Evidence: Reptile (reptile) nutrition
Source: Europe PMC (Europe PubMed Central) REST search — first-hand peer-reviewed abstract records, pulled 2026-08-01. Queries covered nutrient requirements, diet formulation, supplementation and deficiency for reptile. The cluster returns 11 representative nutrition studies with abstracts below. Abstract text is verbatim from source; each study is traceable by PMID.
Studies
- PMID 42121734 (2026, Animals : an open access journal from MDPI) — A Large Lizard in a Small Islet: Abundance, Body Growth, and Diet of <i>Podarcis pityusensis</i> from Es Vaixell (Balearic Islands, Spain).. Abstract (opening): The islet of Vaixell, off the west coast of Ibiza (Balearic Islands, Spain), is home to a native population of the Pityusic wall lizard, <i>Podarcis pityusensis</i>, with the largest body size recorded for the species. These lizards live in extreme environmental conditions on an islet with a small surface area covered by very sparse vegetation. The sex ratio is balanced, and a very high incidence of missing toes and autotomized tails is observed, indicating strong intraspecific competition involving both males and females. The body growth rate, adjusted using the Gompertz model, is intense and, apparently, juvenile lizards quickly reach relatively large body sizes. This fast body growth is probably a strategy against predation pressure from conspecifics. In <i>P. pityusensis</i> from Vaixell, the peak growth acceleration is prenatal and practically coincides with the moment of hatching. The diet consists mainly of aggregated prey, such as ants, with the inclusion of marine subsidies, such as halophyllous and littoral isopods, and a lower consumption of plant matter compared to other insular populations of lizards from the Balearic Islands. The lizards of Vaixell are an excellent example of the adaptive response of a lacertid lizard to the extreme conditions on the small coastal islets of the Mediterranean, with very small available areas, high population density, but a small population size, of about 50 to 100 lizards, which also reach a remarkable longevity. *[CC BY — Open Access, verbatim with attribution.]*
Source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42121734/
- PMID 41788176 (2026, Royal Society open science) — Desert lizards modulate nutritional responses to match seasonal biological needs.. Abstract (opening): Animals in extreme environments such as deserts experience severe seasonal fluctuations in abiotic conditions and resources. Under these conditions, they must obtain macronutrients in optimal amounts and ratios to meet their nutritional requirements, which themselves vary with seasonal changes in physiological and life-history processes. To understand whether nutritional intakes and retention align with key life-history events across seasons, we examined the nutritional ecology of the desert-dwelling lizard, <i>Saara hardwickii</i>. We first measured seasonal variation in the quantity and quality of plants available for these herbivorous lizards. By combining field observations of foraging behaviour with elemental analysis, we determined the carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) levels in dietary intakes and faecal matter across seasons. Intake C : N was lowest and faecal C : N was highest in June, reflecting greater proportional consumption and retention of N, likely meeting increased protein demands during breeding. Conversely, dietary C : N and faecal %N were highest in October, indicating greater consumption and retention of C prior to hibernation. Surprisingly, these putative herbivores consumed insects only around the breeding season, despite their year-round availability. Overall, we show that <i>S. hardwickii</i> use both behavioural diet choice and post-ingestive physiology to match seasonal nutritional needs by differentially consuming and retaining nutrients in an extreme environment. *[CC BY — Open Access, verbatim with attribution.]*
Source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41788176/
- PMID 41607112 (2026, Molecular ecology) — Shaped by Fire: Unravelling the Impact of Fire on Lizard Gut Microbiome.. Abstract (opening): In recent decades, wildfire regimes have changed significantly, with increases in frequency, severity and area affected, leading to major habitat alterations that may impact species ecology. While fire's role in plant ecology is well studied, its effects on animal biotic interactions remain poorly understood. In northern Portugal, where wildfires are common, the native rock-dwelling lizard Podarcis lusitanicus may thrive postfire due to its preference for open rocky outcrops, which expand after fires. This suggests not only resilience but also a capacity for persistence in postfire disturbances driven by habitat preferences. However, changes in prey availability after fire induce dietary shifts in this insectivorous lizard, potentially affecting trophic interactions and, consequently, gut microbiota communities. Gut microbiota influence host fitness through effects on nutrition, immunity and behaviour; on the other hand, gut microbiota are affected by variations in diet and environment. This study assessed how fire history affects P. lusitanicus gut microbiota. Sampling occurred across 12 sites in northern Portugal, representing three fire histories: long-unburned, burned in 2016 and burned in 2022. Cloacal swabs were analysed by metabarcoding the V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene. Results showed that gut bacterial composition varied with fire history, as well as with sex, body size and diet. Females had higher microbial richness despite similar diet richness between sexes. While microbiome composition shifted, predicted microbiome function remained relatively stable, indicating both resilience and ecological flexibility in fire-prone environments. These findings enhance understanding of how lizard microbiomes respond to environmental disturbances and may help predict host and microbiota tolerance under changing fire regimes. *[CC BY — Open Access, verbatim with attribution.]*
