the meat they eat contains the fat of that animal that can get stored in the lizard body, but that fat is not enough to make them fat because they do a lot of movements which burns energy for example hunting, fleeing, fighting etc.

However, if you are keeping lizards as pets, then they can get fat quite easily because we like cute animals and in order to make them cute we overfeed them, and as a result, lizards get fat which is not good for the lizard’s health in long term. The lizard gets lazy, and the excess fat creates problems in their body. Feeding is okay, but overfeeding is not. 

How To Know That Your Lizard Is Too Fat?

You can first identify it with your own eye. If it looks fat, then the lizard is fat. You can check pictures of them how they look and if they look obese than usual, that means they are overweight. You can look at their tail, their ribs, legs and throat if they look fat, that means they are probably obese. 

What You Can Do To Avoid It?

Don’t feed excessive fatty food to the lizard, don’t overfeed, and that will stop them from getting fat. It would be best if you kept them feeding adequate amount in proper time to keep them healthy but don’t overfeed.

In the wild lizard can steal and eat fatty food by themselves if there is the availability of fatty food in the region, it can be challenging to control since it’s a natural occurrence. Whenever animals had the opportunity to store fat, they store fat. So, if there is availability, they will get drawn towards that automatically and eventually will get fat.

What Happens If A Lizard Is Underweight?

Underweight or overweight none of them is good for lizards, so make sure that the lizard is getting proper food. In a group where there are many lizards in a particular area, there are high chances that one of the lizards will be underweight, one of them will be weak or small and because they are weak and small, they cannot compete against other lizards and will get less food.

These lizards can die early because another lizard can attack them, and since they are malnourished, they can lose the fight. In captivity, these lizards need proper care.

You need to keep this lizard away from other lizards and feed them properly for quite some time, and once they look healthy, then you can decide whether to keep them with other lizard or not.

If a lizard is underweight, then the lizard can die and can be killed by another lizard within the same group, so make sure to look after them. There are few identifications by which you can identify whether the lizards is underweight or not.

First, it will look small compared to other lizards, the ribs will be clearly visible, and the tail will be much thinner, the neck will be thinner. Lizards store their fat in their tail, along with the other parts of the body. So, if these parts look slim, then they are not getting proper food and can be underweight.

Lizards can also become underweight if they are sick and not eating adequate food. So if the lizard is not competing against other lizards and yet it is thin then make sure to check for disease and also make sure they are eating food properly.

Do Fat Lizard Have Advantages?

It depends upon how fat the lizard is. If the lizard is obese, then it’s bad for the lizard. It reduces their reflexes and predators can eat them since they will not be able to get away from the predators swiftly. That said there are also a few advantages because fat means big and size matter in the animal kingdom.

A fat lizard will be bigger than a usual lizard, and that could scare many lizards. Their size can overpower many lizards of the same group.

This is a plus point for a little overweight; however, if they are excessively obese, then they will not be able to fight properly because the size is just one factor when fighting there are other factors like reflexes and obese lizards can have low reflexes. As a result, obese lizard can lose a fight.

How To Make Lizard Healthy?

If lizard gets food daily and on a timely fashion, then the lizard will be healthy however if a lizard is sick then it’s essential to do a proper checkup to identify the cause behind the disease. Without that, it will be difficult to determine what’s making them sick. If there is no underlying disease, then all they need is food on time, and slowly their health will recover. 

In the wild, being weak means losing everything. Big powerful lizard will always attack weak lizard. There is always competition for superiority and those animals that cannot become the superior they suffer. They don’t get mate, they don’t get food, and they can even become an outcast.

In the home, if you have pet lizard and if the lizard looks thin, then all you can feed them by yourself and they will recover fast. Please make sure not to overfeed them, or they will get fat which is also not healthy for the lizard. Maintaining the optimal weight is best for the lizard. Skinny or fat none of them are good for a lizard.

Conclusion

When lizard stays in the wild, they don’t usually eat excess fat. They eat adequate amount but not excessive amount; however, when lizards are kept in captivity, they become fat because we find fluffy and fat creatures to be cute. This tendency makes them fat. Overweight is not good for lizard because it makes them lazy and can also reduce their reflexes, so make sure only to feed them adequately but not excessively. 

Underweight is also bad for lizard because if they are underweight and not strong enough, they cannot survive for long. If a lizard is underweight, make sure to consult the doctor and get them treated and then feed them sufficient food so that they can recover and can get big and strong. This process can take some time, but doing so will save the life of the lizard.