FAQ/ Collared Care
Do Collared Lizards Make Good Pets?
Collared lizards make excellent pets. With daily handling they can become very tame and quite friendly. They are extremely active, and fun to watch. Some are absolutely stunning as far as color and pattern. Of course captive bred make much nicer, and most of the time more healthy pets. Collared lizards vary is size from different species, but average size range is approx. 12 to 14 inches.
Wild aughts need much time and patience /handling to become friendly. Some refuse to eat and must be force fed, this is called Failure to Thrive. They will actually starve to death rather than become acclimated to captivity. A terrible thing to see, this happens to the more experienced keepers as well sometimes. Many wc's being sold are extremely emaciated, full of parasites, and not well cared for, there are a few exceptions. Buyer beware, ask for photos of the animal if buying online. And whenever possible buy captive bred animals.
What size Tank Should I use?
For a young / or baby collared lizards, you could use a 20 gallon long, but I personally would have to say no smaller than 30 - 40 gallon for adults, a pair/trio . Always remember with any lizard's enclosure, Bigger is Better. Especially with these guys, as they love to run, and jump most of the day. Very active. But if going bigger, you must increase heat so temps are appropriate, otherwise bigger will not be good, if too cold.
For outside sunning for any of your lizards, OR even emergency caging for
youngsters... I have used a 96 quart sized plastic bin, sides cut out as well as the
plastic lid. Then hot glue window screening (metal kind) on sides of bin and the cut out lid, the metal screening allows you to use your heat lamps and UVB strip.
Please not, I was told by a friend that his hot glue melted in the hot sun and screen became loosened, so make sure to examine your screens often if used outdoors.
Rubber maid tub tweaked, screened on top & side .
Heres what the lid looks like after you cut it out and hot glue the screen to it. These cages are not only affordable, and light weight, but make excellent emergency cages, quarantine/sick cages. Second photo is top of tub screened wih heat lamp
Heating & Lighting
As with mostly all lizards they must bask each day when they wake, to get their body temperature up enough to function properly, to eat and digest their food. So a heat light is essential for basking. They also Must have UV lighting to aid in calcium absorption. To prevent Metabolic Bone Disease, talked about in more detail below.
UVB lights can be bought in a fluorescent bulb (such as (repti-sun 10.0 opr the new arcadia 12 % desert uvb ) or if you have a large enclosure such a s a 40 breeder tank or larger you can get a mercury vapor bulb. These are more expensive run approx. 40.00 or more and are heat and uvb in one bulb. Some people will debate the need for UVB lights, as a keeper I have heard / seen/ and done my own observing, and feel my animal DO indeed benefit from their use.
Metabolic Bone Disease/ Calcium Defientcy
and here are two more very informative sites, MBD and Calcium Problems,
Calcium Defientcy/MBD
Dome light photo for basking & stripe light with uvb fluorescent bulb
What Temperature Should Tank Be & What Substrate
These lizards like it hot. Temperatures should be 100 - 105 at basking site, minesometimes go to 110 / 115 degrees in late afternoon on warm days this is acceptable. The REST of the tank should be in the high 80's to 90 degrees. You can get accurate readings with the Temp Gun, awesome gadget, runs about 25.00 well worth it.*As far as what substrate, this is debatable by many. For hatchlings, paper towels arethe best. I use up until at least 4 weeks old. For older collareds, most people Iknow, including myself use washed play sand, from home depot or a garden center. This sand is usually clean and used for children's sandboxes
What Should I Feed My Collared
Collareds lizards are mainly BUG eaters, and in the wild will eat smaller
lizards. Most of us use crickets as their main staple in captivity. I always
well fed mealies on hand as many of my lizards enjoy
these more. It's good to offer different insects when able to vary the diet. I do
not put meal worms in the fridge, but keep in a cooler room with food available
at all times.
Also small portions of salad offered every other day. Greens, shredded carrot/
squash/ sweet potato, boiled egg, cooked/ boiled- baked, turkey, sometimes fruit. Pic below shows a
youngster eating his salad and loving it. Some collareds will not eat salad. Starting to offer while a youngster, usually they will continue to eat as an adult.
