Collard Help...

[Manitoban Herps]

My male collard lizard is in his cage and is laying there with a mouthful of vermiculite, I pulled most of it out and put lots of water down wis throat..what else can I do now? He just lays there but if I push him he moves.

[Jason Wakelin]

Are you keeping him on vermiculite? I would be using sand, and keeping it much like my Leopard Geckos, only with much more room to move around. I'm not too sure what you can do for him at the moment, except keep him warm with plenty of access to water and hopefully he will flush it out of his system.

Good luck, keep us informed!

[Manitoban Herps]

He was on top of his basking rock and I though he was dead and when I w ent to pick him up he tryed to bite my finger! He is actually trying to bite me today and looks bit better.

He is on vermiculite, its not much different from sand...

[Jason Wakelin]

Help me out here, how is vermiculite not much different than sand? I use sand as a substrate for most (not all) of my desert dwelling reptiles, and vermiculite as an incubating medium for gecko eggs.

I'm really not trying to be prick at all, I just want to know why you think they are similar.

[Manitoban Herps]

If you don't pour water in the cage they both stay dry, so the humidity stays down, it looks almost the smae ans if they swallow vermiculite it's just as bad as swallowing sand.

[DragnDrop]

Vermiculite can cause impaction, faster than sand can. It is also a choking hazard. That's my first guess about what might have been wrong with your lizard. Chances are he was choking on a piece of vermiculite, but managed to cough it up somewhere along the way. I've never seen vermiculite recommended as a substrate, just for incubation and soil additives.

[Manitoban Herps]

I will change it ASAP

[Tim and Julie B]

I am impressed by your willingness to take advice:)

[Manitoban Herps]

Really?

Thanks, I just want what is best for my herps :)