Curly Tailed Lizard

A curly tailed lizard is any member of the West Indian genus Leiocephalus. The group holds roughly 30 living species. All are named for the tight upward curl they hold their tail in while active.

The one most people in the United States meet is the northern curly tailed lizard, Leiocephalus carinatus. It is native to the Bahamas, Cuba, and the Cayman Islands. A resident released about 20 pairs on the island of Palm Beach, Florida, in the 1940s, and the species has since spread across the southern half of the state.

It also makes a small, hardy pet for keepers who want a bold, fast lizard rather than a shy one.

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Identifying a Curly Tailed Lizard

The family Leiocephalidae holds roughly 30 living species. They live across Cuba, the Bahamas, Hispaniola, and a scatter of smaller islands. Almost all share the same trademark: a tail curled up and forward over the back, like a scorpion’s.

The species kept as pets, and now living wild in Florida, is the northern form. It is usually the subspecies Leiocephalus carinatus armouri. Adults have a stocky, muscular body and short, strong legs built for sprinting.

Keeled scales give the skin a rough, almost armored look. Coloring runs from gray brown to tan, often with darker mottling. Some individuals show faint bands along the back, and males show a darker throat during breeding season.

People searching for a “curly tail lizard” or a “curly tailed lizard Florida” mean this same animal. A few other Leiocephalus species turn up in the pet trade in small numbers. This one is the species most keepers and most Florida residents actually meet.

Behavior and the Tail Curl

These are diurnal, ground dwelling sprinters. They spend the day moving between sunny basking spots on rocks, walls, pavement, and fence lines. When it cools off or a predator appears, they duck into burrows, rock piles, or debris.

They rely on speed over stealth. A startled curly tail usually bolts for cover instead of freezing.

The tail curl is a signal, not a defense reflex. Researchers who study Leiocephalus read the raised, curled tail as a display used in territorial standoffs and courtship. It may also warn a predator that the lizard has already spotted it.

The curl tightens as another lizard, or a person, gets closer, and head bobbing speeds up too. Males defend basking sites from rival males and chase intruders away. In captivity this adds up to an active pet that patrols and basks in the open, rather than hiding most of the day.

Curly Tailed Lizards in Florida

Leiocephalus carinatus is not native to Florida. A 2004 review in Florida Field Naturalist traces the population to about 20 pairs released by a resident on the island of Palm Beach in the 1940s. By 1959 the colony covered about 20 city blocks.

The mainland population then spread about 2.4 kilometers a year between 1968 and 2002. By 2002 a continuous population ran 90 kilometers along the Atlantic coast from Broward to Martin County. Records now reach Leon County in the Florida panhandle, and a 2025 paper reported a stowaway in Tifton, Georgia, only the second record for that state.

The main ecological concern is predation. These lizards are stocky, fast, and bold. They catch and eat other lizards, including the brown anole and the native green anole.

Field studies in Florida have recorded them capturing and eating brown anoles. They also change how high anoles perch, pushing them out of easy reach. Researchers link this pressure to local drops in green anole numbers.

If you already keep or watch brown anoles in your yard, a resident curly tail changes that picture. Florida treats the species like other established nonnative reptiles. Releasing any nonnative reptile into the wild is illegal there, whether it is an outgrown pet or a wild caught animal moved to a new spot.

The species is not on the state’s prohibited or conditional species lists. Keeping one that was legally acquired is generally allowed. Nonnative wildlife rules do change, and they can vary by county, so check the current Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission list before acquiring, breeding, or relocating one.

Curly Tailed Lizard Care

Curly tailed lizard care suits keepers who can provide strong heat and bright light. They reward someone who wants a lizard that stays visible and active. They are hardy, but they do best in a setup built for a hot, dry, rocky island animal, not a rainforest species.

The sections below cover enclosure size and layout, heating and UVB, feeding, health, breeding, size and lifespan, and typical costs. Anyone new to keeping a lizard should also read a general lizard care guide. Quarantine, handling, and daily husbandry routines carry over between species.

Enclosure Setup

A single adult needs a minimum floor footprint of about 36 by 18 inches. A footprint of 48 by 18 inches or larger is strongly preferred. These lizards are fast, ground focused sprinters that use horizontal space more than height.

A 40 to 50 gallon breeder tank, or an equivalent front opening terrarium, works well.