Source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41607112/
- PMID 41978438 (2026, The Journal of experimental biology) — Linking morphology and performance: skeletal growth and sex-specific form-function relationships in an agamid lizard.. Abstract (opening): Linking morphology to performance is essential for understanding how skeletal growth shapes functional capabilities. In sexually dimorphic species, males and females often experience distinct selection pressures, leading to differences in growth rate, allometric patterns and adult performance. Using longitudinal X-ray imaging, we quantified skeletal growth in the agamid lizard, Psammophilus dorsalis, from juvenile to adult stages, to examine sex differences in growth trajectories, allometric patterns, whole-body performance and morphology-performance relationships. We found that body length increased non-linearly in both sexes and growth trajectories were parallel. Key morphological traits scaled isometrically relative to body length. As adults, sexes did not differ in absolute sprint speed, but males had higher absolute bite force. Hindlimb length and body shape poorly predicted sprint speed, but head length predicted bite force in females. Overall, our results suggest broadly similar growth patterns and performance outcomes in both sexes, indicating possible constraints on morphology and performance. *[CC BY — Open Access, verbatim with attribution.]*
Source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41978438/
- PMID 41492004 (2026, Scientific reports) — Trends and weather events in long-term densities of an insular lizard.. Abstract (opening): Lizard populations have been traditionally considered unusually stable. However, there are very few examples to verify this hypothesis on long-term studied populations. Over almost four decades, we have obtained long time series of the abundance of Lilford's Wall Lizard, Podarcis lilfordi, from all known populations of Menorca (Balearic Islands, Spain). Lizard densities were estimated from line transects data using N-mixture models. Irregular time series were then checked for the presence or absence of a monotonic trend and for density dependence of each population. With multiple regression models we studied the relationship between weather events and the annual abundance of lizards. Density dependence was detected only in two populations: Addaia Petita and Binicodrell Gros. The analysis with EGSS and OUSS models, as well as the results with a Bayesian analysis, showed that most populations seem stable over the years, with a positive and statistically significant trend in five of the 17 populations under study. Only on Sanitja Island the population of lizards exhibits a significantly negative trend. Weather events have a very variable influence on each of these populations. In two small islets, Mel and Ses Mones, the annual number of cloudy days have a negative effect on the abundance of lizards. In Bledas Island, with an exposed geographical situation, we observe a significantly negative effect of all three weather events considered: storms, cloudy days and strong winds. Surprisingly, in Aire and Addaia Gran islands, the annual number of days with storms had a significantly positive effect, probably because the marine subsidies contributed to trophic availability of these two islands by the storms. This work is a first attempt to establish the real abundance of this species, its long-term trend and the influence of weather events on densities of a large set of populations. The relevance of weather events is strongly different on each population and depends on environmental conditions of each population, especially lizard abundance itself, the island surface, geographical location and degree of exposure to weather events. *[CC BY — Open Access, verbatim with attribution.]*
Source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41492004/
- PMID 42306785 (2026, Data in brief) — ArmourTraits: A comparative dataset on the ecological and evolutionary correlates of dermal armour in squamates.. Abstract (opening): The evolution of defensive traits is a central topic in evolutionary biology, yet quantitative data linking variation in defensive morphology to ecological and environmental factors remain limited. <i>ArmourTraits</i> is a comprehensive dataset that quantifies variation in body armour across 131 species from two distantly related squamate lineages, Cordyliformes and Anguimorpha, which convergently evolved armour in the form of osteoderms. The dataset integrates morphological measurements of osteoderm expression and hindlimb skeletal traits derived from micro-computed tomography scans, species-level ecological, life-history, and environmental data, as well as estimated predation risk and a time-calibrated phylogeny. By providing standardised, quantitative metrics of defensive morphology alongside locomotor traits and associated ecological variables, <i>ArmourTraits</i> enables phylogenetic comparative analyses of ecological correlates, functional trade-offs, convergent evolution, and the diversification of defensive traits across squamates. *[CC BY — Open Access, verbatim with attribution.]*
