Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i found a baby alligator liz in my back yard a while back it was pretty small. i ddnt have any knowledge of them, so i let it go.

do they make good pets?

Baby alligator lizards require more attention than adults or they end up dying, but it isn't too difficult.

Adult alligator lizards generally make excellent pets - and IMHO are an excellent first lizard.

You did the right thing though, one should know how to take care of a particular species before they try to keep it.

I do not know if there is an alligator lizard care sheet here or not, but you can probably find one online somewhere - and there are a couple people here who are alligator lizard experts and would answer any questions you have. Me - I'm not an expert, I only have one female and 10 eggs, I had lots growing up, but now - I only want to keep two females, and just for nostalgia - it was my first reptile. But I'll detail my suggestions.

You can keep an alligator lizard in a 10 gallon terrerium, I prefer to use something a little bigger - I don't know how many gallons mine is, but it is 30" x 12"

A baby should probably have a smaller cage until it grows.

I use coconut fibre substrate, it allows the lizard to dig. On one side I have a large water dish, the dish is only partially in the substrate, which allows the lizard to dig underneath it. On the other side, I have a broken flower pot, and that is where she primarily lives.

When I change her water dish, I always make sure I spill some next to the water dish, so that some moist substrate is available (it keeps uneaten crickets from trying to eat her eyes for water).

I do use a heat basking lamp but you do not need one. My heat lamp is on a timer, it only comes on for a couple hours in the morning and evening, off most of the day and all night.

You will however need a UVB light - and even though it is a cold light, Alligator Lizards will bask under it. The UVB light should be on a timer so that it is off at night.

Diet consists of crickets, which need to be dusted with something like Rep-Cal Calcium w/ Vit.D3

I feed my adult a dozen large crickets once a week, but babies probably need to be fed a little more often - and pinhead crickets. I also feed mine wild crickets that I find crawling around my house, she probably gets about 4 or 5 of those a week.

poops need to be removed immediately - mine likes to leave her chosen hide (the broken flower pop) and poop on the opposite side of the cage, so they seem to be a species that likes things to be clean where they sleep and therefore one should really be vigilant about removing the poop as soon as it is seen.

My experience is that females are a communal lizard, you will usually find several living at the same spot. Males tend to be loners.

I'm going to aquire a second female for my female, but due to bag limits (two) I have to wait until my eggs hatch and I've sent them all away (2 are going to my little brother, 8 to UC Berkeley - assuming all 10 hatch).

Anyway - I would recommend if you want to keep this species, keep 2 females, and start with adults. Males can give a really nasty bite.
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3.0 WC; 0.2 CB L. getula californiae
0.1 WC; 10 eggs (7/11) Elgaria multicarinata multicarinata

I agree with the above, except I think that the babies make better pets. There is high juvenile mortality so there is less impact to the wild population if you decide to keep a juvenile who would most likely not survive to adulthood than to take a breeding adult. Young juveniles are more likely to become tame and adapt more readily to being caged. Juveniles also tend to have lower parasite loads and you are less likely to have to deal with things like mites, which are a common problem.

I've raised als without UV, but in order to do it, you have to make sure that your supplementation and gutloading regimine is flawless. I do currently use UV with my adults. Crickets make the best staple, mealworms have too much fat. I feed my crickets fish food along with oranges and other fresh fruits and veggies and dust with herptivite and repcal with vitamin D3. Make sure to only feed as many crickets as your als can consume in 15-30 minutes. Crickets left wandering the cage can lose their vitamin coating and all the benefits of gutloading. If these crickets become a significant portion of the diet, your al could develop nutritional deficiencies (als are very prone to metabolic bone disease which is caused by too little calcium and/or vitamin D3, or the use of a supplement with an improper calcium phospherus ratio; als get all the phospherus they need from their prey so make sure to use a phopherus (calcium phophate etc) free calcium supplement, phospherus containing calcium supplements are designed for herbivores).

Als housed in a spartan cage will tend to hide most of the day. If you add some fake or live plants (I have black thumb in terms of in-tank plants), that provide some cover you're more likely to see your al out and about. I house mine on reptibark. I provide a shallow water bowl. For new juvies I'd recommend daily misting until you're sure that they've figured out how to use the water bowl. I also overfill my water dishes to keep portions of the substrate moist. I do not provide any additional heat.

I have not observed any communal tendencies with the females. Mature males may fight, but male female pairs get along well together, as do female pairs. Single als are also content. When I find multiple als under cover boards, it is typically breeding pairs.

Als make wonderful pets as long as their needs are attended to and with regular handling, they can become very tame. Captive hatched babies that have been handled from an early age are also typically very tame. In my experience, if you are starting with a wild caught adult, males tame down more readily than females.

-Alice

awesome!... thanks guys =]