Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi all.......
I have several questions about the appearance of collared lizards during the down side of their typical natural season.
I have 12 adult eastern collareds, 3 juveniles, and 2 wc/cap. hatch babies at the moment (wc and cb).
My 2 big wc males (yellowheads), my wc female and a pair of my captive bred collareds are starting to look a little thin. I noticed just the other day that I could see their pelvis being a little more pronounced and the skin on their thighs are looking a little more loose than usual. They all seem to eat pretty well.....there color is very nice.....and they're active as usual. They get a ton of attention and I still can't believe how they like to be held. As to drinking, mostly from a dropper, they all love the good ole dropper. I offer water on a daily basis and spray the tank on a regular basis. If I feel some of them are not eating much, I will hold a cricket or two and they will take them.
Is it normal for them to appear a bit more skinny this time of year, since they sleep more to look this way? What can I do to fatten these guys up? I have wax worms, but not sure how many I should let them eat. A few of them will eat a ton of waxies if you let them.
I am just a little concerned as to the appearance of these guys and need to know if I am over-reacting.
I am always open to suggestions as to what to look for or what can be done.
I appreciate the help as always.
Take care

I will toss in a thought or 2 and others can jump in with their conclusions. I would have to say SOME may not be as chunky as they would be in warmer months, may lose a tad while brumating, but if they are NOT brumating and eating regularly and basking, they should not be getting thin to the point of seeing the pelvic bones.

I personally would let them eat what they want. They stop when full, lol. if they like the waxies, let them have them for now anyway. Check your temps, if they are awake they need their temps normal. Maybe since it is winter season, your tank is cooler than usual.

You say you have some wc's, may need to take atleast one and have a fecal done,/ treat the bunch with panacur if something shows up.

Also, if you brought in wc's I having recently gone through a battle with mites that came in on a few rescues and spread around, and caused much grief to my animals, as well as to myself, I would recommend to everyone take a minute to do a mite inspection. MANY people say, I don't see mites, well I say CHECK anyway , this way......

Get a magnifing glass, some mineral oil, even olive oil, hold the collared in your palm tummy up, pour some oil on the white tummy, smear it around, get your magnifing glass and just observe a few minutes, see if you begin to notice any blackish/ tannish or reddish spots appearing from the scales. These will look tiny like "pepper" size.

You can then wipe off any excess oil you may have put on.

HOPEFULLY you see nothing, but if you do, this is surley a reason for changes in weight/condition.

These are just a few things you can try. Let us know how ya make out.
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PHEve / Eve

thanks dear for your input. i took 3 of my wild caught collareds to my vet yesterday for observation. he mentioned the fact of brumation causing them to lose some body weight and suggested that i reverse the process now and watch them as the days get longer for them. he did say to keep giving them wax worms if they like them, and they do at times, and don't be too concerned about eating too many as adults. just don't feed them waxies every day.
he also mentioned that it would be great to get them to eat my dubias if they will. my babies eat them all the time, but the adults won't look at them. i'll work on that one.
since i was there, i decided to ask if he could inspect them for mites. he went over all 3 and showed me the specific spots where mites like to hang out. i was surprised when he says most of the time its in their feet and in the scaley areas and folds. the ears are the easiest place to find them if they do exist there.
i don't think its going to go very well, but he said if mama would let me use her ophthalmoscope/otoscope, that would be best to inspect them for mites.
well dear, i appreciate the help as always and keep on posting those pics and good reads and have a super weekend.
take care