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#2263441 Akamrspri View Profile	Hope i am doing things rght! Hi everyone! I found our fencie at my husbands work. It was sitting on a stick and let my husband pick it up. We thought maybe it had already been a pet given how tame it seemed to be. We have had it now for about a month. It does seem a lil more skittish then when we first found it. Anywho I have done sooooo much reading up on this lizard and want to make sure I am doing it all right.I attached a pick of its house. Please let me know if the set up is correct. The one question I am still not sure of is if it is a female will they lay eggs with out a male present? Ours has not shed. Will it and how often should it do that process. One other question....I have seen sooooooo many differing opinions about feeding. I have been told everything from 3 crickets every3 days to as many as they will eat in five mins. I have been feeding mine about 5-8 small crickets everyday first thing in the morning so it has all day to digest. So far it seems happy but I have never owned a lizard before to know what a "happy" lizard is :0) Thank you for any help
04/19/12  03:10pm
#2263468 Baja View Profile	Message To: Akamrspri   In reference to Message Id: 2263441  Hope i am doing things rght! You know if it’s a male if it has 2 enlarged post anal scales at the base of the tail. By the way you may want to buy a fluorescent light it’s the best for fence lizards.
04/19/12  06:07pm
#2263474 Akamrspri View Profile	Message To: Baja   In reference to Message Id: 2263468  Hope i am doing things rght! Okay....here is another issue I am having. I have been told 50 diffent things about lighting to. When I first went to get the set up the pet store person pointed out the lights I needed. So I bought them. One was a basking light the white light and a night heat light the red one. Then I went back a week later and a different person said you do have the uvb light right....I pointed out the lights I had and she told me I needed the uvb. So I bought that as well. So are you saying I am still in need of yet another light? One heat... one uvb.... and one flouresent? He did go about 2 weeks with out uvb and has now had uvb for about 1 week. I have been giving the crickets dusted with the powder as well. I don’t see anything raised up on his back....could you also clarify what you are seeing that I need to beekeeping an eye on. Thank you for the input.
04/19/12  06:51pm
#2263509 Winkpw View Profile	Message To: Akamrspri   In reference to Message Id: 2263474  Hope i am doing things rght! That’s not cool taking an animal out of the wild just so he can sit in a tank and be your pet. People like you give the hobby a bad name.
04/20/12  12:09am
#2263518 Jinete View Profile	Message To: Winkpw   In reference to Message Id: 2263509  Hope i am doing things rght! So far it seems like you are doing things "right". There are many opinions as you are aware. You do not need a fluorescent light if you have the UVB. Some feel it is the better type of UVB but not essential. I wasn’t sure by your picture if you had a couple hides for your lizard. For feeding, i usually feed a couple medium crickets every other day. Sometimes I feed consecutive days. Sometimes I skip 2 days. I use wax worms as a treat maybe twice a week. I think what you are doing is fine. Thesaurus Rex will reply soon and set us all straight :) He is awesome and a great resource. Good luck with everything.
04/20/12  01:00am
#2263536 Akamrspri View Profile	Message To: Jinete   In reference to Message Id: 2263518  Hope i am doing things Right! @wink....I read tons of info on this lizard and read repeatly that they make good pets. Had it said any thing else I would not have kept it. That being said I am not sure how people like me give the "hobby" a "bad name" I am on a forum of people that have these WILD lizards as PETS and I am trying to make sure I AM doing it right. I don’t see how that is doing the wrong thing. @jinete. Thank you for the info. I was waiting for thesaurus Rex to reply. I have read threw all of these threads and the care sheets to do this right if we keep him as pet. I have been paying attention to all his advice. That is why I even posted. To make sure all I have learned I have been executing properly. Not to be told I am giving the hobby a bad name.....
04/20/12  09:47am
#2263558 Baja View Profile	Message To: Akamrspri   In reference to Message Id: 2263536  Hope i am doing things Right! Even though those swirly fluorescent bulbs say they have UV you shouldn’t get them. They cause blindness to your lizard. I don’t really know if you can keep a healthy fence lizard without a fluorescent light. I’ve always had a fluorescent light, but I wouldn’t know. If I were you I’d stay on the safe side and get this http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2752589&lmdn=Product+Type that is one of the best bulbs out there buy the 10.0 or 5.0 the 2.0 is useless. You can also go to Petco and get those. Even though the bulbs are like $50 you may be able to find them on amazon for a little cheaper. Also you have to buy the fluorescent lamp. You don’t have to do this, but if you don’t there is are higher chance your lizard will get metabolic bone disease. I’m just strongly warning you know, because if you didn’t you’ll wish you had.
04/20/12  02:43pm
#2263591 Winkpw View Profile	Message To: Baja   In reference to Message Id: 2263558  Hope i am doing things Right! You took wildlife out of the wild. Vast majority of the people on this forum didn’t go to Australia and catch their Bearded Dragon actually. And no you don’t know what you’re doing since you’re asking for help now on how you should cage him.
