Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Attached is a picture of an unexpected acquisition: the plated lizard I asked about earlier today. I did a bit of research, and thought about it a while, and brought him (or her) home.

This fellow was sold as a "Ugandan Giant Plated Lizard"; I suspect that's not a proper species, given that I find no such beast in any reference. If someone can identify the particular species (and perhaps sex) from the attached photo, I'd appreciate it!

The as-yet-unnamed lizard seemed rather calm as I held it, but I have no idea how docile the species is in general. We're comfortable with iguanas, uros, turtles, and corn snakes, but this is my first plated lizard.

Will plateds eat roaches (we have lots of those, free, in the garage)? They were feeding him crickets at the store (where he'd languished for more than a year "wiuthout anyone ever interested in him," according to a clerk.) I'll try some fruit later, once he's settled...

Any tips or suggestions are welcome; there is basic info on the web, but not a lot of detailed care info.

Thanks!

You have: latin name "Gerrhosaurus validus", common name is Giant African Plated Lizard. Total body lenght averages 28". A river area burrower that can swim, not a daily activity. Will eat Superworms, Waxworms, Crickets, occasional pinkie mouse, Iams canned catfood mixed with some: shredded carrots, peas, brocolli,cabbage, collard greens, chard, rommaine (no iceburg lettuce as it has no nutritional value to reptiles), apples, grapes, banana, kiwi, cantalope, melon, strawberries and other berries, boiled/scrambled egg, RepCal Bearded Dragon food ( the multicolored pellets) moisted with water or apple/other natural fruit juice. These foods are a variety you must try to see which he prefers and can be served as salads or mixed with Iams once a week offering. Insects are offered a few at a time to see how many he will eat at a meal and how often. I only used the RepCal Bearded Dragon food for supplements with plateds that eat it and used Mineral I sprinkling on insects. Don't over use Calcuim or they won't eat, a light dusting goes a long way.
Sexing can be done by looking at the femoral pores underneath back thighs, large pores are male and small pores are female. This can be confirmed by their spring time (breeding season) when male femoral pores excrete waxy spirals which are used to rub scent on surrounding to attract females.
Housing you will need a larger tank, stock tank, or build your own cage. I used 5 x 3 x 2,or 5 x 2 x 2 melamine with 36" or 48" UVB flourescent light, 5.0/8.0 is good. Aspen shredded bedding a least 3" deep, upside down catlitter pan with Sphangus Moss in it (daily light misting); you can also use Reptile Jungle soil mixture under catlitter pan with Sphangus Moss. This allow for a constant humidity box/area. A water bowl or a small catlitter pan for drinking and soaking. Artifical vines may help with hide areas for his benefit.
This should be a good start for you. Use latin name "Gerrhosaurus validus" when using search engines online to look up more information. German websites have alot more detailed information as they have experience since the 1980s'. If you can take a picture of femoral pores and post I can try to sex for you. African plated lizards usually are more available in winter as it is their spring/summer. Importers such as Glades Herp, Extreme Reptiles, and LLL Reptile usually get them in starting this time of year. Panacur and Flagyl to deworm them is easy to use or try Parabotics listed on Kingsnakes' Cages/supplies classifieds.

I would substitute the Iams cat canned cat food for Iams/Science Diet [or other premium brand] dog food. Dog food is lower in fat than cat food and if you're going to use it more than once in a long while you should go for the lower fat option - they should eat it regardless. Instead of RepCal, I feed my Plateds [both G. validus and G. major], Ectotherm Forest Tortoise Yummies, which is a moist gel diet. The Forest Tortoise gel is composed solely of fruits and vegetables which help simulate the vegetation-eating portion of these omnivorous lizard's diets. You can also feed the Ectotherm Bearded Dragon Yummies, but since I already feed superworms, crickets, and South American wood roaches along with the occasional nightcrawler, I don't see the need to feed the Beardie gel since it is basically the same as the Forest Tort gel but with crickets added in. I would steer away from feeding roaches from your garage unless you're absolutely certain they aren't poisoned with something - even then you can't be 100 percent sure they didn't come from a neighbors house where they could have ingested toxic baits. The other suggestions mentioned were all spot on. In particular, many of the European sites you may find will have good information. Finally, I've found that my G. validus tends to be more skittish and not as amenable to being held as my G. major.
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Matt Campbell
Animal Keeper, Small Mammal/Reptile House
Lincoln Park Zoo Chicago, Illinois

