The Lizard Lighthouse Reptile Rescue

23/05/2025

We want to see your turtles!🐢🐢🐢🐢

Happy World Turtle Day from USARK!

This is a day to celebrate and help protect turtles and tortoises, and to increase awareness and protection for their fragmented and threatened habitats.
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Illustration by Adeline Robinson Art

13/05/2025

Meet Linda – the curious queen of mealtime!

This goofy girl is Linda, a leopard gecko with a BIG personality packed into a tiny, spotted package! Linda has been charming us since February 2024, and she’s got one mission in life: to never miss a meal (or a chance to supervise them)!

When her foster mom starts feeding the foster room, Linda jumps up to her door like she’s placing her lunch order—it’s absolutely hilarious and 100% adorable.

Linda does have a small imperfection on one of her eyelids, which just needs a little extra love during shedding times. But trust us—Linda’s sass and snack-loving spirit more than make up for it!

She’ll need at least a 20-gallon enclosure to stretch out and enjoy her best lizard life.

Ready to add a little silly to your setup? Linda’s waiting to leap into your heart (and possibly onto her enclosure door again at dinner time).

Apply to adopt at www.lizardlighthouse.org/adopt or send us a message to learn more!

11/05/2025

Thinking About Fostering? We Could Really Use You.

Fostering is one of the most powerful ways you can help a reptile in need, and it doesn’t take years of experience or a huge amount of space. It just takes compassion, commitment, and a little bit of time.

When you foster for The Lizard Lighthouse, you’re not just giving a reptile a temporary place to stay—you’re giving them a chance to heal, feel safe, and get ready for their forever home.

Why foster?

-You help us open space for more surrenders
-You give reptiles a calm environment to recover and adjust
-You get to know their personality, which helps with adoption
-You make a huge difference without a permanent commitment

We provide all the necessary supplies—enclosures, lights, heating, hides, and more. You just provide the food and the daily care!

Interested in becoming a foster home?
Visit https://lizardlighthouse.org/foster or send us a message to learn more.

05/05/2025

Remember that post the other day about how expensive exotic vet care can be?
This is our latest invoice:
🔹 Sick Exotic Examinations – $68.00
🔹 Recheck Exam + Radiographs – $115.00
🔹 Sick Exotic Exams (3 @ $70 each) – $210.00
🔹 Multiple Exams + Radiographs – $160.00
🔹 Ofloxacin Ophthalmic Drops – $35.00
🔹 Sick Exotic Examination – $68.00
🔹 Recheck Exam – $78.00
🔹 Radiographs – $160.00
🔹 Cytology – $32.00

These costs add up fast, but we never want finances to be the reason a reptile doesn't get the care they need. Every animal we take in deserves a chance at a healthy life, and your support makes that possible.

If you’re able to help, please consider donating through this Facebook post or at our website:

03/05/2025

UVB lighting is absolutely essential for most reptiles, not just for basking, but for their overall health and well-being. In the wild, reptiles get natural sunlight, which provides the UVB rays they need to:

* Synthesize vitamin D3
* Absorb calcium properly
* Build and maintain strong bones
* Support their immune systems
* Regulate mood, behavior, and activity levels

Without UVB, many reptiles are at serious risk of developing metabolic bone disease (MBD), a painful and often fatal condition that causes bone deformities, fractures, and muscle weakness. The good news? MBD is completely preventable with the right care.

Even species that were once thought not to need UVB—like leopard geckos, ball pythons, and other nocturnal reptiles—are now shown to benefit from low-level UVB exposure. As reptile care evolves with new research, we now know that UVB helps most reptiles thrive, not just survive.

Just like with heat, UVB lighting needs to be:

* The correct strength and type for your species
* Positioned at the right distance inside the enclosure
* Replaced regularly (typically every 6–12 months, depending on the bulb and brand)

Reptile care has come a long way, and we’re here to help you stay up to date. Whether you're adopting from us or just doing your best to improve your setup, we’re happy to answer questions and provide guidance.

When we know better, we do better—and reptiles deserve nothing less than the best.

Send a message to learn more

23/04/2025

Happy National Volunteer Week!

Did you know that The Lizard Lighthouse Reptile Rescue is 100% volunteer-run? That means everything we do—from cleaning enclosures to placing reptiles in forever homes—is done by people who donate their time, energy, and heart… all while juggling jobs, school, families, and life.

We don’t get paid—we do it because these animals matter.

