Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Sometimes our collared lizard will sit with his mouth open, does this mean he's hungry? A couple days ago when I had him out of his terrarium I went to pick him up and I think he hissed at me. Is hissing a sign of aggression or just normal behaviour for collareds?

Thanks.

Sometimes they'll pick up their heads with their mouth open if it's too hot. Other times if you hear some sort of popping sounds, then he might be sick.

Is your collared wild caught? They do act in a defensive manner if they are scared, and certainly a giant shadow approaching is scary even to acclimated lizards if they don't recognize you.

Gaping can be normal if they are basking and are hot by choice. If they are gaping on the cool side of the viv, then you definitely have a problem with your setup. What are your temps, basking and cool side, and how are you measuring them?

Not wild caught. I only have a couple thermometers in the terrarium right now but the temperature seems to be good 75 on the cool side and 95 on the warm side. I haven't checked the temperature on his basking rock, but when he sits with his mouth open he's usually basking on the rock.

Resized image.

You really should get a good method of checking temps. You can cook them or keep the basking too low to aid digestion. Most of us use an infrared temp gun so that we can spot check the basking surface if there is any change in the ambient temps, and check the cool side temps in a few seconds as well. They are so much more accurate than the analogues or strip therms which can be off by as much as 20 degrees! Temp guns are really neat gadgets and most of us use them for other things. I play with mine!

Do you use a UVB source on him?

I'll have to get one of those infrared temp guns. I use a 100W infrared heat bulb and a UVB compact flourescent in the day and a 75W blue heat bulb at night.

How are those ceramic infrared heat emitters? I was going to pick one up but wasn't sure what wattage to get to keep the temperature a bit lower at night.

You know, I have read that those compact bulbs can cause eye problems, especially if they are not used with bright light. I would lose that infrared during the day and get a regular bright household bulb with similar wattage. Even the best UVB florescent bulbs (reptisun 10 tube, reptiglo 8 tube)just don't put out the right kind of light to protect the eyes of diurnal lizards. It is recommended that you use them with a bright basking light. I won't use coils or compacts at all! Here is a study that discusses the different UVB sources and the problems that some are causing
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/

Remember that collareds are day lizards, and bright is always better for them.

Your baby is adorable, BTW!

Thanks, and thank you for your help.

God luck, and keep those pics coming!

Cute kid ya have Your guy looks good, if all is well and they are eating fine, good weight and just from time to time open mouth while basking , it is kind of like a dog that pants, cools itself through his tonuge. Collareds open mouth , we call it GAPING.

As far as the hissing, this will lessen as you pick him up more, he will become more tame and used to you. They hiss to try and scare you, or any preditor away by puffing up and making that noise, it's actually a defense as they are scared. Best thing to do is when you go into the tank or try and pick him up try lowering your hand off to his side or stay low in front of him so he sees you coming, soon he may jump on. NEVER approach him from above (overhead)
Alway remember that large birds or any of their preditors usually come down on them from above, to eat them so your hand coming down from above is threatning and scares him so he hisses. Be patient, these guys become real tame when handled often, Best wishes with him.

Glad your here, enjoy the forum
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PHEve / Eve

Thank you for the welcome and your help.

He hissed at me again today when I picked him up and I think he tried to bite me. It was my own fault though as I had to scramble to grab him because he'd made a break for it and leapt from his rock onto a plant and out of his terrarium and was airborn across to some fake flowers in a floor vase my wife had standing next to the terrarium. He's fast... I'll have to be much more careful when I'm trying to scoop the poop.

You know, I talk to my lizards, especially when I go to pick them up. That really seems to calm them down. Since Nina is one of the few that didn't sleep this winter, she hears her name a lot, and has gotten to the point where she looks me straight in the eye and walks toward me when I call her name! I think she associates the sound of my voice with silk worms,which are her favs!

I have a blind beardie that came in as a rescue. She knows my voice, and if I forget to speak before I pick her up, she gets very frightened and tries to bolt. But if I speak her name and sweet talk her just before I pick her up, she stays perfectly calm.

just wanted to mention that i use a MV bulb and 100 watt standard bulb for light, and a little extra heat ( only cuz its winter and i need to keep the temps up. im also using a blue light at night to keep them warm. deffinitely get a temp gun, they are one of the best purchases you can make in herping, besides the animals themselves.
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Guy LoPresti
3.2 collared lizards (Lizzy,Stevie 2,Ike,Rocky Caroline)
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