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 #1683709


Coolguy132435
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 Getting an ameiva

hello, i am planning on buying what my petsmart claims to be a green ameiva. It looks like this





But when i type in green ameiva on google, I mostly get this




So, I am unsure as to what it really is. However, I think I have most of the supplies that it needs including:

.cage that is 30"X30"X18" (is that big enough for a single one)
.fake & live plants
.Jungle bedding substrate
.large cave
.large water bowl
.food dish
.small branches,vines,etc


I know that they are terrestrial reptiles, so they need a depp substrate to dig in. Ive done some research and ive found that they can eat crickets,meal worms, wax worms, superworms,earthworms, and pinky mice. Some websites also said that they may or may not eat fruit such as strawberries, cantaloupe, and melon. I also know that they need a fairly humid environment.

If there is anything that I am missing or that is wrong with what i have please tell me.


-coolguy132435
03/31/08  03:57pm

 #1684504


Guido1090
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   Message To: Coolguy132435   In reference to Message Id: 1683709


 Getting an ameiva

how many years of experience do you have with lizards? ameivas are extremely hard lizards to care for. i got one because i liked it and it was a huge mistake. i highly recommend you dont get it unless you are prepared to spend alot of money and most likely have the lizard die in less tan a year.

i do not want to type it all again so look at this LINK and scroll down in the forum to find more links by me about ameivas

Ameivaboy should be able to help you if you do decide to get it. he helped me alot when i got mine.
03/31/08  10:16pm

 #1684698


Ameivaboy
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   Message To: Guido1090   In reference to Message Id: 1684504


 Getting an ameiva

The best advice I can give is this.... Dont bother.
Find yourself a nice captive bred animal (you wont find Captive bred ameivas)
Both of those pictures are Ameiva ameiva, the cage you mentioned is too small.
The pet store "jungle bedding" is absolute crap as well.
If you do get an ameiva I would suggest going minimum 4 x 2 x 2 WOOD cage (no screen tops)
Ameivas are display animals only sop if you want something to handle an ameiva is totally out of the question. A vet exam and fecal need to be done as well. If you need drugs,injections etc etc (which you probably will) this $20 lizard can cost you hundreds of dollars. That’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Save yourself the time,effort an enerfy looking into this genus of lizards and find an animal more suited to life in captivity.
04/01/08  01:16am

 #1685419


Coolguy132435
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   Message To: Ameivaboy   In reference to Message Id: 1684698


 Getting an ameiva

ok, i do have quite a few years experience with reptiles, but I may consider not buying it(for its own wellbeing). Its been in like a 20 gallon cage at petsmart for the past year and he seems really active(I see him eat frequently). I do like tropical herps so if you have any suggestions other than an ameiva that would be cool. I was considering a knight anole or cone headed lizard. The only problem is that the coneheaded lizard is always WC and typically take time to qadjust to captivity
04/01/08  06:55pm

 #1685523


Guido1090
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   Message To: Coolguy132435   In reference to Message Id: 1685419


 Getting an ameiva

knight anoles are WC also.

what do you want in a lizard? maybe if we know we could help.

like do you want a friendly handleable lizard? what size tank do you have room for, do you want a tropical or desert lizard. do you want a lizard active during the day or night?

stuff like that.
04/01/08  08:07pm

 #1685540


Coolguy132435
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   Message To: Guido1090   In reference to Message Id: 1685523


 Getting an ameiva

i know that knight anoles are wild caught but i have been breeding green anoles awhile(so i might get one) honestly i am fine with a lizard that cant be held or handeled so that is no problem i currently have a 65 gallon that is open but i am getting a 175 gallon in a few days probably. i prefer tropical lizards and diurnal would be best. Unless i get something like a tropical nocturnal gecko



04/01/08  08:15pm

 #1685581


Guido1090
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   Message To: Coolguy132435   In reference to Message Id: 1685540


 Getting an ameiva

well crested geckos are amazing. they are tropical, nocturnal, and aboreal. i love mine. and once they are adult they relax and are handleable. i have a baby and he is a little spring :) they are also soooo easy to take care of.

