Long-Tailed Grass Lizard (Takydromus sexlineatus) Care Sheet
The Long-Tailed Grass Lizard (Takydromus sexlineatus), also known as the Asian Grass Lizard, Oriental Long-Tailed Grass Lizard or Six-Striped Long-Tailed Lizard, is a small, extremely active lacertid native to southern China and large areas of Southeast Asia.
Its most distinctive feature is its extraordinarily long tail, which accounts for most of the animal’s total length. The body itself is small and lightly built, allowing these lizards to move rapidly through grasses, shrubs and fine vegetation.
Although Long-Tailed Grass Lizards have historically been inexpensive and commonly encountered in the pet trade, they deserve considerably better husbandry than the small, sparsely furnished tanks in which they have sometimes been kept.
They are active, diurnal, visually oriented lizards requiring:
- Substantial usable climbing space
- Dense vegetation
- Numerous fine branches and stems
- Bright visible-spectrum lighting
- Appropriate UVB
- A proper basking area
- A strong thermal gradient
- Moderate-to-high humidity with good ventilation
- Regular access to drinking droplets
- A varied live-invertebrate diet
- Secure, escape-proof housing
They are best regarded primarily as:
active display animals rather than handling pets.
Quick facts
Scientific name: Takydromus sexlineatus
Common names: Long-Tailed Grass Lizard, Asian Grass Lizard, Oriental Long-Tailed Grass Lizard
Family: Lacertidae
Native range: Southern China and Southeast Asia
Lifestyle: Semi-arboreal; strongly associated with grasses, shrubs and low vegetation
Activity: Diurnal
Adult body length: Approximately 2–2½ in (5–6 cm) snout-to-vent
Total length: Commonly approximately 10–12 in (25–30 cm), most of which is tail
Diet: Insectivorous
Adult enclosure: Approximately 3 × 1½ × 2 ft (90 × 45 × 60 cm) or larger
Day ambient temperature: Approximately 24–27°C (75–81°F)
Basking surface: Approximately 32–35°C (90–95°F)
Cool area: Approximately 21–24°C (70–75°F)
Night temperature: Approximately 18–22°C (64–72°F)
Humidity: Generally around 60–75%, with regular fluctuations and good ventilation
UVB: Recommended as an essential component of modern husbandry
Suggested basking UVI: Approximately 2–3
Housing: Individual housing is simplest; compatible groups can sometimes be maintained in sufficiently large accommodation
Handling: Minimal
Reproduction: Egg-laying
Experience level: Beginner to intermediate when captive-bred and properly established
CITES: Not currently listed
Taxonomy
The accepted scientific name is:
Takydromus sexlineatus
It belongs to:
Family: Lacertidae
Genus: Takydromus
The species occupies an enormous geographical range and considerable variation exists between populations.
Where locality information is available, retain it permanently rather than treating every animal simply as a generic T. sexlineatus.
Natural distribution
Long-Tailed Grass Lizards have a broad Asian distribution.
They occur across areas including:
- Southern China
- Myanmar
- Thailand
- Laos
- Cambodia
- Vietnam
- Peninsular Malaysia
- Parts of Indonesia
- Parts of north-eastern India
The exact distribution varies according to the taxonomic treatment of different populations.
Natural habitat
Long-Tailed Grass Lizards are closely associated with:
- Grasslands
- Shrubby vegetation
- Forest margins
- Agricultural margins
- Tall grasses
- Low bushes
- Secondary vegetation
- Disturbed habitats
They are not primarily terrestrial desert lacertids.
Their extremely elongated bodies and tails are particularly well suited to movement through:
dense grasses and fine vegetation.
Semi-arboreal lifestyle
Although they regularly descend to the ground, much of their activity occurs above ground among:
- Grasses
- Stems
- Branches
- Shrubs
This must be reflected in captivity.
Large amounts of empty floor space do not compensate for an enclosure lacking:
- Branches
- Plants
- Height
- Fine climbing structures
Adult size
The actual body of a Long-Tailed Grass Lizard is remarkably small.
