Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I've been looking into Chinese Crocodile Lizards (Shinisaurus crocodilus). Anyone have any info on care or where I can find them?

This is a CITIES I species, which you'll probably have to have an Endangered Species permit from your local DNR, and if you ever move you'll probably need to get the Federal Permit so you don't violate the Lacey Act by moving across state lines with an endangered species. Now, all that being said, I've seen them for sale once or twice, usually for thousands of dollars. Definetely a species only for the most advanced herper or zoo.
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Matt Campbell
Animal Keeper, Small Mammal/Reptile House
Lincoln Park Zoo Chicago, Illinois

Assistant Curator
Wildlife Discovery Center at Elawa Farm
Lake Forest, Illinois

Matt,
Unless there has been a pretty recent change, I think this is still an appendix II species. They are legal to ship or transport across state lines, but can't be moved internationally without the proper permits. They are getting more and more readily available to the public annualy. I've been breeding them for a couple of years and they are a joy to keep. The price is high for a lizard (usually $500-$1000) but will probably drop in the next few years due to the number of them being imported from Europe to set up breeding colonies in the US. Not hard to keep, but do require a little more work than most "mainstay" hobby species. I've attached a pic of a female giving birth from this past October.

Bryan

>>This is a CITIES I species, which you'll probably have to have an Endangered Species permit from your local DNR, and if you ever move you'll probably need to get the Federal Permit so you don't violate the Lacey Act by moving across state lines with an endangered species. Now, all that being said, I've seen them for sale once or twice, usually for thousands of dollars. Definetely a species only for the most advanced herper or zoo.
>>-----
>>Matt Campbell
>>Animal Keeper, Small Mammal/Reptile House
>>Lincoln Park Zoo Chicago, Illinois
>>
>>Assistant Curator
>>Wildlife Discovery Center at Elawa Farm
>>Lake Forest, Illinois

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Last night I was laying in bed looking up at the stars in the sky and I thought to myself, "Where the hell is my ceiling?"

Bryan, Did you produce in 04. The two I got from you last year are doing well. Fred/Denver.

Fred,
Yes we had success again this year. No babies for sale though, as I am holding back everything now to increase my own colony numbers. Hopefully in '06 I will start selling again. If I end up with a surplus of males I may sell a few in '05, but I'm not sure if I'll have anything large enough to sex by then. Glad to hear that yours are doing well. If you can post pics I'd love to see them. Thanks for letting me know.

Bryan

Pic here is of a five minute old baby.

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Last night I was laying in bed looking up at the stars in the sky and I thought to myself, "Where the hell is my ceiling?"

Bryan, Glad to hear things went well. I dont have any good pictures right now but I will post some in the next few weeks. I am currently setting up some more permanent housing with filtration and was wondering if you had some ideas or better yet pictures of your adult set up. Fred.

Fred,
I've had the best luck with about 4-5" of water covering the entire bottom of the tank (with or without a gravel substrate) and rocks placed for basking/drying. I usually use 40 "breeder" aquariums for the adults (36x18" floor). I run Fluval internal filters with foam only in them for particulate filtration and use live plants as my bio filters. Pothos sp. and bamboo seem to work best, but I would suspect that any non-toxic marginal plant will work fine. ZooMed 5.0 flo bulbs are the UVB source, and a basking light providing about 85F are the lighting. I do 100% water changes every 2-3 weeks and use aged or de-chlorinated water.
This is by no means the "only" way to do these lizards, but it is definitely the best that I have found. Remember that they are 90% aquatic, so water quality is important. If you are an aquarium keeper, follow the same water testing rules and keep the Nitrogen as low as possible.
Hope this helps!

Bryan

>>Bryan, Glad to hear things went well. I dont have any good pictures right now but I will post some in the next few weeks. I am currently setting up some more permanent housing with filtration and was wondering if you had some ideas or better yet pictures of your adult set up. Fred.
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Last night I was laying in bed looking up at the stars in the sky and I thought to myself, "Where the hell is my ceiling?"

Bryan, Seems great minds do think alike I was looking at the 40 breeder and a fluval but a cannister fluval. I thought a outside filter would be better and water changes would be easy. However I found a 33 gallon that is 48by13by12h this would help with stacking space but do you think it would be to narrow for adults. I am also housing seperatly do you? and if not at what age do you think it becomes a concern. Lastly I have kept fish my whole life and I know with fish it is a issue but why do you worry about the nitrates in the water for lizards. Fred.

Fred,
I think the 33 gal would be great for adults. I do house seperately with all, although I believe that multiple females would be OK together most of the time. Not multiple males though. I would recommend seperating males by the time they are a year old just to be safe. This is probably much earlier than needed, but I know the strength of their bite and I'd hate to lose tail tips or toes accidentally. I believe that the Nitrogen is an issue for the same reasons that it is an issue with fish. Nitrogen in too high a concentration is deadly to all carbon-based organisms. It is stressful in too high a concentration well before a deadly level, therefore I play it safe and keep the Nitrogen as low as possible. The plants really help, but water changes are probably going to be a requirement as well. Hope this helps.

Bryan

>>Bryan, Seems great minds do think alike I was looking at the 40 breeder and a fluval but a cannister fluval. I thought a outside filter would be better and water changes would be easy. However I found a 33 gallon that is 48by13by12h this would help with stacking space but do you think it would be to narrow for adults. I am also housing seperatly do you? and if not at what age do you think it becomes a concern. Lastly I have kept fish my whole life and I know with fish it is a issue but why do you worry about the nitrates in the water for lizards. Fred.
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Last night I was laying in bed looking up at the stars in the sky and I thought to myself, "Where the hell is my ceiling?"

Byran,

You are correct. I was going off of a listing I have in a book of them being endangered, however if they're endangered in China, they are apparently still only CITES II. Of course Corucia zebrata is now CITES I, but the appendicies on the CITES page have not been updated since the most recent treaty meeting to reflect that change - so maybe the status of Shinisaurus might have changed as well. At any rate you are correct in that they can be transported normally, etc.
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Matt Campbell
Animal Keeper, Small Mammal/Reptile House
Lincoln Park Zoo Chicago, Illinois

Assistant Curator
Wildlife Discovery Center at Elawa Farm
Lake Forest, Illinois