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Spidervenom1992   Jared T   Spidervenom1992   Spidervenom1992   Spidervenom1992   Spidervenom1992

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#2275265 Spidervenom1992 View Profile	Need Advice on Fence Lizard Care Hello there. I recently caught three adult fence lizards; one a few weeks ago (Rune) and two on Saturday (Bueno and Delta). I live in Arkansas, so that would make them Southern Fence Lizards, I believe. Bueno is a male (as evidenced by the blue streaks on his stomach) and I believe the other two are females. I’m almost completely certain about Rune, but Delta has similar colors to the male (on its back) but lacks the blue streaks. I firmly believe that Delta is a female, both because the two haven’t fought and because Bueno does "push-ups" near the other two. I am housing all three of them in a 35-45 gallon (I’m not sure which as it was given to me by a friend. I bleached it and washed it out with soap) aquarium with Eco Earth as a substrate and I put in 1 to 2 inches for them to burrow (which they have been doing). There are two fairly large artificial plants in the enclosure and one real, hollowed out log (store-bought) for them to hide in that is propped up against the right corner of the enclosure. There is another hollowed out log (artificially made) laying on the ground on the other side of the enclosure. In addition, near the propped log, I have a water dish that is big enough for them to soak in. I have a screen top for the enclosure, along with a dome light and a Exo Terra canopy light. The dome light has a 100 watt bulb and the canopy light has a 10.0 UVB bulb that is 13 watts. The enclosure is also in front of a closed window, so the lizards might get any other possible rays. I have the lights connected to a timer that is plugged in. The dome light is over the propped log on the right side, and I have a thermometer under it which reads just under 100. The canopy light is positioned to where it is in the middle of the enclosure so its rays can be absorbed anywhere in the aquarium. There is another thermometer on the opposite side that reads just under 80. My humidity gauge is in the middle, and it reads just under 40. I mist the enclosure every chance I get (as the humidity tends to be on the low side) and I recently bought some gut loaded crickets and dusted them with Fluker’s Calcium and Vitamin D3. I put in six (6) on Sunday and found three or four of them today (I believe three. Hard to tell). Unfortunately, most of the vitamin dust has washed off of them due to me misting the enclosure. My concern is that they haven’t really been eating. I handle them a bit, just to get a sense of where they are (as my mom doesn’t like me to leave the lights on when we are at work, so I turn them on when I get home and make sure the lizards are awake so they can bask and hopefully get used to the schedule) so I hope that it isn’t a result of stress. Bueno and Delta have been trying to "escape" by crawling through the glass with Bueno being particularly determined. He gets on the basking log and tries to jump through the screen. I have caught many of these lizards over the years (MANY) but this is the first time I have wanted to keep any for the long term. I have tried to find a place that sells them to no avail, so I resorted to catching my own. I believe I have the proper set-up to keep them healthy and happy, but I’m not completely sure, which is why I came to this site. I looked through many of the forums and read ALL of the care sheets on here. However, many of them have conflicting information and I just want to be clear. I do not know if I can link a picture, so I tried to give as complete a description of my enclosure as possible. I am mainly concerned that they are not eating. Being wild, they keep their eyes on me whenever I’m around so I can’t tell if they’re eating. I just assume they are since the number of crickets is dwindling. Plus, I found some spore the other day and Rune was shedding today, so I assume she would have eaten (or will soon) for energy. I would put more places for them to hide in the enclosure, but it is pretty crowded already, with the logs being fairly large. My concern was that the crickets would get into places where the lizards could not catch them if I put to many hiding spots in the enclosure (such as them getting between the glass and the side of a hiding spot). I feel like there is enough, however, as Delta and Bueno frequently climb on the artificial plants. Rune is the more calm of the three, since I’ve had her longer (she is basking as I type this, with Bueno and Delta having burrowed for the night). I have tried to take the necessary steps to keeping them healthy and am simply posting to get feedback and suggestions on how to solve the few problems I have. If you feel that I am strongly uninformed, please politely tell me what I can do to make life better for my lizards. Just to give some context, I’m 19 (almost 20) and I’ve done hours of research on taking care of this species and simply want to do the best job I can.
