Italian Wall Lizard care?

Originally Posted by fishkeeper

dont meen to hijack but Ameivaboy, what size cage would be good for indoor houseing for 1.1-2? I did not know they needed that much space, Iam thinking of getting afew and was planning on useing a spare 18"X18"X24" exo, but it sounds like thats to small, do you have any tips for brumating them indoors?

we have wall lizards here on vancouver island, Iam going over there sometime this summer and plan to try and find some, I thought they were italians but i think there the common ones, I thought about trying to keep them outside but its below freezing here a lot of the winter with lots of snow as i live quite a bit inland towards the mountains from the island so i dont think they could take the cold.

If you wind up thinking that as far as bottom space goes the tank is bit to cramped. They sell rubbermaid 54 gallon bins for $20 which are roughly 40 inches long and 21 inches wide at home depot and walmart.

A friend takes his fire skink pair out during rainy season and he gets great breeding (granted lots holes drilled on bottom) .
This isn't his set up but its same type bin.

thanks Ameivaboy that was great, If i get them i plan on overing the sides in something as well to give them more room, do you find these guys get used to people or are they always shy?

when i found out the ones on the island were commons and not italians i was a bit disapointed as the italians seen to have much more color, is there a special reason you whant some muralis? do they have behaviors or anything that differ from the italians?

i dont have a basement so i will have to look into another way to brumate them, i will look into useing the fridge.

Do yours breed all yr long ?

They will breed when they come out of brumation.
Females can lay multiple clutches per season (most I've had is 3)

Also Catching the lizards if you'd need to separate them for any reason (health, being gravid, territorial disputes etc) They are very fast even at cooler temperatures"

Yes thats true. I hoped that with plenty of room esp high area like shrubs in pots for them to climb the above would not be an issue?

Creating visual barriers in the cage so the animals dont have to be in constant sight of each other and having many hiding spots should help minimize fighting. You'll still have a hell of a time catching one if need be.

do you find these guys get used to people or are they always shy?

The more they see you and you're not always after them the more accustomed and less shy they will be. They can be pretty bold at times. They will take food from tongs etc if they are accustomed to you but I would never underestimate them nor consider them "tame"

when i found out the ones on the island were commons and not italians i was a bit disapointed as the italians seen to have much more color, is there a special reason you whant some muralis? do they have behaviors or anything that differ from the italians?

There's no special reason behind me wanting them besides the fact I want to learn more about them. They also can have quite awesome patterns (google images)

I have never kept nor even seen a muralis in person. I'd imagine the behavior would be quite similar to Sicula. I have heard (don't remember where) That muralis is not as hardy as Sicula, but the only way I could verify that is getting a hold of some and finding out for myself.

Anywho this thread inspired me to upload some footage my lacertas outside from last week so here it is (warning it's like 5 minutes and not terribly exciting but it shows them just kind of doing their thing)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFL8-Yo8PGo

and just for the hell of a it a dumb video I made of some when I had them in their indoor set up
Enjoy!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFatU...eature=related

Fantastic videos great set ups. Your cages have steel frames which is nice did you buy them or make them ?

Thank you.

The cages are from Alec Feldman of DIYcages.com (mine are the 36 x 18 horizontals on the website)

I have done several transactions with him including the cages and wall lizards (He has much more experience with the wall lizards than I do, he's the person I got my first pair from several years ago)

I wouldn't hesitate to buy reptiles or cages from him again. He's a good guy.

Lol how funny. I have a friend with chamaleons look at his site couple weeks ago but he thought the cages looked weak however I am going to send him your video as if anything they look great.

In his case the cages will be in his screened patio but for me outside with racoons in area its best I make it other wise would have ordered the larger model
http://diycages.com/16101/16143.html

Looking at his site I would have never known the cages are that nice till looking at your video.His site doesn't due his cage justice .

Your cage looked huge imagine the wall lizards do not get that big? I was under the assumption that they hit 2 feet with tail.

I will probably pick up some of the larger models as my Jeweled lacertas get bigger. (or build my own)

Raccoons could rip through the mesh on those cages- you probably woulkd be better off the hard wire metal cloth.

Wall lizards get a little bit bigger than anoles.

Here's my "big" male for size reference

Oh smaller than I thought as adults .

Thanks

I went by the wholesale place today which has them. They had 3 males with about 8 females in a 10 gallon tank and 4 of the females were engaged in a brutal fight.

I think 1 male and 1 female might be best. I picked up all I need to build the cage will start this weekend and finish.

The males are very good looking .

Actually they are not Wall Lizards he marked them incorrectly they are simply wild caught
Rainbow lizards which he caught here in Miami .
I have never seen them myself .The males get bigger than wall lizard males and color bit different as is head.

Either way he gets the wall lizards in next week.

I did think that $5 each was rather cheap lol but again they are wild caught from a colony in Miami.

http://www.rainforest-pets.com/image...bow-lizard.jpg