Can Frilled Lizards Be Pets?
One of the more unusual lizards in the pet reptile world is the frilled lizard.
Can frilled lizards be pets? Yes, frilled lizards can be owned as pets. They are not as readily available as some of the more popular species of lizards, but are legal to own in most states. They can be acquired as either imported specimens, or from captive breeders. Frilled lizards are typically docile, but meeting their care requirements can be challenging.
As to whether or not they make “good” pets, that is for you to decide. I personally think they are pretty awesome lizards!
I’ll tell you all about them and what it’s like owning one, and then you can judge for yourself.
Frilled Lizard Care Sheet
| Care level | Intermediate to advanced |
| Temperament | Docile and shy. Sometimes reclusive. |
| Native to | Australia and New Guinea |
| Average size | Varies based on where they are from. 18″-36″ |
| Cage requirements | 3’x3’x5′ tall |
| Temperature | 85-90 degrees with basking area up to 115 degrees |
| Humidity | 40%-70% |
| Preferred food | Mostly insects with occasional pinky mice |
| Feeding frequency | Daily |
| Lifespan | Over 20 years |
You Should Know Where Your Frilled Lizard Is From
These lizards are native to Australia and New Guinea.
More specifically they can be found around the northern coastal areas of Australia and southern New Guinea. They like humid climates, and are mostly arboreal. Tropical places like the savannah woodlands are well suited for this reptile.
If you are receiving an imported specimen it will be from New Guinea since Australia does not allow these animals to be exported.
You can only get a true Australian frilled lizard as a pet from a captive breeder.
Many people don’t realize this, but it’s important since it is a determining factor in how big your lizard will grow.
Frilled lizards from either area are still the same species, but each one has slightly different care needs and each grows to a different size.
The ones from mainland Australia typically grow to around 3 feet in length, while New Guinea specimens average 18-24 inches.
Frilled Lizard Housing Needs
These reptiles are mostly arboreal. In nature they climb trees to find food, bask in the sun, and to hide from predators.
With that in mind, it is important to provide them with an enclosure that is not only wide and deep, but also tall enough to meet their needs.
What size enclosure does a frilled lizard need? For the first year or so of their life, frilled lizards can be housed in a terrarium-like enclosure that measures at least 36 inches tall, 36 inches wide and 24 inches deep. You can keep the same width and depth for adults, but will need to increase the height to at least 5-6 feet.
This is for one adult. Having two or more frilled lizards in an enclosure will require more space.
Any enclosure should have opaque walls for the back and sides. The front can be glass for viewing.
Your pet frilly can become stressed if it feels exposed and vulnerable.
I like to use aquarium backgrounds since they give a much more natural look and feel while blocking out the view from the inside.
The best way to accomplish all of this is with a custom built enclosure. Keep in mind that the dimensions I’ve provided are a minimum. The bigger the enclosure the better, as long as they are also provided places to hide.
Which Substrate Is Best For Frilled Lizards?
There are a variety of substrates you can choose from, but some work better than others.
Which substrate should you use for a pet frilled lizard? A great substrate for a frilled lizard is a mixture of coconut fibers, potting soil and play sand at least 2-3 inches thick will work well. Use play sand as construction sand may contain too much dust or harmful particles. This substrate mixture holds moisture well, isn’t dusty and looks natural.
The only downside to this substrate choice is messes are harder to spot which can cause bacteria to grow. It is also harder to clean.
If you’ve read any of my other articles, you’ll know that one substrate I recommend for anything requiring a higher humidity level is dog pee pads. They are cheap, easy to clean, and help raise the humidity in the enclosure.
Just shoot it with a few sprays of water while misting the cage, and it will hold the water and slowly release it throughout the day.
One final option is to use a commercial forest bedding specifically designed for reptiles.
Furniture And Décor For Your Pet Frilled Lizard
Frilled lizards spend most of their time in the trees, so you’ll need branches for them to climb, perches for them to sit on, and bridges for them to go between them all.
This doesn’t mean you need to clutter the cage with tons of wood!
Two to three decent sized branches nearly the same height as the enclosure will make up the bulk.
When selecting branches that will serve as their “trees” to climb, make sure to pick ones that are at least as wide as the body of the lizard, and preferably a little larger.
