Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Are they hard to keep and how often can you handle them?

well i think they are easier than some lizards, but i think desert species are easier than most others, which is why i only have desert lizards.
they like to have alot of heat about 100 degrees with a cool end and hide spots and they love their bugs. at suncharmers.com eve has a nice FAQs page and lots of pretty pictures. collareds were the first lizards i ever owned and i knew nothing and the first one somehow lived a year. the second one is still alive and i have had her for over 3 years now, knowing things about them makes it much easier to keep them alive

ivan the girl

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vonnie
***The scientific theory I like best is that the rings of Saturn are composed entirely of lost airline luggage.
— Mark Russell***

I don't think it is difficult, especially with the wonderful care sheets and people who will provide you answers to your questions at this forum. I knew absolutely nothing about caring for reptiles when my first collared was given to me and the people here were very patient in teaching me what I needed to know. I still have the same 4 that I acquired in the summer of 2004.

It does involve a commitment to time and money. I imagine last year I spent $250 just buying crickets and meal worms for my 4 collareds. Also another $100 at the vet and more on basking bulbs and other items. And that doesn't include the initial housing set-up for them. The cricket bill would go down substantially if I were able to buy them in bulk or raise them myself. And it is not easy to find someone to care for them when I leave town for more than a couple of days, nor is it easy to take them along.

But, the enjoyment I get from them is well worth all of that. They are friendly and fun and calming to watch, much like an aquarium. Mine were all wild caught and I spent a lot of time taking each one out every day to tame them. Now they have no fear of me at all and are a lot of fun to handle. I think they are loaded with personality. The male, Otis, is especially friendly and will sit on my shoulder for hours at a time. He also likes to ride in a shirt pocket, or hanging over the neckline of my shirt. He has been to a lot of places with me and even seems to enjoy riding in the car. I don't take him much in the colder months, but in the summer he will sit on the dash or on my shoulder and look out the window. He actually will find one object to watch, and his head will turn as he tracks it until it is out of sight. Then his head whips back in the other direction and his eyes lock on something else to track and he will do this for the entire time he is in the car, even for hours. He's great, but has spent more time out with me than the females have. I imagine with work I could get them to the same point.

I would definitely encourage anyone wanting to keep a lizard to look into collareds. If you can afford them and commit the time they need, you will be rewarded many times over what you have put into it.

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Valerie

We may have all come on different ships, but we're in the same boat now.
--Martin Luther King, Jr.--

God bless the USA

vrk.photosite.com

Well said

élan
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3.6.0 Collareds
1.2.0 Leopard Lizards
1.0.0 Mali Uromastix
1.2.0 Green Anole
1.0.0 Chinese Dwarf Newt
1.0.0 White's Treefrog
1.0.0 Fire bellied toad
2.1.0 Felines
1.3.0 Canines
1.0.0 Equine

Thank you very much!!

Always a helpful bunch here they said it quite well.

I say once you do your reading, and keep a couple, you will enjoy them so much and find them so very friendly (If handled) that you will enjoy the continued LEARNING/ Time/ money/ devotion, it takes to keep them healthy and happy.

* Just when you THINK you get it all down right, something will arise to make you have to LOOK harder for more answers,
They are quite rewarding to keep, and so very beautiful.

Best wishes with your quest, hope to see you here in the future as well.
My Lizards

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PHEve / Eve

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