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I know it's too small to say for sure, but I thought it might be large enough for an educated guess. Anyone have an opinion?

But it is still young. I bet Maureen could sex it for sure. I will nudge her.

Having been nudged...I say female. There is only one little star cluster visible on the right back leg that looks like a developing pore, and the females have them too when they're young. They just never develop. Also, the area of the left leg is right where the skin hangs and the pore area is hidden. Check that area where the dark skin and the light skin come together and see if any pores are visible that look like a dot with a star cluster around it.

Wow, you guys are quick! I was worried this forum was a little slow (been lurking for a while), but you guys are just waiting to pounce I guess. Thanks very much for weighing in-I'll see if I can get clearer pictures, but this kid is still settling in and I don't want to disturb "her" too much so it may be a while. I've kept herps forever, but I am brand new to chuckwallas and this is my first (though I plan to pick up some more soon).

I've got a large wooden enclosure set up with numerous hides for the little one and it seems to feel confident since it's out exploring a lot and doesn't seem threatened by my presence when I come in the room. It hasn't really started eating for me though. I've left a variety of greens and veggies but nothing has turned up missing or had bites removed that I've noticed. This is just the third day I've had it, so nothing to get too worked up over I'm sure, but I thought I'd check and see if you guys had any suggestions to make sure it starts chowing down sooner than later?

Hi Kevin,
Yes, many of us check this forum even if we don't always post.

What specific things are you feeding her? I have found that chucks cannot resist edible flowers. Do you have hibiscus plants or dandelions in your yard that have not been fertilized or sprayed? The dandelions especially will get them to eat. You can hand feed those to help her bond with you and you can chop them up and mix them with her salad.

I also find that my chucks love squash, among other veggies. I steam the squash just enough to soften it and chop in pretty small for smaller chucks and they go crazy for it.

The dandelions aren't blooming here anymore, but I have been picking the leaves as well as clover flowers. I've also cut up squash and carrots and tried some frozen veggie mix (green beans, peas, corn, etc). She won't taste anything if I offer it by hand, though she has no problem letting me come up and touch food to her nose. I've left all of the aforementioned items in with her assuming she'd eat when I wasn't around, but I don't see any evidence of that happening yet.

>>Hi Kevin,
>>Yes, many of us check this forum even if we don't always post.
>>
>>What specific things are you feeding her? I have found that chucks cannot resist edible flowers. Do you have hibiscus plants or dandelions in your yard that have not been fertilized or sprayed? The dandelions especially will get them to eat. You can hand feed those to help her bond with you and you can chop them up and mix them with her salad.
>>
>>I also find that my chucks love squash, among other veggies. I steam the squash just enough to soften it and chop in pretty small for smaller chucks and they go crazy for it.

Can you tell me how you have her set up? Sometimes if temps are off, they won't eat, and if something else is not quite right, they won't. What are your basking surface temps, cool side temps, and how are you measuring them? What size enclosure? Substrate? UVB source? General lighting?

There could be something about the setup that is bothering her.

I have an infrared thermometer to check surface temps which currently range from 119 (basking spot) to 71 (cool side). It's a 36x18x18 inch enclosure-here's a pic (substrate is clay pellets). I don't have a UV light on it, just a hot bulb at the moment but there is a window in the room so she can see the natural light cycle.

Are the clay pellets large enough that she can't ingest them?

Your set up is good as far as conditions go, though I wonder if the ambient temps in the enclosure are a bit too low overall. Basking temps are good, but how much of that enclosure stays around the low end of the temp gradient? The way you have that basking complex on one side seems like it would provide a nice hot spot, but only in that part of the tank. 71 is a bit too low, even for the cool side and I wonder if there is too much cool in much of your enclosure. The rest of the enclosure also seems a bit dim for a chuck. Can you add more light to the opposite side from the basking platform? If she isn't right up on that platform, then it might just be too dim for her and too cool to stoke her appetite. But that could also be the camera.

I use tanks that size for smaller lizards here as well, and I will make a basking spot with a temperature range on it, but I also brighten the other side of the tank with something. If I need to bring the ambient temps up, then I use a lower wattage incandescent or indoor halogen. If the ambient temps are good (more in the range of 85 or so)then I use coil (NON uvb)energy savers to brighten without much of a temperature increase.

I would try to bring your ambient temps up just a bit or at least make sure that most of the tank is in the 80s, and try to make it brighter.

Hi Kevin. Your cage is "beautiful", but maybe not so much for a Chuckwalla. My first impression was "Close encounters of the Third Kind". Please don't be offended, but I have been keeping Chucks for more than 50 years, made plenty of blunders in my first years, but I now think like a Chuckwalla! I would replace everything in your cage with rocks or tiles, which are easy to wash off and do not harbor critters such as lice and are wonderful to bask on. No sand. Chucks live in rocks and rock crevasses. I think corn may be hard to digest and terribly starchy. Flowers are best. I can grow nasturtiums in a pot or in my yard, along with Coreopsis, geranium petals, dandelions, and I also give them organic greens such as wild arugula or squash blossoms. Color stimulates their appetites. I'd give her a larger flat dish, which she can graze in. You might mix in a bit of grated carrot. In addition, natural light from windows is a must! My Chucks come out to "bask" even if I haven't yet turned on the lights because they "feel" the outside weather and brightness. On rainy or overcast days, they come out momentarily, but they "know"...and they retreat back into their caves/hides. Sometimes movement will stimulate their appetites. While she is basking, try dropping bits of food onto her basking spot from above. Hope this helps. Maureen

I added another light to the other side, bringing the temp range up to 75-138 (if I remember correctly, I checked it hours ago). I can't add rock at this point since I don't have any to work with, but I did get some grout and styrofoam panel to make my own fake rock slabs so I can do something about that in the near future. Just the addition of the other light seems like it might have helped some. I still see no evidence of her eating on her own, but she did take two pieces of grated squash from my hand. At least something's going in, which will hopefully stimulate her appetite. Thanks for the tips so far!

I think she will be much happier with a brighter and warmer enclosure, and a more natural landscape for chucks, as Maureen suggested. She sure is a cutie! Keep us posted.