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. The following methods of collared lizard care have worked well for us, so these are the practices that we recommend.
Caging
Collared lizards are very active. Therefore, they require large cages. You can’t give these lizards too much space. Even the biggest cage is small, compared to the space that they would roam in the wild. For hatchlings, we recommend a minimum cage size of about 2 or 2.5 square feet. If you use a glass aquarium, a 20 gallon (long) will be fine for a few hatchlings. For as many as 2 or 3 adults, a glass 40 gallon (breeder) would be the smallest cage we recommend. For 1 to 3 adult collareds, we use 50 gallon storage tubs. These are about 42 inches long, by 20 inches deep and 20 inches high. These tubs can be purchased at the hardware store, along with every other part of the cage. The center of the lid is cut out and replaced with ¼ inch metal mesh. We use real rocks for basking sites, as well as shelters. Our preferred substrate is play sand. We add about 3 or so inches of sand to the entire bottom of the cage, and pack it down lightly. All rocks should be firmly in place before sand is added. Like many other lizards, collareds will dig under rocks in their cage, sometimes being crushed when the substrate collapses under the weight, trapping the lizard under the fallen rock. For this reason, all rocks in the cage should be securely placed on the cage bottom or on other secure rocks, (NEVER on loose substrate). A good shelter that we use is as simple as stacking a flat piece of flagstone or sandstone on top of a couple of small bricks, making kind of a small table. The lizards can dig under the flagstone without the threat of a collapse. Other rocks can then be placed on top of the flat flagstone, to create elevated basking sites. We do not use or recommend calcium or vitamin sand, and believe these to be over priced and more harmful than play sand when swallowed. If play sand is used, a moist hide box should be used. Fill the hide box with a mixture of vermiculite and sand. This will be used as a shelter, and an egg laying box. If their shelter is moist and humid, (Not Wet) the lizards will be less prone to dehydration. Collared lizards require relatively high temperatures on their basking sites. The temperatures for most types should be between 95 degrees (F) and 130 degrees (F) on the basking site(s). The cool end of the cage should be in the 80s (F). This thermal gradient will allow the lizards to properly thermoregulate. For basking lamps, we use clamp type brooder lamps with halogen spot bulbs. Higher wattages of bulbs produce more heat, so if you don’t get the ideal basking temperatures right away, increase or decrease the wattage of the bulb you use. Another way to adjust basking temperatures is to move the lamp closer to, or farther from the basking site. Remember to keep the lamp out of jumping distance if you have to move it closer to the rock. We also use UVB lights on all of our cages. We use “Daylight” or “Cool White” compact fluorescent bulbs. The use of UVB lights helps the lizards absorb calcium from their food. We put our lights on electric timers, and give the lizards about 10- 12 hours of light each day. Heated artificial rocks can also be used in the cage, but should never replace heat lights. These should only be used as additional heat, and can be placed under a fluorescent light. Adult males are very territorial, and will usually attack other males in their cage. We do not recommend housing more than one male in each cage.
Diet
Collared lizards are opportunistic little predators, taking advantage of a wide variety of animal prey. In the wild, they have been known to eat grasshoppers, flies, beetles, bees, spiders, lizards (even smaller collareds), and rarely, plant matter. There have even been reports of them eating small snakes. Variety is just as important in a captive setting. We feed our collareds crickets, grass hoppers, king meal worms, wax worms, butter worms, silk worms, tomato horn worms, pinky mice, and occasionally small species of lizards. We usually like to feed the collareds about one or two hours after the lights come on. This gives the lizards time to wake up and bask for a while, so they have enough energy to chase food. This also seems to be when the lizards have the best feeding response. Collared lizards get food stressed easily, and you should never put more food in the cage than the lizards will eat in a day. We will usually not even put that many in the cage at once. We drop insects into the cage one or two at a time, then wait until these are eaten, then we drop more in. Our collareds are offered food every day, since they would usually eat every day out in the wild. ALL food items should be dusted with a good calcium supplement, with vitamin D3. We use and highly recommend Sticky Tongue Farms’ Miner-All indoor formula. We use large plastic cups, to put feeder insects into prior to feeding them to lizards. A small amount of calcium is added to the insects, then the cup is shaken, until all of the insects are coated evenly with the white powder. Collared lizards kept indoors must have their food supplemented with calcium and vitamin D3 to avoid Metabolic Bone Disease, which can cripple or kill collared lizards. With UVB lighting, and daily calcium supplementing, Metabolic Bone Disease is easily prevented. However, once symptoms of Metabolic Bone Disease appear, the affected lizard usually can’t be fully cured. Collared lizards are considered desert lizards, and the most important thing in the desert is water. Good hydration is very important to the long term health of captive collared lizards. Some collareds will drink out of a shallow water dish, while some simply don’t recognize standing water as a source of hydration. In either case, it is a good idea to mist the rocks and the inside walls of the cage with a spray bottle every other day or so. You can also set a drip cup on top of the cage. We use a deli cup with a pin hole in the bottom, and set it to drip onto a rock in the cage. Collareds will see the dripping water and drink. As was discussed in the caging section, humid, slightly moist shelters for collared lizards may prevent collared lizards from dehydrating as quickly as they might in a very dry substrate.
There are several types of collared lizards available in the pet trade. The most common two are Eastern (Crotaphytus collaris) and the Mojave or Great basin (Crotaphytus bicinctores). Eastern collareds are commercially collected from the wild in Texas. Mojave collareds are commercially collected from the wild in Nevada. Though, both of these common types have large ranges, and are found in several states, Texas and Nevada are the only ones to allow commercial collection of collareds. Some of the types less commonly seen in the pet trade include the Sonoran collared (C. nebrius), the Baja collared (C. vestigium), and the Dickerson’s collared (C. dickersonae). Most of the other species of collared lizards do not make it into the pet trade. The eastern collared lizard was formerly divided into 4 sub species: eastern, western, chihuahuan, and yellow head. Although now recognized only as pattern classes, many breeders, including ourselves still refer to, and market them as their former subspecies. This helps eliminate possible confusion, and makes descriptions more specific. Some breeders will include a locality name, telling where the founding stock was from.
Captive bred collared lizards make great pets and interesting breeding projects. As with many reptiles, wild caught collareds often do not thrive in captivity, but captive bred animals can be quite hardy. Captive bred collareds will usually stay tame, and allow some handling, despite their tendency to wander and jump around. It can be entertaining to sit and watch them interact socially with each other. These little dinosaurs have long been a pet store mainstay, and will likely always have their share of enthusiasts in the hobby.
