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 #1930408


Daniboo
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 Hi - We’re new here. Meet Fluffy.

Hi All,
I’ve been reading all the posts for the last week or so. Thanks for all the advice to those of us who are new at this and don’t really know what we’re doing!

We (my 12 year old daughter and I ) bought a western collared from a pet store in Canada the end of December. We think Fluffy is about 10 weeks old. After reading all of the other posts I have a feeling this lizard was not very healthy when we got her ( don’t know the sex yet but she just seems like a she). I’m sure she was not warm enough in the pet store and we’ve added all the heat, basking area, cool area and UV light talked about here and she seems much better. She is very active and is eating like crazy!

I’ll put up a few pictures and I would appreciate any answers I can get to our questions.

- Does 10 weeks seem right and is she too skinny?
- When can you tell the sex and can you really tell by looking or is it just by their color once they have matured?
- What is the white crusty stuff around the nostrils and is this bad? What do we do about it?
-She likes crickets and small super worms, doesn’t seem to care for phoenix worms or wax worms. What else should we try?
- How fast should she grow, she’s so little!

Thanks so much, hope to hear from anyone!



01/11/09  04:31pm

 #1930420


Reptileruler1
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   Message To: Daniboo   In reference to Message Id: 1930408


 Hi - We’re new here. Meet Fluffy.

well she looks about 8- 10 weeks she looks pretty healthy maybe just a little skinny you can tell sex by looking but it’s hard until there older my best guess is a female right now males are also a lot more colorful when mature heres a picture of my adult male


and my adult females



that’s the difference between them the white crust is just salt discharge not bad well they love moths but don’t feed them wild grasshoppers or crickets since they usually have pesticides in them but wild moths are fine she will grow rather fast probably full grown in a year to a year and a half and just checking make sure your basking temp is between 95-103 degrees F ok any more questions just ask
01/11/09  04:46pm

 #1930437


Daniboo
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   Message To: Reptileruler1   In reference to Message Id: 1930420


 Hi - We’re new here. Meet Fluffy.

Thanks! I’ve already learned more here than the people at the pet store could tell me.
01/11/09  04:55pm

 #1930505


Reptileruler1
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   Message To: Daniboo   In reference to Message Id: 1930437


 Hi - We’re new here. Meet Fluffy.

you’re welcome



01/11/09  06:44pm

 #1930879


Mcdean
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   Message To: Reptileruler1   In reference to Message Id: 1930505


 Hi - We’re new here. Meet Fluffy.

nice lizard yes they are very active and have voracious appetites, I have 2 myself not much older than yours mine are sluggish in the morning but perk up real quick
01/12/09  08:22am

 #1930885


Daniboo
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   Message To: Mcdean   In reference to Message Id: 1930879


 Hi - We’re new here. Meet Fluffy.

So how do you keep more than one together if you don’t know their sex yet? You’ve all made it very clear not to house two males together - does that only apply when they are full grown?
Thanks, still learning!
01/12/09  08:53am

 #1931117


Reptileruler1
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   Message To: Daniboo   In reference to Message Id: 1930885


 Hi - We’re new here. Meet Fluffy.

well yes but you should still wait to keep more than one because if you get them as babies and they mature and they’re both males ypu’ll have to get rid of one
01/12/09  04:49pm

 #1931218


Daniboo
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   Message To: Reptileruler1   In reference to Message Id: 1931117


 Hi - We’re new here. Meet Fluffy.

OK - At what age do you consider them mature / juvenile / hatchling ?

I am also very confused about the different types of collared lizards. I’ve looked at quite a few sites and they seem to contradict each other. Eastern and Western are so named due to the region they are native to correct? Are only the Eastern also considered "common lizards"? Where does Mohave, Great basin, Texas, Sonora etc. fit in?

Do you know of a good book / site I can read to clear this up?

Thanks again.
01/12/09  07:32pm

 #1931267


Mcdean
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   Message To: Daniboo   In reference to Message Id: 1931218


 Hi - We’re new here. Meet Fluffy.

