hi i can never decide on a good lizard to start with but i did manage to pick up some info on western fence lizards. what ive heard is that they are relatively easy to care for, like to be handled, and dont require much room (5-10 gallon tank) and possibly 2 can be held in a 10 gallon. would anybody like to support or contradict this?? i have some links for you if you need them here: http://www.repticzone.com/caresheets/963.html i also need to know where i may be able to buy them. can you refer me to some sites (not kingsnake.com or reptileauctions.com please) thanks
you should always learn the latin name for the lizard or pet that you are going with.. W.Fence lizard = Sceloporus occidentallis,, *Edited by Mod*
a 10 gallon is not suitable for 2. they might be small lizards but they set up territories and thus should be allowed to in captivity. If you want to see fence lizards behave naturally then get a 55 gallon tank and get 1.2 to put in it, then they will be able to set up (small) territories. males should never be housed together. they are not to hold or tame and a "tame" fence lizard is most likely a sick fence lizard. depending on species female will have blue as well or no blue at all (the female westerns in my area have blue as well) they will do fine with a basking spot around 100 degrees with ambient cage temps in the low 80's, UVB is a good idea and providing logs rocks and branches to climb on,hide under and bask on is needed as well, they will bury themselves if a loose substrate is provided at night if they find your hiding spots unsuitable. They are fun lizards if set up so they can behave naturally. Basking pair in breeding season spring 05
RE: Re: western fence lizards people keep them in 10 gallons, though if it were my personal animal I would go with at least a 20
RE: Re: western fence lizards ive had about 10 of these throughout my life and i always kept them in 5gals.. as long as i fed them they acted perfectly normal and fine..
RE: Re: western fence lizards lol so many different views. the rules is larger is almost always better right? the averager i see is a 10 gal
Yea larger is almost always better. a 20 gallon doesnt have a lot more floor space than a 10 but it does have some and is a good 6 inches taller. you can line the walls and back with something like cork tile and double the amount of usable space the lizard has. Most people who keep sceloporous are "newbies" and dont keep them as well as I think they could. They are definatley interesting to watch especially during mating season when the males color intensifies and you see frequent push ups and head bobbing.
ya tahts why i want to know as much info as possible. i didnt want to over cram them in a cage. are there any places where i can buy these lizards?
Most people catch their own, you can find them on price lists sometimes i beleive mark lucas had some on his site a while ago maybe he still does http://markmlucas.com
