Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Does anyone work with true Corytophanes cristatus? I would love to find a mate for mine, but most that I have seen do not appear to be cristatus.
Here is a picture of mine.

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Roy Blodgett

1.1 Drymarchon corais
0.1 Coluber mormon
1.1 Lampropeltis getula californiae (desert phase)
1.0 Boiga dendrophila dendrophila
0.1 Candoia aspera (red phase)
0.1 Uroplatus henkeli
0.1 Corytophanes cristatus
2.1 Pogona vitticeps (snow and red/gold)
1.0 Iguana iguana

Hello Roy:
Corytophanes is a phenomonal group of lizards. I have kept both C. cristatus and C. hernandezi. I bred C. cristatus back in the eighties but have not worked with them in quite a while. I actually plan on getting another group of them this year. By the picture, yours looks to be really heathy.
These lizards are very cryptic and as such do not make extremely exciting terrarium subjects. If set up properly most of them tend to just perch in their favorite spots for hours. This does not mean they are sick or anything. They are sit and wait predators as opposed to active hunting predators. Most of the Helmeted Iguanas (or Forest Chameleons) I have kept would usually wait for their food to approach them before attacking. I have had a couple that would chase down their food as well. They relish most kinds of arthropods and will occasionally eat pink mice as well. Some will learn to drink from a dish though most prefer either moving water or licking droplets of water from the leaves in the terrarium after misting.
Though they are heavy forest animals they still need good lighting (both full spectrum and basking lights). The terrarium they are kept in should be heavily planted and offer lots of hiding places for them. A terrarium with just a branch and maybe one plant is not suitable for this species . They may do well for a while but will eventually decline. If given plenty of live cover and sunning branches these lizards will settle down quickly and thrive, showing off good color. Temps in the mid to high eighties are good with slightly warmer basking sites. It is important though to remember that they really like to hide among the foliage.
I got four eggs from a pair I bred several years ago. I only hatched one of the four eggs but the baby was a carbon copy of the parents. It ate right away and i had no problem with it. When it was about 3" in length it was rather cantankerous and would leap at you on it's hind legs making it look like a miniature Godzilla. I have also seen adults run on their hind legs as well, without running too fast.
I don't know why this species is so often overlooked as a mere oddity on the market. Corytophanes are great lizards that are as close to looking like the legendary Dragons of mythology as you can get.
I hope this info helps. Good Luck and Have A Great Day!!!

Thank you very much for your advice and care information! I would love to find some more, I believe mine is female, but I'm not sure. Anyway, what do you think would be a good size tank for a pair or trio?
Again thank you very much!
Here's another picture of her.

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Roy Blodgett

1.1 Drymarchon corais
0.1 Coluber mormon
1.1 Lampropeltis getula californiae (desert phase)
1.0 Boiga dendrophila dendrophila
0.1 Candoia aspera (red phase)
0.1 Uroplatus henkeli
0.1 Corytophanes cristatus
2.1 Pogona vitticeps (snow and red/gold)
1.0 Iguana iguana

Hello Roy:
She sure looks good. By the other picture your lizard definitely looks like a girl. Luckily this species is easy to tell male from female because males have a pronounced hemipenal bulge.
There doesn't seem to be as many around as in years past but the season is getting ready to kick in around mid march so you should be able to find some soon. I will be getting some this year as well, probably two groups.
Keep us posted as to how well your lizard does. She certainly is a healthy specimen.
Good Luck and Have A Great Weekend!!!

Spawn...you said you hatched one...were you able to keep it long enough for it to grow up to adult size?

I have kept C. cristatus and (one)hernandezi (sp?) too...had my first one in the 80's too. I never got the C. cristatus to reproduce although they did mate. I may have had the third subspecies back then and not realized that I was mixing the two due to my lack of knowledge back then...which may have been part of the problem I was having with not getting them to reproduce. The third subspecies is live-bearing.

Have you worked with/kept coneheads too?

Hello Kinyonga:
I had the baby until it was about half grown at which time I gave it to a friend. It was about nine months after it hatched.
I have worked with both species of Coneheads but not to any great degree. I learned quite a bit about tropical lizards in the late nineties but that was long after I was keeping them. I've been tied up in various projects but now I'm ready to take them on again so I hope there's a few available this year.
I think a huge part of the problem with keeping tropical Iguanids and agamids is environmental. They will not thrive in low humidity levels, or at least that's what I've noticed. They also seem to do better in terraria that are well planted which allows them ample space to remain cryptic and "hidden."
Have a Great Day!!!

Hi Spawn,
I have worked with cone heads and helmeteds off and on over the last 15 years.

I have three of the six types of cone heads. I have one (1.0) L. serratus, several L. longipes and the third one I'm not sure of the species...but the babies have side stripes as well as the dark stripe down the spine unlike the L. longipes. The adults lack the spikes/crest on the back of the head that the L. serratus has. L. longipes I have bred successfully several years in a row.

Do you have any information on identifying the 6 different kinds?

Do you have any information on how to tell C. cristatus from C.percarinatus easily?

Any help would be appreciated.

Hello:
I'll do some research and see what I can dig up. I'm glad to hear that you've had some success with Laemanctus.

Any information would be appreciated!
Thanks!