Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hey friends,

I had a question. I know that Alligator
Lizards have a prehensile tail, or at least a very basic functioning prehensile tail. I was wondering
if anyone has observed an Elgaria hanging from something
with only its tail? It seems mine just used their tails as a sort of anchor to get to taller branches in their enclosure.
But, it has been a couple years since I've kept one. Thanks
in advance.

Yours,
Phil

My baby als will lower themselves off their branches with their tails to catch prey items on the cage floor and then crank themselves back up. They seem to lose some of this flexibility as they get older. But, even my adults can hang from my finger by their tail.

-Alice

P.S. As far as the ensatinas go, I'd shoot for an SVL of around 3-4 inches if you're planning on housing them with an adult al. I've seen als take down some pretty big prey items.

Hi,

I have one northern that constantly catches her prey by hanging upside down from a branch and es crickets that pass by. It's really fun to watch her eat!

(ACE)

Hello again!
Thanks to all of you for the answer.
So, the young ones are a little more adept
at it then the adults.... That makes sense.
I would suppose it might also have something to do with the size of thir tail, too. Alligator Lizards store some reserve fat in their tails, don't they? A nice long, fat tail would probably serve as a better anchor then a flimsy, or short one.
Heh. any way, thanks for the insight.

Oh, and The Ensatinas
I've found are about 3 1/2 inches long, and I'm gonna try for some sub-adult Elgaria, thanks for the thoughts on that.

One other thing. I've heard from a herper friend that
Alligator Lizard really have an affinity for Black Widow Spiders....is this true? I'd be impressed if I saw one eat one of those buggers, but I never wanted to try it with the ones I used to have, just in case. Thanks to all of you for your answers to my questions.

Yours,
Phil Clevinger

I have also heard that als like black widows. Several years ago I caught an al who was too busy stalking one to notice me creep up. At the time, I thought I did the al a favor...

With the ensatinas, as long as the heads are wider than the al's you should be safe.

-Alice

Hey Alice,
So I guess that solves the Spider mystery,
but I wonder if they're immune to the venom.....
one question leads to so many. =)
I was looking at some of your older posts and
saw the red-backed Als you have; what beauties!
I always thought Southern Als were attractive,
but never would've guessed THAT. Great find,
and better babies. So how many eggs are layed in a normal
clutch for you? Thanks for talking things out with me.

Yours,
Phil

have the red-back babies grown any more? that would be cool if you could post some new pics, i love looking at the gaters youv got round your house, and the babys. Im trying to settle down my two new bay als, and get some good pics to post. nothing special, but they are two that i released at the beginning of hibernation, and i caught them as they came out.