04/20/12  07:41pm
#2263592 Winkpw View Profile	Message To: Winkpw   In reference to Message Id: 2263591  Hope i am doing things Right! Also what you did is probably illegal. It’s against the law in most states to catch animals native to your state and keep it as a pet.
04/20/12  07:43pm
#2263608 Baja View Profile	Message To: Winkpw   In reference to Message Id: 2263592  Hope i am doing things Right! He/she already did their research they are just asking if they did it right that’s all.
04/20/12  10:34pm
#2263627 ThesaurusRex View Profile	Message To: Akamrspri   In reference to Message Id: 2263441  Hope i am doing things rght! Hmmmmm, I don’t know. She let you pick her up immediately? Completely tame? That’s not good. I highly doubt it was a pet before, but at the same time I hope it is. Chances could be that lizard is bad sick with something and is unable to properly react to your presence. Then again it could be something caused by her gravidity. Yeah it’s a she, and yeah, she has a bunch of eggs. The only thing I might criticize is 1) Uncomfortable burrowing medium (Mix in some Eco-earth), and 2) Lack of an egg-laying medium. Egg-binding is a very serious condition and she needs a place to lay her eggs. To make the lay box, get a Rubbermaid container, cut a hole in the lid for her to climb in/out of, and fill it in with vermiculite. To prepare the vermiculite, fill it with warm water first, then grab a handful and squeeze it down like a snowball, and then place it in the lay box. Repeat until it’s all full of vermiculite. Most of the time, you really shouldn’t take Petco’s advice on reptiles at all. They’re pretty incompetent with them. And no, you don’t need a billion and one lights; that was a fail attempt at getting them to sell you everything. The red light is for nocturnal animals only. You need only a basking light and a UVB light. Jinete is part right. Just take the UVB bulb yourself and look at it. If it’s super bright to your eyes, you probably shouldn’t use it. It shouldn’t be as bright as a light bulb, if you can look at it without hurting your eyes then it’s fine. A lot of people recommend the long fluorescent tubes for UVB, but a bulb is fine if you have a small tank such as that. For feeding, I’d do 3 crickets every day. Since she’s gravid you may want to try 4 or even 5. Vitamin powder is also essential. What I use is Miner-All, which not only gives calcium but gives lots of other essential nutrients as well. Dust them on the crickets every so often and you’re fine. @Winkpw: Come now. She’s a LOT BETTER than most other posts I’ve seen. Usually what some people do is they take something out of the wild, stick it in some sort of awful environment (Seriously some people go so far as to put them in a Rubbermaid container with grass and a bottle cap of water), and THEN ask how to care for one. Not her, though, she’s obviously done her research and is trying her very best to care for this lizard. Where do you think Bearded Dragons came from? Sure they’re bred in captivity now, but not always. For the longest time they’ve always been wild-caught, and captive breeding didn’t come until later. Fence lizards aren’t very popular in the pet trade, either. Pretty much the best way to get one at the moment IS to get one wildcaught. And don’t try to scare her with ’This is illegal you know’. She’s in the state of Virginia, and in Virginia it’s perfectly legal for her to have a wild lizard for private (noncommercial) use. She can have up to 5. I realize you’re really zealous about reptiles right now, most people get to that stage some time or another. But here, being a jerk can get you banned, and being mean about advice does absolutely nothing and hurts the hobby. -Thesaurus Rex
04/21/12  03:03am
#2263632 Akamrspri View Profile	Message To: ThesaurusRex   In reference to Message Id: 2263627  Hope i am doing things rght! THANK YOU so much Rex. Eggs? The research I have done what think/learned is we have had crazy temp weather and the day we found her it was chilly out side. Because once we got her in and warmed up she is definatly more skittish. However if I move my hand slowly and in front of her she will on occation let me rub her head. More times than not she prefer I not tho. And surries away. OH BOY we have a her and not a him and she has eggs. Okay where do I get safe vermiculite? Then what should I do with the eggs? I am not really interesting in breeding. I did take the lizard from the wild. But the first thing I did was get online a read and learn as much as possible about it.A lot was confusing and a lot was mixed info hence me posting here. I rescue animals and have more than I probably should. (Not a crazy amount...lol) my point is I don’t just bring something in with out intent to take care of it and take care of it properly. I was almost mad at myself for bringing her home and realizing this was going to be and take MUCH more than I thought to care for. But I feel like I have made an honest effort. That all being said.....with her gravid is it better for her I let her go back to the wild? I do like having her and all started off good but that person has really laid a guilt trip on me and I do really want the lizard to be happy. I really just thought ALL lizards are wild and if they had a choice none would be kept captive.....same with any and every other animal. Because no animal started off domesticated. I read so much and so many people have caught, and kept them and even bred them that I could keep her and all would be okay. Thank you again Rex for your wealth of knowledge and helping me out! Nicole
04/21/12  05:52am
#2263633 Akamrspri View Profile	Message To: Akamrspri   In reference to Message Id: 2263632  Hope i am doing things rght! Oh...and as for the light....so she doesn’t need a light on at night at all? I have been keeping he red light on at night for warmth. I wasn’t sure if she needed the heat at night. (The light stuff has been so confusing for me!)