* I wanted to add this, I attempted to switch over to Roaches. I had done alot
of reading, and did not want to go with climbers and have the risk of them
getting out, so I went with Blaptica Dubia, aka ( Guyana orange spotted roach)
They do not climb, do not fly, do not smell. And unlike the dang crickets with all
the die- offs these guys can live for 12- 24 months.
Thats alot of offspring. Soon when my colony was established I had many
different sizes to feed from, tiny for hatchling, on up to large for larger lizards.
This did not work out for me.
UPDATE: My findings are, my hatchlings are not chasing the baby roaches, the
baby roaches play dead,(do not move) and the hatchlings do not chase them. I
had to still rely on crickets until collareds are older. ALSO: Some of my adults
were not crazy about them. Some ate the very small ones, My C. vestigium did
like the medium ones (which are large, the adult roaches were HUGE, and
some of the large lizards such as my Blue tongue skink, Panther chameleon,
and also my clown and black agamas eat them.
*** Update : I have gone back to 1/2 inch crickets as far as the main food. I only use the 1.2 inch crickets as they are more meaty have not matured into the exo skeleton / shell. Also they have a longer life span at this size.
****They also love grasshoppers if your lucky to find them where you live. Wax
worms, butter worms, small spiders, they relish moths.
Some chose to use meal worms instead of superworms, these are believed to
be harder to digest, as their chitin is harder than superworms. Some people
use roaches, and other insects
Remember to dust your bugs with a calcium supplement, every day for
youngsters, at least twice/three times a week for adults.
** IMPORTANT: If your lizards are getting alot of natural sun or high UVB
lighting, than it can be dangerous to use a calcium supplement that has vit. D3
in it. So be mindful of that.
** Also as far as bugs, remember crickets and superworms, most bugs are
very low in calcium and high in phosphorus, and if you do not feed your feeder
insects lots of greens with calcium, than your lizards diet is not balanced, high
levels of phosphorus can BLOCK calcium conversion. Which down the road
can lead to Metabolic Bone Disease.
FEEDING HATCHLINGS
** Hatchlings get small crickets if your using crickets, about 1/4 inch, as they grow increase size ofbug. I usually gave my 3 -4 weeks olds 1/2 crickets. At one month old a baby can down a full size adult cricket with no trouble. Although I did continue to use smaller ones for awhile.
I feed baby and juveys at least 3 times a day. Adults once. As I said above, I now feed all my collareds a bowl of well fed mealworms left in tank at all times, and small to medium B. dubia roaches a few times a week.
GUT LOADING OR FEEDING INSECTS
** IMPORTANT Gut load your Bugs, Means FEED your bugs well, before
feeding to lizards. I normally feed my insects everyday, meaning the insects
always have food available.
They will eat the same greens as your collareds, and dry cat food/dogfood, fish
food, cereals, oatmeal, orange slices, apple slices, raw sweet potato, or white
potato slices,cannibals, many veggies, fruits, crickets are cannibals and will
eat one another. Give them enough space.
*YOUR lizards are only as healthy as what they eat, so keep your bugs Healthy !
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CANNIBALS
IF using crickets, Always make sure all crickets are out by bedtime, they will bite your lizards and
torment them all night. They are cannibals, and eat each other. With adults,
and large tanks if I can not get them all out,..drop in a few hunks of greens so
they can eat that all night.
BUT...separateing/baby tanks, I did REMOVE all crickets at night.
** You can also feed your lizards in a separate rubber maid type container if you
want, then return them to their Cricket FREE tank.
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It is always asked... do Collareds they like veggies and fruit? Well I have some
who will love to eat/nibble shredded carrot, and pieces of greens/ boiled egg.
WATER
Fresh water should be available at all times in a shallow saucer. Or use an
eyedropper and drip it on their snout and get them to lick.
Also can try the ice cube left on the screen to drip down onto a rock below.
This method can also be used with a paper cup, by making a pin hole in it, and
sitting it on the screen top and allowing it to drip down.
I use yogurt type plastic lids very shallow for hatchlings to learn to drink, it is so
shallow they can walk through it, later when bigger you can upgrade to a larger
saucer. ALL of my collareds drink from a saucer.
