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#1903084
ColoradoAnimalLover
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 New Lizard Parent has Questions
I am new to owning lizards. I just brought home a baby collared lizard. I believe its a she. She looks like a lot of the lizards on here with the orange stripes, except she has creamy stripes where the orange is. We have her in a ten gallon tank with sand, a rock hideout(it’s not heated) and a branch. I have a uvb lamp that I leave on all day, a 60 watt day heat lamp that I leave on all day, and a red 50 watt heat lamp for the night time. The cage has a wire top and the bulbs are in dome holders. The lady at the pet shop had told us to feed her 5 crickets every other day, but she seems to eat them all at the same time usually in the first day. I am also concerned that we didn’t get a big enough water dish. We have a small liver shaped dish. It always seems to be evaporated by the time we get home. The cage seems to stick between 80 and 90 degrees. We have his daytime heat lamp over his rock so I am sure that is a bit hotter. So I am wondering if you have some suggestions. Her belly looks a little wrinkled, but she is eating.
On another note, the pet store lady said she will get to be about the size of a full grown beardie. Is that right? Will she still be handleable as she gets older? I try to hold her everyday right now. I noticed they will eat other lizards, is this something I should provide for her when she gets older or will crickets and mealworms suffice. Right now her body length is 2 1/2 to 3 inches can you tell me how old that makes her?
I am going to include pictures after I figure out how to get them off my camera.
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11/22/08 10:29am
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#1903091
ColoradoAnimalLover
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Message To: ColoradoAnimalLover In reference to Message Id: 1903084
 New Lizard Parent has Questions
Ok, now that I see it’s pictures, I am doubting myself on the sex... so maybe you can provide some input on that as well. 
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11/22/08 10:52am
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#1903098
Mcdean
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Message To: ColoradoAnimalLover In reference to Message Id: 1903091
New Lizard Parent has Questions
hey nice pictures
I have 2 babies myself, they are hard to sex as young , mine look identical to yours and the wrinkling of the belly is normal, mine jump around a lot and sleep under rocks, I feed mine waxworms occasionally, and as I understand it they mostly eat crickets and occasionally eat lizards and baby mice, I dont heat my aquarium at night, they seem healthy and jump around and are very active, I understand sand should not be used as substrate for babies, they seem to like clinging to bark and like rough rocks and also they need room to jump and run they are like little monkeys I swear, I am going to include pictures, as soon as I can figure this out, wikipedia is a good source of info too
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11/22/08 11:06am
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#1903140
Chippychop
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Message To: Mcdean In reference to Message Id: 1903098
New Lizard Parent has Questions
it looks like you have a bueautiful lizard with a great set up! regular feeding is important!crickets mealworms hookworms etc,and any lace wing is a great sorce of food for these guys!hope this helps CHIP!
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11/22/08 12:47pm
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#1903424
Reptileruler1
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Message To: ColoradoAnimalLover In reference to Message Id: 1903091
New Lizard Parent has Questions
well everything looks good except a 10 gallon is way to small you need a 20 gallon to 30 gallon long at the least and it appears to be a male western (texas) collared lizard. the collared lizard should get about 1/3 of the size of a bearded dragon the largest i’ve ever seen was 1/2 the size of a bearded dragon. hope this helps any more ?s let me know
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11/23/08 12:41am
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#1903655
ColoradoAnimalLover
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Message To: Reptileruler1 In reference to Message Id: 1903424
New Lizard Parent has Questions
Can you tell how old my little guy is? I am working on getting him a larger set up, this was just to start off in since he is just a little guy. Also do they usually bathe a lot. My little guy will sometimes spend hours in his water bowl. He isn’t eating as much this week as he did the first week. Or at least he isn’t eating the crickets as fast anyways. I was thinking about getting some mealworms for him too. Is he old enough for those yet? Are there any books out there you would recommend that focus on collared lizards? We try to give all our kids (animal and human) the best care they can have.
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11/23/08 02:38pm
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#1903660
Mcdean
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Message To: ColoradoAnimalLover In reference to Message Id: 1903655
New Lizard Parent has Questions
I would offer im a shade or cool spot if he’s bathing a lot, he’s trying to cool off maybe ??? Mine are same size don’t know exact age though but they grow fast and can handle very large crickets ... I was suprised at how mine just swallowed crickets bigger than their heads and went for another seconds later. anyway reptiles need cool spots ant hot spots, and a pice of bark to crawl pu and down on to regulate their heat intake is good
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11/23/08 02:48pm
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#1903681
ColoradoAnimalLover
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Message To: Mcdean In reference to Message Id: 1903660
New Lizard Parent has Questions
The way I have his current set up the heat lamp is above the rock that is also a hideout and he has a branch and that is where the uv light is at. Maybe I should get him another rock and put it on the side with the uv lamp since that doesn’t give off heat. The air temp of his tank is 80 degrees. Everywhere I read it says that is the proper temp for them. I hope he’s not depressed. Have yours ever just let crickets run over them? I have seen many more pictures where they have wrinkled skin so I know that is not really a worry. I think I am going to pick him up some meal worms while I am getting his crickets.
