Reptile & Amphibian Forums

for feeding wild caught chuckwalas.

First item to consider--- Is the cage large enough?? If the 3 are adults-- you need a cage appx 4 to 5 ft long X 2 to 3 ft wide X 2 to 3 ft tall. If too crowded ( or if you have 2 males)-- they may never do well. Next thing-- are there plenty of large rocks for basking AND cover. They will be skittish as hell so provide em with several places they can hide & feel secure. Make sure the secure areas are secure too-- chucks will move rocks around & can get squished!! Next item-- heat--lots of it. 110 F basking with a cooler side down to 85-90. Put the lights on a timer to coincide with the natural daylight periods. Also-- cover the sides of the cage if glass--- they don't want to see you every time you walk by (yet) ! Toss dandelion flowers onto the LARGE rocks you have in the cage-- they react well to flowers falling off shrubs & trees in habitat.
Offer ragweed leaves to em-- yes - the nasty ol Ragweed. Try flowers ( and leaves) of the daisy types, hibiscus types etc

Update often as to how they are doing.

Later
David