Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm new to the HL forum. We have other herps, lots of them. I grew up with the Texas HL and love them. When the opportunity came up I bought three wild caught Desert HLs. They have a nice set up with a UV light and a basking spot and several rocks in there layered that they can crawl under or over and choose their gradient of heat. They sit right behind my work table and in a direct line of vision when I sit at the computer so I am able to watch them all the time. I very rarely see them trying to climb out and they seem content to roam about or bask. I very rarely handle them I know they're not the cuddly type. I just love to watch them. They all three ate right off the bat. The pet shop that I bought them from told me they were feeding on small crickets and mealworms. I plan on trying ants in the future. I have one that will almost eat out of your hand. She will eat and eat. And she is much, much fuller and healthier that the other two. I was told they were supposed to be two females and one male but I believe them to be three females. Anyway,the one that eats the best I have observed sitting at times with her mouth open, though not all the time. And she also has a little bit of white in her nostrils. But whatever this is it hasn't affected her eating. I also mist them and keep a small dish of fresh water sunk into the sand. The other two are eating as well and though not as healthy as the other one they are eating and have not shown any signs of the mouth thing. I am worried that the one that eats so much could constipate herself, I read another message in the forum about this but I clean up feces everyday that appears to come from more than one HL. I would appreciate any feedback on this.

Is the HL directly under the heat lamp when she opens her mouth? HLs sometimes do this when their temperature gets high, even though they have cooler areas. I would definitly include ants in the diet for long term health. The build up around the nostrils is way of ridding excess salt.

Yes she is under the heat light. She usually climbs to the top one and does it. I will order ants tomorrow. So the salt is a normal thing?

Thanks for replying.

Ya, the salt secreations are a normal thing (See Wade Sherbrooks new book Introduction To Horned Lizards, there is a section on it). Although it is a bit strange to me because a few of mine seem to always have it while others never do. I would imagine overall health and water intake could have something to do with it though.

After thinking about it seems highly likely that lizards with the salt around the nostrils may be dehydrated. Excreting salt from the body would be a method of rehydrating themselves. Most HLs will not drink standing water. They will usually only drink if water is dropped on the nostril area with an eyedropper or if the head area is lightly sprayed with a spray bottle. Desert HLs need water about once a month but it must be prolonged as if it had rained, they usually become inactive during dry periods in the wild.

The pet shop had told me to put a shallow dish in their cage and I did. But I read in this forum about spraying them. I do spray them once a day. Should I spray them more?