Reptile & Amphibian Forums

we have about thirty baby sceloporus that we hatched 3 months ago are we're attempting to raise to adulthood. they are housed in large sheep tanks indoors, with UVb heat lamps (MegaRay), full spectrum fluorescents, gravelly sand substrate, tilted rocks for basking, and are fed crickets dusted with a mix of MinerAll calcium and a tortoise food additive (CarolinaPets TNT: powdered grasses, flowers, etc.).

recently some of the lizards have developed slightly swollen lips. not like an inflammation, but they appear slightly wider at the sides of their mouths. in addition, some of them will then close their eyes and stop feeding.

the adults are doing just fine, not even minor problems.

anyone have experience with raising sceloporus from hatching? advice most welcome. thanks!

matt

Yes, I successfully raised a clutch of blue spinys. I would take them off of loose substrate until they are older. I think that is best for any hatchling lizards raised in captivity because of the impaction risk. I made sure that they all drank daily, either by misting the walls of the enclosure or by actually dripping water from a dropper on their noses. I kept their temp range like that of a beardie, 105-110 basking spot temps and 75-85 degree ambient temps. The Megaray is an excellent choice for UVB and heat. I raised mine under one.

On diet, I kept the prey small, but I also gave them small chopped salad daily. Contrary to popular belief, these lizards are not strictly insectivorous. Mine clean up the salad even when bugs are present, which is always here. Bugs should be the bulk of the diet, but the salad provides nutrients and extra moisture. I fed mine well fed small crix three times a day until they were around a year old.

Hope this helps.

>>Hope this helps.

yes it does. thanks. i'll try the salad idea next time around. it looks as if the rest of the hatchlings are going to make it, except for one that hasn't grown much (about 30% the size of the rest). these guys are about half way to adult size now. i had a few that were slightly malformed, head and tail mostly. the females may have retained the eggs a little too long.

these are from the front range of colorado.

thanks for the suggestions,

matt

I forgot to respond to your question about mouth swelling. Do you make sure there are no crix or worms left in the enclosure at night? If crix especially are left in the enclosure at night, they will chew on the lizards, particularly where they are the most moist, around the mouth, eyes and vent.

One other possibility is mites. Are the adults wild caught? if so, where were they collected?