The Sudan plated lizard ( Broadleysaurus major ) is a captivating reptile native to the warm, tropical savanna ecosystems of Africa. Known for its armored appearance and relatively docile nature, this diurnal lizard has become a popular choice among reptile enthusiasts. Understanding their dietary needs, behavior, and proper care is crucial for ensuring their health and well-being in captivity. This article delves into the various aspects of Sudan plated lizard diet and care, providing a comprehensive guide for both novice and experienced reptile keepers.
Understanding the Sudan Plated Lizard
Physical Characteristics
The Sudan plated lizard is a medium-sized reptile, with adults typically reaching lengths of 20-24 inches. Exceptionally large individuals can grow up to 27 inches. They possess stout bodies, short limbs, and a long, broad tail, often nearly as long as the body. Their most distinctive feature is their heavily armored appearance, with thick, plate-like keeled scales covering their body and tail. Even the head scales are fused to the skull, forming a natural helmet.
Coloration varies from tawny or gray-brown to dark brown, usually patterned with yellowish spots or stripes and a pale underside. This coloration provides camouflage in their natural habitat, allowing them to blend in with the rocky terrain and vegetation.
Natural Habitat and Range
Sudan plated lizards inhabit the warm, tropical savanna ecosystems of Africa. They are most common in open woodlands, scrublands, and savanna steppe regions that provide both sun-exposed basking sites and ample hiding spots. Within these habitats, they show a strong preference for areas with rocky outcrops, hills, or old termite mounds.
Geographically, the Sudan plated lizard is widespread across sub-Saharan Africa, including Tanzania and Kenya, up through Sudan and Ethiopia in the north, and southward through Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and into parts of South Africa. Westward, related populations extend into Uganda, Cameroon, and as far as Ghana and Togo in West Africa.
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They stick to the edges of woodlands and open country and have not been recorded deep in tropical rainforests. Their adaptability to both moist and arid savanna conditions has helped them remain widespread and common.
Behavior and Temperament
Sudan plated lizards are primarily diurnal creatures, being active during daylight hours. Each morning, they emerge from their shelters to bask in the sun, which helps them raise their body temperature. After warming up, they spend the day foraging for food and exploring their territory.
These lizards are ground-dwelling and swift; if startled, their first response is often to sprint for the nearest cover. Despite their speed, they are generally quiet and non-aggressive. Sudan plated lizards are known to be quite shy and prefer to retreat or hide rather than confront a threat.
One clever escape strategy they use is to run a short distance, then suddenly stop and remain very still with their tail raised. This sudden freeze-and-camouflage act can confuse predators that track movement, causing a pursuing enemy to overshoot or lose sight of the lizard. If a predator or curious human gets too close, a plated lizard may also resort to tail-whipping by lashing its thick, armored tail as a warning. The tail has thick scales and can deliver a surprisingly sharp slap. More often, though, they slip into a crevice or burrow. Thanks to their flattened body and flexible sides, they can wedge themselves tightly into cracks. Once wedged, their rigid scales and strong bodies make it nearly impossible for a predator to pull them out.
In terms of social behavior, Sudan plated lizards are not highly social and are typically solitary or live in loose assemblages. An individual will stake out a home range that includes good basking spots and hiding places. Males in particular maintain territories and may chase away other males that encroach. Females and juveniles are more tolerant of each other and may have overlapping ranges. It’s not uncommon to find several plated lizards living in the same general area around a cluster of rocks or a large burrow system, especially if that spot offers abundant food. However, they are not cooperative. These groups are more like neighbors sharing a good habitat rather than a cohesive “family” group.
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Interestingly, Sudan plated lizards have been observed cohabiting peacefully with entirely different species. They will sometimes share their burrows or termite mound hideouts with animals like dwarf mongooses or certain snakes, essentially as roommates by coincidence.
When it comes to interactions with humans or temperament in captivity, these lizards are generally mild-mannered. In the wild, they are skittish and will avoid contact. In zoological settings and after some time to acclimate, Sudan plated lizards often become quite docile and tolerant of gentle handling. They are naturally timid, so sudden movements or loud noises may still send them scrambling for cover. With regular, calm interaction, they can learn to accept human presence and may even take food from tweezers or hands. Nonetheless, they aren’t the type of reptile to seek out affection as they mostly tolerate handling rather than enjoy it. Many individuals remain more comfortable being “look but don’t touch” ambassadors or exhibit animals. Their tendency to hide means keepers and observers must be patient to spot them when on display.
Diet and Nutrition
Omnivorous Diet in the Wild
In the wild, Sudan plated lizards are true omnivores with a broad palate. They primarily feed on invertebrates, with large insects being a staple, including beetles, grasshoppers, crickets, caterpillars, worms, snails, and even millipedes. Foraging on the ground by day, they will snap up almost any crawling prey that can fit in their jaws.
