Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi! Ok, now besides the fact that you all know that I'm so very afraid of bees, () I recently obtained 4 horned lizards. My first question is that I'm not sure what type they are. I know that they were wild caught (not by me) and I'm assuming they are either modestrum or plathyrhinos, but I'm not sure. One of them has some nice yellow on it while the other 3 are more orangey-red.
Another one of my questions is about sexing. It's pretty much the same as like bearded dragons with the enlarged femoral pores and hemipenis, right? In that case, I think I have 3 males and a female. Is that going to cause a problem in my little community?
Also, getting these harvester ants, are they available in Illinois? Everyone here seems to be able to find them outside, and that would make it so much easier on me. I live in northern Illinois, near the city, so the only thing I ever see is a garter snake in my backyard every once and a while, you know?
So far, I've had these litte guys for 2 days and I've been doing so much research on them, but I have to say, that this forum has been the best source. Thank you everyone.
Ok, lastly, I've been feeding them every day with small crickets and I know dusting your herps food is a must. I recently found this new dust made by Sandfire Dragon Ranch exclusively for T-REX foods. It's called a Leopard Gecko Dust "ICB". The ICB means insect cricket balancer. It also says "Completes the nutritional value of feeder insects" and "Includes all foods, vitamins and minerals." It says Leopard Gecko on it, but it also says that you can dust all your insects with it and feed it to other herps as well. This is what I have been doing with my HL's. I'm wondering if this is gonna "cut the mustard". If you need a list of the ingrediants, let me know. I just want the best for my new found "friends". Any input will be appreciated! Thanks!

Hi,

Well, I can't answer all your questions, but I'll take a stab at a few of them.

First, as to which species you have. It's hard to say without seeing them. Do you know where they came from? That'll make a big difference. If they were legally collected for the pet trade, then P. platyrhinos will be from Nevada, and P. modestum will be from Texas. They also differe a great deal in size, with P. platyrhinos being larger, and having horns that are longer towards the back of the head, while P. modestum is smaller and has horns of about the same length all along the back of its head. Given the color though, I would say you probably have P. platyrhinos.

As far as sexing goes, yes, you've got it right. But you're out of luck with harvester ants. There are no species of harvesters that live in your area. There is only one species east of the Mississippi, and it doesn't go that far north. There may be other ants around there that they will eat though. They will take carpenter ants sometimes, and you should have some of those around. Look under old rotting wood. They will also take termites, which you might find in the same types of places. If you've got garters around, then you're near water, so old rotten logs should be plentiful. Also, mine absolutely love small moths.

Dusting is probably a good idea with crickets, as they don't offer much in and of themselves. I'm not familiar with that particular brand, but it's probably a standard multi-vitamin/mineral mix, and should be fine. But get some ants in them, they'll be much happier.

Thank you for replying. Ok, I took some pictures of them and I will post them as soon as they develop. I don't know where they were collected from. I don't know if the store I got them from would know.

Now with collecting ants and other insects from the wild, is that really ok? I mean with not knowing if they have any pesticides or diseases or anything like that. Yeah, I've seen carpenter ants before, they are those big suckers, aren't they? What about red ants? Good or bad? Termites I have never seen before, I try to stay away from bugs. I hate going to reptile swaps and shows and see people who sell cockroaches for food. EWWWWWWW! SO NASTY!!! Anyways, I will tell my boyfriend to get me some nasty bugs for my HL's. Thanks again!

The problem with any live food item is the possibilty of parasite transmission. Unfortunately this is a problem whether you collect wild food yourself, or purchase it. Buying live food is no guarantee that your pets will not get parasites. It's probably a good idea to have your herps wormed periodically, just as you would an outdoor dog or cat. Also, clean out any pet wastes from their cage ASAP, as this is the usual route of parasite transmission. An animal that comes in conact with its own feces is very likely to continually reinfect itself once it has parasites, which can cause a very high, even fatal, parasite load to build up quickly.

With wild caught food you also have the possibilty of environmental toxins such as pesticides and herbicides. Hopefully you are aware of the use of such chemicals in and around your home, so you know if insects there need to be avoided. Also, species such as wild-caught roaches, which can accumulate very high levels of toxin and survive are not good choices for food (although cultured roaches - raised in captivity - can be a very good herp food). Obviously you shouldn't collect food animals from areas you suspect may be treated with toxins.

Yes, the carpenters are the big ants. Some HLs will eat them, although mine don't really like them. Since there are many species of ants that are red (including many harvesters), I can't advise you on whether your particular red ants will work. My suggestion is to try a couple and see for yourself.

And bugs aren't nasty (at least certainly not as nasty as mammals)!