Lizards can both be omnivorous and carnivorous. These amazing creatures come in different sizes and shapes. From large aquatic ones to small ones so small that they can be the size of our fingernails.
The diet of lizards can be of a wide variety and this usually depends mostly on their habitat and the size of their body. Smaller ones will eat different kinds of worms, beetles, flies, spiders, and other insects.
The larger ones can eat baby birds, baby mice, or even smaller lizards. The omnivorous ones also eat eggs, fruits, and vegetables. The bigger they get the different their diet becomes.
Some of the species of the lizards make for amazing pets, for example, the bearded dragon is a favorite among lizard enthusiasts.
Today we are here to discuss if the smaller versions of these creatures eat snails or not. Keep reading below as we discuss the different species and their diet.
Do lizards eat snails?
Lizards do eat snails. It might depend on the breed of the reptile because lizards vary between carnivorous and omnivorous. When feeding lizard snails, make sure to offer them smaller or hatchlings of snails, those are good treats because they are fragile.
Table of Contents
There are a variety of lizards that are in the wild and eat all kinds of insects, fruits, and other critters. Not all the lizards like or like to eat snails even if they are carnivorous or omnivorous. Thus, we have made a list of common lizards that discuss in brief if they eat snails or not.
Garden Lizards:
Garden lizards may be seen eating slugs, snails, crickets, and other small invertebrates that they may find in the wild. Since these guys eat snails and slugs alike, we are discouraged from using snail baits in the garden.
As these little guys will eat them and get poisoned.
Alligator Lizards:
In California, the Western fence lizard also known as the blue belly lizard, and the alligator lizard as the most common. These lizards will eat most of the insects. While the alligator lizard in particular likes to eat snails.
Small Lizards:
Small lizards depending on the species will eat snails. However, the smaller ones aren’t able to eat the bigger snails due to the shell. That’s why they can eat the juvenile smaller snails if they find any.
Anole Lizards:
These lizards most of the time stay still and only strike on prey that move. The Green Anole lizards eat a variety of insects and critters but do not eat snails. However, the Brown Anole lizard eats snails and slugs alike if they find any.
Common Lizards:
Depending on the species, some are carnivorous and some are omnivorous, both prefer to eat insects. However, not all of them have snails in their diet.
So, some of them might refuse when offered snails. All the while some will accept the snail without any issue.
Blue Tongue Lizards:
These lizards are a bit, unlike the traditional lizards because of their appearance. But in truth, they are the same creatures. They might look a bit different from the other species though, they are known as skinks.
Skinks look like snakes with legs and this one in particular loves to eat snails. They are famous for eating snails a lot.
Do lizards eat snail bait?
Lizards like many other animals have the tendency to eat critters of all sorts. They can be either omnivorous or carnivorous exclusively. However, a lizard might eat ants, mites, worms, cockroaches, flies, and sometimes spiders if they are small enough.
Some of the aforementioned lizards are a fan of some invertebrates like the snails and slugs. Lizards like the Sleepy lizard and the Blue Tongue lizard love to eat snails and slugs. Therefore, these types of lizards will also eat any snail bait if they happen to see one.
But just because they are able to eat them, one should not feed them any. This is because snail bait is used to subdue the numbers of snails and slugs, but since these lizards eat such things, they can perish as well.
Will a blue belly lizard eat a baby snail?
Blue belly lizards are called that way because of the bright belly color they have. This is distinct in the males, but not exclusive to them. The females and other varieties of the species can sport the blue color too.
They are also called fence lizards or sometimes swift lizards. They get the swift lizard’s name because of their movement pattern and how swift they are at climbing a pine tree. Blue belly lizards have a unique diet of beetles, millipedes, spiders, snails, and many other animals.
So, it is normal for a fence lizard or blue belly lizard to eat a baby snail as their shells are very fragile and have a crunch like the cockroaches.
Why do lizards eat snails?
Lizards are solitary creatures they do not eat much, to be honest. The garden lizards for example can do well with small portions of food at a time. Many of the different species of lizards feed on different insects in the wild.
Moreover, the insects can vary from caterpillars, crickets, snails, worms, grasshoppers, small spiders, ants, flies, and cockroaches. The garden lizards also can be seen eating greens and fruits.
Since the aforementioned insects and critters are abundant in the wild, they choose to eat them. Snails for example can be a brilliant source of food for many reptilians. The blue-tongued skinks love snail species.
Their love for the snails made the species famous. Juvenile snails for example are a great source of food since they do not run away or put up a fight; their young body has a fragile shell that is crunchy at most to the lizards.
As a result, the lizards like to eat snails as a food source since they are easy to come by and because of the low effort, it takes to find and eat one.
What kind of lizards eat snails?
Lizards eat a variety of insects in the wild. There can be a huge number of insects that are available to them in the wild due to not many things that will eat them. Insects like spiders, crickets, worms, snails, grasshoppers, and many others.
Almost all types of lizards eat snails. However, there are some that love to eat snails. For example, the blue-tongued skinks. They are famous for the consumption of snails.
These types of lizards can be different from the traditional ones in a few ways. Skinks have shorter legs when compared to the traditional ones.
The skink’s body structure appears closer to that of a snake. Furthermore, they are most of the time regarded as snakes with legs.
How do lizards eat snails?
The Blue belly lizard also known as the Western fence lizard is a fan of snails. Then there is the blue tongue skink that is famous for the consumption of snails in particular. Skinks are a type of lizard that looks like a snake with legs.
Snails are a great food source for these creatures. They pose no hassle or harm to the predators and they are the easiest to capture.
Lizards like these are usually sitting and waiting for the type of predators. As to how the lizards eat the snails, the list is given below.
Ambush:
The caiman lizard and the Alligator lizard for example would wait in trees and branches for their prey to walk by and ambush them. Thus, they are also known as ambush predators.
Break Shells:
Lizards do not prefer the shells. The bigger ones have tough shells and thus the lizards dislike them. Therefore, they bite and break the shell all around slowly, the snail will not be able to go anywhere anyway, so they take their time.
Eats the soft body:
After they successfully destroy the outer shell of the snail thoroughly, they will slowly start to scrape off it from the body of the snail, finally, once they get rid of it all, the lizards just gobble up the snail’s soft body.
Final Thoughts
Lizards are a creature with a diet that ranges from multiple insects to multiple types of greens and fruits. Some of the species primarily rely on protein only and are carnivorous. While some are famous for loving the snails, like the Blue-tongued skink. So, lizards do eat snails.