Glass, PVC, and screen top enclosures are all usable. Ventilation just needs to be good enough that the basking area still reaches target temperature.

Substrate should be dry and diggable rather than moisture retaining. A blend of play sand, topsoil, and fine clay works well, and so does a commercial arid substrate. Either lets the lizard dig shallow burrows.

Furnish the enclosure with flat basking rocks near the heat source. Add cork bark or slate for cover, plus one or two hides on the cool end.

Adults are territorial. Two males housed together will fight.

A single male can live with one or two females in a larger enclosure. This works only if there is enough basking space and enough cover for a lower ranked lizard to get out of sight. Watch closely for chasing, tail biting, or one animal being blocked from food or the basking spot.

Heating and UVB Lighting

This is a heliothermic, open habitat lizard. It needs strong heat and strong UVB to stay healthy. Aim for a basking surface temperature of 100 to 105 degrees Fahrenheit.

Measure it with an infrared temperature gun, not an ambient thermometer. Air temperature readings routinely understate how hot a basking rock actually gets. The cooler end of the enclosure should sit around 78 to 82 degrees Fahrenheit during the day.

Let it drop into the low or mid 70s at night. No supplemental heat is needed after dark in most homes.

A halogen basking spot bulb rated for high output gives strong, focused heat. Pair it with a dimming thermostat built for reptile basking lamps. Skip heat rocks and under tank only setups; this species needs an overhead source it can climb toward.

UVB is not optional. Wild adults bask in direct, unfiltered island sun for hours. They need a comparable indoor source to process calcium correctly.

A T5 high output fluorescent fixture in the 10 to 12 percent UVB range is standard. Run it the full length of the enclosure. Replace the bulb roughly every 9 to 12 months even if it still lights up, since UVB output fades before visible light does.

A T5 high output UVB kit built for high UVB, desert dwelling species is sized correctly for this animal. Position the bulb so the basking rock sits within the fixture’s recommended UVB distance, generally 8 to 12 inches. Check that number against the fixture’s own chart.

Diet and Feeding

This species is an opportunistic omnivore. In the wild it eats insects and other invertebrates, small vertebrates including other lizards, and plant material such as flowers, fruit, and leaves. What it eats shifts with what is locally available.

Stomach contents from Florida animals in the 2004 review were led by field crickets at 17.2 percent, grasshoppers at 10.1 percent, and isopods at 9.7 percent, with beetles, ants, and roaches behind them. In the Bahamas, plant matter has made up as much as 47 percent of the diet, and adults have been watched eating beach morning glory flowers for five minutes at a stretch. That plant heavy diet is unusual for a lizard this size and this fast.

In captivity, offer a varied insect diet as the base. Crickets, dubia roaches, and black soldier fly larvae all work as staples. Add occasional silkworms or hornworms for variety, and keep insects roughly the width of the lizard’s head or smaller.

Dust feeder insects with a plain calcium powder without vitamin D3 at most feedings. Switch to a calcium powder with added vitamin D3 once or twice a month if UVB exposure is limited. Strong UVB lighting cuts how much dietary D3 the lizard actually needs.

A small amount of chopped fruit, softened greens, or flowers once or twice a week rounds out the diet. Insects should still make up most of the intake. Keep fresh water available at all times, in a shallow dish the lizard can climb in and out of.

Health and Common Problems

Most health issues in captive animals trace back to heat, UVB, or calcium shortfalls. Infectious disease is less common. Metabolic bone disease comes from too little calcium relative to phosphorus, or from weak UVB and vitamin D3.

It shows up as a softened jaw, bowed or swollen limbs, tremors, or reluctance to move. Good heating, lighting, and supplementation prevent most cases.

Watch basking behavior as an early warning sign. A lizard that stops basking, stays visibly dark for long stretches, or loses grip strength is telling you something is wrong. So is refusing food for several days in a row.

Respiratory infections usually trace back to an enclosure that runs too cool or too damp for this arid species. Signs include open mouth breathing, wheezing, or mucus around the nostrils. A reptile veterinarian experienced with lizards should examine any animal showing these signs.

Any wild caught individual should see a vet first. It should never go near an existing collection untested. Imported or locally caught animals can carry internal parasites that a fecal exam will catch early.

