Reptile & Amphibian Forums

This turns out to be a rebuilding year for me. I lost my female Calico last winter for reasons unknown; she appeared very healthy but did not make it. I had hoped my 3 year old male would be ready to breed this season and so forth... Now I am debating what to do...I really enjoy the island chucks and would prefer having another female Calico or Hispidus to share the enclosure (besides the Desert Iguanas) rather than a female Ater which I can get here in NV as a hobbyist (I tried a young male Ater recently thinking buddies?...not so much, he was running for his life). Anyone have experience keeping island Chucks with common Chucks...good or bad idea? Ideally I guess I would like to have another Calico or Hispidus but they are hard to come by. I guess ultimately I would like to give the big guy some Chuck companionship.
Thanks for any responses!

A

A while back I kept wild caught ater chucks in with some very large hispidus chucks (>3 lbs.) They seemed to do fine together in their large outdoor cage. Apparently they can cross breed, but I never saw any mating activity in the year or so that they were housed together.

I think a nice female wild caught ater would do fine with your Calico male.

Sorry to hear you lost your female Calico. Do you keep your animals outdoors and did the animal die during hibernation. I also live in NV (LV area) and keep my animals outdoors.

Thanks for your response…I'm also in the LV area with an outdoor 8’ x 30’ “naturalistic” setup (kept and bred NV S. Aters from 2001-2009 when I decided to try a Calico)... Yes I also keep them outdoors with a clear cool house cover from Nov/Dec through the end of Feb, and new this last winter a partition for the hibernaculum section with a minimum air temperature range thermostat of 35-45F. I do believe she died during the winter but I did not discover her until March after the male had already been active for weeks and she hadn't made an appearance. This would have been her 2nd season with me (purchased as an adult)She successfully brumated once without the new partition & thermostat. And The male(purchased as a juvenile)has wintered outside 3 times; once without a cover at all.
How did/do you winter your Hispidus? Have you had success with breeding?
Thanks again,
A

People used to say the same thing about Russian tortoise...that you need to hibernate them in order for them to want to breed. I didn't hibernate my RT last year, aside from the natural, seasonal drop in temperature, and my male is squealing like crazy, trying to mate with the females. i don't if that will work on Chucks, though. I need to get one, soon!

When I kept my ater chucks and large hispidus chucks I was in Southern California >10 years ago. I brumated the chucks (and several other southwestern native species) outside and don't recall losing any chucks during the winters. The ater chucks bred successfully. I kept the hispidus for less than a year and although tame they never thrived the way the ater thrived. In fact with the hispidus I never witnessed any breeding activity. Oddly, the female hispidus was considerably larger (size and length) than the male. The male hispidus never showed any agressive actions (even to other male chucks) while I kept him. I did not attempt to hibernate the hispidus.

Over the last year I have restarted my collection (now in NV) and have a couple of hispidus juveniles, which are thriving in their 8' x 8' outdoor enclosure. I plan on hibernating them without any extra measures. It does get colder in the winter here and that is a concern. In the past it seemed the key was to exclude all food for at least a week or two before hibernation.

Good luck with your Hispidus, keep us posted...I hope to have a chance to add one to my enclosure. My male Calico has been great! He is naturally tame, not at all skittish like all the Aters I'd kept in the past (even CBs).

Motowl- your outdoor enclosure is beautiful!

Can I ask what kind of heating / lighting setup you have towards the front? I just set up my first outdoor enclosure and I would like to include some heat element, but have concerns with outdoor electrical safety. Currently all I am using is a pig blanket. Thanks!

Thanks, I enjoy it very much. I did run power from the house out to the enclosure. Those are dusk/dawn light fixtures that provide lighting for affect in the evening and attract bugs for the small lizard and toad residents. I also have power outlets at opposite corners for miscellaneous. It also has its own circuit on the water timer, since I grow edible plants for grazing. These pictures are a couple years old...

It's just lovely enclosure!

Thanks...its alot of fun!

I think your right about the female Ater. I think I will go hunting soon for a nice female or two...

Picture taken in 2004 I believe. These are two CB females born 2001 & 2002 in my enclosure. Wish I had them now!

Now is a good time of year to get them, before it gets too hot. I saw several juvenile chucks out basking a few weeks ago. I think Nevada is one of the few places left a hobbyist can still collect without some sort of permit. No state income tax and it's legal to catch lizards..way to go Nevada.

I like your outdoor set up. It's the type of thing I would expect to see at a Zoo or at the Sonoran Desert Museum. Mine is a simple 8' x 8' enclousure that I built following the example on Gus's(riobravoreptile) website. It's a lot better than the outdoor cages I used to have years ago which were made entirely of wire and screen. The animals would climb on the sides and rub their noses. With my current enclosure, the hispidus seem really content. I might try to grow some cactus or wildflowers in it like you have done. It would be nice to have a constant food source if I'm away on vacation.

Your CB ater are very nice. Do you have any pictures of your Calico chucks? I'm curious how their coloring is.

I'll try to get some current pictures of him this weekend. He hasn't shown any color like the female. He's now 3 years old, maybe he will start to show some color this year, or maybe he favors the Hispidus side of the family?

Here are a couple pics of my male Calico. In one he is browsing blooms in a Texas Ranger plant another just basking. He is starting to show a little more color now. I hope this trend continues...

Thanks for posting the pictures. He looks great! That's a big 3 yr old chuck. It's interesting to see what traits he takes from the varius and hispidus genes. I can definately see the varius coloring coming in. Awesome chuck!