# Eastern Collard Lizard Advice Please!



## evanique (Jun 10, 2012)

We've had an Eastern collard lizard for a few weeks ago from a friend. He's great and we love him to bits but he's our firs reptile so we've hadto learn fast. He was'nt eating anything but the odd wax worm to start with and had some really bad advice from his previous owner. We think he's eating his crickets now thank god. We still have a few questions though; 
1) Our viv is not hot enough - its a 4' viv with a spot light and a new 3' uv strip light and reads 27 dc at the middle - what can i use to warm it up more that won't cost too much?
2) Would he benefit from a female? do they need company? I know he would'nt get on with a male so how do you stop a couple breeding etc?
3) I've heard they'll eat turkey - raw or cooked?
Thank you


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## Debbie1962 (Dec 5, 2008)

> 1) Our viv is not hot enough - its a 4' viv with a spot light and a new 3' uv strip light and reads 27 dc at the middle - what can i use to warm it up more that won't cost too much?


A lot depends on where the viv is situated i.e. warm or cool room but generally a higher wattage spotlight bulb should do the trick. I have 4ft vivs running 60 watt or 100 watt bulbs depending on the species and have no problem getting temps up to 110f to 120-130f. Allthough the room they are in is pretty warm which does help.

2) Would he benefit from a female? do they need company? I know he would'nt get on with a male so how do you stop a couple breeding etc?

I don't keep collard lizards but generally speaking most reptiles are solitary in nature so company is not needed and getting another one can cause more problems than anything else. You probably would not be able to stop any breeding either.

3) I've heard they'll eat turkey - raw or cooked?

Cannot really comment on that other than most lizards are designed to eat insects and maybe plants so I would wait for a definitive answer on that before feeding any.


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## evanique (Jun 10, 2012)

yeah the vivs in the living room which does'nt get much sun so its pretty cool in there. I'm not sure what wattage the spot light is, i'll check later when it's off. I hope it's as simple as changing the bulb. Thanks for the tip :2thumb:


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## fowlers (May 25, 2009)

id leave the turkey idea there for now as ive never heard of this, also if he hasnt been eating much then i would also leave the female idea there for now as you should concentrate on getting him eating various insects, any putting weight on.

some of my collareds love mealies, some of them will go mad for locusts. some prefer dubia roaches.

the temperature may have something to do with him not eaying as they need correct temps to digest food. a higher wattage bulb should sort this. if you use a 100 watt bulb on a thermostat to heat the viv it will hit the temps needed and once it has hit the temp needed it will dim down so it wont be using 100 watts of power all the time its on. the light will then brighten when the temps start to get to low to reheat the viv and then dim again when the set temperature is reached.

rob


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## evanique (Jun 10, 2012)

He demolished 5 crickets yesterday so i put another 5 in this morning and he's eaten at least a few. I'm so relieved he's eating properly now. How many should they be eating a day? 

I tried him with locusts but I thin their too quick for him to catch. I may try him with cockroaches at some for point for variation. Yes I'll leave the turkey altogether now he's eating again. 

My husband wants to get him a mate :flrt: but i'm still not sure...


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## fowlers (May 25, 2009)

if you are going to get a mate for him, make sure you have a spare vivarium because they may have to be seperated at some point if anything goes wrong or 1 of them is unwell, i would make sure the guy you have is healthy and eating right before i introduced any other lizard.

if you put another collared in with him, one might be eating more than the other and over time this will show as one will bulk up and the other will become thin and bony so you may be back in the same boat as your in now.

if he hasnt been eating then i would feed him as much as he will eat, dust the crickets with calcium every other day or twice a week, dust with a vitamin powder once every 2 weeks, and make sure his temps are right and that he has access to UV

rob


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## evanique (Jun 10, 2012)

i dust all his food with calcium and with vitamins twice a week - as advised by the pet shop staff. He has a 3' uv light on for 12 hours a day. 

I don't want the expense and hassle of getting another collard then having to separate them and buy all the gear again. I guess i was just worried about him being lonely - will he be happy on his own? 

Thanks


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## Debbie1962 (Dec 5, 2008)

He will not be lonely, reptiles are solitary animals and only get together in the wild to breed and then they separate.


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## evanique (Jun 10, 2012)

Thanks for putting my at rest :no1:


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## Debbie1962 (Dec 5, 2008)

No problem. The majority of my reps are kept on their own apart from a couple of breeding pairs.


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