Breeding

The species is oviparous, laying eggs rather than giving live birth. Breeding picks up with warmer temperatures and longer daylight. This runs roughly spring through summer, in wild Florida populations and in captive setups that mimic that seasonal shift.

Males display to females and to rival males with head bobs, push ups, and a tightly curled, actively waved tail. A receptive female allows a courting male to approach and mate.

Females lay multiple clutches across the season, rather than one large clutch. Florida clutches average 4 eggs, with a range of 2 to 6, buried in loose, diggable soil or sand. Zoo records give 3 to 4 eggs per clutch and two breeding rounds a year, with incubation of about 2 to 3 months depending on temperature and moisture.

Hatchlings show a bright orange throat at first.

Captive breeders generally hold eggs in a moist but not wet medium. Incubation temperatures in the mid to upper 80s Fahrenheit are typical. Hatchlings are fully independent from the moment they emerge.

House and feed hatchlings separately from adults. Adults may treat a hatchling as prey, and hatchlings need smaller food items anyway.

Lifespan and Size

Adults typically reach 7 to 10 inches in total length, tail included, with a maximum of about 26 centimeters. Large males sit at the top of that range. Females run smaller and lighter bodied.

Snout to vent length in Florida adults averages 9.2 centimeters, or 3.6 inches, for males and 8.7 centimeters for females. Adults weigh around 28 grams. The tail makes up more than half the total length.

Zoo records put lifespan at up to about 10 years. Exact wild longevity data for this genus is limited, and most wild animals die well short of that from predators, cars, and cold snaps. Captive animals kept with steady heat, UVB, and diet reach the upper end more reliably.

Captivity removes the predation pressure that shortens wild lifespan. Well kept pets often reach the upper end of the 5 to 10 year range, or beyond it.

Cost of Ownership

The animals themselves are inexpensive. A captive bred juvenile from a reptile specific seller typically runs 15 to 40 dollars. That price reflects how common and easy to breed the species is.

The bigger cost is the setup, not the animal.

Budget roughly 200 to 350 dollars for a full first time setup. That covers an enclosure, a basking bulb and fixture, a T5 HO UVB fixture and bulb, a thermostat, substrate, hides, a basking rock, a water dish, and initial supplements.

A digital thermometer and hygrometer combo is worth adding to that first order. So is an infrared temperature gun for checking basking spot temperature. Guessing at basking surface temperature is one of the more common setup mistakes with this species.

Ongoing costs are modest: feeder insects, supplement powder, and a UVB bulb replacement every 9 to 12 months. Most keepers spend well under 20 dollars a month on a single lizard.

Compare that with a larger lizard covered on this site, such as the agama lizard, or the species under our iguana family guide. A curly tail is smaller, cheaper, and lower maintenance. It still rewards a keeper willing to get the heat and UVB genuinely right.

For sizing principles that apply across ground dwelling lizards, see our guide to lizard enclosure setup. Our breakdown of reptile heating and UVB covers the gear in more depth. The feeder insect guide covers raising or gut loading insects for a varied diet.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does a curly tailed lizard curl its tail?

The curl is a display used during territorial disputes between rivals. It may also signal to a predator that the lizard has already noticed it. The curl tightens, and head bobbing speeds up, as another lizard or a person gets closer.

Are they dangerous or venomous?

No. They have no venom and pose no real danger to people. A cornered adult can give a firm pinching bite if handled roughly, but this is a defensive reaction, not a real threat.

Can I legally keep a curly tailed lizard in Florida?

Generally yes, since the species is not on Florida’s prohibited or conditional nonnative species lists. It is illegal to release any nonnative reptile into the wild there, though. Rules do change, so check the current Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission list first.

Do they eat brown anoles?

Yes. Field research in Florida has documented them preying on brown anoles and green anoles. Their presence in a yard has been linked to lower anole numbers and changes in where anoles choose to perch.

How big of a tank does an adult need?

Plan on a minimum floor footprint of about 36 by 18 inches per adult. A footprint of 48 by 18 inches or larger is preferred. This species is a ground level sprinter that uses horizontal space far more than height.

How long do curly tailed lizards live?

Up to about 10 years according to zoo records. Well kept captive animals reach that ceiling far more often than wild ones, since indoor keeping removes the predation pressure that limits wild lifespan.