Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I recently captured a large Alligator lizard. I assumed it was male because it was so large (nearly 15 inches! I'd never seen one so large in my backyard). Last night, my lizard laid two small eggs. I have another alligator lizard in the tank (an old fish tank; dimensions: 10.5" deep, 20" wide, ~17" tall). He/she is young; only about 4 inches long.
Questions:
1. Is Tail (the younger one) endangering the eggs since he/she is in the same tank? I know the mother will protect them, but still...?
How should I care for the eggs? I have searched on the 'net and have found mixed results. I have searched on these forums a little bit and found conflicting answers....
3. Should I bury them completely?
4. In soil or the beach sand I have in there now?
5. How warm? Would a heat lamp do?
6. What should I feed them when they hatch?
7. What is vermiculite? Do I need it?

I'm very confused but even more than that, I'm excited.
Any help would be GREATLY appreciated.
If you could IM me on AIM, that would be awesome. My SN is HockeyHuo

Thanks, sorry for the long post, but I wanted to make sure I was clear...

one more thing:
UV light or regular light bulb?

What kind of alligator lizards do you have?

I used the bellow technique to successfully hatch southern alligator lizard eggs.

I incubated the eggs in a 1:1 ratio of vermiculite and water by weight. I put the eggs in a relatively warm location in my house (mid to low 70's) that didn't experience many temperature fluctuations. I burried the eggs about 3/4ths of the way so that the top was still exposed. The eggs hatched in about 2 months (I had 10 out of 10 hatch).

I would definitely reccomend removing the eggs from the tank so that you have more control over the incubation environment. When transfering the eggs to the incubation container be careful not to turn them or you will drown the embryo. If you keep your lizards inside you could incubate the eggs in a plastic container within the tank.

Vermiculite is a soil additive used in gardening to help soil retain moisture. It is available at most stores with a greenhouse ( I get mine at Orchard Supply and Hardware). Be careful that you purchase a brand that has not had fertilizer added. Anyone in the gardening department should be able to direct you in the right direction if you have questions.

I housed one of my southern als without a UV light for over a year during which time she grew from 6" to 12" without any apparent ill effects. I did, however, always dust her crickets with calcium and multivitamin powder. When I added a branch to her cage she started spending a lot of time at the top. I interpreted this as basking behavior and got her a UV light. I haven't noticed any changes since its addition and I can't find any information about how necessary it is. I think that you would be safe with a regular bulb.

-Alice

THANK YOU SO MUCH ALICE!
wow, you sure know a lot about alligator lizards.
mine is a southern. I let the younger one go, as I wasn't sure that he was eating (I think my crickets were too big for him). She has laid a total of about 14 now, but I got rid of a few because she rolled them down a hill (oops. I got rid of that quickly). She's doing great. I have terrarium moss under the eggs, and have separated the eggs from the mother. I spray often, and have a UV-A light in there. I keep it at most about 80° in there. Thank you again. Please tel me if I'm possibly doing something wrong.

Jordan

I had to let her go. I had a webpage up asking my friends if they could care for her, and I changed it to say that I had to let her go. The whole reason/story is there, if you care
thanks for all the help
Sad News

Bummer man. Sad story. Should have left the eggs alone though.