Adult snout-to-vent length is approximately:
2–2½ in (5–6 cm).
The tail can be several times the length of the body.
Total length commonly reaches approximately:
10–12 in (25–30 cm).
Some individuals may become somewhat larger.
The tail
The tail performs important functions in:
- Balance
- Movement
- Navigation through vegetation
It should never be used to:
catch, restrain or lift the animal.
Tail loss
Like many lacertids, Long-Tailed Grass Lizards can deliberately shed their tails as a defensive response.
This is known as:
caudal autotomy.
Tail regrowth
A lost tail can regenerate, but the replacement will not be identical to the original.
Tail loss therefore should never be regarded as:
inconsequential.
Good handling and enclosure design should minimise the risk.
Appearance
The species is:
- Slender
- Lightly built
- Streamlined
Typical colours include:
- Brown
- Tan
- Bronze
- Olive
- Greenish tones
Longitudinal stripes commonly extend along the body.
Some populations and individuals may display:
- Blue-green lateral colouration
- Pale spotting
- Contrasting side stripes
Behaviour
Long-Tailed Grass Lizards are:
fast, alert and highly active.
Healthy animals spend considerable periods:
- Basking
- Hunting
- Exploring
- Moving through vegetation
When threatened, they may initially remain motionless before suddenly disappearing into cover.
Handling
This is not an ideal species for frequent handling.
Their:
- Small body
- Extraordinary speed
- Delicate tail
- Escape ability
make unnecessary handling undesirable.
Moving an animal
Where possible, encourage the lizard to:
walk onto a branch or into a container.
If physical restraint is genuinely necessary, carefully support the body.
Never restrain the animal by:
the tail.
Escape risk
Long-Tailed Grass Lizards can escape through surprisingly small gaps.
The enclosure must have:
- Secure doors
- Fine ventilation mesh
- Protected cable openings
- No gaps around fittings
- Secure lighting and misting penetrations
Always check the enclosure carefully before introducing the animal.
Enclosure philosophy
The objective is to recreate a:
bright, warm, densely vegetated grass-and-shrub environment.
Usable three-dimensional space matters considerably more than an empty enclosure of apparently impressive dimensions.
Adult enclosure
For an adult or carefully managed pair-sized setup, approximately:
3 × 1½ × 2 ft (90 × 45 × 60 cm)
should be regarded as a sensible modern starting point.
Larger accommodation is preferable.
Why not a tiny enclosure?
Historically, this species has sometimes been recommended for very small tanks.
That approach substantially underestimates:
- Activity
- Tail length
- Basking behaviour
- Climbing behaviour
- Need for environmental gradients
A small-bodied animal does not necessarily require:
a small enclosure.
Group enclosure
Where compatible animals are maintained together, increase enclosure dimensions substantially.
Approximately:
3 × 2 × 3 ft (90 × 60 × 90 cm)
or larger provides considerably greater opportunity for:
- Multiple basking positions
- Feeding separation
- Visual barriers
- Retreat from social pressure
Enclosure orientation
Both:
horizontal length and vertical structure
are valuable.
This species does not require an extremely tall chameleon-style enclosure, but it should have substantially more usable vertical complexity than a conventional terrestrial lacertid setup.
Ventilation
Provide:
good cross ventilation.
Humidity should not be maintained by sealing the enclosure and creating stagnant air.
Furnishings
Provide an extensive network of:
- Fine branches
- Twigs
- Flexible vines
- Tall grasses
- Cork branches
- Live plants
- Artificial foliage where appropriate
Fine climbing structures
Thin stems are particularly important.
The lizard should be able to move naturally:
from stem to stem throughout the enclosure.
Vegetation
Dense vegetation provides:
- Security
- Climbing opportunities
- Drinking surfaces
- Visual barriers
- Shade
- Humidity microclimates
The enclosure should not consist of only a few isolated branches surrounded by empty space.