04/21/12  06:09am
#2263634 ThesaurusRex View Profile	Message To: Akamrspri   In reference to Message Id: 2263632  Hope i am doing things rght! Okay, that rules out my disease. I suppose she was simply too cold to react. That’s good, I didn’t think of that :P Even if she will let you rub her chin occasionally, please refrain from touching her until after she’s laid eggs. Stress is the #1 cause of egg binding, and they don’t need a lot of stress for that to happen. I suppose you can go to a hardware store and look for non-toxic vermiculite, but LLLReptile sells them here: Link. They also sell incubators, if you’re interested. If you don’t want the clitter-clatter of little claws, you can freeze them and then throw them away. They may or may not be fertile. Ha ha, you don’t need to pay any attention to Winkpw. We’re usually pretty nice around here; Winkpw’s outburst was a little abrupt to say the least. However there is the thing about actually making sure something actually needs rescuing. For example a baby bird fallen under a tree, granted it’s still alive, is still under careful watch by the parent, and will still get fed. Other than placing it in a safe place, it needs no rescue. But you have done a great job at caring for your fencie. NO. Especially not with her gravid. You’ve kept her for more than a month, she is now used to being in that terrarium. Releasing her now would give her a load of stress, she may be less aware of predators, and she may or may not still depend on being fed rather than actually hunting. No problem. I’d like to actually breed fence lizards myself (but they’d either need to be out of the state or an unnatural color morph for me to sell them here), but in order to do that I need to prepare financially :P
04/21/12  06:53am
#2263635 Akamrspri View Profile	Message To: ThesaurusRex   In reference to Message Id: 2263634  Hope i am doing things rght! Thanks! I feel much better! I will get right to setting up a lay spot...well as soon as the sun comes up! Lol. I will also get some better substraight. Not sure if you saw the post after my last one about the light....does she need a light at night? Or warmth? Thanks again! SOOO glad this forum is here!
04/21/12  07:02am
#2263703 ThesaurusRex View Profile	Message To: Akamrspri   In reference to Message Id: 2263635  Hope i am doing things rght! My first post said that the heat light was only for nocturnal reptiles. She can benefit from an under-tank heater, though.
04/21/12  07:25pm
#2263833 Winkpw View Profile	Message To: ThesaurusRex   In reference to Message Id: 2263703  Hope i am doing things rght! I hope I didn’t come off as too hostile. Please keep in mind that in the reptile-hobby it is highly frowned upon to take animals from the wild. Most animal populations are greatly suffering. Now you can try and sugar coat it with, "Ooooh well your bearded dragons came from australia originally" etc. Well what are you gonna do about it? Is that gonna be the mind set for now on, okay Horned Lizards are on the decline but Uromastyx’ are being taken from the wild and people buy them sooo I’m gonna take the horned lizard cause I know i’ll do my research. That’s a very flawed mindset. Most people who do buy animals buy from breeders, and almost always ensure they are not wild caught specimens. Yes it is true the first Bearded’s, the first Uro’s to hit the pet trade were wild caught. But since then wild populations have greatly decreased and Arabic countries have widely restricted further trading. Good luck with your Fence Lizard, but please keep in mind your ideological perspective on things is really flawed. Unless an animal is injured, it should never be taken from the wild. Bottom line. Good luck!
04/22/12  07:48pm
#2263866 ThesaurusRex View Profile	Message To: Winkpw   In reference to Message Id: 2263833  Hope i am doing things rght! But you see Wink, it’s really hard to actually purchase a fence lizard. They are native to the United States, and it is illegal to sell in the states that they are native which discourages most people. The only way to get one is to get one from the wild, and as long as the captor provides proper care, it’s alright. In my opinion, fence lizards are very amazing herps to have and the only downside (to some people) is their small size. Fence lizards are listed by the IUCN as Least Concern. They are in the United States and not being hunted for meat, nor are they in the process of being exported to other countries. People come across and keep them less often than they get predated upon. The chances of the entire United States suddenly wanting to have a fence lizard and them becoming endangered because of such is very unlikely. I wouldn’t say it’s frowned upon by the entire community. In fact, something like this has room for debate. You can go to another forum and start this. Now please do not get confused; purchasing wild-caught specimens, and someone catching reptiles from the wild merely to sell them, is not good. Many herpers do not like this either. But if it’s one person, keeping a lizard they caught themselves just for themselves, then it’s really nothing to cause alarm. And I’m actually against taking injured animals from the wild because, chances are, you cannot heal them.
04/22/12  11:49pm

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