Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello, Forum Members,

Is there anywhere here who has Jeweled Lacertas? I'm very seriously considering getting a male and female from Bert at Agama International, but wanted to ask some questions first.

The first question concerns their relative tameness. I have read a lot of different things about this quality in these particular lizards. Some say they get very tame and can be easily handled, while others say they are skittish/flighty and often bite. As always, I'm sure there is considerable differences in individuals, and how much proper handling they receive.

Second: just what is the right minimum tank/cage size for a pair of these animals?

Third: will they take anything other than live prey for food? I'm thinking of supplementing with a very high-grade, natural cat food like Natural Balance (which has worked wonders in my Irian Jaya BTS).

Thank you.

Oghmius

Hi,

if they get "tame" or not largely depends on housing conditions. If they live in a frequented room, they´ll soon tame down and com and beg for food.
If they live in room, where there is not much people traffic, the will stay shy.
Fo a pair I would not use tanks smaller than 5 x 2 ft, height matters less. 2-3 ft are OK.
That is about the minumum size for adults. Bigger is better.
In smaller tanks intraspecific aggressivity can becoem an issue and the lizards show only parts of their fascinating natural behaviour.
They survive long in tiny tanks. Don´t take that as a sign that small enclosures are OK.
Forget about the cat food. Way too high in protein. I guarantee that it will also harm the liver of your BTS sooner or later, even if the skink seems to thrive well on ot for some months.
T.lepidus btw readily takes non moving food.
They eat dead insects, pinkies and also some veggies and fruit.

Hope this helps

Ingo

Hi, Ingo, and thank you for your response.

About cat food... I am assuming it is the protein that is too high? Or am I wrong? I have been supplementing with Natural Balance, which has no by-products, less than 2% ash, contains vegetables, etc. Would it be acceptable to switch from this, which has a high protein to carbohydrate ratio, to a food that has a low protein to high carbohydrate ratio?

Best wishes,

Dan

Is there any acceptable prepared food?

Dan