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Chuckwalla Care The common chuckwalla (Sauromalus ater) is native to Nevada, California, Arizona, Utah, and Mexico. They are found in rocky desert habitats, such as rocky hillsides, canyons, and washes. They usually sleep under or between large rocks, coming out each morning to bask and forage for food. They mainly eat vegetation and have been observed climbing trees and shrubs to eat flowers or seed pods. Flowers are especially relished. When threatened, a chuckwalla will quickly retreat to a rock crevice, and inflate its’ body. This makes removal nearly impossible. They are usually quite alert lizards, even seemingly inquisitive. Although wild caught chuckwallas can be difficult to acclimate to captivity, captive bred animals are quite easy to keep, as long as their basic needs are consistently met. In this care sheet, we will go over basic husbandry of common chuckwallas. These are the practices that we follow and recommend as they have worked well for us. Fringe Toed Lizards Fringe toed lizards are best housed alone. We have found that these lizards can be extremely aggressive towards each other, often wounding or killing their own species. At very least, they will likely bully cage mates. This may stress the lizards to the point that they may begin to refuse food, or simply want to hide all day. They spend a lot of their time buried in the sand anyway, but if they never want to come out, they will never have the opportunity to eat or thermoregulate. It is recommended that they be housed together only when you intend to breed them. Gravid females seem especially aggressive toward both males and other females. Collared Lizard Care Collared lizards have been described by many as miniature dinosaurs. Their large heads, feisty disposition, predatory nature, and their ability to run bipedaly, have all contributed to this comparison. The genus Crotaphytus is widespread. Collared lizards can be found all over the American southwest, as far east as Missouri, as far north as Oregon, and south into Mexico. They are also found on a couple of islands in the sea of Cortez. Most species of collared lizards are rock dwelling. They are found in mountain ranges, hills, canyons, rocky washes, etc. They conspicuously bask atop large rocks and boulders, keeping a constant lookout for food and predators. Collared lizards make interesting captives, and have long been a pet store mainstay. Wild caught animals do not always do well in captivity, but captive bred animals are quite hardy. There are many different types of collared lizards, but the basic care requirements are very similar.
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