Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello,

I have a pair of these beautiful lizards (hopefully 1,1) in a large glass tank. They have a temperature gradient from 95 to 80, and some good hide spots. I let night temps drop to 70 or even down to 66F if my house ambient temp gets that low. For temperature control I have Spyder Robotics with Night Drop, which is I guess about as good a thermostat as you can get for these small enclosures. I keep them on the end table next to my easy chair. It has been interesting watching them grow up and learn how to hunt larger prey, and get their dominance issues settled. They are a very friendly - to each other - pair. I'm happy about that. They hide a lot, but when they are out they sometimes throw their legs back, so I know that at least they can relax in the setup I gave them. I think I've figured out that they will never be tame to my hand.

I have a question. Do they need to be on some kind of dirt or soil substrate so they can dig? I don't see any indication of that, I'm just wondering.

Roger

Yes, all lacertids should have some substrate in their enclosures since they have psychological need to dig and burrow, and keeping them on artifitial substrates such as newspaper or "astroturf" is cruel. Washed children playground sand, or a mixture of sand and potting soil or small-graded gravel are good options (personaly, I use sand with good results). Substrat should have depth of 2-5 inches.

Thank you. I've never had a burrowing species before.

Another question: Do they need to hibernate?

Yes, if you're planing to breed them they need to hibernate. About 2 months on 40-50F is sufficient (I use refrigerator successfuly) They should have their guts emptied before you start to lower the temperature (stop feeding them 3-5 days before). Place them in plastic boxes with an inch or two of slightly moist peat or peat moss. You might need to spray them lightly every now and then during the hibernation to keep the substrate moist. If you allow it to dry out, lizards will dehydrate rapidly.

Can they be kept in Cypress mulch???