Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Well I finally managed to weigh all my collareds today, its really quite shocking, the differences.

Yoda = 34g (14inches)
Yoshi = 32g (13 inches)
Elvis = 22g (10 inches)
Bobba = 16g (10 inches)

I am honestly quite frightened by the weight of Bobba, Yoda is 4 inches longer yet weighs more than double. I am glad i didn't weigh him when he first came or i might have been a dithering wreck, Yoda doesnt look particularly fat to me at all, but then again Bobba is not that thin anymore either, his hips no longer stick out, and his belly is a little bigger, plus he eats a lot and runs around like a mad man, so I'm hoping he is going to be ok. Elvis on the other hand seems quite lazy, she sits away from the basking light in the middle of the tank with her mouth gaping a lot, though head not raised, and has a massive appetite, I put 12 wax worms in there yesterday and she ate ALL of them in one sitting. I had to take her out to feed Bobba this morning, so I could monitor what he was eating.

Another thing, I saw something awful a few days ago on impaction in Leo's. It was calci-sand and orchid bark. Nonetheless it was horrific. This morning Yoshi was chasing crickets whilst still half asleep, and she got more than her fair share of sand in her mouth, instead of spitting it out she carried on eating crickets and obviously the sand went down with them. They all seem ok but i still worry, their behaviour is so varied, I know they all have different personalities but this is a massive contrast.

Another thing, Bobba likes to sit in his water bowl and sunbathe, I noticed yesterday when he got out that his tail was bleeding, he has a row of little scabs on the bumps in his tail, only on the top so dont look like he or Elvis have bitten his tail. I cant find any mites, and thought maybe he had scraped it. but he has a small scrape/bruise to his left foreleg too, I hope he has just bumped himself, have treated the scrapes etc, and treated for mites but I really need some reassurance that i'm taking good care of them all. Their basking temp is 110, cool end is 88 to 90, and they have 8.0 UVB striplights (desert).
-----
Kelly

There is a thin person inside of me trying to get out. I keep her quiet with chocolate

www.collaredlizards.co.uk

kaiser has always been thin until recently. he used to be like low 20s and i am pretty sure he is like 11 or so inches. he lived that way for two years before i caught on he was afraid of crickets. the poor guy was treated for parasites so many times.

he'll gain weight. just keep weighing him and making sure his poop isn't runny, you did treat him for parasites, right?

calci-sand is bad because the chunks are so big, if i am thinking of the correct stuff. my guys used to get sand sometimes too and in all the lizards i have had, only once did ivan get alot of sand and the vet gave me some hairball stuff and she eventually pooped it out.

keep an eye on the tail, if it is really big or deep, you may need to take him off sand, but if it's on the top part of the tail, it might not be such a big deal. the only other thing is that if you have a rogue cricket in the cage, they sometimes will munch on the lizards when they are sleeping.
-----
vonnie

***Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months. Oscar Wilde ***

That made me smile, the poor little chap afraid of crickets, lol. What do you feed him now?
-----
Kelly

There is a thin person inside of me trying to get out. I keep her quiet with chocolate

www.collaredlizards.co.uk

worms, anything that will stay in his little dish. usually waxies or mealies because the worms can't be too big. he has never eaten superworms for me. this lizard is quite a wreck, that is why he more than likely ended up here
-----
vonnie

***Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months. Oscar Wilde ***

It sounds to me like you're doing everything just right. They should do well for you and the thinner ones will probably put on weight on quickly.

If the tail has some sores on the top side, I'm going to guess and say the lizard probably rubbed it against the cage furniture or rocks trying to climb the glass. If you haven't already done this, try pushing the rocks and stuff up against the glass so the lizards can't get between them and rub their tails as they bob up and down.

élan
-----
5.6.0 Collareds
1.2.0 Leopard Lizards
1.0.0 Mali Uromastix
1.2.0 Green Anole
1.0.0 Chinese Dwarf Newt
1.0.0 White's Treefrog
1.0.0 Fire bellied toad
1.0.0 Treefrog (Alabama native)
Even More Felines
1.3.0 Canines
1.0.0 Equine

I have had to change the decor around in the viv so that there are no small crevices for him to get into and/or wedge his tail in, I have a feeling he is not as acrobatic as he thinks he is.

All the rocks are at the back of the vivarium, there is nothing near the front, so when he does his "glass dancing", albeit very rarely, there is nothing but sand for him to "dance" on.

BTW Elvis is a much better dancer than he is.. naturally, lol

And Yoshi did a big "sand-poo" this morning, I broke it up and it was literally just sand, then the second poo she did was digested grass hopper, thankfully, so hopefully its passed now.

Thanks guys for your help
-----
Kelly

There is a thin person inside of me trying to get out. I keep her quiet with chocolate

www.collaredlizards.co.uk