Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I've been into reptiles (mostly snakes) my whole life and recently moved to southern utah. While on a hike yesterday I caught 2 small DHL's. I have no previous experience with them, but would like to keep them. I have heard that they are possibly tough to keep when they are young. The larger of the two is about 2 inches long and the other 1.5"

There are a LOT of empty house lots next to mine so we have harvester ants all over. I introduced some today and the larger of the two ate immediately. The smaller is burrowed somewhere so he/she has yet to see the ants.

Any general advice from experienced keepers, things you wish you had known?

I have them in a 10 gallon terrarium...is it ok to have them housed together? I know this will not be big enough as they get bigger, but figured with their small size it would do for now.

About how many ants would you expect little guys like this to eat daily?

Update...I went in to take some pics and the smaller lizard had emerged and all the ants were gone. I'm off to grab some more ants to see if they'll take some more.

Let me know if these aren't DHL's

You might want to do yourself and the lizards a big favor and let them go back where you found them. They are difficult to keep, and will need a much larger tank, special lighting, and a dedication to either buying or catching lots of ants.
If you are dead set on keeping them, you should do a lot of reading and get up to speed right away. Primary concerns should be tanks size and temps, proper lighting, and it sounds like you may have a handle on the ants. They will eat a LOT of ants when they are full grown. So you should give it careful consideration.
Best of luck and check out the link below.

Phrynosoma.Org

Thank you for your reply Mark. I've done a lot of reading on that site after checking some of the other threads in this forum.

I appreciate your words of warning and take them into consideration. I am confident that I can keep these guys, but if that ever goes in doubt or I slip a bit in my care I will take them back to exactly where I caught them since they were both captured within about 100 yards of my house.

I have an ample supply of ants here, but also have an ant supplier about 20 minutes from where I live as well. http://www.infowest.com/life/hornfood.htm

Like you said, this current tank size is inadequate for adults...do you think I should immediately upgrade, or will this do for their present size?

I have them in a non-air conditioned room in our house that has an large window that allows indirect light all day and about 10 hours where half the cage is in direct sunlight for basking. From what I had read this sounded like a good location as it should keep the cage at about their native temperature and allow them to choose whether to bask or not.

Thanks for your concern and advice.

There is a lot of good information on this forum, but sometimes it is difficult to endure the gauntlet.
It appears you have both the means, desire, and aptitude to keep HLs successfully. I am an engineer by trade as well. I picked my first HLs up just as you did, and played catch up on their care.
I was successful by any standard, and developed such an interest that I created phrynosoma.com (yes, it's sorely in need of updating , LOL) and other resources for those with similar husbandry interests.
Drop me an email if you will and I can provide some additional info. mark_brock(at)phrynosoma.org.

The only thing I would say right off is that a tank in the sun is in danger of becoming an oven rather quickly. I do allow sunlight into one of my tanks, but the floor space that has direct sun is probably less than 5%, which just allows a basking area. And at those times I use no artificial light.
If you caught these lizards that close to your house you undoubtedly have a good supply of ants nearby as well.
You can also certainly supplement with about 20% crickets by weight without issue.
These guys will also like to bask in warm water (under the light). You might find that the small red clay plates used under planting pots will work for this, but a shallow bowl shape in a rock is ideal if you can find a rock like that.

I hope you are not put off. The community can always benefit from someone with the abilities you seem to posses.
Thanks for posting in the first place.

"I picked my first HLs up just as you did, and played catch up on their care."

This should not be held up as a standard to emulate, regardless of your individual success with them. Most people reading you are not going to have the same means and resources, and most do not live in Az. Even a blind squirrel may find a nut from time to time. It is not evidence that blind squirrels are very successful at finding nuts however. Two engineers should certainly know better. This unprepared approach to getting into reptile ( or HL ) keeping should be discouraged. That's just exotic pet 101 I'm afraid. Talk to any known reptile authority, rehabber, or rescue shelter.

"I was successful by any standard..."

Unless of course your standard ever included "conservation", which to the masses you have not been a success at encouraging.
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www.groups.yahoo.com/group/HornedLizards
www.youtube.com/user/PhrynosomaTexas
Wichita Falls Reptile Rescue
Harvester Ants

Thanks for your opinions Mike. Always welcome.

Thanks for the encouragement Mark. I've got some more good info from another member here that was kind enough to email me as well.

The tank I have them in probably gets about 10% of the floor hit with light daily, I'll move it a touch to lessen that. So far they appear to be doing well. They have taken ants every day and taken water too (when sprayed on their backs).

Mark, you mentioned your site as a .com but your email as a .org ? Is that correct?

Sorry I'm a bit slow to see your message. I had set this up to email me when replies came, but apparently it stopped.

Yeah, I dumped my old alias and hadn't set my links up yet. They should be good to go now, but it's phrynosoma.org (although both apply).

It sounds like you are getting on the right track. There may still be some factors to bring into line to make sure you are successful, but I am always concerned with the items that can quickly kill a lizard first.

Also glad to hear you are not overly discouraged. I do agree with Mike that desire is simply not enough when it comes to keeping these lizards. If I had to break down what I feel the requirements should be, it would look something like this )in no particular order):

1. Desire.
2. Time to devote to the lizards and their care. (This is probably the most oft overlooked when folks are pondering getting HLs, as these guys take a chunk of time per day to keep them in good health).
3. Cash to enable the appropriate setup and feeding.
4. Commitment to reading and learning (There is a ton of material both in the HL community and in the scientific literature. It isn't all required, but certainly the husbandry data is critical).
5. Patients.

If a person decides to take this on, be prepared to learn about the lizards, but it is my experience that you will learn a great deal more in the process. Keeping these guys has increased my awareness of their wild habitat and the flora and fauna that they share it with. I have found that it has greatly increased my idea of conservation and general environmental awareness (still not hugging trees though ). It has been a great experience and I believe just getting more folks in touch with nature (as opposed to images on a computer) will help all wildlife in the long run.
I read an article the other day about youngsters these days not even being able to identify the more common wild animals. It's sad this generation is losing touch. Dang computers...

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Phrynosoma.Org
Phrynosoma.Org Group

Edited on September 17, 2008 at 05:12:02 by PHGinger.

Again, more great info. Thanks Mark. I believe I fit those 5 categories and have definitely found myself taking more notice of their natural habitat already. Especially since I'm out there every day collecting ants. I'm ordering ants from a nearby farm as well for the days when I'm unable to find enough, and/or the days when work etc...keep me late and I don't have daylight left to find them.

And you're right about kids losing touch with nature. Although I graduated in Engineering I am actually teaching Math/Science at a Middle School and coaching high school basketball. I decided engineering wasn't for me, I enjoy working with youth MUCH more.

The first day of school I had a get to know me session and told them all about me etc...showed a picture of these lizards that are ALL OVER here in Southern Utah and only 2 out of 150 kids had any idea what they were...