Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi,

I have a question for the mere handful of you who know about Jewelled Lacertas. I have a 1,1 pair who came out of the egg early last year. From the beginning, they were dimorphic. The less colorful one was a bit smller. But now both are brighter green with jewell patches. *Now, if breeding season is happening, what does this particular lizard need? Nest box, hay, leaves, mud, etc.* They do have manmade tunnels under dirt. They eat voraciusly, and actually drink water from a short bowl.

I do not keep an under-tank heater under the burrows, because it seems unnatural - wild lacertas use gopher holes that are in the upper 40's to upper 50's, am I right?

*Should I add an uder-tank heater under the burrows zones?*

Should I kill any eggs they produce, since they are siblings?

BTW these guys are the best of pals, laying all over each other many times each day. They do chasing activity that lasts about 10 seconds about 3 times per week while I'm sitting by the tank. So I suppose they do more chasing than that, but they never lose their bond. I examine them with a magnifying glass looking for wounds or contusions, but those never show up.

Any general advice that I can't think to ask?

Thank you,

Roger

First generation inbreeding is normally not an issue for T. lepidus.
You just need a corner with moderately moist sand, they prefer this for egg laying. Females carefully bury their eggs and care for the nesting place for a few weeks by guarding it and accumulating leaps of sand.

Hope that helps

Ingo

P.S.: You are sure about haveing a pair?
Sometimes males do get along well with each other.
Do your animals differ witth respect to femoral pore activity and head size?

Thats the typical difference between proportions in 1,1 (for young adults, the differences get more pronounced with age):

couldn´t resist...

best regards

Ingo