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Kaboom vestigium youngster eating salad, and photos of B. dubia roaches, they do not fly or climb or smell bad.
How Often Do They Shed & CanI Help Them
This is a question asked by many of new lizard owners, so I have decided to address
this topic briefly.
Shedding occurs in lizards when they outgrow their old skin and it is renewed. The old either comes off in pieces with some lizards or as one whole piece in others. You can usually tell after seeing them shed a few times, when it is about to happen again. The skin appears to get filmy or dull looking prior, and you may even see some dry, bubbling looking skin about to peel. Also lizards with movable eyelids puff ot their eyes a couple days before their heads start to shed. This looks freaky to the viewer, like their eyes are bulging out of their heads. (They sometimes do that same thing if some sort of small object is in their eye.)
How often they shed will vary with age and size of the lizard. A hatchling may shed every few weeks while growing so quickly.
A juvey, a few months or older will still shed frequently, at least once every couple months. And so down the line, some of my adults may shed twice during the warmer months, so I would say at least twice a season. Sometimes this looks scarey to the new owner, like HULK man breaking out of skin.
* Some have asked if they can help their collared lizard when shedding
NEVER pull the skin off, it can lead to infection and harm your lizard, as the skin may still be attached.,,,,,,,,,,,,, your collared down with a spray bottle of luke warm water. They may not like it , but it does really help.
** If there is ever any very stubborn old skin the will not come off you can use a dab of mineral oil, works like a charm and is not harmful to your lizard at all. Can be
purchased in any grocery store/ drugstore for about a dollar or so, and will last a
LONG time.
** Some choose to have one little corner in the tank where there is some damp sand
they can nap there if they want, this has also been know to help with shedding.
I personally just mist mine a couple times when I see them shedding.
Can I Have Two Males Together In The Tank
Not a good idea. Males are very territorial and will fight and can be quite harmful to one another. Very young males are usually safe but must be moved when they become older. Or reach breeding age. I do have young males that live together peacefully, but no females are in the tank with them. Any signs of dis-harmony they get separated.
Male and Female should be close in size, and it is good to Brumate if you are
thinking of breeding. Brumating is a sort of cool down / hibernation period. This
helps with reproduction. They will sleep for a period of time.
BRUMATION/HYBERNATION
* Brumation - or a cooling of a reptile in captivity, occurs by lowering its temperature
for about 2 to 4 months, to simulate conditions during the winter season in the wild.
This is not like hibernation of mammals. Brumation triggers the physical changes that stimulate egg production in females, sperm production in males, and the breeding response necessary for successful captive propagation.
Some reptiles will go into a brumation on their own, and decide to stop eating and
retire to their place of resting. But some have to be forced into this state, mostly for
breeding purposes. So we as owners have to set the atmosphere they need to
brumate properly, by slowly decreasing food intake, then stopping food altogether.
* Pick a time that you have planned for brumation, lets just say you picked the end of November. Begin by decreasing food intake early in the month. By the end of the
month stop food altogether.
* Someone recently asked me "Why, do you stop food"? Well reptiles need heat to
digest their food properly, since all heat will be soon turned off, you want the gut
empty of all food contents. Do not want rotting food in the gut. Can kill your lizard.
* Approx. 7 - 10 days after food is completely stopped, turn OFF (HEAT) but continue to turn on the UVB strip light on for at least another week or so. Then, finally turn off UVB. They can either stay in their own tank or you may have to have them in a plastic type container in a place that will be 50- 55 degrees, for however long you decide to let them rest.
*Make sure you HYDRATE them (give water with dropper) at least once a week. I
always worry, and give it twice a week. Let it drip on their nose, or some will lick the drips.
For those people who wonder how your brumating lizard will look, they can either be asleep, or just appear to be in a fog, or daze. Though their metabolism has slowed
considerably, they can perform various levels of activity such as drinking and moving about.
*Now when it is time to wake them, reverse your steps, first turn ON UVB strip light for a week or so, then turn ON (HEAT) for another week, then begin to FEED your lizard/s again.
