I didn't plan to "throw 'em in a tank", exactly. I was hoping I could find a couple of chucks, a few other lizards, a kingsnake, a rosy boa, and a couple of coral snakes that wandered over from AZ, and I planned to keep them all together in a two gallon stockpot on the back of my stove, where I hoped the pilot light would be enough to keep them warm. I was going to feed them chicken-and-dumplings.

SERIOUSLY, though, I am being reminded of why I don't often post on public forums--nobody knows you, and everybody seems to assume the worst of you. When I said earlier that I was a beginner, I didn't mean that I was a beginner to herps. I have kept herps for years, including a chuckwalla that I bought as an adult that lived for over 11 years. My father is a veterinarian, and, while he didn't exactly specialize in herps, he did see many of them in his practice, and I have been around them and other animals all my life. I am aware of the very specialized needs of different animals with regards to temp, humidity, full spectrum lighting, specialized diet, etc., and I would never get an animal (like a horned lizard) that I couldn't easily provide for. Personally, I consider chuckwallas easy and fascinating. All that said, I AM a beginner to collecting wild animals. I haven't ever taken an animal from the wild and tried to keep it permanently. As a kid, I might catch a lizard and keep it for a day or so before letting it go, and as a five year old, when I could easily find several horned lizards every day, I used to carry horned lizard hatchlings around in a match box in my pocket (I'm not kidding), but, luckily, my mother or grandmother would make me let the animal go after an hour or so. So, I am a beginner to FIELD HERPING, especially in Southern California, and that is why I was looking to this forum for advice. Thanks to everybody who offered suggestions.

Angus

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