Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I would not claim to be an expert, as there is always somethimg to learn. I have had my share of success and failure. I have been keeping and breeding collared lizards for about 8 years. I frequently travel to observe them in the field. My mentor, Scott Patterson kept and bred them for about 15 or so years (he no longer keeps lizards). He was among the first keepers to breed C. vestigium and C. dickersonae. As for ultra violet lighting, both Scott and I use good fluorescent lights on every collared cage. I do not use mercury vapor, so I could not tell you anything from personal experience, as far as that goes. In addition to the lighting, we use a good calcium supplement with vitamin D3. I dust my feeder insects every time, as did Scott. As long as the lizards are properly hydrated, over supplementation is not usually a problem. The lizards can overdose on vitamin D, if given D3 as a dietary supplement, and exposing the lizards to full natural sunlight (IE: outdoor lizards should not be supplemented with D3). The question on weather UVB lighting is needed or not is debatable, the fact is a reptisun 5.0 bulb(or equivalent) is not detrimental to your collared, and is recommended by a lot of breeders. It is just a good idea, even if not neccesary. Also, Will Wells has a good website if you would like to check it out: desertreptiles.net
It has a lot of good info, and great pics. Will is a very experienced collared keeper. Try to be patient. There is a lot of good info/advice to be found on this forum and elsewhere on the internet.
Good luck,
Nick

thank you for adding some sanity to this discussion. thants what i was asking origionally, unfortunately peoples egos got in the way. I've been to just about every collared breeders site and they all use uvbincluding will wells. as far as im concerned uvb is not deadly, bad husbandry is. i think if a keeper has good husbandry uvb doesnt matter, although it should. althought could we cover this issue. what is good husbandry. im sure this has been discussed, but can we get some basic stats down for collareds.

Collaredsguy, you are doing the right thing by asking the questions. Most of us on the forum are happy to answer. Instead of saying right or wrong, I will just tell you what has worked for myself and several other serious collared keepers. UVB lighting is definitely not bad for your collared. When caged indoors and fed a diet of calcium with D3 dusted food items, a full spectrum fluorescent light will not overdose your collared on vitamin D3. I'm assuming that for the most part, your lizard is housed indoors. If this is the case, A good full spectrum bulb is desirable, as is a good calcium with D3 supplement. I usually provide at least one basking area, more when I can. The size of your cage may limit the amount of basking sites that you should provide. One basking spot may reach 110 or 115 degrees F, surface temperature. If one is this hot, it is good to provide an additional basking spot where the temps are a little cooler. For the secondary basking site, I have found that plug in hot rocks work well, and most brands won't get hotter than 95F. One side of the cage should remain relatively cool (High 70s to mid 80s F). A shallow water dish can be provided, and if your lizard ignores it, drip a little water into it to get his attention. Play sand makes a good substrate. Also, a lot of collareds get food stressed if too many food items are present. I prefer to throw insects in one or two at a time. Once those are eaten, throw one or two more. Crickets, meal worms, wax worms, butter worms, silk worms, tomato horn worms, cockroaches, etc. are all good food items. I know it is a lot of info to post on the forum. I think I touched on most of the important issues. If you wanted me to go into more detail, you could
e mail me at nickdokai@yahoo.com
Good luck.
Nick

no your fine ive seen it all before, but youve put it all in a neat little package for me. i think i need to lower my cool side. yesterday,I bought another lamp for lighting and put a 100 watt in, i use a 150 watt for the hot side, so i figure a lower watt buld would give some heat. the ambient temp was 96, maybe a little to hot. its on a dimmer so ill lower it a bit. yes i keep my guys inside, one because its a little cold out for May ( Al Gore can kiss my rearend)but i have let my guys outside on hot days ( unfortunately my first male ran away so i ve had a bad experience with that. he got out of the reptarium, really upset). I have a 40 gallon tank for 2 collareds, however only my female is in there right now, cuz my new male is in quarentine, but i have some tall rochs to simulate cliffs and stuff, and to elevate the basking sights. i like the idea of feeding a couple at a time. i usually just pour a punch in, and let them go hunting. however i gave my male too much food today in too many varieties so he ate nothing today ( however he had a big meal the day before). so yeah thanks alot for your help. im gonna try and get them outside as soon the weahter heats up, with a lock on the reptarium this time!!

hey nick........jim kendrick here
sup man?
been away for a while and must say............"WELL SPOKEN SIR"!!!!!!!!!!!!
take care guy