Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Could someone post a pic so I know what they're like? I don't really understand it. Having trouble catching whiptails, they sound nice to use. Also, does anyone know much about sagebrush lizards? My friend caught me one in the desert and gave it to me. Google searching is not getting me quite what i want. THanks for the help!
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Paullywog

If it has scales or smooth wet skin... snatch it!!!

I wish I could tell you for sure about those sticky traps Paul.
As to Sagebrush lizards, their care is identical to Western Fence Lizards. I know you know how to keep those fellas. So I hope that helps you a little bit. I looked at google myself and also as you stated turned up no usable care information. I did however read on more than one site that the care for these guys is the same as occidentalis. It didn't really say anything else besides that. So there you go, and let us know how the traps work if you try 'em. Talk to you later.

regards,
-Phil

I apologize for answering such an old thread ( while researching something else) but please DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES USE STICKY TRAPS!
A garden supply store I once worked at used these to control rodents, and we caught lizards, little snakes, birds, even a kitten in one. It is a bear to get the animal out of the trap. It once took me three hours to extricate a blue belly lizard without damaging his tender skin. I had to peel the sticky stuff off the trap and leave it on the lizard, as there was no way it could be gotten off him. He had to live with a little sticky stuff on his feet and one leg, but he survived and shedded it off eventually. I hate those traps and make it my mission to throw them away whenever I find one.

We've got a trio of sagebrush lizards (the office pets) that we've had close to a year now. They're set up in a 10 gallon tank, with a flourescent coil for UV and a 50 watt or maybe it's 75, zoomed basking bulb. In any case, the elevated basking site right under the the basking bulb is at around 100 degrees. I've had them on sand and walnut shells, but both got ingested a little too often so I switched them over to a red clayey soil I collected that stays in rock hard clumps. The soil is about two inches deep and they've also got a couple of rock formations the I siliconed together that they can bask on or hide under and a few branches (they use these once in a blue moon). They get fed mealworms and / or crickets daily, and for little guys, boy can they eat! They don't seem to drink from bowls so they get misted at least once every morning, and they may or may not decide to drink. Their insects are dusted with reptical and herptivite.

Sticky traps sound a bit brutal, but I've never tried them. Usually a good noose and a lot of patience and stamina are all you need ;0) Buddies always help too, so that you can surround the bush. I've also occaisionally found whiptails under surface debris flipped late in the day.

-Alice

I have heard only bad things about said sticky traps. In many places reptiles are considered pests, yes that’s right some people “like my father” cant stand to have them around. They buy these traps to trap them and rid there property of them. I hear that most of the individuals unfortunate enough to get caught on one of these normally don’t survive the removal. So essentially these traps are not for us. Your pest bet would be one of those buried bucket traps or just shed some sweat and catch one.

With pitfall traps, you can have a lot of by catch / not just herps. Small mammals will fall into these traps. We ran a series of pitfalls for a biological monitoring project. In addition to herps we caught a variety of mice, voles and shrews. The traps had to be checked daily and in order to ensure the survival of the small mammals they had to be provisioned with appropriate food and bedding. If you decide to go with pitfalls, be ready for the commitment they entail.

-Alice

I concur. When ever I go with this method I check several times a day, very easy for me with all the time in the world and a nice ATV to get me from site to site. Alice if I remember correctly you are near the top of the field when it comes to this forum and E. Multicarinata correct? I would like to get together some time and discuss strange movements and populations of this species that I have personally observed this year. Let me know. Currently I only use YAHOO messenger under the user name of reptile411 but if that wont work for you I can get another messaging service.

My reptile research and collection

I wouldn't classify myself as being at the top of the field. I've just always had a huge soft spot for E. multicarinata and have kept / encountered a lot of them over the years. I've actually never used one of the instant messaging services :0P But, feel free to shoot me an email: aliceinwl@hotmail.com

-Alice

I didn't get back for a while, but the information was great. I have tried making some nooses and hopefully will go to a nice Fencie haven this weekend. (MY secret place). The pitfalls sound like a great idea, but I don't plan and keeping much if anything of what i catch. So maybe I'll just make it fun and use nooses, nets, etc. The last thing i want to do is hurt a lizard just so i can hold it. The sagebrush lizard is doing great, she(i think its a she) has a 20 gallon long all to herself. Does anyone have any thoughts as to if i should get her a partner?

**ALSO,, off topic, I just remembered that when i was in like 3rd grade going to dinosaur national monument in Utah. There were GREEN, yes green, lizards running around. I can't find them in any field guide, are they possibly an individual population living there? I can't give a description, it was so long ago, but I remember clearly they were green. Any help would be awesome. Have fun this weekend! Off to get some pacific treefrog tads for my pond. Sorry, one more question. Has anyone in the west noticed like me the lack of spadefoot tadpoles this year? The pacific treefrog tads have taken their place...
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Paullywog

If it has scales or smooth wet skin... snatch it!!!