The same holds true for perches where they might bask.
Your pet needs to feel secure.
This means it should be able to hide its entire body behind a vertical branch, and its body should be able to rest comfortably on a horizontal perch without risking a fall.
These lizards like to flatten their bodies out when hiding too, so keep that in mind when choosing your pieces.
As for the bridges to connect all of these, grapevines work really well. Weave a few together to make them bigger and add support.
Once the basic set up and structure for your frilled dragon enclosure is complete, you may want to add foliage to give it a more natural look.
This also has the added benefit of providing more surface area to collect moisture when you mist the cage, allowing for higher humidity.
Frilled Lizard Humidity Needs
As I said in the beginning, frilled dragons can often be found in tropical places. These are not year round tropical places however.
The savannah woodlands in Australia are extremely wet for about 6 months out of the year, and extremely dry for the other 6 months. The average humidity ranges from under 40% to over 70%.
What humidity level should a frilled lizard be kept at? Frilled lizards require humidity levels between 40% and 70%. It’s important to monitor your lizard for signs that their humidity level might be too high or too low. A pet frilly that starts looking wrinkly, becomes lethargic, or shows physical traits which are considered unhealthy (such as crusty or sunken eyes), might be suffering from too little humidity. A frilled lizard should have fairly smooth skin which sheds easily, and should be active and alert.
Frilled lizards from Australia are adapted to deal with more extremes than their New Guinea counterparts, which enjoy a more constant weather pattern.
With that in mind, it is less important to shoot for a specific constant average humidity, and more important to study your pet.
Find a humidity level that keeps your pet looking healthy and happy.
Misting juveniles 2-3 times per day is what I would recommend.
Adults can be misted twice per day; once in the morning and once at night. This is what most closely resembles what they would achieve in the wild.
It might also be a good idea to give them a good rain-like soaking once per week. 10-15 minutes in a lukewarm shower, or a heavier than normal misting in their cage.
Again, the idea here is to monitor your pet for signs of too much or too little moisture.
This is one of the reasons these lizards are more suited to medium to advanced level reptile keepers.
In nature they simply go through too many variances for you to exactly duplicate in captivity. They also have more places to roam in order to seek out a balance for what they need.
If you need more information regarding humidity, here is a great article I wrote on that very subject! 15 Easy Ways To Maintain Humidity For Any Reptile.
Pet Frilled Lizard Temperature Needs
Along with humidity, temperature is one of the most important aspects to maintaining a healthy and happy reptile.
Frilled lizards live fairly close to the equator, and enjoy year round temperatures that are fairly constant. That being said, you still want a gradient rather than one constant temperature. You want to provide microclimates where your frilled lizard can warm up or cool down.
What temperature should pet frilled lizards be kept at? Frilled lizards should have a daytime temperature range of 85 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Night time temperatures can be allowed to drop down to 75 to 80 degrees. You should also provide your frilled lizard with a basking area that reaches near 115 degrees.
Care should be taken to make sure the heat source is not too close to the cage however, as a basking frilled lizard may inadvertently burn itself.
By providing a variety of temperatures and humidity levels for your pet to choose from, it can go to the part of the enclosure where it is most comfortable at any given time.
I like to provide a basking spot near one of the top corners.
This area will include a vertical branch as well as a horizontal perch so the frilly can get comfortable in any position he wants. The bottom portion of that same side will have a heating pad.
This gives a gradient temperature range from one side of the cage to the other, as well as varying temperatures between the top and bottom.
Frilled Lizard Lighting
Frilled lizards will go out of their way to avoid too much direct UVB exposure.
Finding the right balance can be a bit tricky as too much UVB can cause your lizard to go into hiding and quit eating. Too little can cause health issues.
I recommend fluorescent UVB that only shines on their basking area.
This will offer them the same thing as nature. They take in direct sunlight while basking, but only receive ambient light the rest of the time.
In nature, these lizards receive around 12 hours of sunlight year round. Technically that is from around 5:30 in the morning to 5:30 in the evening. Those times vary slightly, but only by 30 minutes or so.
Since a lot of you might live in areas where the number of daylight hours vary drastically from season to season, I suggest running the lighting for your pet on a timer that goes from around 8am to 8:30pm.