Source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42306785/
- PMID 42089105 (2026, PeerJ) — Universes within universes: microbiome diversity associated with different body parts of the sand lizard (<i>Lacerta agilis</i>).. Abstract (opening): The bodies of animals host millions of microbial communities collectively known as the microbiome. The microbiome plays a crucial role in various processes related to the host's health and well-being. Although our understanding of the microbiome's importance to host functioning is growing rapidly, many aspects remain poorly understood. One such aspect is the role of the microbiome in chemical communication. To address this question, we used the sand lizard (<i>Lacerta agilis</i>), a reptile with well-developed chemosensory abilities and commonly distributed in Central Europe. Our first goal was to characterize the bacterial microbiome associated with different body parts potentially involved in chemical signalling (<i>e.g.</i>, femoral glands, cloaca, and skin). Additionally, we examined sex-related differences in the microbiome that could be connected to intraspecific communication. Over two years, a total of 274 samples were collected. Amplicon sequencing of the 16S rRNA V3-V4 region revealed significant variation in microbial diversity across body parts, with the skin hosting the most diverse and balanced communities. In contrast, the cloaca and femoral glands contained less diverse but more specialised assemblages. No differences in microbial diversity between sexes were observed, but the year of sampling was an important factor, suggesting a highly dynamic microbiome in sand lizards. There was minimal overlap in the number of unique operational taxonomic units (OTUs) between body parts, indicating a small core microbiome (∼1% of shared taxa). Sex differences in tissue-specific bacteria were more pronounced in the cloaca, supporting the idea that the cloacal microbiome is highly specialised. Our findings suggest that microbial communities vary significantly among body parts, with strong tissue specificity, indicating that each region provides a distinct ecological niche. This study offers promising directions for future research into how host-associated microbiomes could influence chemical communication in vertebrates. *[CC BY — Open Access, verbatim with attribution.]*
Source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42089105/
- PMID 42197470 (2026, Microorganisms) — Temperature Elevation Alters the Gut Antibiotic Resistome and Carbohydrate-Active Enzymes in the Desert Lizard <i>Eremias roborowskii</i>.. Abstract (opening): In the context of global warming, the resulting persistent thermal stress has become a critical environmental factor influencing the structural and functional homeostasis of gut microbiota in reptiles. In this study, <i>Eremias roborowskii</i>, a desert lizard endemic to the extreme heat conditions of the Turpan Basin, was selected as an ideal model for evaluating the ecological impacts of global warming. Meanwhile, a 60-day controlled laboratory experiment was conducted, exposing the lizards to normal (30 °C ± 1 °C), elevated (37 °C ± 1 °C), and high (42 °C ± 1 °C) temperatures to reflect future climate scenarios. Using shotgun metagenomic sequencing, the gut microbiota was characterized to investigate the dynamics of the antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes) under heat stress. The results reveal that elevated temperature selectively promotes heat-tolerant gut microbiota, such as <i>Tetragenococcus</i> and <i>Faecalicatena</i>, by altering host energy metabolism and modulating heat stress adaptation to maintain intestinal homeostasis. Moreover, the observed increase in resistome diversity and richness under elevated temperature may be attributed to temperature-induced shifts in gut microbial composition, particularly the enrichment of heat-tolerant ARG-carrying bacterial taxa. Metabolic changes in CAZymes were caused by gut microbiota remodeling, which optimized carbon utilization and preferentially allocated cell wall synthesis and repair. Furthermore, the pentose phosphate pathway and amino acid biosynthesis pathways were upregulated, providing NADPH for antioxidant defense and precursors for protein synthesis, respectively, thereby contributing to the maintenance of microbial cellular homeostasis. Our study provides a theoretical basis for understanding functional gene adaptation strategies in wildlife microbiomes due to climate change. *[CC BY — Open Access, verbatim with attribution.]*
Source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42197470/
