Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My husband brought this home about a week ago, he works at a landscape supply and rescued it off a truck because the driver was gonna kill it. he is about 2 and 1/2 incehes body length 4 and 1/2 with tail.he is a brown color with light to dark patterns that go left to right across his top of body his underside is square patterns, his toes are long, but he has one really long toe on both of his back feet. he has a short nose and small compact face, his patterns remind me of an alligator to give you a picture. i have put some mealworms, and romaine lettuce and he has eaten nothing, i put a heat light on him and i spray him with water every couple days, he seems to be fine but i know he is hungry, any ideas what he is. the truck driver who was going to kill him said he had been in the truck since california or new mexico and i am in texas.one of the men my husband works referred to him as a blue belly lizard, but i dont know what that is, help please. i dont want to throw him outside if this climate is not appropriate for him, i have a bearded dragon and some frogs so i ahve the equipment to take care of him indoors. thanks in advance for the help.

is his body pudgy and his tail skinny to some extent? look up western fence lizard online, theres lots about them. also, hes prably hibernating right now. meaning, his body is going into a sort of natural coma i guess, and he shouldnt want to eat. mealworms arent good for him. the hard shells eventually build up in his body and could kill him. he should ravenously eat crickets. could be kept happily in a 10 gallon tank, he need lots of rocks/ branches to run on. he needs natural light or a uvb bulb. they make good pets, if handled regularly they will become pretty tame. i had a few that would sit on my shoulder all day and eat out of my hand. he shouldnt eat anything right now as it is too cold for him to digest anything that goes into his belly. he will be activ when its warm. to tame him, put your habd in the cage every day but do not chase him around. also, when he starts eating crickets, try feeding him with your hands. Also, a quick way to tame them that i use but doesnt always work, is to get them in your hand and turn em upside-down. run their bellys lightly and they go into an odd trance. i tamed one in about a week doing that. uhhh, thats all i can think of for now. good luck with him/ her.
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0.0.37-blue lab chichlids
0.1.6-sandiego gopher snakes
0.0.1-cal. kingsnake
0.0.1-anole
0.0.2-f.b.t
2.3-coturnix quail
0.1-cockatiel
0.2-s. black widow
1.1(fixed) cats-eddie/buzz

thanks that is exactly what he looks like, how long should he hibernate? should i try to feed him like once a week to see if hes hungry while hes in hibernation? thanks for your help i feel a lot better now about keeping him, seems like hes a long way from home, well give him a good one.

ya know, until it warms up. it will also need at least and inch and a half of ground litter, whether it be sand or soil. they bury themselves when sleeping. also, dont be shocked if its scared of u and runs every time u enter the same room as it. they r scittish at first, and it is coming out of a loooong sleep once winter is over(hybernation) it will calm down. they are very fun to watch also, once out of hybernation. let it hybernate, do not try to feed it anything, it could impact it(look up what lizard impaction is) just leave him in an unheated tank until it warms up. again, its important for it to have some source of uv light, be it natural or lamp.
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0.0.37-blue lab chichlids
0.1.6-sandiego gopher snakes
0.0.1-cal. kingsnake
0.0.1-anole
0.0.2-f.b.t
2.3-coturnix quail
0.1-cockatiel
0.2-s. black widow
1.1(fixed) cats-eddie/buzz

Try some 1/4" or 1/2" pinhead crickets. He may not be eating because he may not be warm enough. Such a lizard likes to be at about 90 degrees during the day and maybe 70-80 at night. Make sure you have a temperature gradient for him, so he can select what's comfortable for him. Do this with a 60-75W incandescent light bulb. He will also need a good UVB fluorescent bulb like a ReptiSun 5.0. Provide him a shallow bowl of fresh water. He should have a sandy soil substrate, but don't use that Calci-sand garbage, I've seen lizards choke on that stuff. Give him a few rocks and a branch or two to climb and bask on. He will probably not eat the veggies, but they would gut-load the crickets. Also, if he's big enough, try a few waxworms. I don't like mealworms as lizard food because they can start to gnaw on the lizard as it sleeps. Crickets should be a mainstay of the diet.

You can't hibernate him in such bad condition, he'd never live through it. I have several fence lizards and they are absolutely delightful pets. I hope this little guy makes it!

she never described as being malnurished, and it was probly already into hybernation when it was found. do wutever u want. u could take it out of hybernation early. just hybernate it next winter. ALSO: its not a baby, its not even really juvinile. its a young adult. so there. Beat that info.lol.
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0.0.37-blue lab chichlids
0.1.6-sandiego gopher snakes
0.0.1-cal. kingsnake
0.0.1-anole
0.0.2-f.b.t
2.3-coturnix quail
0.1-cockatiel
0.2-s. black widow
1.1(fixed) cats-eddie/buzz

I might take you seriously, but...

since you obviously are, I must assume your ignorance in other areas as well.

Brumating lizards is a tricky business. Unless you have had the animal for several months and have specially conditioned it beforehand, you can easily kill it by brumating it. A newly caught lizard is not a good candidate for brumation.

my main concern. also, i was just jokin w/ u, messin round. u sound like a snooty, ignorant, butt... never mind, moron. Just shut up. U cannot take a joke, and u sound like a sour moron. and wut is an esther?!?! Shove it. nick.
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0.0.37-blue lab chichlids
0.1.6-sandiego gopher snakes
0.0.1-cal. kingsnake
0.0.1-anole
0.0.2-f.b.t
2.3-coturnix quail
0.1-cockatiel
0.2-s. black widow
1.1(fixed) cats-eddie/buzz