Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Some of you may remember me from my previous post about an outdoor enclosure.
I've been debating on getting a chuck for awhile now and I've decided to take the plunge.
I have some questions I hope you all can help me with and I'll try to keep them to the point.
I have a tank that's 5'1" long 1'4" wide and 2'2" high.
Is this large enough for chucks?
if so is it good for just one or could I manage to keep a pair in there?
I read some where that cinder blocks make good shelter and basking areas do you all agree?
I plan to light the tank with a mercury vapor bulb
I'm leaning towards a mega ray what do you guys think?
I heard that S. Hispidus get larger than the U.S. locales also that they are the best tempered is this true?
Also do they have any special needs as far as diet goes?
I know that they eat the same basic plant matter as iguanas.
and is there anything else I should know about that aren't on the caresheets?
thanks everyone

That all sounds good to me. I have mine in a cage that is 5' long, 2 1/2'wide and 3' tall. Yours could probably fit a pair. Your lighting and everything else sounds good. I feed my chucks collard greens,bokchoy,banana and a frozen/thawed veggie mix with carrots, corn, green beans, lima beans and peas My chucks love that.

Also, it would probably be better to keep them inside. Chuckwallas are VERY smart and will figure out a way to get out.

thanks a lot for your help.

Anytime.

I also wanted to add that you should put calcium on the veggies 2 or 3 times a week. If you are keeping them inside, use calcium with D3, and if they are outside, use calcium without D3. And also they need a basking temp of 110-120 degrees. I keep mine at about 115.

You don't need to supplement D3 when you use Mercury Vapor bulbs. They allow the reptile to produce D3 on its own. You do need D3 if you use fluorescent tubes or no UVB.

I use megarays and Solar Glos on my chuck vivs, and they are tubs! That tank sounds great. You could easily house a pair or trio in a tank that size, I would think.

thanks for that.
I have another question I hope someone can answer for me.
Is it possible to hibernate my future chuckwallas indoors?
In the winter the room I'm going to keep them in doesn't get cold enough, I'd say between the 60's-70's. It has a tiny window and a door to the rest of the house. I usually keep the window open 24/7.
I don't have any air conditioning in the room.
are there any methods you guys use to help keep them cool in the winter?
any advice would be greatly appreciated.

The subject of hibernation is difficult. I have never truly hibernated Chucks. Some claim that they will breed better if you hibernate them. I have found that they breed just fine without it. Are you planning to breed them? If you hibernate them, there is a very important way to do it to avoid stressing the animal and to insure that their guts are empty of any food, as it will rot inside of them and kill them. In the wild, Chucks brumate. They still come out if the weather is unseasonally warm to bask. Perhaps Donna aka Rosebuds, will tell you what she felt about it. I don't think it is necessary at all.

I tried to brumate one chuck this past winter and it did not go well. He started losing weight half way through, so I pulled him and warmed him up. I did brumate the Desert igs. They had a very hard time snapping out of the doldrums after I warmed them up, but eventually started eating. One female bred and was gravid, but she died of egg binding.

I also brumated collareds. One female that I brumated is gravid with her FOURTH clutch! I am not happy about it, but can't really stop her from developing eggs. Her eggs produced one set of babies so far. BUT another female that I did not brumate is about to lay her second clutch, and if her eggs are fertile, I am thinking of forging brumation! I wanted babies, and have lots of people asking for babies, but I never wanted the one female to lay that much! I have a pair of fire skinks that were not brumated, and bred, and I have a beardie female that I did not brumate and did not allow to breed, and she has laid 107 infertile eggs in four clutches since the beginning of the year. Breeding, eggs and babies happen with or without brumation, so I don't think I will brumate chucks or desert igs again. I have to see about collareds. I probably won't brumate Miss Egg Factory, just because i want her to slow down! I think she is precious and I don't want her to spin herself out laying eggs!

I was hoping to breed them at one point in time or another.
But I also just want them to be healthy in general.
So if they do not hibernate they will be just fine?
I've had experience with horned lizards I used to keep.
Late in the season they would get listless and just kind of out of it. The only way to snap them out of it was to let them hibernate.
Do you expose them to any kind of winter Cool-down or temp. drop, or do you keep the temps steady all year around?

I really appreciate all the input you guys and gals have given me, very helpful. I hope you don't mind all the questions.

I over wintered a rescue horned lizard, and it was really hard to rehab it because they bog down on their eating. The trouble is, he would stop eating and lose weight. From what I have read, horned lizards are really better off hibernating, but that isn't necessarily true of all lizards. With bigger and less stress prone lizards like chucks and beardies, they slow down in winter and sleep a lot, at least they do here, and they don't eat nearly as much, but they don't lose weight.

oh i see well that's good news then.
I certainly don't want to put that stress on 'em and me if I don't have to. lol
I have one more question.
What substrate would you recommend I was leaning toward sand but I've heard of impaction problems with this species.
would newspaper work well?

Sand will work fine. I use sand from home depot. Just feed your chucks on a dish.

I have been keeping chucks for 3 1/2 years. I keep my chucks inside year round and do not brumate at all. Both of my adult females laid fertile eggs this year. I am using washed and screened play sand for the adults and paper towels for the hatchlings.

thank you everyone for your advice.
I've had a strong interest in them since I first seen one in the wild.
I was out dirtbike riding and they were all over the rocks I'd say hundreds of them. It was the coolest thing I've ever seen when it comes to herps.
I'll post pictures of my setup once I get it established.

I keep mine on low knapp dish or bath towels, depending on the size of the viv. I choose beige or white or grey so that the lizards do not try to eat them or lose the food because of printed fabric. You may have to tailor your fabric if you can't find a towel that fits the cage perfectly. I tack down the corners with their hides/caves or rocks, so that the fabric is taut. It absorbs pee and poop, and can be changed and cleaned easily. Just lift out the towel, shake off the poop, and throw it in the washing machine with and extra rinse cycle! Don't use fluffy towels, as their fingernails can get caught in the loops. I know many people use newspaper, but if you read newspapers constantly, the acid in the ink eats off your skin. I know this from personal experience, and do you want your lizards licking ink??? I do worry about impaction, and putting food on the plate doesn't help a great deal, as there is usually a stampede across the plate the minute they see you put it down and the food gets scattered and thrown all over the place. Emily Post, where are you?

But as a rehabber, I have treated a number of impactions, and I too worry about impaction. Sand is just not as easily passed in some lizards. It can also build up in the intestinal track and prevent the absorption of nutrients over time. I do have half sand vivs for my breeders because the girls need it, and I know that people claim to have no problems with sand as a substrate, but I use either tile or paper towels. I might try your idea, Maureen.

Mine are in a cage that is made of wood. On the bottom I use about a quarter inch of sand. iI have a lot of rocks in there and they spend most of their time on them. As far as feeding, I feed them on a dish on top of a flat rock.