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OVULATION/ BLUSH COLOR
Awhile, couple weeks or so, after waking the female will ovulate, and show a brilliant orange color called her Blush color. This color is a kind of message to the male so to speak, shes ready to mate. The amount and intensity of orange differs in each female. Some show small splotches, here and there, Some look like they have been painted with orange neon paint. Gorgeous.
Female blush color /ovulating ready to breed
The male will head bob, and do push ups, and drag his pelvis in circles when hes in
the breeding frame of mind. He will then mount the female and grab her by the neck
and try and mate. She will either accept his advances and they will mate, or she will not accept him, and run, or roll on her back, any means to reject him. *She will "usually" accept his advances when ovulating. * This can appear to look very rough on the female. ** Separate if extreme aggression is taking place, male biting other parts of her body and drawing blood.
Extreme male sexual aggression/ female hurt separate
This sweet girl Hopi, was severely injured by her mate Zuni while trying to mate. Zuni gets so intense he acts with extreme aggression. Will bite at a females tender stomach area , legs, anything he can bite if she tries to resist. The wounds are inflicted "so fast," that you must really be watchful to make sure all goes well. Hopi could not walk for 2 weeks on her front leg after being bitten. Zuni behaved this way around every female, He is absolutely beautiful in color, but I have never allowed him to mate since.
Photo # 1 collareds mating.... Photo # 2 Hopi injured from males extreme aggression while breeding
Sexing Your Collared Lizard* Photos at Bottom of Page
How Long Does It Take To Lay Eggs After Breeding ?
Make sure at this time your female has been well supplemented with extra calcium.You may want to purchase calcium syrup to supplement your girls, as they need extra calcium for egg production and then they themselves are depleted. I purchase16 oz bottle of calcium syrup from Rugby Laboratories. Refrigerate and use as needed. It stays good for a couple years. Usually the female will begin to get heavy. You may even begin to see bulges in her sides. In about 22 to 24 days she will lay if all goes well.At this time you should provide a damp area in a corner or a nesting box with dampened sand for her to deposit her eggs when ready
MAKING A NEST
Most of my females love the exo terra medium and especailly the large cave. They wash nice and wear well, are sturdy, and as I said they LOVE them.
http://www.exo-terra.com/en/products/reptile_cave.php
A nest can be made in alot of different ways. Just damp sand in a corner that she
prefers digging in works for some. Use at least 4 inches of dampened sand.
Or, you can create a square, using the back side of tank as one side, a brick, and
another brick in front (creating an L shape) other side should be the tank side. Then
you can use a removable lid on this such as a piece of slate, even a firm book. Just
leave a space /door for her to get in and out. Fill with 3- 4 inches of dampened sand.
Also you can just use natural rocks, same way, just making a square, make sure
everything is anchored and can NOT fall and crush her, she will be digging away. I
never pile the rocks, much safer to just form a square or close to it with them, fill
space with 3 - 4 inches of dampened sand, cover with lid. People have used a
shoe box/ or similar type container, with a hole cut in it. Mine never liked this sort of
box. These are just a few examples.
About 3 days before she is ready to lay , she will begin to dig, and dig and dig,hopefully in her nesting box. ** But sometimes they will dig where they choose. Just make sure the area is dampened.
Bricks in an L shape with removable lid, leave entry way for female
Updates , you can pretty much make nests out of anything your female can go under or go in, safely. In the beginning I had to be perfect, but after doing this for so many years, I have used low plastic taco bowls with lid, and just cut out a hole in the side of bowl. Fill with dampened sand and keep lid on. Easy to lift lid when she is done to remove eggs. Just be creative, as long as she feels comfy anything private you make for her pretty much goes. Just do not bother her when she is digging to lay.
Some females will refuse any nest you make, they just want to do things their way. They begin digging in a corner of tank, where their is no damp sand, and you panic, but just add a few piles of dampened sand in the corners you see her interested in, she will eventually pick a place.
Some females seem overwhelmed by motherhood, and just lay eggs everywhere, out in the open, if you are not there to retrieve them, they just dry out and are no longer good. This is a stressful time for the mom to be as well as you, so be gentle, quiet, and patient.