Live plants
Suitable options can include:
- Pothos
- Spider plants
- Small Schefflera
- Suitable grasses
- Other sturdy non-toxic tropical plants
Plant choice should reflect the enclosure’s:
- Lighting
- Temperature
- Humidity
- Available space
Plant safety
Any live plant used must be:
- Non-toxic
- Pesticide-free
- Free from harmful fertiliser residues
Commercial plants should be thoroughly washed before introduction.
Where necessary, replace contaminated surface compost.
Substrate
Suitable substrates include mixtures based on:
- Organic topsoil
- Coconut fibre
- Leaf litter
- Fine orchid bark
The substrate should retain some moisture without remaining:
waterlogged.
Substrate depth
Approximately:
2–4 in (5–10 cm)
is suitable for general maintenance.
Breeding females benefit from deeper areas suitable for egg deposition.
Leaf litter
A layer of clean leaf litter provides:
- Cover
- Microhabitats
- Enrichment
- Moisture retention
Bioactive husbandry
A properly established bioactive enclosure can work particularly well for this species.
Suitable clean-up organisms may include:
- Springtails
- Appropriate isopods
Bioactive does not mean:
maintenance-free.
Temperature
Long-Tailed Grass Lizards are active diurnal basking reptiles.
They require a proper thermal gradient rather than a uniformly warm enclosure.
Daytime ambient temperature
Maintain most of the enclosure around:
24–27°C (75–81°F).
Basking temperature
Provide a localised basking surface around:
32–35°C (90–95°F).
Important distinction
The basking temperature is:
not the temperature of the entire enclosure.
The animal must be able to warm itself and then retreat into substantially cooler vegetation.
Cool area
Maintain a cooler region around:
21–24°C (70–75°F).
Thermal gradient
The enclosure should contain:
- A warm basking area
- Warm surrounding vegetation
- Intermediate zones
- Cool shaded retreats
The lizard should choose where it wishes to position itself.
Night temperature
Heating can normally be reduced substantially overnight.
Approximately:
18–22°C (64–72°F)
is suitable for most established animals.
Ireland and UK winters
If the reptile room falls significantly below this range during winter, supplementary thermostatically controlled heating may be necessary.
Heating
Provide heat from:
above.
A low-wattage halogen basking lamp is generally suitable.
Heat mats
A heat mat beneath the enclosure does not reproduce the natural basking behaviour of this diurnal lacertid and should not be used as the principal heat source.
Thermostat
Heating equipment should be appropriately controlled to reduce the risk of:
dangerous overheating.
Temperature monitoring
Measure:
- Basking surface
- Warm ambient area
- Cool area
- Night minimum
An infrared thermometer is useful for checking basking surfaces.
Digital probe thermometers are useful for ambient temperatures.
UVB
Long-Tailed Grass Lizards are:
diurnal basking lacertids.
Modern husbandry should therefore include appropriate UVB.
Suggested basking UVI
A practical target at the principal exposed basking position is approximately:
UVI 2–3.
UV gradient
The enclosure should also provide:
- UVI around 1–2 in partially exposed areas
- UVI below 1 within dense vegetation
- Near-zero UV retreats
What this means in practice
Use a quality:
linear T5 UVB lamp
covering part of the enclosure.
For many typical setups, a lower-to-moderate output T5 UVB system can provide suitable exposure when installed at the correct distance.
Do not choose UVB by percentage alone
A lamp marked:
6%, 7%, 12% or similar
does not automatically produce the correct exposure.
Actual UV reaching the animal depends on:
- Lamp model
- Reflector
- Distance
- Mesh
- Branch height
- Fixture orientation
Mesh matters
Fine mesh between the lamp and animal can significantly reduce UVB.
This must be considered when positioning:
basking branches.
Practical UVB setup
The objective is straightforward:
approximately UVI 2–3 where the animal openly basks, with substantially lower UV available elsewhere.
The basking branch should therefore sit beneath both:
- Heat
- UVB
while surrounding vegetation creates shaded escape routes.
