Hiding places should be located in both warm and cool spots. Ensure rocks sit securely on the bottom of the tank to keep them from falling on climbing or digging lizards. Ensure humidity levels are low above ground, yet slightly damp in hiding areas. In captivity, feed side-blotches a variety of small insects including, crickets, waxworms, grasshoppers, beetles and beetle larvae, caterpillars, leafhoppers, spiders, moths, flies, and other flying insects. Make sure insects are free of pesticides.
Water is obtained from food.
Provide multivitamin and calcium supplementation two to three times weekly. Breeding females need daily supplementation to ensure proper egg development. Juveniles also need daily supplements for proper growth and bone development. While its diet reflects the side-blotched lizard's spryness, this reptile often falls prey to a variety of enemies, namely snakes, hawks. and roadrunners. Just prior to mating season, males stake out and begin to actively defend territories.