Assistant Curator
Wildlife Discovery Center at Elawa Farm
Lake Forest, Illinois

We'll keep him away from the domestic roaches; I'm starting a cricket farm, since our Uro mali likes those as a treat, too.
He liked the grape we tried, and he ignored the greens we put in this morning. A half dozen crickets disappeared quickly.

Clyde is *very* skittish. I put a long piece of ceramic half-pipe under his substrate, and he uses that as a hiding hole when disturbed. He doesn't hid long, and seems fond of his water dish.

For the moment, I'm letting him get used to the family and household sights and sounds, before trying to tame him a bit.

Clyde was sexed at the pet shop, though I might want to double check, just in case. If I can get a photo without traumatizing him, I'll post it to you.

He's gone for grapes, crickets, and a few Florida cockroaches that we removed from the garage... I'll be trying him on the green we use for our Uro mali today. At the shop, he was fed crickets almost exclusively, but he seems to take to other food readily.

We have him housed in a 4x2x2 temporarily, which is much larger than his old 10 gal tank (!) at the pet store. I'm going to build him a habitat, probably 6x3x2, in a week or so.

Riverbanks, you say?

Clyde is fascinated by his (8-inch, shallow) water bowl, which has about an inch of water in it. At the moment, he's resting on
its edge, dangling his front feet in the water. He's done this off and on all day, sometimes one foot, sometimes two.

I'm unsure of where this information is coming from about Gerrhosaurs liking water and coming from streambank areas. All of the species of Gerrhosaurs are from dry arid scrubland type habitats and are anything but tied to water. In fact several source mention they have modest water needs and tend to acquire a lot of water through their food as most arid region lizards do. Still provide them with a water bowl. I haven't noticed mine dangling their feet in the water bowl but they frequently will stand with their front legs in the bowl in order to drink.
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Matt Campbell
Animal Keeper, Small Mammal/Reptile House
Lincoln Park Zoo Chicago, Illinois

Assistant Curator
Wildlife Discovery Center at Elawa Farm
Lake Forest, Illinois

I look at my iguana, and see the body structure of an animal that copes well with water. I look at my Uro mali or the G. validus, and I see an animal that doesn't look very aquatic. The body structure is all wrong.

So I doubt Cylde's future habitat will be constructed around water.

After four years of caring for my Uro mali, I know there's a lot of conflicting information about exotic species. Sorting it out is one challenge of being a herp caretaker, I guess.

Scrub land is not Desert/Savanna and has wet/dry seasons. Gerrhosaurus validus is not aquatic but is known to live near river/stream banks and will swim on occasion for necessity. As far as Catfood they are all very close in Ash, Magnesium, corn, Fat, and Protein content. Science Diet however has alot of Poulty by-products (leftovers from slaugther house) and Potassium Chloride which I don't particularly care to feed my animals but it is a matter of preferance. Ectotherm Yummies has too much DIE in it for me to try.
I would give him at least a month of acclimation before I would try handling regime, this will allow for deparasitation.

I don't think Clyde will need to do any swimming -- unless Florida continues to be swamped by hurricanes!

I've avoided commercial pet foods for most of my herps. I try to feed them a diet that is fresh, and close to what they may eat in the wild. For the moment, Clyde is accumstomer to a diet of crickets; I'll gradually introduce other items (he really liked a seedless grape!)

As for taming Clyde, I'll go slow.

I applogize for the wrong signal sent. He will soak in the dish but they only swim out of necessity. When in shed they will soak and/or use humidity box also. As for taming, the more he sees you and household will help acclimation. Commerical foods do help with the lack of supplementation/nutritioin/mineral & electrocyte intake. A natural diet is very good also. Good luck, hope I helped alittle.

I really appreciate all the knowledge! Thanks for responding.