Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Well I dug around on the web some more, and it appears that the blue spiny lizards I obtained are just a duller form of the species, or at least they look like photos of blue spinies posted by several educational and commercial sites.

Now I'll post photos of the enclosures.

First, it's a 29 gallon tank that is 30" long, 12" deep, and 18" high. Three sides are wrapped in plain brown paper, and there is a removeable screen lid on top. Heat is provided by a 60 watt incandescent bulb in a dome fixture, and additional lighting is provided by a conventional 60watt compact fluorescent bulb also in a dome. The temps range from the low 70s on the floor to about 105 or more on the highest part of the branch.

The bottom layer of substrate is hardwood mulch, topped by a layer of broken stone tiles. The large rock in the center is a faux-stone hide that was broken but still does the job. A large diameter branch serves as a climbing and basking area. In the corners are one agave plant and a sanseveria. They are still in pots.

The above image shows the floor layout a little better. You can just see the blue interior of the ceramic water bowl behind the branch and on top of the hide rock.

The lizards cannot be seen since they are still settling in and don't like to be out when I'm moving around.

Lights are on a 12/12 cycle. Temps at night are around 68-70. All temps will go up about 10 degrees at the peak of summer.

I spray the tank lightly once or twice a day. My house is very dry and the water evaporates quickly. The lizards frequently come out to lap up the drops. I have not seen them use the water bowl.

Food is medium crickets and small mealworms dusted with Repcal calcium with D3. My house has been invaded by box elder bugs, which were crawling into the tank through the first, larger gauge screen cover I had on the tank. I viewed the male lizard munching on a few them. In fact, I saw him launch his body against the glass in an attempt to get a bug crawling up the outside. Anyway, I decided that the free-roaming bugs, while supposedly non-toxic, may not be a good food item, so I changed to a tighter-meshed screen.

So, any comments, suggestions, insults :-> ???

Is there anybody out there.....?

No UV lights?
My Research and Collection

Maybe, soon.

I've found UV lights to have little value. I always use "full spectrum" or "sunshine" fluorescent tubes from the hardware store and find that the animals are active, healthy and breeding. I also try to get them out into the sun a few hours a week in warm weather. I use a reptarium for that. That may be hard to do with these guys - too fast!

Bright light and a little d3 supplementation seems to do the trick. The compact fluorescent bulb is very bright. I think the bulb I'm using is a "cool white". I should dig around for something advertised as full-spectrum or natural light. If I can't find anything like that I'll throw an 18" sunshine tube on there to add a touch of UV.

AHHHHHHH I tend to agree with you there. I only use a few UV lights anymore. Several hundred bucks every 6 months made the wify mad. Currently the lizards I have that need it” Most of them” get natural sun light with supplementation.
My Research and Collection

Hello. I would like to add that what you have is a Blue Spiny Lizard. I have a young male that I bought from the local pet store. They had it listed as a Giant Spiny Lizard. Mine is a male, and he has faint blue under his belly and chin. Your cages are perfect, they are so easy to take care of. They dont grow very fast, but they do get pretty big. Mine is about 3 years and he is only 8 inches from head to tip of tail, so be patient, they will grow. All of my spinys grow at a slower pace than my other lizards. Maybe yours will breed, so you can get some babies. I am trying to breed a pair of Crevice Spinys I got in West Texas. I found a male and female that are red, compared to all my others that were grey.

I don’t mean to change the subject but you stated you caught the crevice spinys? I have been looking for a source to buy one.
My Research and Collection