Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi guys!
I may be presented with an opportunity to get some of these awesome lizards, and I was wondering if I could get some pointers on care and sexing. Are they pretty much the same as the grandis? Perhaps more similar to Acanthosaura? Also, how does one sex them assuming they are adults? Is there a difference between the ones with all blue green coloring and the ones with orange? Thanks so much.

Regards,
Bob

Hello Bob

First congratulation on your husbandry, the fact your gonos are doing good sure says a lot about your commitment.

Keep it simple, don’t bother about anything documented on acanthosaura or gonocephalus species, any thing published about them is already outdated and will only keep you from progressing, don’t even bother with anything I said before.

75f at night and raise your daytime temps to 85-90f if you do this with any gono acantho or hipsylurus species they will thrive, it’s plain simple.

Keep hydration between 60-80% offer fresh moving water and feed every day.

The more I keep these lizards the easier they are, with the above as a base for husbandry I really don’t see how anyone can kill them.

It’s 95f in the shade where these lizards live today.
Rgds

ps. all my females are green, like this one!

Hey Bob and Jobi:
They really are a lot like G. grandis and Jobi is right about most of the lizards in these genera being similar in their care requirements. The only differences could be at the micro habitat stage which could lead to a little experimentation if similar setups don't work for all species. You should have fun with these lizards as they have nice colors and interesting head shapes. As with all Gono's remember they like to have secure sight barriers in their habitat that they can retire to to be "out of sight."
If you get them let us know.
Have a Great Day!!!

Here’s a java pair and a brown Sumatran female, on the log 2 babies emerald swifts, I keep these in many cages where they feed on small bugs.

As you can see I don’t use much cover, for one it conceals both lizard and prey, second a concealed lizard never gets use to a keeper, at least not fast enough for me, these are the lizards that refuse to feed in my presence.
time for dinner!
rgds

I first started seeing results when my temps where 80f DTH 72f NTL and 90f basking.
Then I got better results when I offered 80f DTH 75f NTL and 130f baskings.
Then I changed to 80f DTH 80f NTL and 130f baskings, my lizards started failing.
It was back to 80f DTH 75f NTL and 130f baskings, it took a full year before I changed again. During this time I focused on foods and there effects on my captives, remember all these where conducted on more then 40 cages of various size, in these all combinations from a single individual to mixed groups of male and females.
Total number of lizard well over 100 of 7 species.

I got significant improvement these last few months after raising my DTH to 85-90f, this zone seems to make a real change with all species, its noticeable in the first few days.
Metabolism is accelerated and therefore all other physiological aspects are as well.

Incidentally these are the temps suggested by Philippe de Vosjoli in his excellent book on greed water dragons. I should have read this book in the first place and save a lot of work.

With these correction I feel safe about these species being in the hands of most average keepers, don’t see them as fragile anymore.

Hi Guys!
Jobi thanks for the praise, things do seem to be going well for them, I attribute that to the guidance I got from you and Spawn! Thanks!

I appreciate the tips on their care, I was thinking they liked it hotter than the acanthosaura, but wasn't sure. The advice you gave really gives me something to work towards! I am waiting to see if the dealer can get these guys in, and, if so, their price and sex ratio. We'll see. I have a three foot cage, I am thinking 4-6 of them? It sounds like they are fairly similar to the Acanthosaura in the sense of humidity and water supply, so that's no biggie.

I just want to make sure that I get it right, males are the blue and orange color, and females are devoid of said colors? They are just greens? I have to be able to tell the dealer, they haven't worked with this species yet. I am really excited!

I also have a question about Acanthosaura, I have about 45 eggs incubating now, with what appear to be more on the way, but my females don't really seem to "bounce back" after they lay. They still eat, they just seem weakened. They don't get skinny, or act limp, just not their former energetic selves. If that makes sense... Also, when you get acanthosaura eggs, do all of them hatch in a given clutch? I usually loose a few, or sometimes whole clutches save one or two. Does it sound like I am doing something wrong in terms of incubating them? My temps fluctuate from 72/75F-80/83F. That seems right and the humidity is never below 68-70%. I even mist the eggs if I notice them denting, this seems to revive them. I haven't had any hatch yet, as I haven't been keeping them that long, but still, after all this work I sure would like to!

As a little side note, the grandis are doing very well. They have the most adorable little "pot" bellies! But they still think they are crocodiles, they will bite like crazy! Well, thanks to you both so much for all your help. And jobi, your lizards are beautiful!!!

Regards,
Robert

my eggs do best at DTH 85f and NTL 75f I do not go lower nor higher then these temps, my eggs hatch in the 60-76 day range.

Viable eggs are more about your husbandry, its starts with good care of your lizards, the second most important is good nesting options, once these are covered incubation is a walk in the park, good eggs are tough as nails.

The number of unfertile reflects your females condition, well kept females will produce clutches after clutches of good eggs like clockwork. These are resistant to bacterial and environment. I too spray my eggs when needed, but mass is the key to safe incubation, when you incubate with mass (volume) it more forgiving of human errors.

In closing acanthosaura sp have the same needs as gonos, keeping them at lower temps is a mistake.

Rgds

Ps. Male Sumatran

I just realised tough I answered your question about your females bouncing back, it may not seem obvious that I did from my post.

Good nesting and feeding are all your females need, if they didn’t like the nesting options they may have retained a little, this in turn affects both eggs and female.

When a female is fed mineral rich foods and has good nesting options, she most likely will nest in one shot (not test digging) this allows here to save energy for a prompt recovery.

On the other hand when fed high fat foods like super worms and such, females have enlarge fat bodies that holds little nutrition value for egg development, these empty lipids offer to developing embryos, they make for week babies if at all, but worst they drain energy out of females.

Correct your feeding and husbandry until you reach results you feel good with.

Trust me when you get to this level, everything seems so darn easy.
Rgds

ps. Thia is part of the upper post I forgot.

I prefer pairs to trios, not all females get along well, groups are only advisable when you raise them together from hatchlings, and must be provided a large cage with sufficient resource.

Hey Jobi,
Thanks so much for all the info, again! I'm sorry I didn't get back to you sooner, I was gone for some of Easter and busy on Monday. But thanks for answering me. The females seem to be finally recovering. I think the nesting medium itself was fine, I just think there wasn't enough space to find a good spot for laying. They are in tanks that are tall and somewhat narrow. I have been trying to feed them as much as they will eat, one eats like a pig, the other is a little more "conservative" than she used to be. This is a little concerning, but I did up the basking light, and so hopefully the temps will rise enough for her to start feeling a little better. As I said in the other post, the grandis are growing like weeds so I don't think I will be able to get the other gonos, I have to sincerely thank you for all the amazing info you so willingly gave me. It would have taken me forever to find all that out on my own, if I even could, and by that time who knows what state the lizards would have been in. Thanks again, having this forum is such a great tool, especially with people like you and spawn on it, really awesome! The acanthosaura info will indeed help me know though. I am getting a trio of female armata on Thursday, these are apparently a little more difficult to breed? We'll see, they are such amazing animals. I really hope I am able to do it! Well, you take care and I'll talk to you after a while!

Regards,
Robert