Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hello all im new to lizard caring and i just got my frilled neck about 6 days ago
i named him freddie after freddie mercury
he hatched in november so he is 3-4 months old
now ive got a few questions.

he always on branches and never comes down to the substrate (i made it from news paper) is it normal?
also i read u shud feed him twice a day.. mine eats only once a day sometimes even though im trying to feed him twice
sometimes he eats 1 time and about 4-5 young roaches is it normal also?

the temps in basking point are 90-100F cool side have 70-80F
in the evening its also like 65-80F humind is always at 70-90%

btw when i try to hold him he dosnt frills dont hiss he just calmly let me grab him and hold him so i guess this is good.

my questions are:
how can i make him go down a bit from the branches to his water bowl and to the plate with the branches?
is his feeding times and amount are normal?
and i bought him a UV light of 5.0 shud i replace it to 10.0?

here is a few pics from his day 1 in his new home

Quick answers:

My frillies all go for the high ground. It's just their instinct. They only come down to poop or eat if I have feeders in a bowl. I've never gotten mine to drink standing water. I have to drip water on their snout till they start to lick.

I'd feed him once a day, all he can eat in 15 min. or so. Don't leave lots of crickets or insects that could stress him out. Roaches, crickets, super worms, silk worms, horn worms are good. No meal worns please. A variety is best, and make sure you dust your feeders. Frillies can be picky when it comes to eating. If yours is eating every day, you're doing OK.

UVB is necessary, but the bulbs are really varied:

Good: ZooMed 10.0 linear tubes, T-REX 100W self ballasted MV, Exo-Terra 10.0 26W CF bulbs.

BAD: Any CF bulbs other than Exo-Terra. The ZooMed 10 CF will burn your animals, even the new improved ones. Cheap Chinese self ballasted MV bulbs (sone don't produce any UVB, some will burn your animals.

i got another question
how can i know if he's austalian or NG?

and
what is the minimum size terrarium req for a 4 month frilled?

Aussies are rare and expensive ($1000 ). Unless you specifically paid for an aussie from a honest breeder, you have a NG.

As far as cages, I have gone over this in detail in previous posts. For starters, I like the Exo-terra 24x24x18 glass terrarium. It is easier to maintain proper temp/humidity in this size cage, compared to the big phone booth size cages that some people build.

This Exo-terra would be cramped for an adult male, but OK for an adult female or sub-adult male. See my previous posts for photos and setup instructions.

kk will do
thank you vm for the info