Create a Lizard Garden
New Zealand has over 120 native lizard species, none of them are found anywhere else in the world. You can create safe, lizard friendly spaces in your garden to help them thrive.
What you will need:
- Location
- The first step is to identify a suitable location for your lizard habitat. Look around your garden for a quiet, dry area that gets a good amount of sunlight (geckos and skinks enjoy basking in warm sunny spots).
- Materials
- Look for materials around your home that you can recycle e.g., old concrete, stones, bricks, dead wood, tree bark, corrugated metal and old plant pots.
- Native Plants to Help Lizards Thrive
- Mingimingi/Coprosma propinqua and coprosma crassifolia, Porcupine shrub/Melicytus alpinus, Shrubby tororaro/Muehlenbeckia astonii, Pōhuehue/Muehlenbeckia complexa, Tussocks. As well as plants with berries or nectar help to feed lizards and attract bugs for them to eat.
How to build the habitat:
- 1.
Once you have chosen an area, plant a few species of native flora (plants). When choosing the plants look for tussocks, grasses and plants with branches that tangle up as these make great hiding spots.
- 2.
Stack your materials loosely, so that you create nooks for the lizards to build their home. It is good to leave gaps of 5-19mm wide as lizards like to squeeze their body into small areas.
- 3.
Great job! Now you have created your habitat, keep a look out for lizards basking in the sun. If you have pets or children that might disturb the area, you can place some netting around the area to keep the habitat safe.