These lizards also supplement their diet with plant material: they enjoy soft fruits and berries when available, as well as flowers, leaves, and other vegetable matter. Their strong jaws can crush beetle shells and also tackle occasional small vertebrate prey. Wild plated lizards have been known to eat smaller lizards, rodent pups, or the eggs and hatchlings of ground-nesting birds if they come across them.
Feeding in Captivity
When it comes to Sudan plated lizard feeding in captivity, the first thing that you need to know is that these lizards are omnivores, which means that they eat both animal and plant matter. A balanced diet is crucial for maintaining their health and vitality.
Read also: Comprehensive Guide to Caiman Lizard Diet
Insects
Insects should be offered live, as plated lizards’ hunting instincts are triggered by motion. These can be offered in an escape-proof bowl, offered with soft-tipped feeding tweezers, or let loose in the lizard’s enclosure for hunting on its own.
Sudan plated lizards will eat live crickets, dubia roaches, and other insects. A varied insect diet ensures they receive a wide range of nutrients.
Vegetables and Fruits
When feeding your Sudan plated lizard vegetables, harder veggies should be sliced or cut into ribbons for easier eating. Wild plants (aka “weeds”) can add some highly beneficial variety to your Sudan plated lizard’s diet (after a thorough washing, of course). However, not all found plants and flowers are safe for feeding, and some are deadly. So if you’re unfamiliar with the plants in your area or you’re in a highly urban area, it’s good to grow your own “wild” plants for your plated lizard to munch on even if all you have is a window box. Arizona Tortoise Compound and ProRep both offer excellent seed mixes for a very reasonable price.
For vegetation, they will take leafy greens such as collard greens, mustard greens, endive, escarole and spring mix, as well as carrots and grated sweet potato. Fruits such as mango pieces and berries can be used as treats. Citrus fruit (e.g. orange) and other acidic fruits should be avoided as this can cause stomach ulcers and digestion problems.
Avoid feeding lettuce or spinach to your plated lizard. Plated lizards adore brightly-colored fruits and flowers. However, they’re very high in sugar and calories, so Sudan plated lizard feedings of fruit should be fairly rare -no more than 1x/week. This makes them great for use as treats!
Supplementation
Calcium, multivitamins, and insect gutloading are an essential part of proper Sudan plated lizard feeding and nutrition. Because you will be providing UVB lighting for your plated lizard, you will need a plain reptile calcium powder without phosphorous or vitamin D. Dust the calcium on all insect feeders by sticking the bugs in a plastic sandwich bag with a little bit of powder and shaking them around a bit.
Have you ever heard the saying, “You are what you eat”? Generally it’s used to encourage a healthy, balanced diet in humans, but it’s also very applicable to feeder insects. Which do you think would have more nutrition: bugs fed on oatmeal and cardboard, or bugs fed on vegetables and fruits? The latter, obviously! Even if you aren’t raising your own colony of feeder insects, it’s important to gutload any bugs you buy for at least 24 hours before feeding them to your skink. What I like about these formulas is that they’re plant-based rather than grain-based, mimicking the insects’ optimum diet in the wild rather than just using cheap filler ingredients. The result? Delivering the very best nutrition to the reptiles that eat them. Avoid cheap insect gutloads like Fluker’s Cricket Diet, Orange Cubes, Nature Zone Total Bites, or anything similar.
We recommend Repashy Calcium Plus LoD, lightly dusted on all of your lizard’s feeder insects.
Feeding Schedule and Considerations
Sudan plated lizard feeding schedules depend on its age. Younger plated lizards need extra energy and nutrients to help them grow, so they need to eat more calorie-dense insects and small animals. The exact number of bugs that you should offer at each feeding is impossible to say exactly, due to individual variation.
Skipping feedings may seem cruel at first, but remember that reptiles are built more efficiently than we are. They have evolved to need relatively little food to survive, so occasional “fasting” is good for them and helps prevent obesity.
Some keepers also treat their plated lizards with the occasional small pinkie mouse, depending on the size of the individual.
Water
The best water to use for your plated lizard is tap water (assuming that the water in your area is safe for humans), spring water, or filtered water. Not distilled or softened. A shallow water bowl should be provided, no deeper than up to your lizard’s back in order to prevent drowning.
Housing and Environment
Enclosure Size
A single Sudan plated lizard should be housed in no smaller than a 48”L x 24”W x 24”H enclosure. Sudan plated lizards are primarily terrestrial, so plenty of floor space is the main concern. However, they are skilled at low-level climbing, so vertical space will be used if offered.
