Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Its been a long time since I posted here but I occasionally read and appreciate some of the great posts. Lots of good info and this forum in particular has some very dedicated and sincere people.

Unfortunately, I lost my male about a week ago during the brumation period. He went into the cooling stage a lot thinner than I would have liked him too, but he seemed uninterested in eating. My guess is he was a bit on the dehydrated side. I could have soaked him for a bit to get him to absorb and drink some fluids before brumation...in hind sight, that's what I should have done.

Now I'm in desperate need of a new male, as the female is going to be ready to go for breeding in about a week when I pull her out. She's in excellent shape and has good weight so I'm not worried about her condition. She has always been a voracious eater.

I'd love to hear from anyone that has a quality young male that was cooled over winter. I'e attached a pic of the pair before brumation this year. Thanks,

Jason Wagner (in WA)

Yikes...that male was nice. Sorry to hear of his loss. I've started off to a terrible year myself. One of my bluest aqua flames woke to a nasty upper respiratory infection that never would get better. He perished not long ago.

I also lost a pair of yellowhead hybrids...they both were eating fine, but suddenly took a strange turn for the worse out of the clear blue. I have no idea what was wrong there. There only symptom was an ashy grey tail...almost as if they were preparing to shed. I worked and worked with the male, and he just couldn't recover after a severe overnight dehyration. It was strange...he was fine when I went to work (in fact he was eating), then I came home and his tail looked compressed laterally, and his head and limbs were extremely frail.

Perhaps what has sparked my interest in the Red Head Agamas this year was my poor luck with the collared already. I still have 1.4 aquaflames and 1.1 Utah Yellowheads (formally known as Crotaphytus collaris auriceps).

Back to topic...I hope you can find that young male dickersonae...perhaps Brock Nelson will make an appearance and be able to help you out.

John Eddington

so very sorry to hear about the losses! I, too, have experienced the bewilderment, frustration, and helplessness of seemingly doing all I can to assist an ailing collared lizard... and yet not do enough. As you are well aware, this is by no means an easy genus of lizards to work with. Please don't let this setback discourage you from continuing to keep Crotaphytus in captivity. For me, one of the most intriguing aspects of this hobby is that, like life itself, it is a continuous learning process. As soon as we begin to think we have Crotaphytus husbandry all figured out, something happens to bring us back to reality... and keep us searching for better solutions...

Brock

I don't plan on giving up on them...just realizing I don't need so many all at once now LOL.

Thats such a lose ! They are beautiful lizards. I never look forward to brumation Glad when its over !

I sure hope one of our collared buddies can help with a male for your pretty girl.

Eve

That really sucks, scares me to death. Your female is really stunning, hope you have good luck with finding her a partner!

DC
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I've got the blues...LOL...them screamin' yellow-head blues...

Hey Jason,

Last time I checked, there was an ad running in the classified section for some extra male dickersonae left over from last year. I don't remember who was selling them - the price was totally whacked out!

But you might privately offer a more reasonable price and see what they say - can't hurt.

(NT)

Nice to have a little Crotaphyte-community to rally around you in tough times...I appreciate the email too Brock.

Here's one more pic of my male, in the natural sunlight...which always brings out their best blue coloration. Still one of my favorite species, although I sure haven't figured them out yet. Keep up the good work you guys!

By the way...I've lost contact with Will Cordero. Anyone know where he's gone to?

Best,

Jason

Randy if you're out there drop us a hello!