Color Change Based on Temperature or Mood

January 27, 2014

It's amazing to see how much a lizard's color can change with temperature and/or mood. It seems that every lizard I have ever kept, from the smallest gecko to the largest iguana or monitor, have a range of color that tends to change based on temperature, mood, and season.

I thought it would be interesting to post some example photos of just how much change can occur in one lizard throughout the course of an average day.

Below are some picture examples: The pictures are of my male uromastyx thomasi, Borris. My male uromastyx ornata, Frank. And my male uromastyx flavofasciata, Bacon. The first picture of each is the more average color, mostly because of it being early in the day and they are still cold. The next picture or two is the color they show for between 1-3 hours a day due to them being more "fired up" from a lot of activity at optimum body temperature or showing some breeding behavior. Not quite as impressive as a panther chameleon, but dramatic none the less!

Geckos and Eggs

January 19, 2014

Here are a few shots of the two species of Knobtail geckos that I keep. Nephrurus Amyae and Nephrurus Wheeleri Cinctus. My geckos came from a few different sources, and I hope to get more in the future. They have started breeding, and I have eggs from both species incubating.

This is my first year working with these geckos and I am fascinated by them. The Amyae have a very interesting raspy growl and push up style display they use when they are upset or startled. The wheeleri go through very dramatic color changes throughout the day. Some nights they are almost pure white and black banded but then go back to their normal pink and red during the day. The Amyae I have been feeding mostly dubia roaches and some super worms while the wheeleri seem to prefer crickets and super worms.

Pilot Post! Ideas on tortoise chow for Uromastyx

January 13, 2014

Hello Internet! Welcome!

I have been throwing around the idea of making a reptile related blog for some time now. It feels great to finally have it up and running. I think there are plenty of good reptile sites and blogs out there, and I have always wanted to contribute in some way. Reptiles have been a part of my life since childhood. And although I wouldn't necessarily consider myself an expert just yet, the sharing of experiences can always be beneficial. That's what this blog is about, and partially it's to help me keep records of my progress.

To kick things off, I would like to share something I offer my uromastyx at feeding time. It is very common for uromastyx owners to grind up Mazuri Brand Tortoise Chow and sprinkle it on the top of greens. While this is great, I started to do it a little differently. I still offer the Mazuri Tortoise Chow, but I grind it into small pieces and offer it a few times a week on a bowl, sometimes wet (for the record, this was at the advice of UroVers). I no longer offer this on their greens. My uromastyx are a little picky about having stuff on top of their greens. They will eat a little less when something powdery and dry is on the food. Instead I take ZooMed brand Grassland Tortoise Chow, grind it up into a powder and sprinkle this on the bottom of the bowl underneath the greens.
Below you can see an example picture of the ground chow, the chow on the food bowl and a picture of a female uromastyx thomasi feeding on greens with the chow underneath.

I started doing this to help keep the food from sticking to the bottom of the bowl. As a benefit, the chow sticks to the bottom of the greens as they eat it. I don't know that this is of any major benefit, but the lizards don't seem as picky as when it's on top of the salad. I have also heard many stories about uromastyx and chuckwallas getting infections in their mouths from Mazuri Chow sticking to the insides of lips and gums. Perhaps this is caused by the greens wetting the chow. I don't know with certainty, but I don't want to take the risk.

The uromastyx can also be seen snacking on the small bits of grass and hay from the ZooMed brand Chow after the food bowl has been emptied. This kind of added variation in the diet is probably a very good thing.

Below you will see a picture of my male Uromastyx Thomasi, Borris. He's the king ;]
Thanks for visiting!