Temperature and Lighting
Sudan plated lizards require UVB lighting to stay healthy in captivity. They are a diurnal species often observed basking in the morning. If the UVB is mounted over mesh, place the basking area 10-12” below the lamp. If the UVB is mounted inside the enclosure, place the basking area 14-16” below the lamp. The UVB bulb should be housed in a reflective T5 HO fixture like the Arcadia ProT5 or Vivarium Electronics, and placed on the basking side along with the heat lamp. Note that UVB is blocked by glass and plastic, so you can’t give your lizard UVB by placing its terrarium in front of an open window.
In addition to UVB, since Sudan plated lizards are day-active, it’s beneficial to provide an additional daylight-spectrum lamp to make sure the enclosure is brightly illuminated.
Sudan plated lizards should have a basking surface temperature of 105-110°F, with a cool side temperature of 75-80°F. Nighttime temps can drop as low as 60°F. Provide heat for your Sudan plated lizard by imitating the sun with a halogen heat lamp placed on one side of the enclosure. Do not use ceramic heat emitters (CHEs), heat mats, red bulbs, or blue bulbs, as these are not as effective.
Humidity and Substrate
Plated lizards need dry air and access to a humid burrow or hideout, creating a humidity gradient of 20-80%.
Sudan plated lizards enjoy burrowing, so it’s a good idea to provide a thick layer of substrate to help accommodate this instinct. Substrate should be at least 4” deep and completely replaced every 3-4 months.
Enclosure Enrichment
It’s terribly boring for a Sudan plated lizard to be stuck in an enclosure with nothing in it except substrate and food/water bowls. Sudan plated lizards tend to appreciate a fairly cluttered enclosure that gives them plenty of things to hide in. A barren terrarium is boring to look at and boring for your plated lizard to live in. Make the most of your terrarium by adding a variety of enrichment items for your pet to climb and explore.
Reproduction and Lifecycle
Sudan plated lizards reproduce by laying eggs (oviparous). Breeding usually occurs once a year. During the breeding season, males become territorial and may compete for mates. They have been observed displaying brighter throat colors and sometimes wrestling or chasing rival males to establish dominance. Despite their shy nature, males will defend a good territory (with basking and nesting spots) by attempting to intimidate or drive off other males, especially when a receptive female is present. Courtship is not well-documented, but likely involves head-bobbing displays and pursuit of the female.
A female usually lays a small clutch of eggs in a hidden, humid spot. Typically, 2 eggs are laid at once, though on occasion, she might lay up to 4 eggs if conditions are ideal. Each egg is relatively large (for a lizard of this size) and has a leathery shell. Females bury the eggs in damp soil or under leaf litter to keep them moist and protected. There is no further parental care after the eggs are laid. The mother leaves the nest area, and the eggs develop on their own.
Incubation lasts roughly 3-4 months, depending on temperature. Hatchlings emerge as miniature versions of the adults. A newborn Sudan plated lizard is about 4-6 inches including the tail. They are fully independent at birth. As soon as they dig their way out of the nest, they must fend for themselves. Young plated lizards tend to have more contrast in their coloration, with the juveniles often showing bolder spots or patterns, which may fade as they mature. They grow steadily over the next few years, reaching sexual maturity in 2-3 years.
In terms of lifespan, these lizards are relatively long-lived for a reptile of their size. In the wild, many might not survive beyond 5-8 years due to predation, but in captivity, they commonly live around 10 years and sometimes far longer. With excellent care and the absence of predators, individuals have surpassed 20 years of age. This slow, steady life cycle of low reproductive output but decent longevity means population stability depends on adults living multiple years and reproducing repeatedly. Fortunately, in their natural habitat, Sudan plated lizards have a high survival rate once they reach adulthood, thanks to their armor.
Conservation Status
The Sudan plated lizard is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. This means that, as of the latest assessment (2021), it is not considered at risk of extinction in the wild. The species has a broad range across Africa and is common in many local areas, indicating a stable overall population. There are no major threats identified as significantly impacting this species at present.
One potential issue is the pet trade. Sudan plated lizards have become quite popular in the exotic pet market because of their hardiness and impressive appearance. They are often noted as being difficult to breed in captivity, so a large percentage of individuals for sale are likely wild-caught imports. Unregulated or excessive collection for the pet trade could deplete local populations. So far, this doesn’t appear to have caused significant declines, but it’s something to monitor.
Currently, there are no species-specific conservation programs targeted at Sudan plated lizards. Largely because they have not been identified as needing urgent protection. They do, however, benefit from general wildlife conservation measures. Many live within protected areas (national parks and reserves) across Africa, which safeguard their habitat and thus their populations.