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 #1677056


Reptile Boy100
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 What can my Chuckwalla house with?

I have a chuckwalla and was wondering if he could be housed with a desert spiny lizard?
03/26/08  08:05pm

 #1679695


Funky munky
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   Message To: Reptile Boy100   In reference to Message Id: 1677056


 What can my Chuckwalla house with?

i’m wondering the same thing.
03/28/08  07:29pm

 #1680046


Aliceinwl
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   Message To: Funky munky   In reference to Message Id: 1679695


 What can my Chuckwalla house with?

I have both, but housed separately. I’d say maybe. A lot would depend on the relative sizes of the two lizards and the temperament of the chuck. I have read reports of chucks eating smaller lizards. So if the spiny’s bite size, I wouldn’t trust the chuck. If the lizards are new acquisitions, allow them to acclimate individually so that you can make sure each is healthy and well adjusted before you put them together. This way, you’ll also have separate accommodations ready if things don’t work out. I keep my pair of chucks in a 100 gallon tank, they use so much space I think a third lizard would make it too crowded. I also don’t want to mess with crickets in the chuck tank. So, my female spiny is housed in a separate 20 gallon.

-Alice
03/29/08  12:09am

 #1680545


Dallas0218
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   Message To: Aliceinwl   In reference to Message Id: 1680046


 What can my Chuckwalla house with?

The following is of my opinion from keeping and raising the following lizards for the last 20+ yrs with these desert species.

I also have both chucks and a desert spiny, but house them separately. I don’t think it would be good to house the two together. They are too different. I keep western fence lizards with my desert spiny and have so for about 5 yrs now. I also keep my desert iguanas with my chuckwallas and they don’t seem to pay much attention to each other at all. They bask and eat together and I have never observed any aggression between the two species. My cage however is an outdoor 16’ by 4’ by 4’ enclosure so they all have their own space. Circumstances might be different in a more confined enclosure. Some other lizards that I keep together are my sagebrush, side-blotched and zebra tailed although some zebra tails do not do well with other lizards and have to kept separately or they will stress and not eat, but some are tolerant of other lizards. Lizards that I will not house with any other type of lizard are my collards and leopard lizards. More than one female can be housed together, but males should be housed by themselves. Males are definitely aggressive to other males and sometimes females.

So this is my opinion on housing different species of lizards together.



03/29/08  01:06pm

 #1683426


Reptile Boy100
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   Message To: Dallas0218   In reference to Message Id: 1680545


 What can my Chuckwalla house with?

well I decided to put them in the same aquarium and neither of them fight or anything and the spiny lizard gets on the chucks back and rides around on the his back. it’s funny



03/31/08  11:58am

 #1706175


Aliceinwl
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   Message To: Reptile Boy100   In reference to Message Id: 1683426


 What can my Chuckwalla house with?

If that’s their permanent tank in your other post, it’s no wonder the spiny’s riding on the chuck; there’s hardly any room in there. I find it sad :(

They’re both wonderful lizards and they deserve better (like an appropriately lit and furnished 60 gallon at the minimum). In a tank that small it’s impossible to establish an appropriate thermal gradient (100-120 degree basking site for the chuck and a cool end in the 80s) so it cannot even be used for temporary housing. In your pics your chuck also doesn’t have a tubby tummy and those are really small poos for a lizard the size of your chuck. Both tell me that your chuck is not eating enough to maintain its weight, this is likely due to inadequate housing and environmental conditions. Please get a better set-up for these lizards :(

At a minimum:

60 gallon tank (cover the back and sides with an opaque material for security)

100-120 degree F basking site for the chuck

70-80 degree F cool side

Digital thermometer with probe or tempgun to check temperatures

Sand substrate (the gravel could lead to impactions and the sand would be easier for your spiny to burrow in)

Securely stacked rocks with gaps wide enough for your chuck to wedge itself into. Position some below the basking light (chucks particularly like these to hide in because they hold the heat once the light goes out). You may want to get some industrial adhesive to glue little rocks to the undersides of the larger ones so that the chuck can’t collapse the stacks (they’re very strong).
04/16/08  10:43pm

 #1868387


Miketate
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   Message To: Dallas0218   In reference to Message Id: 1680545


 What can my Chuckwalla house with?

hi i am new to lizards and i recently got 2 chuckwallas and 2 geckos.i have two homes for them but was wonderin if i could let them habitat together.i am not the most at ease with these sort of creatures but to be honest i fell in love with em and the chucks are amazin.my tank for my chucks is fairly big....approx 4feet long.i have set it all up with a rockery and plants and i reckon theres plenty of room for the 2 geckos.i have tried puttin the geckos in with the chuckwallas and to be honest they dont pay attention to each other.the geckos were literally walkin all over the chucks but they shown no aggresion to each other.i have a cave like rock in my vivarium and they all rest in there together all snuggled up next to each other.but the pet shop where i got my lizards said i should not mix the lizards at any cost.but they been livin in the tank together for about a week now and still they all perfectly fine and eatin well.also do u know if chucks like to eat crickets???i have not seen any of my lizards eat a cricket yet....and to be honest i aint watched the geckos eat at all although i would have to say they quite private little creatures and always hide.and do chucks strictly eat vegatables and fruit??although im glad they aint meat eaters as they might decide to eat my fingers.lol.they are tame n love to be handled n sit on my shoulders for hours.do u have any tips on lookin after them??im ok at the moment but i read ur comments and noticed u got alot of experience handling reptiles.i hope to hear from you soon.email me if you like.i would like to see a pic of ur chucks..uk
09/25/08  08:52pm

 #1869979


Xbluex
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   Message To: Miketate   In reference to Message Id: 1868387


 What can my Chuckwalla house with?

I don’t own any chucks(researching now) but have lots of experience with other lizards. Putting geckos in with them probably isnt a good idea. I live in the desert and have watched chucks up close for most of my life and have seen them eat smaller lizards(the look like anoles but I’m not sure what they are, maybe a desert skink??)
The chucks will most likely eventualy either eat, kill, or seriously injure geckos. Also depending on what type of geckos you have they could have extremely different care requirements. Alot of geckos need humidity. The only time chucks get humidity in the natural environment is when it rains, and it only rains a few times a month for only about 3 months out of the year.
I would separate them immediately.
09/28/08  02:44pm


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