- PMID 42117868 (2026, Biology) — Thermophysiology and Locomotor Performance of the Andean Lizard <i>Phymaturus williamsi</i>: Vulnerable to Rising Temperatures?. Abstract (opening): Ambient temperature strongly influences the physiology and performance of ectotherms, making it essential to understand their responses to thermal variation under climate change. We evaluated locomotor performance and thermal vulnerability in a population of <i>Phymaturus williamsi</i> from the Argentine Andes. Field measurements included body (<i>T<sub>b</sub></i>) and operative temperatures (<i>T<sub>e</sub></i>), while laboratory analyses assessed preferred temperature (<i>T<sub>pref</sub></i>), thermoregulatory effectiveness, critical thermal limits, and thermal sensitivity of locomotion (endurance, sprint, and long runs). <i>P. williamsi</i> exhibited a preferred temperature higher than field body temperatures, together with high thermoregulatory effectiveness (<i>E</i> = 0.83) and a broad thermal tolerance range (<i>TT</i> = 35.41 °C). Optimal temperatures for locomotor performance were lower than <i>T<sub>pref</sub></i>, providing no support for the thermal coadaptation hypothesis. Despite low environmental thermal quality, individuals maintained body temperatures close to performance optima through effective behavioral thermoregulation. Thermal vulnerability indices indicated relatively high tolerance to projected warming scenarios. However, our results suggest that vulnerability to climate change is constrained more by the availability of suitable thermal microhabitats than by intrinsic physiological limits. We conclude that <i>P. williamsi</i> is a eurythermic and effective thermoregulator with thermally sensitive locomotor performance, whose persistence will depend on habitat structure and thermal heterogeneity. *[CC BY — Open Access, verbatim with attribution.]*
Source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42117868/
- PMID 41786768 (2026, Scientific data) — Chromosome-scale genome assembly and annotation of the water monitor lizard, Varanus salvator.. Abstract (opening): Species of the genus Varanus exhibit substantial variation in body size, making them an excellent model system for studying evolutionary biology. Their genomes can provide valuable insights into the evolutionary mechanisms underlying body size diversity in vertebrates. Here, we presented a chromosome-level genome assembly for the water monitor lizard (Varanus salvator), generated and annotated through an integrated multi-omics approach. The assembled genome spans 1,645 Mb, with contig and scaffold N50 values of 27.34 Mb and 12.63 Mb, respectively. Approximately 97.4% of the assembled sequences were anchored onto 20 pseudochromosomes using Hi-C contact data. Repetitive elements accounted for approximately 34.0% of the genome. Assembly completeness was assessed with BUSCO, revealing that 96.7% of the conserved vertebrate BUSCO genes were complete. We identified 19,347 protein-coding genes by integrating evidence from three complementary approaches. Among these, 98.8% were functionally annotated using at least one of six major protein databases. This high-quality, chromosomal-level genome provides a critical resource for future studies in reptilian biology, encompassing evolution, ecological adaptation, and conservation. *[CC BY — Open Access, verbatim with attribution.]*
Source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41786768/
- PMID 41632107 (2026, Acta veterinaria Hungarica) — *[Paraphrased derived summary — non-Open-Access source.]* Because nutritional metabolic bone disease (calcium and vitamin D3 deficiency) is common in pet reptiles, this study exposed 36 one-month-old bearded dragons (Pogona vitticeps), housed singly and fed five times weekly with daily supplementation, to four dietary supplements with or without artificial UVB. Blood was sampled from 18 animals across ages 7–16 months. UVB raised both total calcium (P = 0.0489) and ionized calcium (P = 0.0222); a 24-hour fast before sampling significantly lowered uric acid (P < 0.0001); and total protein was lower in juveniles (P = 0.0016), an age effect the authors deemed clinically relevant. Supplement treatments did not change body weight or length, and all animals remained clinically healthy.
Source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41632107/
Source text: pdf-raw/evidence/europepmc_reptile_nutrition_2026-08-01.txt (Europe PMC first-hand abstracts, pulled 2026-08-01).
License & attribution
Mixed licensing per COPYRIGHT_POLICY §3: Open Access (CC BY / CC BY-NC / CC BY-NC-ND) studies are reproduced verbatim with attribution under their specific CC license; non-Open-Access studies are paraphrased as derived fact summaries (numbers and proper nouns preserved, sentences rewritten). Original records:
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42121734/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41788176/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41607112/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41978438/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41492004/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42306785/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42089105/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42197470/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42117868/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41786768/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41632107/
Cleaning removal log (2026-08-05, codebuddy)
PMID 41732403 — Trematode (Lobosorchis) host switch between fish (snappers/wrasses) — fish, not a reptile (rule 2).