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11/23/08 03:40pm
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#1903722
Mcdean
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Message To: ColoradoAnimalLover In reference to Message Id: 1903681
New Lizard Parent has Questions
mine let crickets run over them when they wake in the morning, it takes a while for them to "energize" after the cool nights, mine sleep under a big rocks , I lift it in the am and find them flat as pancakes and cold to the touch, it alarmed me at first but once they are warmed up theyre jumping around like crazy. I left the heat ight on on night but the next day they were lethargic, I read the bigger danger for reptiles is overheating as they dont have sweat glands. If they are a little cool they just shut down, but they have to have a way to cool down and collards are mostly found on cliffs so they like rocks and bark they can climb on, that’s my experience anyway
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11/23/08 04:57pm
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#1903946
ColoradoAnimalLover
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Message To: Mcdean In reference to Message Id: 1903722
New Lizard Parent has Questions
I bought him a new rock and put it on the cooler side of his cage and he climbed right in(he had been on his basking rock before that. If he is still in there in the morning I will make sure and wake him up. I forgot to pick up the meal worms, but I will get them next week. Thank you all for the advice.
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11/23/08 09:39pm
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#1904083
Mcdean
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Message To: ColoradoAnimalLover In reference to Message Id: 1903946
New Lizard Parent has Questions
no problem mine are very entertaining to watch, they love to jump and run around
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11/24/08 07:12am
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#1904259
Reptileruler1
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Message To: ColoradoAnimalLover In reference to Message Id: 1903946
New Lizard Parent has Questions
well best guess he’s 8 months old or younger as for the water bowl thing he might be ready to shed and while they’re about to shed they won’t eat sometimes or he might just not be hungry. mealworms are a major no for in my opinion because lizards tend to get hooked on them and won’t eat anything else as for the setup well heres a picture of mine
make sure you provide something they can hid underneath they love flat rocks that they can burrow beneath just make sure they’re stable.
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11/24/08 03:43pm
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#1904472
Mcdean
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Message To: Reptileruler1 In reference to Message Id: 1904259
New Lizard Parent has Questions
heres my set up, they love to cling to bark and run around and of course rocks, by layering your terrarium you make it bigger also
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11/24/08 10:12pm
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#1904581
ColoradoAnimalLover
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Message To: Reptileruler1 In reference to Message Id: 1904259
New Lizard Parent has Questions
Robin seems to be much happier now that I have gotten him the second rock on the cooler side of his cage. The first day he stayed in it over night, but yesterday he was out of it when I came home. I will take a picture of his new set up soon. Does anyone have any books or other websites they would recommend for information. How friendly can I expect Robin to be as he gets older? Can his bite ever hurt me? Our crickets seem to like bathing in his water, which then washes off the calcium. I saw someone mention some sort of vitamin drops can anyone give me more information on that?
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11/25/08 08:40am
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#1904708
Reptileruler1
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Message To: ColoradoAnimalLover In reference to Message Id: 1904581
New Lizard Parent has Questions
well if you handle robin a lot he should be friendly just make sure you don’t squeeze him while holding him or he will bite and believe me their bites hurt a lot so just be careful
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11/25/08 03:37pm
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#1917811
Mcdean
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Message To: Reptileruler1 In reference to Message Id: 1904708
New Lizard Parent has Questions
The bite of a collared lizard can draw blood , but mine are very friendly, maybe because they are captive bred , I handle my youngun’s regularly and though they seem fearless and will jump from amazing heights without harm or concern, they are grea climbers and will readily climb up my arm rest on my shoulder and then jump up on my head!!!! One did turn mean once when I introduced him to a new enviroment , hisssed and arched his back, that i the only time I felt he might nip me, but it was my fault entirely. crickets visit the wate dish but only drink out of them, maybe the smooth edge makes them slip into the water unintentionally, you can get clay water dishes at pet stores, ...good luck!!!
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12/20/08 04:05pm
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#1954805
Daniboo
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Message To: ColoradoAnimalLover In reference to Message Id: 1904581
New Lizard Parent has Questions
Hi - I am pretty new to collared lizards too.
We have a male and a female. I found a removable water dish built into an artificial rock that attaches to the side of the glass with magnets. It is quite practical as they can drink and walk through the water, but the crickets hardly ever get in it.
FYI - my baby was 61/2 inches in length at 2 months old.
I’ll post a picture that shows the water dish. (it’s on the far left of the cage)
Oh ya - they love to sit in the window and look outside.
Have fun - these guys are so funny!
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02/17/09 10:53pm
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