Sometimes if I have a difficult female who scatters her eggs about, next time I put her in a small tank before laying date, all filled with dampened sand except for one cave for sleeping and food/water. That way her eggs are safe no matter where she decide to lay them.
Eggs should look nice and plump, most have a pink oval that is visible when first layed. Some eggs are piled on top of each other when you dig them up. Just pick them up gently and put in the egg container either pink side up, or if you do not see pink, put them in the same way you found them.
What Do I Do With The Eggs After They Are Layed ?
Now that your female has layed her eggs they must be taken out of the tank. This in
my opinion is best done after taking her out for a few minutes, so she can not see
you take them. She just went to alot of trouble piling sand on them to hide and
protect them. Seems a shame.
Remove eggs gently
After she is removed and safely placed elsewhere for a few minutes, you must
carefully look for, and removed the eggs. Pick the eggs up the way they were layed if
possible, or if you see a pink oval showing then that is the top of egg and faces up,
place them in a small plastic container (like a glade sandwich container) or a deli
cup... there should be about 3 inches of dampened vermiculite or perlite in your
container. Make a little impression for each egg and sit it securely in there, and
place in incubator...
INCUBATION
Incubator temps should not exceed 90 or go below low 70's a nice mid range of 83
degrees is often used .
While in incubator, some eggs turn brownish it may be too humid, substrate may be
too damp do not add water for awhile.
If eggs seem to deflate somewhat, you may need to ADD some water to the substrate
they are in.
* DO NOT get water on the eggs. They can get moldy and will spoil.
GOOD EGGS OR BAD HOW DO I KNOW?
The eggs when fertile as I said will have a pinkish oval on them, place this top side
up. Sometimes if you do not find and remove the eggs right away you will not see
the pink oval (the eggs dry soon after being layed) and sometimes it is no longer
visible. In this case, just place the eggs in incubator the way you found them.
** Eggs right after being layed can feel a tad soft or pliable, but soon after become
quite firm to the touch. If your eggs or egg has a soft squishy feel to it like a water
balloon and never seems to firm, odds are it or they may be infertile. To be on the
safe side, leave in the incubator, they eggs will eventually cave in, dry up,..become
moldy, and just look down right bad!
If mold grows on the egg and you feel the egg is fertile, then you can try some
athletes foot/fungus powder ( a dab of powder on the mold spot) Just a dab.
Sometimes this stops the mold, and can safe the egg.
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THE HATCHING
The eggs will hatch in 40 - 60 days . The hatchlings can stay in the incubator for a
few hours to a couple days. When you see that they are getting around well in there
you can put them in a nice set up of their own, with paper towels.
** DO NOT put hatchlings in with larger collareds, they will be EATEN Do not
attempt to put any baby or juvie lizard with adults until they get some size.::bout 4
months or so, then observe, make sure they are not being bullied.
Do not be alarmed when they do not eat right away this is quite normal. They will
usually eat within the first week to 10 days. I had one go 14, I was very nervous :0)
but he was fine.
DO provide shallow water for them, or use eye dropper need water or they will
dehydrate fast.
When they do begin to eat use small crickets to start, by one month old they will nail
an adult size cricket
What The Eggs May Look Like When Hatching
For those who have never seen or experienced an egg hatch, well the first time
your a wreck not knowing what the heck it's supposed to look like, if it is taking too
long, is the color right, should it be caving in, denting, below are some pics of
different stages, and the way yours may appear during the hatching process.
The eggs color can be brownish yellow, but does not matter because at this point... shes/ he's coming
Egg has pipped/ hatchling has made a hole through egg, and head is appearing.
Notice now how thin the shell of this hatchling (collared egg) / or how transparent it has become as the hatching is breaking out. He has absorbed all the yolk, and will be fine without food for a few days- to sometimes more than a week. So amazing.
Some more eggs hatching, some aquaflames. This little one has worked extremely hard to break free from the egg, now he has entered our world, He will depend on you to give him the best quality of life possible, I hope we can live up to that, these lizards sure deserve the best!