UV meter
A suitable UV meter provides the most reliable way to determine:
actual UVI at animal level.
Visible-spectrum lighting
Bright visible-spectrum illumination is important.
The enclosure should appear:
bright and sunlit during the day rather than dim and gloomy.
Daylight LEDs
Good-quality daylight LEDs can supplement:
- UVB
- Basking lighting
and support healthy plant growth.
Photoperiod
Provide approximately:
11–13 hours of daylight
depending on season.
A straightforward maintenance schedule is approximately:
12 hours light / 12 hours dark.
Night lighting
Provide:
complete darkness at night.
Do not use permanent:
- Red bulbs
- Blue bulbs
- Purple bulbs
Humidity
Long-Tailed Grass Lizards require moderate-to-high humidity combined with:
good airflow and periods of surface drying.
General humidity
Approximately:
60–75%
is a useful general range.
Temporary higher peaks following misting are normal.
Humidity gradient
Dense planted areas may remain more humid than:
- Basking branches
- Upper exposed areas
This variation is beneficial.
Misting
Mist approximately:
once or twice daily
depending on:
- Ventilation
- Room humidity
- Season
- Drying rate
Drinking
Long-Tailed Grass Lizards readily drink droplets from:
- Leaves
- Branches
- Enclosure surfaces
Regular misting therefore provides important drinking opportunities.
Water bowl
Provide a small, shallow dish of clean water as an additional drinking source.
It should be:
- Easy to access
- Easy to clean
- Shallow
Do not rely on a water bowl alone where animals preferentially drink from foliage.
Drainage
The enclosure should not remain permanently saturated.
Good drainage reduces:
- Stagnant substrate
- Mould
- Excessive bacterial growth
Diet
Long-Tailed Grass Lizards are primarily:
insectivorous.
They naturally consume a wide variety of small insects and other arthropods.
Suitable captive feeders
Offer appropriately sized:
- Crickets
- Small locusts
- Small roach nymphs
- Black soldier fly larvae
- Fruit flies
- Bean beetles
- Small silkworms
- Small moths
- Appropriate flies
Dietary variety
A varied feeder rotation is strongly preferable to feeding:
crickets alone.
Prey size
Feeders must be appropriately sized for the lizard’s:
small head and jaws.
Avoid excessively large prey.
Adult feeding
Healthy adults can generally be offered food:
4–5 days per week.
Offer several appropriately sized insects rather than large numbers of oversized prey.
Adjust feeding according to:
- Body condition
- Age
- Sex
- Activity
- Reproductive status
Juvenile feeding
Growing juveniles should normally receive appropriately sized food:
daily.
Gut loading
Conventional feeder insects should be properly gut loaded before feeding.
A varied gut-loading diet may include appropriate:
- Leafy greens
- Vegetables
- Commercial insect gut-loading diets
Calcium
Dust suitable feeders lightly with:
plain calcium.
Multivitamin
Use an appropriate reptile multivitamin:
periodically and conservatively.
Vitamin D3
Where effective UVB is provided, supplemental vitamin D3 should generally be used:
sparingly.
Supplement schedules
There is no single supplementation schedule suitable for every enclosure and every product.
Frequency depends on:
- Product concentration
- Diet
- UV exposure
- Age
- Reproductive status
Over-supplementation
Do not heavily coat every feeder with multiple supplements.
Both:
- Nutritional deficiency
- Excessive supplementation
can cause health problems.
Social housing
Social housing requires more caution than the species’ small size might suggest.
Adult males
Multiple mature males may display:
- Territorial behaviour
- Chasing
- Competition
- Stress
For most keepers:
one mature male per enclosure is the safest approach.
Male and female groups
A compatible male and one or more females may sometimes be maintained in sufficiently spacious, densely furnished accommodation.
However, group housing is:
not automatically preferable.
Visual barriers
Dense vegetation should allow animals to:
move completely out of sight of one another.
