Befriending a curly tail Leiocephalis with supplemental fruit, during winter slow feed months. This happened quite be accident, while enjoying a cool day on my patio. Id been “talking” to the Curly Tail for days. He’d become increasingly comfortable in the presence of myself, small dog and cat. While throwing a piece of fruit down for my dog to enjoy, the Curly Tail beat him to the rolling fruit cube! So over the next few days, I learned he liked blueberries, melon and mango. His dislikes included pineapple and strawberries.

virw link to see Curly Tail come out for fruit:

B69CD6B9-329A-41A9-93DB-7F1F34D5F743

The Leiocephalis lizard, native to the Bahamas, was introduced to FL in 1940. The goal was a natural control sugar cane pests. This lizard, though often seen at roughly 5-6 inches in length, can grow to 11 inches at full maturity.

Id recently seen a homeless man, attempting selling a few self-caught Curly Tails as pets. It saddened me, to see these wild creatures boxed up, knowing that is likely how they’d spend the rest of their lives, if bought. I encouraged him to pursue some different entrepreneurial ventures, to gain income. The lizards don’t sell for much in pet shops with guarantees, and ongoing health support. So, the venture wouldn’t prove lucrative in the end anyway. Pet stores today also sell only captive-bred vs wild-caught. So hand-reared babies that never saw a day outside, are likely to be the only ones sold. I don’t think that’s an ideal outcome either, but it certainly avoids the jailing wild animals! A step better indeed.

Please consider sources of production, before purchasing caged and tanked animals