Oh and look at the cutie that has arrived ( last photo)
Female collareds, usually, but not always, can lay up 3 - 4 clutches of eggs a
season. They only need to mate once to do it. They retain sperm from that one
mating session :0) Thank God I'm not a lizard.
After the first clutch of eggs is layed, they will lay again in about 3 - 4 more
weeks again. Some eggs may not be fertile, if they are really super spongy,
(feel like a squishy water balloon) they are not fertile.)
A SERIOUS PROBLEM DYSTOCIA / EGG BINDING
This is a terrible problem that arises with a female every so often. She retains
her eggs and does not seem to be able to pass them, leading to egg binding. It
can and in most cases leads to death if her eggs can not be passed or
removed. I have included a link with a very informative article about egg
binding, causes, some prevention's, and some treatments used to help. I thank
the author.
My Collareds Eyes Look Sandy, Not Opening, Whats Wrong?
Eyes stuck shut , sandy eyes/ goopy eyes, runny eyes .... Well, usually this is a sign of respiratory/bacterial infection, sometimes with other symptoms present, such as sneezing, popping sound when they breath, and can see nasal discharge/ mucus .
When having extreme breathing distress, they will sit/sleep with head up, to try and get air, and mouth gaping. Not to be confused with just normal gaping, opening mouth while basking for cooling for a few minutes.
This one is NOT to be messed with long before contacting a Vet for antibiotics. They go down quick with this. Sometimes this can happens after brumation, extended periods of temperature fluctuations :0( SAD !
*For irritated eyes and not showing signs of other illness, breathing problems just have a tube of terramycin on hand, works great, and put some on the eye for a couple days.
Other Serious Problems, Not Eating, Severe Dehydration,
Not Basking, Total Failure To Thrive
Not eating for any length of time, from parasites, virus, whatever the cause, " severe dehydration" usually follows. Not basking, lethargic, depressed, just a Failure to Thrive situation. This is quite common with many wild caughts that may harboring parasites internally or externally. Or are having a hard to acclimating to captive conditions. Some will completely stop eating and drinking and will literally sit and starve to death if you do not take immediate action and intervene.
If you begin to see bones protruding in the base of tail area, spine showing, or an extremely thin tail ( usually where fat is stored) sunken eyes, extremely dry or wrinkled skin these are major signs of severe dehydration and starvation. Hopefully help will come before this stage.
Dehydration- You must get some liquids into the lizard as possible. He will surely DIE, and will NOT eat, and CAN not eat , until hydrated.** Use a needless syringe or dropper and use warmish water/ or warmish pedyalite/electrolite solution mixed with a small amount of water, and I use a few drops of probiotic in the water as well.** Suck some of this up into your dropper, opening lizards mouth, gently squeeze ONLY small amounts/ drops, into the side of mouth, at least every 3-4 hours. I do this until I retire at night. I give the lizard heat all night as well while sick and recovering.
I hydrate them like this sometimes for a "couple days". Just hydrate, with no food until you see them perk up a tad. ** Remember they can not eat, or digest anything while dehydrated.** Continue to hydrate, but if you see them improving some, more active, add some liquid food as well and see how they do with that. I use chicken or turkey baby food with vegetables, this is blandish and will not cause runny bowels. I use about a teaspoon of babyfood and mix in about a teaspoon of water,consistency it a soupy consistency that can be sucked up into your syringe or dropper and swallowed easily.
Remember they are still in a weakened condition and do not have the energy to chew bugs or solids yet. Make it easy on them until they gain their strength back.**Do this feeding and hydrating until you notice them looking better, more active, basking,showing an interest in eating on their own. Please be patient, as it sometimes takes much of your time for awhile, getting them back on their little feet again.
~ YOU ARE THEIR ONLY HOPE ~ And there is nothing more satisfying then to see them THRIVE again.
Impaction In Reptiles / Safe Substrates Intestinal Impaction, Lizards that accidentally swallow substrate or any other foreign material, may become impacted if their digestive system can not pass the object. Signs of impactions are constipation, lack of appetite, and abdominal swelling, which may cause difficulty in breathing or can also cause paralysis in extreme cases.