Well this site is a good source of info, unfortunately there is not a lot of information on these lizards yet, I would l9ike a good reference book myself. I would guess up to 1 year they are juveniles. I’ve also read that sand is not good for young ones, I switched to sand for mine, which are several months old and they seem to like it. When I got them they were babies and were housed together, so I assumed they were ok, there’s a 1 in 3 chance they are both males and I think one is female so I’m okay. If there is a good reference book I would get it but I got my info from pet shop employees ( a lot of very knowledgeable ones here), this site, and nature books. From what I gather they are extremely aggressive, but take to humans more so if captive bred. They do hibernate, but was told they don’t have to. As for different species I think mine are Texas Collards or New Mexico Collards. Ill know when they grow up, If they start fighting I’ll have to separate them. You can find odds and ends on the internet about them but you’ll find conflicting information.



01/12/09  08:36pm

 #1931589


Reptileruler1
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   Message To: Daniboo   In reference to Message Id: 1931218


 Hi - We’re new here. Meet Fluffy.

well i’ll explain this as best i can ok collared lizards all come from the family crotaphytidae and the species is put into five main subspecies.
crotaphytus collaris collaris (eastern collared)
crotaphytus collaris baileyi (western collared)
crotaphytus collaris fuscus (chihuahuan collared)
crotaphytus collaris auriceps (yellow head collared)
crotaphytus collaris melanomaculatus (spotted collared)
so that is the five main groups the names you are referring to are just common names like yours appears to be a western collared but that species is called texas and great basin collared commonly.
If that doesn’t make since just ask if you have anymore ? about it.
01/13/09  02:15pm

 #1931614


Dahawks02
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   Message To: Reptileruler1   In reference to Message Id: 1931589


 Hi - We’re new here. Meet Fluffy.

Yes you don’t need to hibernate them unless you are going to breed them. There are also reports that hibernating them increases their life span and brings out their color more.

A very good website that you should also check out is suncharmers.com
Eve is the lady’s name and if you have any questions she is most definitely the one to ask. her email address is on the website.
01/13/09  03:16pm

 #1931719


Mcdean
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   Message To: Dahawks02   In reference to Message Id: 1931614


 Hi - We’re new here. Meet Fluffy.

Thanks dahawk, there is much to learn about our lizards, that is what makes is so interesting. I might hibernate mine next year but NEVER hibernate a sick lizard or a juvenile. As for their categorization(s), scientists are still deciding whether some subspecies warrant a proper category as a seperate species, they are very common in the wild, adapt well to concrete slabs and eat bugs so are not endangered, isolated species morph into new species and they reproduce quickly and (sadly) only live to maximum 14 years but more likely 10 or so. I’ve read some awful early accounts of them being mean and canniballistic (most animals are to a degree, even chimpanzees and hamsters) but I do know they are fearless and intelligent...they stare anyone down no matter what their size and I know there is something going on in there little heads haha
01/13/09  06:36pm

 #1932661


Daniboo
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   Message To: Mcdean   In reference to Message Id: 1931719


 Hi - We’re new here. Meet Fluffy.

Thanks for the info. I found a really good site that was quite informative.
Fluffy(my daughter named her!) is doing great. She has plumped up and her coloring is really neat after her 1st shed. I will admit I feed her crickets better than I do my kids some days! Fluffy will eat some veggies too. Kale, watercress and shredded carrots.
01/15/09  10:46am

 #1932815


Reptileruler1
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   Message To: Daniboo   In reference to Message Id: 1932661


 Hi - We’re new here. Meet Fluffy.

that sounds good, good luck with her
01/15/09  04:01pm

 #1940542


Dminguit
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   Message To: Reptileruler1   In reference to Message Id: 1932815


 Hi - We’re new here. Meet Fluffy.

She looks really cute. She just needs some fattening up, and she isn’t even that skinny. I’m glad you are taking care of her and giving her a better life than the pet store did. Always good to hear from good parents :)
01/27/09  12:13am


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