Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Can get some information on things about chuckwakllas. I know the temperature, basking spot 110 and warm side is in the 80s cool side is 75-80. I do need to know about night time temperatures. I would like to know if alfalfa bedding is fine. I was told it was but does anyone have any cons of it. I can get some more sand if necessary. I got a piece of drift wood, which he hangs out on and a shelter. Should I get more rocks? Can I get them from outside my house or at a petstore. I was also told to get a granite slab and make a platform but I think that would be very costly and it could wreck the custom enclosure. I understand the size of a enclosure right now he is little and in a smaller enclosure. Once he starts to eat and gets a little older I will move him into a 4 by 2. I could order it at anytime. If there is anything important I need to know or anything else you feel like telling me please do so. I know the foods she/he should be fed, thanks to rosebud on here. I also want to make sure though that crickets or any other insect is not good for them and shouldn't be fed or it can be? I may need to make a camera to observe if he is eating. I think I can do that.

Hi Chris! Glad you made it over!

You don't need to invest in granite! I use limestone garden stones that you can buy cheaply at nurseries, and I soak each piece in Clorox for a few minutes and rinse really well before I put it in the enclosure. That kills any parasites or potentially harmful organisms that might be lurking in the stone. Chucks need a nice big flat surface to bask on so that their bellies and backs warm up. Don't use a heat rock, though. I am sure others have other ideas. I think some people use big rocks, but I don't have anything like that here. I stack the limestone in such a way that there is a cave under the basking spot, and I stack stones that way in various other places in the enclosure to give them a choice. They prefer the warm cave, but they do wander into the others.

I use tile for substrate, and it works well. I don't like sand, particularly for babies, as I have seen too many impactions in rescues. You should not use any loose substrate for the baby. Just use paper towels or tile at least until you move it into the larger enclosure.

No bugs. Chucks might occasionally eat a bug here and there, but their diet really should be mostly vegetation. Do you shave those lists that I posted for you?

Well, there are some very knowledgeable chuck keepers here. If you have questions, ask away!

Oh, BTW, We LOVE pics!

Yes, I will post pictures. Thanks so much.

I think you mean the websites right? If so yeah I looked at them. I will be getting the green vegetables on that list. I will also be getting a few bags of Spring Mix enough to last him a week.

If you live near a field that doesn't have herbicides or pesticides, you can pick him fresh dandelion. They LOVE the flowers, and you can also feed the greens. They also LOVE hibiscus blooms.

Cool. Although, I live near a school and I think they use pesticides. Is there anyway to find out?

If you live near a mountain road, or an underdeveloped area take a drive or a walk and collect some dandelions and misc weeds. Be sure to take pics and post them if you are not sure if they are edible.

I'll ocasionally drive out to the desert and pick a few flowers, and leaves from the areas where I actually caught my chucks. They like dried weeds and flowers just as much as the green stuff.

I no longer feed any store bought veggies to my chucks, they do far better on the weeds that I leave growing around the yard.. However, as a treat I will add fresh steamed, or grated sweet potato, and Mazuri tortoise food quite often.

Go real easy on supplements.. Chucks seem to be really delicate and sensitive to vitamins. I offer vitamins once a month if even that. I feel that they probably get toxic levels built up because of their ability to go long periods without food or water in the wild. I read something about their lymph systems and water storage some time ago... probably here

Some of the best rocks that I've found are at Home Depot... They are the paver stones, and are about 2 inches thick, and stack prefectly, and offer perfect crevices that are safe for a chuck to hide in. I also use cleaned playground sand, and mix in lava, and mexican river pebbles etc...

Good luck!
-Kory

I live in Connecticut, so undeveloped places are hard to find. I will try to see what I can do. Pictures will be up as soon as he is happy and he is eating correctly. I also want to try to get him more tame. He doesn't bit and I can touch him but he seems a little upset when I touch him. I actually need to go to Home Depot for a Lygodactylus cage I am making.

Hey, my chuckwallas is just hanging around lately. Just chilling under this driftwood I bought him. Could he be sick? I never seem him move around and he is usually on the driftwood. I mean he is still skittish but I am worried. Could he be sick are you suppose to them move a lot? Could he be overheating?

His legs are sort like a lazy dog. He has all his legs on the floor is this bad?

My dad kept insisting on putting a small amount of water in and I am worried that something happened. He believes that all animals need water all the time. I told him he doesn't but he didn't listen. Could he be sick from that?

Chris, can you tell us about your setup? What are you measuring your temps with? What is the basking temp? Can he retreat to a cooler part of the tank? What are the cool side temps?

Does he have hides? Is there a hide on the hot side and on the cool side?

What are you feeding him? Did you get those good greens like I suggested?

Can you post a few pics?

I only have a hide on the cool side right now. I am probably going to get more stuff this week or next weekend. The temperatures (I checked with a infrared heat prober) are, 101 to 105 for the basking temperature, on the hot side it is about 85-90, it goes up the closer you get to the hot side. On the cold side it is about 80 to about 74 (lowest). I keep lighting on for the day and it goes s off at 8:00 PM. I may need to make it a little less light. My setup might need work. I am thinking about taking out the substrate and putting in sand because it really smells funny. I have alfalfa pellets. I also noticed some discharge coming out of his nostrils. He actually is active now. I got him on Tuesday, he could be getting use to his home. He hasn't explored the furthest part of it. Send most of his time on the warm side but I saw him one time getting cuzzy between this rock thing.

Just a secondary thing. If my dad is bent on putting water in there, is that bad? He only puts a little in. I told him not to but he refuses. He says all animals need water. I really am getting annoyed. I think he could die because of it. I turned it around, so he doesn't get into it. I am sure I will find it turned around again.

I got spring mix and endive.

Rosebuds,

Can you send me on Faunaclassified or just post one up on here a picture of your enclosure. I know mine would probably be smaller and not have as big hides, but it gives me an idea. I actually will probably getting another one when he grows out of the one he is in. I would try to get a adult though.

I will tomorrow. I had to wipe my hard drive recently and all my picks are on a flash drive. Let me either dig them up or take new ones.

BTW, your temps sound fine. I think he just needs to adjust. If you haven't had him for very long, just leave him be for a few weeks. You can try to hand feed him favorite foods and let him get to know your presence, but chucks need time to adjust when they get moved.

Yep. Thank you.

Hey Chris,
if you want to see some great setups, check out Kramers web site.
http://www.agamen.nl/

Congrats on your new chuck. If your chuck is feeling stressed you can tape 3 sides of it's enclosure with an aquarium back ground, newspaper or brown paper bag to help it feel more secure. Once it acclimates you can remove the paper. If it's not eating much you can move the food dish closer to it's hide so it can snack and feel safe at the same time.