First Aid Needs, For Small Bites To Major Prolapse
This always depends on how severe the wound would be. If it is a deep cut or wound/ bite, try and stop the bleeding, and call your Vet if you feel it's to serious for you to handle. I always have some things handy for first aid needs.
I use Nolvasan or a generic .... Cholorahexidine Solution 2.0 ...... I buy a gallon, and you dilute this using 1 ounce per gallon of water, so this lasts quite awhile as well. to treat wounds, clean tanks, furniture, this is antiseptic as well as an antimicrobial so this is always in my reptile room.
Many also use providone iodine solution or Betadine, this is always a great thing to have, for cuts, bites, even burns. You dilute some in water to it looks like a light tea color, and then soak the area, or dab some on the affected area with a cotton ball. This helps to prevent infection and I have found it to be very helpful.
It's always good to have neosporin or a triple antibiotic ointment, which can be applied on the cut, burn, or bite after using the iodine solution. ONLY THE KIND WITHOUT PAIN MEDICINE IN IT. THE ORIGINAL ONLY
* Tail injuries - Sometimes collareds will injure their tails, getting them stuck,
other lizards or predators, mites, whatever, and minor wounds can be treated with the diluted Nolvasan or Povodone solution and neosporin.
Sometimes the end of tail turns black and the tissue dies,can then spread up to the good tissue of tail and continue up the tail. If this is the case and it continues to spread , the vet may prescribe antibiotics and possible amputation of affected area if it does not heal. This is called dry gangrene.
* Eye problems - Always have a few Qtips around for whatever need, dirt in the eyes that can not be removed by the lizard itself. Also I always have terramycin on hand for eye infections or any eye problems.
ABSOLUTE MUST INCASE OF PROLAPSE
* I also now keep K Y Jelly incase of a prolapse this would keep the organ or area moist, until you can get your lizard to the VET.
* Soak immediately in cool sugar water, and squirt the KY- JELLY over the entire vent area. Put lizard on clean dampish towel, NO sand, or substrate that would stick /harm protruded area.
* This is considered an emergency! I had this really happen to my male chuckwalla.
And always remember a simple warm soak aids in helping a lizard who may be a bit constipated. As well as a couple drops of mineral oil in their food or squirted in mouth.
Also eggbound females can be soaked in warm water to try and help her out.
This is usually a serious condition and calling a Vet is best.
Why Is My Lizard So Thin And Lethargic?
I'm sure there can be alot of reasons for this one. Some of the most common
are check basking temperatures, make sure they are 100 - 105 and the rest of
tank is high 80's to 90. And of course PARASITES.
If it is too cool their appetite/ energy level will decrease, (metabolism will slow)
and they will not thrive.
FECAL EXAMINATION/ PARASITES
Many have parasites/ worms and need to have a fecal check done by a Vet, to
determine if and what kind of parasites they may have.
Worms can be treated with several methods or medicines. One is the very
popular Panacur. And now quite acceptable and used by many owners is
Parazap! Parasites are responsible to many deaths of lizards in captivity.
QUARANTINE NEW COMERS
* It is always recommended to keep any new comers(new lizards) in quarantine
for at least a month, while observing their health. Before putting your existing
lizards at risk. ** Not only keep separate but in another room of the house is
best, in case theres mites.
MITES & CHIGGERS
** CREEPY CRAWLING NIGHTMARE, ( Snake/ lizard Mites, these things
spread through your collection like wild fire, and suck his blood until eventually if NOT treated you are infested, and your animals slowly go down hill,eventually eventually die. Whenever you get any lizards coming in captive bred or wc from ANYONE, quarantine as if they have parasites from the minute they arrive, and spray them down, a few times in a week or so, rinse them. Use paper towels in a tank so you can see if there is anything. And always have your quarantine period as required BUT...
ALSO KEEP THEM IN A SEPARATE ROOM/PLACE FOR AWHILE too and
avoid this terrible ordeal for your lizards as well as yourself/others.
MBD or Metabolic Bone Disease,/ calcium defiencies/ Vitamin D3 overdose
Kidney failure, all can cause lethargy as well as other symptoms.