you can get more info about them in the crested gecko forum.
04/01/08  08:27pm

 #1686994


Coolguy132435
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   Message To: Guido1090   In reference to Message Id: 1685581


 Getting an ameiva

just wondering why no screen tops
04/02/08  08:57pm

 #1687026


Guido1090
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   Message To: Coolguy132435   In reference to Message Id: 1686994


 Getting an ameiva

i think its because they let out too much heat and humidity.

another reason is because in the wild the lizards are eaten by birds and stuff. when they see movement from above their instinct is to run so they dot get eaten. when you have to open the cage from above many times a day to feed and take care of the cage and stuff it will really stress them out.


i may be wrong about these but they are why i think it top opening and screen top cages are bad.
04/02/08  09:19pm

 #1687896


Coolguy132435
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   Message To: Guido1090   In reference to Message Id: 1687026


 Getting an ameiva

my cage opens from the side
04/03/08  03:20pm

 #1688064


Guido1090
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   Message To: Coolguy132435   In reference to Message Id: 1687896


 Getting an ameiva

well then i dont know why it wouldnt work. you could cover the top of the cage for heat and humidity.

you should get some more opinions about it tho. i dont know everything.
04/03/08  05:11pm

 #1698198


Sivajon11
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   Message To: Guido1090   In reference to Message Id: 1688064


 Getting an ameiva

yeah i have a green ameiva ,and there not that cool i mean they look cooler than they really are they mean ,and bite .but it is cool watching them digg up super worms
04/10/08  09:15pm

 #1698207


Sivajon11
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   Message To: Sivajon11   In reference to Message Id: 1698198


 Getting an ameiva

i think you should look into getting a green basilisk there sweet i love myn its so cool. do you stillwant to get a lizard .let me know i could help you decide
04/10/08  09:19pm

 #1699022


Luvlizards
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   Message To: Sivajon11   In reference to Message Id: 1698207


 Getting an ameiva

If you wanted a cool tropical nocturnal lizard, and don’t mind display animals, than a tokay gecko would be miy suggestion, although those also are mostly wild caught. Not reputed to be the nicest geckos, but they are gorgeous!! You wouldn’t need UVB either, since it’s nocturnal . . . although if you are definately looking for cb, then the above post about crested geckos is probably good advice, as they tend to be pretty handleable . . . good luck!
04/11/08  03:03pm

 #1699165


Coolguy132435
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   Message To: Luvlizards   In reference to Message Id: 1699022


 Getting an ameiva

im getting an ameiva
04/11/08  04:29pm

 #1712344


Coolguy132435
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   Message To: Coolguy132435   In reference to Message Id: 1699165


 Getting an ameiva

oh yeah, forgot to mention that I ended up getting a knight anole instead. It wasnt becuase i didnt think that I could take care of it properly, it was because i am not going to be able to take care of it for 2 weeks in the summer while i am on vacation, and I dont want a lizard that will be too difficult for my neighbor to take care of.
04/22/08  12:48pm

 #1713036


Lizard boy 101
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   Message To: Coolguy132435   In reference to Message Id: 1712344


 Getting an ameiva

Oh those guys are sweet lookin. I hear their bite packs a punch though. lol. Congrats man have fun with him/her
04/22/08  11:19pm

 #1715828


Coolguy132435
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   Message To: Lizard boy 101   In reference to Message Id: 1713036


 Getting an ameiva

thanks
04/25/08  10:15am

 #1716980


Guido1090
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   Message To: Coolguy132435   In reference to Message Id: 1715828


 Getting an ameiva

haha its funny you mention a knight anole. i was trying to get one of those but i couldnt find them anywhere at the time. i guess it was off season for them. so i ended up getting an ameiva instead. i hope you have better luck with you knight anole than i did with my ameiva.

now i have a crested gecko and i am super happy with it. he is awesome. im getting another in 2 weeks.
04/26/08  02:20pm

 #1718500


Coolguy132435
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   Message To: Guido1090   In reference to Message Id: 1716980


 Getting an ameiva

yeah, it was kind of lucky for me i guess. I too had been considering getting one for quite some time, but i had never seen one availible at a petstore(i wasnt going to risk buying on online). Then, they randomly got 2 of them so I bought 1
04/27/08  10:15pm


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