caught such a cute baby whiptail well really my lil brother did running through our new house does anybody know what kind he could be??
i'm gonna try to keep this lil guy as a pet.. when i was younger i caught like 15 of these guys one summer all sizes stayed in my care for a while took to crickets immedietly only problem was i overcrowded them i didnt know back then
I don't really know whiptails at all, but from looking at pictures online, it looks like a checkered whiptail, maybe a Colorado diploid checkered whiptail? (Cnemidophorus tesselatus) I do generally discourage people from keeping wild caught specimens as pets except in anomalous circumstances. First of all, it's illegal to remove wildlife without a permit in most states, although I realize it's pretty much impossible to enforce this. But there are many good reasons to follow these laws, both for conservation reasons and for the health of the animal. Many wild caught animals do poorly in captivity unless they are dealt with properly. That means taking them to the vet for a checkup and getting them dewormed, even if they don't appear sick. Wild animals have a natural amount of parasites already in their gut. They've adapted to keep these in check and at a level that they don't really harm them. However, the slightest amount of stress (i.e. being put in a cage) can give the natural level of gut fauna the opportunity to take hold and get to a point that becomes damaging to the reptile. This is why it's important to get your reptiles checked out, again, even if they appear healthy. I'm not saying every wild caught animal is going to die a slow painful death and starve itself. I just think it's very important to take every precaution to keep an animal healthy if you feel you must remove it from its established environment. Make sure you give this girl plenty of space. She's not used to being kept cooped up, so she's going to need room to run around. Above all, make sure she has UVB lighting. If you want more specifics on their care I'd be happy to look into it and get you started. While I'd prefer you release her, I'd like you to be well informed if you must keep her, so just let me know if I can be of any help. It is a female, by the way. It's a parthenogenic species.
yeah does look pretty similar but i live in southern cali or that doesnt really matter? law-wise if im correct if i obtain a fishing license (or something like that) i can keep them 16 and older need one to collect i'm gonna try getting one in the next week or so to keep my bandeds valid.. as for taking them out of the wild i agree but also disagree my bandeds are wild caught doing wonderful 4 years later
Well, I stand corrected. Range is important. =) There are only four different whiptails in California. You can find pictures of all of them here: http://www.californiaherps.com/lizards/lizards.html (Scroll down to teiidae.) If you're in socal it's probably a coastal or great basin. And like I said, I don't think all wild caught herps are bad, just that people should make sure they can accommodate for them before taking them on. After all, every kind of different pet reptile was wild caught at some point in time, and I certainly don't hate the original catchers for obtaining them. If it weren't for them, I couldn't appreciate the hobby today. Anyway, just make sure to get that license, like you said, keep things legit. =)