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Bobbo5   Phrynosoma_Texas_FS3

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#1453317 Bobbo5 View Profile	Yearling DHL How many ants should she be eating on an average day? She has been eating about 20 black ants a day (I felt that I had to give her these as it took almost two weeks to get ants from an ant farm website), and yesterday she ate 11 harvester ants. Today however she has only eaten 4 and seems skittish and is avoiding a 5th. I got her this summer before i moved from Arizona. I have had her for about a month and she seems to be doing quite well. She is still small (about two inches overall). Her enclosure is a bit small at only 5 gal. but I will get a 20 or 30 gal. aquarium from my folks’ house next time I make it back across the state. thanks, Bob
09/22/07  08:19pm
#1454426 Phrynosoma_Texas_FS3 View Profile	Message To: Bobbo5   In reference to Message Id: 1453317  Yearling DHL How many just depends on the size of the HL and the species of the ant. Not knowing what species of black ant you are using, I can’t say. Pogonomyrmex harvester ants are their natural prey, and most species of these harvester ants have workers that can be up to 1/4" long, so the HL may eat fewer. I caution you against using ants that are not native to the HLs territory. If you use the wrong genus, particularly from eastern states, it can be deadly to the the HL. There are many species which contain chemical alarm pheromones, and some that are known to make HLs ill, or kill them. Right now is a bad time to have a young HL, going into winter and harvester ants are going to get scarce. If the fat stores of this HL are not tip-top, she can’t hibernate. But you can’t stuff a HL like a Thanksgiving turkey with too much fatty prey either. It will result in complications or illness. DHLs are natural trail ambushers of harvester ants. It is not so easy as dumping ants in the tank when you have a DHL. They prefer the ants pass in front of them and pick them off one at a time. When ants dumped into the tank don’t follow a pheromone trail and run around disorganized, DHLs will get spooked and not eat as much, or none at all. You must have a lot of patience with feeding DHLs, and you will have to drop in possibly only one at a time until she is done. Another problem is that a 5 gallon is too small for almost anything. Given the level of stress that HLs go through, it’s actually cruel. You should just go down and put down the $30 for a 20 gallon for now, and not make her wait til you get to your parents house next time, across the state. When she gets bigger, she will need bigger. You have to have the money and be willing to put it out to keep one of these animals. I just don’t know how else to put it if you really want honest help. A young DHL is not going to do well in your care in a 5 gallon, and it’s no wonder she is not eating well. Under these conditions they waste away pretty quickly and die. You also need UVB lighting and proper thermal gradient, and you can’t set up a thermal gradient in a mere 5 gallons. In fact you stand a good chance of killing her due to heat stress in such a small tank, or running the temp so low that her digestive system and immune function does not operate properly and she dies of gastric or metabolic disorder, parasites, or opportunistic pathogen. I also sell the ants, and I get them out a whole lot faster and cheaper than the website you are talking about. I have an ad here on repticzone in the classified section offering ants ( current prices may vary a bit, but are still cheaper than anyone else ). I also have a webgroup with downloadable scientific papers, and a 26 page manual on Horned Lizards. I also offer better prices on ants there. The link can be found under my profile. I am more concerned about the welfare of the HL however, and if she is not doing well in captivity and you don’t have the proper setup, I would urge you to let her go in the same place you found her while she still has time to prepare for winter. I would prefer to have a HL do well and survive, rather than make a sale to someone. These lizards do not typically survive long if you don’t have proper conditions, and I don’t know how much experience you have, but they are not for beginners to reptile keeping. Is is also doubly problematic that you have a young one, and it is so close to winter, in addition to the other issues.
09/23/07  06:14pm

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