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Cats and lizards should not be enemies, and pet lizards have been known to form strong bonds with their feline siblings. In fact, it is not uncommon to see photos Cats and bearded dragons cuddling!
While these types can be friendly, making a friendship will depend entirely on your pet’s personalities and how you introduce them. Some cats simply don’t like lizards and that can’t really be changed, but the way you present them can have a huge impact on their relationship.
If you are planning to introduce your pets, there are some common mistakes people make that can make your pets prone to failure. However, if you know how to avoid them, you are one step closer to building an interspecies friendship.
If seeing your cat cuddling a new lizard sounds like something you want, keep reading!
5 mistakes:
- Offer your pets without barriersIf you are hoping to introduce your cat to your pet lizard for the first time, you should always introduce this introduction through a barrier. This barrier will make the initial encounter safer for both pets. Keeping the orchid in a glass container or behind a screened door will help prevent a negative encounter. If you are introducing your pets and something goes wrong, eg your cat may rush into a new lizard when it moves, the barrier will prevent the cat from coming into direct contact and possibly harming the lizard.
- Not understanding your pet’s behaviorThe best thing to do before introducing your cat to her new crawling sibling is to understand her behavior. Knowing what your animals look like when they are nervous, angry, calm, or agitated can help you determine how successful a confrontation will be. If you introduce your cat to your new bearded dragon and your cat is hissing and growling and appearing in a stiff body position, it will likely be uncomfortable for the new pet. on the other side, If the beard of a bearded dragon turns blackThey head bobbing or hissing, and they’re likely to be nervous and uncomfortable, too. If you introduce your cat to a Leopard Gecko, you may see them piercing their mouths and waving their tails if they are upset. Learning these signs can help you stop a negative encounter before it becomes dangerous.
- Leave them alone together- One of the biggest mistakes you can make is leaving your cat and lizard together. Even if they seem to have formed a close bond and enjoy each other’s company, being left unsupervised can quickly turn dangerous. While your cat is unlikely to be harmed, a lizard can be seriously injured or killed by an angry cat. All interactions between your cat and lizard must be supervised. With supervision, you can quickly intervene and stop a bad situation from getting worse.
- force the relationship– If your cat does not like the new bearded dragon or vice versa, there is not much you can do to change that. If you introduce your pets correctly and they don’t seem to like each other, don’t force their relationship. Trying to befriend a lizard and a cat when they both don’t want it is a recipe for disaster. Compulsive interactions are likely to stress both pets and cause tensions within your family. In these cases, it would be best to keep your pets separate. This may mean that they need to be in completely separate rooms. Always listen to what your pets are trying to tell you, and if they say “I don’t like this” respect them and listen.
- Don’t give your pets their own spaceMost animals are territorial and are more aggressive if they think other animals are violating their territory. For this reason, you may find some stress if you introduce the animals into their own space. For example, bringing a new Leopard Gecko to your cat’s favorite cat tree may cause your cat to act aggressively. On the other hand, if your cat finds its way into its new bearded dragon enclosure, you may see the lizard’s head swaying and threatening the intruder. Avoid bringing animals into rooms where they eat and sleep because they often view these areas as their territory. So, if you’re thinking of setting up a new lizard enclosure in rooms where your cat eats or sleeps, try to find more neutral locations. Neutral areas can be spaces such as offices or guest bedrooms where pets don’t eat, sleep, or frequent. These neutral spaces are perfect for introducing your pets for the first time where both parties feel comfortable.
Introducing your cat to a new lizard can be daunting, but if you introduce it correctly, your odds of success will increase exponentially.
The first time you introduce your cat to a lizard, you should put a barrier between them for safety. You should also know what the stressful behavior looks like so you can tell if this interaction is making them unhappy. When introducing your pets, you should avoid bringing them into areas where they sleep or eat as this can increase the chances of your animals becoming territorial. Even if your pets form a close bond, never leave them alone as it can be dangerous for both parties if things go wrong.
Finally, don’t force your pets to be friends if they don’t want to. Some pet personalities don’t get along well and that’s okay.
Avoid these mistakes and your cat may be cuddling your bearded dragon in no time!
This guest post was posted by a lifelong reptile lover who has kept pet lizards since childhood. He asked not to be identified.
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