Monitor every animal
Check that each individual:
- Feeds normally
- Basks normally
- Maintains body condition
- Uses the enclosure openly
Persistent:
- Hiding
- Chasing
- Weight loss
- Feeding suppression
can indicate social stress.
Breeding
Long-Tailed Grass Lizards are:
oviparous — egg-laying.
Females may produce several small clutches during a reproductive season.
Breeding condition
Breeding should not be encouraged simply because a young female is physiologically capable of producing eggs.
Females should first reach:
good adult size and condition.
Courtship
Breeding behaviour may include:
- Increased activity
- Visual signalling
- Pursuit
- Male courtship behaviour
Monitor females carefully for:
excessive harassment.
Gravid female
Possible signs include:
- Increased abdominal width
- Visible egg outlines in slender individuals
- Increased feeding initially
- Later appetite reduction
- Restlessness
- Searching behaviour
Egg-laying substrate
Provide a suitable laying area containing at least approximately:
3–4 in (7–10 cm)
of slightly moist, diggable substrate.
A deeper area can be provided where enclosure design permits.
Suitable nesting substrate
A mixture based on:
- Organic topsoil
- Sand
- Coconut fibre
can work well.
The substrate should:
hold a shallow excavation without being wet.
Clutch size
Clutches are normally small.
Approximately:
1–4 eggs
may be produced per clutch.
Multiple clutches
Females may produce several clutches during a reproductive season.
Repeated reproduction places significant demands on:
- Calcium
- Energy
- Hydration
Female condition
Monitor breeding females particularly carefully for:
- Weight loss
- Weakness
- Reduced appetite
- Calcium deficiency
- Failure to lay
Post-laying care
After laying:
- Provide reliable hydration
- Offer nutritious appropriately sized prey
- Maintain sensible calcium provision
- Monitor body condition
- Allow adequate recovery
Egg handling
If eggs are removed for artificial incubation:
- Handle gently
- Avoid unnecessary rotation
- Mark the upper surface if necessary
Incubation medium
Suitable incubation media include:
- Vermiculite
- Perlite
maintained:
moist but not saturated.
Incubation temperature
A moderate incubation range around:
25–27°C (77–81°F)
is a reasonable starting point.
Avoid unnecessarily high temperatures simply to accelerate development.
Incubation duration
Incubation commonly lasts approximately:
5–8 weeks
under suitably warm conditions.
Development may take longer at cooler temperatures.
Hatchlings
Hatchlings are:
extremely small, delicate and fast.
They require exceptionally secure accommodation.
Hatchling enclosure
Provide:
- Fine twigs
- Dense small plants
- Fine ventilation mesh
- Numerous visual barriers
- Gentle basking opportunities
Hatchling temperatures
Maintain daytime ambient temperatures around:
22–25°C (72–77°F)
with a gentle localised basking area around:
28–30°C (82–86°F).
Avoid overheating.
Hatchling UVB
Provide gentle UVB producing approximately:
UVI 1–2
at the exposed basking area.
Hatchling food
Suitable first foods include:
- Flightless fruit flies
- Pinhead crickets
- Tiny roach nymphs
- Bean beetles
- Other very small cultured insects
Hatchling feeding
Feed:
daily.
Hatchling hydration
Fine misting provides drinking droplets.
Avoid saturating tiny hatchlings with powerful spray.
Quarantine
All newly acquired Long-Tailed Grass Lizards should undergo quarantine.
Approximately:
60–90 days
is sensible.
Why quarantine matters
Historically, inexpensive species such as this have frequently entered the hobby through high-volume commercial trade.
Animals of uncertain origin may arrive with:
- Internal parasites
- External parasites
- Dehydration
- Nutritional deficiencies
- Injuries
- Infectious disease
- Poor body condition
Captive-bred animals
Where available, choose:
healthy captive-bred animals from a traceable source.
Quarantine enclosure
A quarantine enclosure should remain biologically appropriate while allowing easy observation of:
- Feeding
- Faeces
- Urates
- Weight
- Behaviour
- General condition
Quarantine should not mean keeping the animal in an inadequate bare box.
