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I followed Gus' outdoor chuck pen instructions, except for clear sides. So far Ive just put some rocks in it and that scraggly looking weed is actually a Palo Verde tree. I'm not sure what else to plant that won't get eaten. Maybe some paddle tails and sage. I know cherry tomatoes wouldn't last long! He dives right into them. Maybe that's why his tail got so red. LOL!
Well, at least the big guy seems to have made himself right at home.

Here's another view. What a fatty! At least there will be plenty of scat for the baby chuck to enjoy, :b

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Very nice looking pen, and love the BIG guy !

Hes quite a BEEFER,

Looks healthy and Happy, thats whats its all about!

Keep the pics coming!
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Eve

I'd like to provide a little more greenery for them. What plants have you guys found that work well? I have a gopher problem so the bottom is solid DUROCK except for where the tree is. It has a 1'x1' gap in the DUROCK that has 1/2" hardware cloth over it. Then there is 14" of dirt over that. I didn't want my chucks get out through a gopher hole. That area used to be our garden. We could sometimes sit outside and watch our veggies dissapear underground just like in the cartoons!
I was thinking more along the lines of annuals or perrenial shrubs. Tried creosote but they never live. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks,

Bebbia(chuckwalla's delight), Salt bush, brittle bush and jojoba are a few.

I have planted Oregano out here, dandelions, sedum, choreopsis, and a few blooming weeds from the roadsides. I'm sure you will have more heat problems for greenery if you live in AZ.

The seedum I have produced some very nice tiny yellow flowers in late May, early June that attract lots of small insects. My collareds lizards love them...the chuck munching on pretty much everything in there. I also grow a garden, and will pick some flower blooms, green beans, and other misc. blossoms for him to munch on.

Your chuck is incredible.

John E.

Thanks for all the plant suggestions, John and Tom. I will definitely look into getting some of them. The chucks will probably feel more comfortable with more natural cover objects but I don't want it so cluttered that they won't be able to detect cats or crows. That's one reason I went with clear sides. I think chucks in the wild detect predators mainly by site. Besides, the dog is getting too slow to be much help anymore. LOL!

BTW John, I live in the L.A. area but it does get warm here.

I have lots of green in my pen (approx 9 X 9). The chuck nibbles on about everything in there, but has never favored anything to the point of killing it. Funny...the chuckwalla is pretty much my most active lizards. I have one chuck, a yarrow spiny, and 7 collared lizards in this pen, and he moves around the most. I think it is to avoid being a basking site. Normally, first thing in the morning...the chuck is away sunning with one or two collareds on his back LOL

John E.

Nice cage, I'm going to fix my cage this weekend so that there is no more dig outs. What do you guys do so the lizards don't dig under the walls? I went to the Sonoran Desert Musuem yesterday to donate some collared lizards and got a behind the scenes tour. It was awesome! Tom, I saw some of your lizards there and they are doing well. Craig says Hello!

I used this design by Gus, Rio Brave Reptiles. (check out the link to the plans below.) He suggests using gravel around the edges. I have a lot of gophers so I had to completely dug out all the dirt then put a floor of "DUROCK" sheet concrete. No gophers in and no chucks out!

>>Nice cage, I'm going to fix my cage this weekend so that there is no more dig outs. What do you guys do so the lizards don't dig under the walls? I went to the Sonoran Desert Musuem yesterday to donate some collared lizards and got a behind the scenes tour. It was awesome! Tom, I saw some of your lizards there and they are doing well. Craig says Hello!

How To Build Outdoor Cages For Lizards