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Also commonly known as the Sudan plated lizard, it is more correctly called Broadley’s rough-scaled plated lizard. This lizard is a diurnal, terrestrial insectivore primarily native to parts of eastern and central Africa. They may be present as far south as Kruger National Park in South Africa.

They prefer rocky, semi-open areas within coastal woodland, thicket, moist savannah, and dry savannah habitats, ranging from sea level to 1700m above sea level. They are most frequently found in and around hills and termite mounds, seeming to have a particular liking for rock piles and crevices.

This interesting lizard can be briefly described as looking like a heavily-armored skink, with a long but sturdy body with a short head, blunt, rounded snout, short legs, and a long tail

Size

18 - 24 inches long

Life Span

8 – 10 years

Housing

Giant Plated Lizards are from the Southern and Eastern Africa. The environment should be kept hot and dry. Provide hiding places along with plenty of flat surfaces for basking. Giant Plated Lizards may be kept alone or in pairs. If housed together Giant Plated Lizards should be of similar size to avoid injury. Never house two males together in the same tank. Two females generally get

along well. A male and female will likely breed if housed together.

Provide a bowl of fresh drinking water at all times.

Heating & Lighting

A Giant Plated Lizard’s basking spot should be 95°F. The cool end of the tank can be as cool as 70°F.

Some keepers prefer to mist the environment, although this is not required. Humidity levels should be between 50% - 55%.

Since this is a diurnal species, it requires two light bulbs. One is the heat lamp which also emits UVA. The second is a UVB lamp. The UVB lamp will specifically say UVB on the box. If the box doesn’t say UVB, it’s not UVB.

Substrate

Diet

Giant Plated Lizards are insectivores. Offer a variety of live insects including crickets, mealworms, waxworms, superworms, and cockroaches.

Feed babies twice daily. At 2 months of age you can reduce to once daily. Adults should also eat daily. Dust food with calcium powder daily & a multivitamin once a week. Feed them the amount they will eat in 10 minutes.

Handling and Temperament

Sudan plated lizards are massively food motivated, so they can be fairly easily trained to accept food from feeding tongs. This is a great way to associate your presence with good things. Aside from insects, plated lizards have a special fondness for bright-colored yellow, orange, and red fruits and flowers. These make for great bribes.

When holding your plated lizard, support their body as much as you can — all four feet and as much of the tail as possible. This will help them feel more stable and less likely to start scrambling. If they start to scramble, restrain the legs by pinning them flat to the sides of the lizard’s body.