Here’s just a snapshot of what our amazing volunteers do every single day:
• Clean enclosures and feed foster animals
• Administer medications and monitor health
• Drive miles and miles to pick up surrendered reptiles
• Take animals to vet visits and pay the invoices
• Fundraise, update our website, and manage social media
• Process foster and adoption applications
• Represent the rescue at expos and community events
• Answer messages, educate the public, and spread the word
• And so much more—rain or shine, day or night

We do this in between shifts, classes, parenting, and everything else life throws at us. And we wouldn’t trade it for anything.

To every single one of our volunteers: THANK YOU. You are the reason this rescue exists. Your compassion, commitment, and hard work make a difference in every life we save.

21/04/2025

Reptile husbandry has come a long way in the past 20 years, and one of the most important things we can do as reptile keepers is stay up to date with modern care standards.

Here at The Lizard Lighthouse, we’ve seen firsthand how outdated advice can stick around for way too long. Some things that were once common are now known to be ineffective, or even harmful. Here are just a few examples:

Red Heat Lamps: Once the standard for night heat, but we now know reptiles can see red light, and it disrupts their sleep. Modern alternatives like ceramic heat emitters or deep heat projectors provide warmth without the stress.

Heat Rocks: These can cause burns and offer very little ambient warmth. Instead, we now use overhead radiant heat and thermostatically controlled heat sources to mimic more natural basking.

Heat Mats Without Thermostats: These were often used as the only heat source, but without a thermostat, they can overheat and become dangerous. Today, they're used cautiously and always with a thermostat and proper insulation.

UVB Lighting: Many reptiles previously thought not to need UVB, like leopard geckos and ball pythons, are now known to benefit from it for bone and immune health.

Enclosures: Reptiles were often kept in enclosures far too small for their species, with little more than a hide and water dish. Today’s standards emphasize larger, enriched habitats that support natural behaviors like climbing, digging, and thermoregulation. Bigger really is better when it comes to enclosure size!

Feeding Practices: Gone are the days of only feeding crickets or pinkies. Gut-loading, supplementing, and diet variety are essential now.

Co-Housing: Used to be common but now we know many reptiles prefer solitude and can become stressed or even injured when housed together.

Science, research, and experience are helping us improve reptile care every day, and we’re always learning right alongside our amazing community of keepers and adopters!

19/04/2025

Happy Easter!

The Lighthouse crew has the weekend off, so apologies if we don't get back to messages right away. 🐣🐇

18/04/2025

Interested in adopting a reptile from The Lizard Lighthouse? Here’s how it works!

We want every adoption to be a great fit for both the animal and the adopter, so we follow a few simple steps:

1. Submit an adoption application – This helps us get to know you and your experience level.

2. Show us your setup – We ask for photos of your enclosure to make sure it meets the animal’s needs. If it’s not quite there yet, no problem—we’ll offer suggestions to help you get it just right!

3. Approval & adoption fee – Once your setup is approved, you’ll pay the adoption fee.

4. Getting your new pet home – We’ll coordinate with our awesome volunteers to arrange pickup or delivery.

More info—including our adoption application—can be found on our website: www.lizardlighthouse.org

Every animal deserves a safe, loving home, and we’re here to support you through the process!

Ready to adopt? Visit our site or message us with questions!

16/04/2025

A friendly reminder: Don’t let your reptile collection turn into a reptile situation.

We totally get it. You get one gecko, and suddenly you’re googling if you have room for a second (or fifth) enclosure. Reptiles are fascinating, adorable, and surprisingly addictive—but it’s really easy to get in over your head.

Here’s the thing:
Reptiles might not bark, meow, or knock over your plants (well, some do), but they still require time, space, money, and proper care. And each one has its own specific needs—heating, lighting, humidity, diet—you name it.

So before you add another scaly roommate to your home, ask yourself:
Do I have the time and resources to care for this animal properly?
Do I already feel maxed out on feeding, cleaning, or vet bills?
Am I setting this animal up for a lifetime of good care—or just winging it?

We’re not anti-collection, we’re just pro-responsibility. When people take on too many reptiles too quickly, they often end up overwhelmed—and unfortunately, that’s how many animals end up here at the rescue.

Love reptiles? Us too. That’s why we say: go slow, plan ahead, and make sure each addition is a thoughtful one.

Need advice? Reach out! We're always happy to chat before things get out of hand (or tail).

14/04/2025

Thank you to everyone who stopped by and said hello at Nebraska Reptile Breeders Expo today! So many animals went to their forever homes and we met some awesome humans!

12/04/2025

Tomorrow is the big day! Come see us at Nebraska Reptile Breeders Expo in La Vista! We are going to have SO MANY adoptable animals! TONS of leopard geckos, a couple ball pythons, a corn snake, a boa, some bearded dragons...something for everyone!