Faecal testing
Animals of uncertain or wild origin should ideally receive:
faecal parasite screening.
Do not medicate blindly
Do not routinely administer antiparasitic medication without:
- Diagnosis
- Accurate body weight
- Appropriate dosing
- Veterinary guidance
Common health concerns
Potential problems include:
- Dehydration
- Metabolic bone disease
- Nutritional deficiencies
- Parasites
- Tail loss
- Trauma
- Burns
- Respiratory disease
- Retained shed
- Reproductive problems
Metabolic bone disease
Possible signs include:
- Weak limbs
- Tremors
- Bent limbs
- Soft jaw
- Poor climbing ability
- Fractures
MBD prevention
Prevention requires the combination of:
- Appropriate UVB
- Suitable calcium provision
- Nutritious gut-loaded feeders
- Correct temperatures
No single element substitutes for the others.
Dehydration
Possible signs include:
- Sunken eyes
- Lethargy
- Reduced appetite
- Abnormal urates
- Weight loss
Tail injury
Inspect animals for:
- Damaged tail tips
- Constriction
- Necrosis
- Bite injuries
A damaged tail that becomes:
- Blackened
- Swollen
- Infected
requires veterinary assessment.
Retained shed
Pay particular attention to retained shed around:
- Toes
- Feet
- Tail
Persistent constricting shed can compromise circulation.
Burns
Small reptiles can suffer serious burns from unprotected heating equipment.
Ensure they cannot contact:
- Heat bulbs
- Ceramic heaters
- Hot fixtures
- Exposed heating elements
Respiratory disease
Risk factors include:
- Stagnant humid air
- Persistently wet conditions
- Inappropriate temperatures
- Poor ventilation
Veterinary warning signs
Seek veterinary advice for:
- Persistent wheezing
- Nasal discharge
- Abnormal open-mouth breathing
- Severe lethargy
- Persistent anorexia
- Significant weight loss
- Tremors
- Weakness
- Serious injury
- Suspected infection
- Failure to lay eggs
Cleaning
Spot clean regularly.
Remove:
- Faeces
- Urates
- Dead insects
- Uneaten food
- Rotting vegetation
Water hygiene
Clean and replace drinking water:
daily.
Misting-system hygiene
Automated misting systems should be maintained regularly to prevent:
- Biofilm
- Bacterial contamination
- Blocked nozzles
Bioactive maintenance
Bioactive enclosures still require:
- Health monitoring
- Glass cleaning
- Plant maintenance
- Drainage checks
- Removal of excessive waste
Seasonal husbandry
Because Takydromus sexlineatus occupies a very broad geographical range, there is no single seasonal pattern appropriate to every population.
Where locality is known, investigate the natural:
- Rainfall cycle
- Temperature cycle
- Day length
of that population.
Captive seasonal variation
Modest seasonal variation can be created through adjustments to:
- Photoperiod
- Misting frequency
- Feeding
- Temperature
Extreme seasonal manipulation is unnecessary for ordinary maintenance.
Brumation
Takydromus sexlineatus is fundamentally a:
tropical to subtropical species.
It should not automatically be subjected to conventional temperate lacertid brumation.
Conservation
The species has a very broad distribution and is not generally regarded as globally threatened.
However, a broad wild distribution does not justify purchasing animals of:
questionable or undocumented origin.
Captive-bred stock should be preferred where available.
CITES
Takydromus sexlineatus is:
not currently listed in the CITES Appendices.
This does not mean that wildlife collection, export, import or sale is automatically unrestricted.
National wildlife legislation and import/export requirements may still apply.
Ireland, Northern Ireland and Great Britain
Keepers should check current requirements before:
- Importing animals
- Exporting animals
- Moving animals commercially across borders
- Purchasing animals originating outside the relevant jurisdiction
Rules can differ between:
- Republic of Ireland
- Northern Ireland
- Great Britain
- Other countries
Never release captive animals
Never release unwanted Long-Tailed Grass Lizards into:
the wild.
