# Butterfly Agama's



## Marshallarts (May 27, 2015)

Has anyone ever dealt with the butterfly agama( leiolepis belliana)? I am so fascinated with these lizards. From what little information I've managed to gather about them, they are extremely complex, yet in a good way. I read that they stay with the same mate for life, and will actually care for their offspring. They have the coolest colors and shape as well. They look like a deflated uromastyx! They also have unique burrowing patterns. They will dig so much that their toes fall off! I have not been this intrigued in animal like this for a while. I think with the proper care I could really go somewhere with these lizards. They are so communal, which is rare to come by in the reptile world. I would like to get a 1.1 pair in the near future and see what I can do. Does anyone know anything about breeding them? What temperature to incubate the eggs at? Any information you can give me will be greatly appreciated! Here's a picture of a butterfly agama(not mine)










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## Creed (Apr 2, 2014)

I'd suggest reading this thread before considering buying this species: http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/foru...327984-butterfly-agamas-first-care-sheet.html

I wouldn't buy a WC animal that is so limit in captivity to express their natural behavior 

Good luck


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## DeadLee (Apr 7, 2010)

Creed said:


> I wouldn't buy a WC animal that is so limit in captivity to express their natural behavior


Sorry not quite sure what you're trying to say here. Why is getting a WC one bad?


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## Creed (Apr 2, 2014)

I was referring to this part:



Kibalus said:


> 1. I think it would be only fair to point out to anyone that butterfly agamas are rare in the pet trade for a reason. They're amazingly coloured, elegant, small sized creatures, so many people wonder why there aren't more around.
> The problem with butterfly agamas is their affinity to desiese and bone-related issues when in captivity. Ask almost any person who has worked with these guys before, and im pretty sure that non of their animals are 100% flawless.
> In the wild they dig deep burrows and no matter how much substrate you add, you will not be able to replicate their natural environment. So when they dig in the tank they will get to the bottom and continue clawing away at the glass/wodd floor until they weaken their fingers to the point they just snap, no MBD needed.


I wouldn't buy a WC animal that was prone this behaivor. I've got no issue with WC animals as long as they can express their primary and secondary needs. I fear this might be an issue with this species.


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## Marshallarts (May 27, 2015)

Thanks, I have read that before. I'm going to try my best to get captive bred, but I may end up with wild caught. Either way, I'm going to try and simulate their natural habitat the best I can, with at least 8 inches of excavator clay if not more. Other than the digging problem, I think they do extremely well in captivity. Even the wc ones tame down really nicely. I have plans to breed them and get some more captive bred animals out there. Any information on breeding would be nice.


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## Chrisxr2 (May 26, 2015)

They are beautiful looking things that's for sure.


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## Marshallarts (May 27, 2015)

Chrisxr2 said:


> They are beautiful looking things that's for sure.



Aren't they? I just love everything about them!


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## Arcadiajohn (Jan 30, 2011)

In reality and with advancing tech they can now be kept but wild re-creation is the key.

You will need a large enclosure, like 6x3x3 I would say built so that you can have 18" to dig.

Temps can be maintained easily via quality heating and good stats. I can help with wild-recreation of UV indexes that's not a problem 

Then it's down to the substraight, bio-active maintainence and feeding 

Remember they are highly intelligent, Sentient animals with core needs. Provide for those needs and you stand more than half a chance.

Keep stress levels down, have a good quarantine and use something like verm-x to help reduce parasitical load and increase gutflora.

Then look at diets and try to offer vast choice.

I'd like to hear how you get on long term,

John


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