A Severe Condition Seen In Collareds * A Few Recently
I just want to make people aware of a severe condition seen on a few
collareds this season, and I have seen this in two other collareds in years past.
One most recent case was that of a very good friend from the collared forum
on Kingsnake.com. Her female developed what appeared as bruise marks on
her stomach and these spread to other areas as the days went on and some
enlarged as well. It looks as though they are bleeding under the skin.
Vonnie took her female collared Lucia, to the Vet and was told this was a
blister disease.
I have read about blister disease and there seems to be a few types. Seems it
can come from an enclosure that is to moist /damp or if left uncleaned. May be
other reasons, still looking into this nasty disease.
This is a very serious condition, and left untreated by a Vet, will only worsen
and you may lose your lizard. Some will be treated with an antibiotic and
probably all will need a topical ointment as well to clear this up. As I find out
more I will include it here. Below is are photos of what it can look like.
First photo is when it first appeared on thigh/stomach area. Then it spread to
other parts of her body.
Second photo shows her stomach which had large blisters, after the blisters
began to heal.
Photos Courtesy of Vonnie Calmine
Star Gazing
Another viral type sickness that has been seen lately 12/2008
The collareds seems to be STAR-GAZING holding head/neck straight up
pointing towards sky, lack of coordination. Here is a better description of the
symptom, stargazing and a few of the causes, an article by Melissa Kaplin.
** Star-Gazing
A sign, not a disease.
©1995 Melissa Kaplan
Stargazing is a term used to describe a deceptively innocuous behavior: the
head and neck are raised almost straight up, as if the affected animal is gazing
at the stars. This condition is common to several diseases that affect the
central nervous system. Symptoms that often occur with stargazing are
disorientation and the inability to right itself.
There are several conditions that may cause the symptom of stargazing,
including viral infections such as paramyxovirus, found in viperids and some
colubrids and boids which attacks the respiratory and neurological systems;
and inclusion body disease, found in boids, which involves the respiratory,
gastrointestinal and neurological systems. Bacterial infections such as
meningitis, and septic infections that breach the blood-brain barrier may also
cause stargazing. Major organ dysfunction may also cause dysregulation of
normal metabolism which in turn may cause neurological disease. Extreme
temperatures, head injuries, and toxins (as from flea sprays, pest strips,
cleaning products and environmental toxins) may also cause neurological
disorders.
A thorough examination, including fecal and pathology work-up, must be done
to determine the underlying cause. As stargazing is merely a symptom of a
deeper, potentially quite serious disease or disorder, the underlying condition
itself must be treated.
What Kind Of Plants Can Be Used Safely In My Collareds Tanks
Plants must be able to with stand alot of heat, and dryness, not to mention
being jumped on, sat on, bounced upon, knocked over or banged into fifty
times a day .
I can only mention the ones I have used, more can be added as people
suggest others.
Haworthia is a very cool succulent, looks cactus like.
Hens and Chicks , Plant succulent
Aloe
Jade Plant
Snake plants
Any more you want to add to the list feel free to email me and let me know.
How Do I Ship Non-Venomous Reptiles
When and if the time comes that you need to ship a lizard it can be a pretty
scarey thought. * This is very important to the LIFE of the animal to take
every precaution needed to do it properly.
*Also- Ship Your Reptiles.com not only can book a shipment and pick up
but has a great video you can watch right here below on how to prepare your
box and pack your reptile safely for shipment, done by Robyn Markland.
Have Questions you would like to see added to my FAQ/Care page?
Please give me a holler, email me and I will add
your question and give an answer. Thank you
Sexing Your Collared Lizards * Photos
Female Collared /Vent With Spots
Female vent pic, this female, does have the black dots on either side of vent. Just to let you know some do and some don't.
Female Collared Vent Without The Usual Spots
This is a picture of the female vent. Notice the scales under the slit area, are much smaller than the male. Some females will also have two dark black dots to either side of vent area. She does not.
Male Collared Vent
This picture is of a male collareds vent area, notice the large row of white scales beneath the slit area. Compare the two pictures, NOTICEABLE difference