08/02/12  12:52am
#2275280 Jared T View Profile	Message To: Spidervenom1992   In reference to Message Id: 2275265  Need Advice on Fence Lizard Care I would determine their genders for certain! Males and females will both do pushups. I have seen it! Only the males have two enlarged post anal scales below their vent. Go here for a better idea... http://www.repticzone.com/forums/FenceLizards/messages/2061715.html If you have two males, don’t house them together. It could be fatal to one of them, if not both of them, even if they don’t show signs of fighting. The lightning schedule needs to be the same as the suns schedule in Arkansas. When the sun’s down, kill the lights, if the sun’s out, the lights need to be on. I’ve never had problems with fixtures causing fires, and I was also paranoid about it. The UVB 10.0 bulb, I’m hoping it’s a linear tube bulb, has the power to send the UVB rays 20 inches away from the bulb. Which means, the basking spot needs to be within 20 inches from it, and also be getting light from it. Lizards absorb UVB the most when they’re basking. The tank being by the window is a no no. It’s pointless because glass filters UVA/UVB rays. It’s also fatal to the lizards. Fence lizards don’t need a lot of humidity, they’re dry woodland dwelling creatures. Only tropical dwelling creatures need a lot of humidity. Giving fence lizards to much moisture will cause them to get sick. Misting every morning to act as a dew affect is perfect. Rule with the crickets is don’t feed them any that are longer than the top of their heads or wider than the space between their eyes. It’s better to get smaller crickets than to get too big, just not too small because you’ll be feeding them more! After they become accustomed to their new home and each other they should start eating better. I wouldn’t handle them for about two-three weeks. and, everything else seems fine. Welcome to repticzone!!
08/02/12  09:45am
#2275445 Spidervenom1992 View Profile	Message To: Jared T   In reference to Message Id: 2275280  Need Advice on Fence Lizard Care Thanks for the reply. Based on the pictures in the link you sent me, Bueno is definitely a male with Rune and Delta definitely being females. As for the lights, I understand what you mean about the sun schedule. I’m thinking of just leaving the lights on a daytime schedule without telling my parents (my enclosure is upstairs and they rarely come up). However, assuming I am busted, is there any way that I could train my lizards to bask at night and sleep during the day or something of that nature? The UVB bulb, as stated, is a 10.0 but it is not a linear tube. It is essentially a normal sized fluorescent bulb. However, the information on the box it was packaged in also says that its rays can be absorbed up to 20 inches away and the basking area for my lizards is less than about 10 from the bulb (it is the propped up log I mentioned). Just in case, I also have the bulb positioned in the middle of the screen top so the lizards can absorb rays (hopefully) anywhere in the tank. How is putting the enclosure next to a closed window fatal to the lizards? Thanks for the info about the misting, I’ll be doing it once every morning. Would it be beneficial to do it once at night as well? The crickets I get are the "large" ones, which would make them full-grown I believe. I have seen other lizards (and Rune) eat this type of cricket before, so I think they are fine. Only found one in the cage today, but I also found the body of another (but it was missing both of its long legs, which makes me think that one of the lizards might have tried to catch it, getting its legs instead, and just didn’t bother with it when it died). And thank you for the welcome :). If you could get any other posters to read over my information and comment, it would be appreciated. I noticed that this thread has 16 views, but you’re the only one who has responded. I appreciate it.
08/02/12  11:35pm
#2275448 Spidervenom1992 View Profile	Message To: Jared T   In reference to Message Id: 2275280  Need Advice on Fence Lizard Care I checked my lizards against the images in the link you provided and Bueno is definitely male, with Rune and Delta definitely being females. I’m thinking of just leaving the lights on during the day and not telling my parents. However, in case I’m busted, is there any way I could train my lizards to bask at night or something? The UVB bulb I have is a Repti Glo 10.0 compact bulb. It is roughly the size of a normal light bulb. However, I have it positioned over the middle of the cage, so I believe it is fine. The primary basking spot for my lizards is on the propped up log I mentioned in my first post, and it is about 5-10 inches from the bulb. The basking bulb I have is an All Living Things Neodymium Basking Bulb at 100 watts with UVA rays. Will these two do? How is having the enclosure next to a closed window fatal to the lizards? As for misting, I’ll be doing it every morning before I go to work. Would it hurt to mist again in the evening? The crickets I have been feeding them are referred to as "large" by employees of PetCo. Near as I can tell, they are full-grown. I know for a fact that fence lizards eat them because I saw Rune with one in her mouth a week or two ago. Also, I only found two today, but one was dead and I think that one of my lizards might have killed it in an attempt to eat it, but lost interest when it died. And thank you for welcoming me :). Please get others you know to read my post and reply. Multiple suggestions on what I could do to make life better for my lizards would be appreciated. Thanks.
08/03/12  12:01am
#2275449 Spidervenom1992 View Profile	Message To: Spidervenom1992   In reference to Message Id: 2275448  Need Advice on Fence Lizard Care (Sorry, my computer wasn’t showing my original post so I re-submitted it with a bit more information. Please read both as there are certain details that are exclusive to either one).
08/03/12  12:02am
#2275450 Spidervenom1992 View Profile	Message To: Spidervenom1992   In reference to Message Id: 2275449  Need Advice on Fence Lizard Care Also, about how long should I leave the basking/UVB lights on for? I’ve heard about 12 hours to simulate a cycle, but just want to be sure.
08/03/12  12:04am

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