Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hi jim kendrick here
okay lizard folks.......someone give me a clue where to find whiptail lizards, preferrably the southern california to the lower mojave desert areas. i have been wanting them for sometime now and i am striking out.
any suggestions would be terrific........hope i can ask a question like this..........
please email me at fish41953@centurytel.net
just got my home email going recently.
take care all

Ok--don't know what part of southern California you live in, but Irivne in Mojeskie Canyon, Santiago Canyon, Riverside all over the place (Reche Canyon, Hwy 74), and near Mormon Rocks in the washes off HWY 138 going towards Palmdale would be an excellent place to find real big mamas and noose them. If you don't have experience with these lizards you need to make sure of a few things, Be careful about putting loose sand in the cage these lizards will get impacted as they poke in the sand and take food in sand, use some p-gravel and maybe consider some substrate they can dig a tunnel in as they are diggers and will feel a lot more home given that option. Don't use home depot sand because its big enough if they do eat a lot of sand it will cause irritation to their bowel and even have prolapse or other issues. So if you use sand mix it with p-gravel and use sand that is very fine like desert sand or something else for a substrate that will pass through. They eat insects but have observed them eating seeds as well, don't know what to suggest about the seeds, Don't over feed them, they will eat and eat and eat given the opportunity and will become obese. If you skip a day or so between meals they will not be affected as long as they have water... Also you must and I repeat you must have a water bowl in the cage, these lizards like washes and while it looks dry these lizards drink a lot and either spray every other day or so or put a water bowl, I prefer a water bowl for these lizards and also some flat rocks that they can dig under, also even consider some wild leaf litter, and depending on the are a you capture these in temps of 110 degrees on hot side 85 or so on the cool side. Temps to drop at night down as far as 70 or so. Last of all these lizards are very active--I know you know that, so you need a large cage for these lizards to be happy. Couping them up in a smaller cage will contribute to their obesity and their anxiety if they have to run around in a small area. Breeding season males usually have swollen hemi-penal bulges and pronounced femoral pores and often a light reddish highlight under the chin or throat but not always. Noosing them with a colapsable fishing pole is the best otherwise you'll need several poeple to chase them down and hand capture, I've done both and the noose is by far the bast. Using a long pole allows one to get close enough to noose them but not scare them, seems like there is a distance they will let you approach and you take one step beyond that buffer zone and they are off and running. Often I will chase them a little so they get a little tired (if you can keep your eyes on them for that long) and then try and noose them and have had good success...
Last of all I am no longer in California, but I would check to make sure these are legal to capture and keep in captivity. They may have changed the law on these--don't know for sure myself...
-----
www.phrynosoma.org

hey reptoman.......jim k here
thanks for the nice response here. i have had many whiptails many years ago and had good luck with them. i used play sand without any problems and when it came to feeding time, they would dash for the open area in the middle of the tank and couldn't wait for me to feed them. the two checkers i had tamed in about 2 weeks and i do remember they didn't dig much like i expected them to do.
i thought they were about the easiest for me to handle with very little work.
unfortunately i don't live in california any longer, in fact, it's been many, many years since i did. i live in the st. louis area now.
i was wanting some more of these guys badly and didn't know where to start. i'll find a few someday i am sure.
thanks again for the fine response and the tips you sent. much appreciated. have a nice weekend and take care.

Jim when I lived in California I had several checkereds, I kept them for nearly 4 years and they did have an issue with the sand, just was my experience and so I thought it note worthy to make a comment about it. There are other substrates that are from river beds and have smooth pebbles and the grains are smooth as well. If one can find this type of substrate I think I would recommend that.
Awesome, good luck!!! I found these lizards to be quite trainable and very smart....
-----
www.phrynosoma.org

thanks guy.......i really do appreciate the suggestions man......
thanks for the thoughts.talk to you again sometme..take care