Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey all and Happy Halloween! I haven't been on in a while, so much schoolwork. Ridiculous. I thought I'd check in while I had a moment. Thanks all for your kind words about Houston. No collared could replace her. On that note, Hurley and Roswell are doing pretty well in their new home, getting adjusted to a larger cage! They eat like pigs. I'm a bit worried about the amount of sand Hurley takes in when feeding, so I may start feeding them in a separate container, or by tongs. Would anybody know if a much lighter feces sample is a sign of anything I should be concerned about? They otherwise seem quite healthy.

Hope you're all doing well, Happy Halloween!
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"Were the diver to think upon the jaws of the shark, he would never lay hands on the precious pearl."

Hey, Happy Halloween, lol

I had similar concerns about one of my females eating lots and lots of sand, so I let the poo dry out in the tank for 6 hours or so, then pick it up with a bit of tissue and SQUEEZE it. If its sand, and sometimes the paler ones are, then it will crumble in the tissue. If its not sand you'll know the difference, hope this helps. Yoshi feeds when she first gets up, and is clumsy because she is often still quite cold and sleepy, but she's done this almost daily for the last 4 months with no problems, and she's pooing daily too. I feed mine big food so they can catch it easier without getting a mouth full of sand.
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Kel

www.collaredlizards.co.uk
0:0:1 Timor Monitor
2:2 Collared Lizards
1:6 Green Anoles
1:0 Dune Scorpion
3:0 Imperial Scorpions
2:0 Desert Hairy Scorpions
0:1 Mexican Red Knee Tarantula

Hey, thanks for the info! I'll keep an eye out. I've never sen a collared act like such a klutz when it's trying to eat, it's really amazing to watch how many attempts it takes to grab a cricket, lol.
Thanks again!

>>Hey, Happy Halloween, lol
>>
>>I had similar concerns about one of my females eating lots and lots of sand, so I let the poo dry out in the tank for 6 hours or so, then pick it up with a bit of tissue and SQUEEZE it. If its sand, and sometimes the paler ones are, then it will crumble in the tissue. If its not sand you'll know the difference, hope this helps. Yoshi feeds when she first gets up, and is clumsy because she is often still quite cold and sleepy, but she's done this almost daily for the last 4 months with no problems, and she's pooing daily too. I feed mine big food so they can catch it easier without getting a mouth full of sand.
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>>Kel
>>
>>www.collaredlizards.co.uk
>>0:0:1 Timor Monitor
>>2:2 Collared Lizards
>>1:6 Green Anoles
>>1:0 Dune Scorpion
>>3:0 Imperial Scorpions
>>2:0 Desert Hairy Scorpions
>>0:1 Mexican Red Knee Tarantula
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"Were the diver to think upon the jaws of the shark, he would never lay hands on the precious pearl."

So good to hear from you and also your 2 lizard kids are doign well. As far as the light colored feces, does sound like sand.

Does it appear to look sandy or gravely/rough ?? How old are they now? If real young maybe paper towels would be better for a while. Sometimes when I have younger collareds I just take a handful of sand and scatter it, kind of leaving the bottom glass showing through everywhere, and leave it like that until they learn to catch their pray without the sand.

It may not LOOK as nice , but they are safe, learn to target and grab the bugs without a mouthful of sand. Then later add more sand.
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PHEve / Eve

Contact PHEve

I didn't really examine it too closely, it was unfortunately more of a post cleaning afterthought, as that seems to be all ive had time for recently. If I get another, I'll look. The breeder I got them from saaaaaaid they were a year old, but he was more of a middle man breeder, he had purchased them from another breeder and was selling them at a reptile show in tampa.
They look full sized though, and I'm not sure how rapidly they reach full size because somehow in all this time, I've never had a baby collared.
I'm thinking of starting to feed them with tongs, or in a separate, empty container. Maybe tongs just for the ease of it.
They're ravenous, so with tongs I suppose I'll get a much better idea of how much they're really eating. Hurley, the male, seems to eat twice as much as Roswell, the female.
Any bad expenience with tongs?
~Tiff

>>So good to hear from you and also your 2 lizard kids are doign well. As far as the light colored feces, does sound like sand.
>>
>> Does it appear to look sandy or gravely/rough ?? How old are they now? If real young maybe paper towels would be better for a while. Sometimes when I have younger collareds I just take a handful of sand and scatter it, kind of leaving the bottom glass showing through everywhere, and leave it like that until they learn to catch their pray without the sand.
>>
>>It may not LOOK as nice , but they are safe, learn to target and grab the bugs without a mouthful of sand. Then later add more sand.
>>-----
>>PHEve / Eve
>>
>>Contact PHEve
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"Were the diver to think upon the jaws of the shark, he would never lay hands on the precious pearl."