Common husbandry mistakes
Common mistakes include:
- Keeping them in tiny tanks because their bodies are small
- Ignoring their extraordinary activity level
- Providing insufficient climbing space
- Sparse furnishing
- Using only thick branches
- Failing to provide fine stems and grasses
- Providing no proper basking area
- Heating the entire enclosure uniformly
- Keeping the enclosure excessively hot
- Providing inadequate UVB
- Providing excessive UVB without shaded retreats
- Maintaining a dim enclosure
- Keeping humidity permanently high with poor ventilation
- Keeping the substrate waterlogged
- Providing insufficient drinking opportunities
- Feeding only crickets
- Using oversized prey
- Failing to gut-load insects
- Over-supplementing
- Housing multiple males together
- Ignoring social stress
- Handling excessively
- Catching animals by the tail
- Failing to provide laying substrate
- Failing to quarantine new animals
- Assuming inexpensive animals require inexpensive husbandry
Responsible ownership
Before obtaining a Long-Tailed Grass Lizard, ensure you can provide:
- Secure, escape-proof accommodation
- Approximately 3 × 1½ × 2 ft (90 × 45 × 60 cm) or larger adult housing
- Extensive fine branching
- Dense vegetation
- Strong visible-spectrum lighting
- Appropriate UVB
- Approximately UVI 2–3 at the basking area
- A basking surface around 32–35°C (90–95°F)
- Daytime ambient temperatures around 24–27°C (75–81°F)
- Cooler areas around 21–24°C (70–75°F)
- Night temperatures around 18–22°C (64–72°F)
- Moderate-to-high humidity
- Good ventilation
- Regular access to drinking droplets
- Clean drinking water
- A varied live-invertebrate diet
- Proper gut loading
- Appropriate supplementation
- Suitable egg-laying substrate for females
- Quarantine facilities
- Minimal handling
- Access to a suitably experienced reptile veterinarian
Summary
The Long-Tailed Grass Lizard (Takydromus sexlineatus) is a small but extraordinarily active Asian lacertid whose extremely long tail and semi-arboreal lifestyle make spacious, densely structured accommodation essential.
Although the body itself measures only approximately:
2–2½ in (5–6 cm),
total length commonly reaches approximately:
10–12 in (25–30 cm).
Provide an enclosure of at least approximately:
3 × 1½ × 2 ft (90 × 45 × 60 cm),
with larger accommodation strongly encouraged.
Provide daytime ambient temperatures around:
24–27°C (75–81°F)
with a localised basking surface around:
32–35°C (90–95°F).
Allow access to cooler areas around:
21–24°C (70–75°F)
and a nighttime reduction toward approximately:
18–22°C (64–72°F).
Provide a quality linear UVB system producing approximately:
UVI 2–3
at the principal exposed basking position, together with dense vegetation offering much lower UV exposure and complete shade.
Humidity should generally remain around:
60–75%
with regular misting, surface drying and good ventilation.
Feed a varied selection of appropriately sized:
- Crickets
- Small locusts
- Roaches
- Flies
- Black soldier fly larvae
- Silkworms
- Moths
- Other cultured invertebrates
with appropriate gut loading and supplementation.
Adults are best kept individually unless the keeper has sufficient space and experience to monitor compatible social arrangements carefully.
Females require access to suitable laying substrate and may produce several small clutches during a reproductive season.
Captive-bred animals should be preferred wherever available.
Takydromus sexlineatus is:
not currently CITES-listed.
Despite its historically low purchase price, the Long-Tailed Grass Lizard deserves the same thoughtful, evidence-led husbandry as larger and more expensive reptiles.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION:
This care sheet provides general husbandry guidance and does not replace species-specific research or veterinary advice. Individual requirements may vary.
If you have concerns about an animal’s health or care, consult a suitably experienced exotic or reptile veterinarian.
Information correct at the date of publication.
reptilecommunity.com | Revised: September 2026