Pet Frilled Lizard Diet
These lizards eat a wide variety of insects, bugs, baby rodents, plants and even other reptiles and amphibians in the wild.
This would include roaches, various worms, crickets, grasshoppers, spiders and occasionally pinky mice or even a few fruits and vegetables.
As pets, frilled lizards are hearty eaters.
A good frilled lizard diet will include a wide variety of foods in order to meet their nutritional needs. Large crickets, canned grasshoppers, super worms and mealworms, are all typically available in most pet stores that sell reptiles. You should also offer pinky mice or rats to your frilled lizard once per week in order to supplement their diet.
Some keepers I have known have even gone as far as to start their own roach colony as these are a little harder to find in pet stores, but are a big part of their diet in the wild.
A note about diet selection.
Many worms such as silkworms and wax worms can be fairly fatty, so should only be offered as treats once or twice per week.
Mealworms, roaches and the like are harder to digest, so should only be offered to your pet once they are about a year and a half old.
Although they occasionally eat other reptiles in nature, I don’t suggest you try this at home. It is too easy for other reptiles to carry internal parasites or diseases that can be passed on to your pet.
Always supplement your frilly’s diet with calcium and vitamin D3. These typically come in powder form, and can be dusted onto the food you are offering your pet.
Juveniles should be fed 2-3 times per day. Adults can be fed once per day. Although they are voracious eaters, they will not typically overeat. Feed as much as they will eat in about 15 minutes.
Frilled Lizard Water
For the most part, frilled lizards get the water they need from their food, and from the moisture in the air.
Keeping the enclosure misted will allow them to get water from leaves or even from their own body.
You still need to keep a large bowl of fresh water in the cage for your pet though.
They may or may not drink from it, but it still serves several benefits.
It offers them a place to drink if they so desire, it raises the humidity in the enclosure, and it allows them to soak if they need.
Frilled Lizard Behavior And Temperament
What should you expect from your pet frilly?
Frilled lizards are pretty low keyed, docile lizards. Just like people, they are also unique and can have different personalities. These lizards usually acclimate well to their owners. Frilled lizards typically tolerate moderate handling, and have been known to perch on your shoulder to observe the world.
I would recommend local captive bred frills over imported specimens if you truly want a lizard as a pet.
As pets, you will find that they are highly alert to their surroundings, and will enjoy sitting high up in their enclosure actively watching everything that is going on.
Be aware though.
It is also possible your frilled might be shy and reclusive.
Normally this is a sign that some of their needs aren’t being fulfilled such as temperature or humidity, but this isn’t always the case. Sometimes you just have a pet lizard that is highly anxious and nervous outside of its enclosure.
Although frilled lizards got their name from, and are best known for their awesome defensive displays, this is not something you want to see from your pet!
They will only do this when they are afraid, which leads to a stressed out animal with potential stress related health issues.
It’s OK to work with your frilly to help acclimate them to routine handling and expose them to broader environments outside of their enclosure, but try to not overly stress the animal.
Handling sessions with your frilled lizard should be short in the beginning.
Maybe take your lizard out twice per day for 3-5 minutes at a time. The goal is to get your frilled to calm down in that time.
Try to put them away on a happy note, rather than when they’ve had too much.
Never purposely scare your pet in order to get it to show its frill!
Frilled Dragon Health Issues
Frilled lizards don’t have any known inherent health issues.
Most health related problems are the result of poor husbandry.
I can not stress enough that these pets are not suited for novice herp keepers.
You need to have experience not only maintaining proper temperature and humidity levels at all times, but you should also be able to recognize warning signs before they become an issue.
Husbandry related health problems can consist of respiratory infections, troubled shedding, vitamin D deficiency and fungal issues.
Summary
As you can see, the frilled lizard can make a truly unique and wonderful pet.
When they are healthy, happy and well cared for, these lizards can show a lot of character and bring a lot of joy to you as a pet.
They are not for everyone though.
There are no black and white, die hard rules to achieving a perfectly healthy and happy frilly. The best I can do is give guidelines and ranges for you to provide them with the best care possible.
Much of it comes down to you understanding and recognizing your pets needs.