Mountain lizard question.

[Azulafan199]

Hello I'm new to this form and I hope I'm in the right spot to ask this question.

My son has been saving for a long while for a lizard and just before Christmas he was able to get himself a lizard. It's a mountain lizard and it hasn't eaten since we brought him home. We got him on Monday dec 24 th . We have meal worms for him in his habitat and he's got running water unit. I'm wondering if its stress related . Is there something we can do for him? Any suggestions whorls be fantastic.

I have a northern pine snake do I'm used to him going a few months with out eatting this time of year. I'm just not sure how long a small lizard can go.

Thanks

[infernalis]

welcome aboard..

[MoreliAddict]

http://www.lilwaynehq.com/forums/images/smilies/welcome.gif

[Wyldrose]

Welcome!

Mountian horned dragon? Pretty much every one for sale has been wild caught, so right now he is very stressed.
Don't handle him at all, cover atleast the sides of his tank, add lots of hanging plants so he has lots of cover ( a picture of his habitat would help :) )
The last MHD I got died the first night, the petshop replaced it and the 2nd one was very lethargic and dying so we returned that one and got a capitve bred bearded dragon insted.

[beardeds4life]

^^^that

I agree cover all the sides of the cage with black construction paper and just totally leave it alone. Some animals dont eat mealworms so try crickets. Since it is almost guaranteed wild caught imo it needs a fecal done. You could take it to a vet which when everything is said and done will be upwards of $100. You could also find a person that you could send a fecal to and buy and administer the meds yourself.

[Wildside]

Welcome!

Mountian horned dragon? Pretty much every one for sale has been wild caught, so right now he is very stressed.
Don't handle him at all, cover atleast the sides of his tank, add lots of hanging plants so he has lots of cover ( a picture of his habitat would help :) )
The last MHD I got died the first night, the petshop replaced it and the 2nd one was very lethargic and dying so we returned that one and got a capitve bred bearded dragon insted.


They also need extremely high humidity. Can you tell us about your setup including temps and such.

[Akuma223]

My friend brought one of these home once and he died after only a month :( Be real careful with him because they are all wild caught and stressed.

[EmbraceCalamity]

Another thing is to consider on top of humidity, temperature, cover, and stress is that it might have parasites, as many WC reptiles do. Was it eating well before?

~Maggot

[Azulafan199]

Thanks for info guys. He came from local pet shop . He was always on the pet shops shoulders and it is very friendly. He has lots of planets and the humidity temp in his habitat . I also have a sprayer to mist him. I will get a cover for around his home. We got the meal worms cause that was what he was eatting. He did eat 2 tonight my son said but I will pick up some crickets tomorrow for him.

[EmbraceCalamity]

Thanks for info guys. He came from local pet shop . He was always on the pet shops shoulders and it is very friendly. He has lots of planets and the humidity temp in his habitat . I also have a sprayer to mist him. I will get a cover for around his home. We got the meal worms cause that was what he was eatting. He did eat 2 tonight my son said but I will pick up some crickets tomorrow for him.What are humidity and temps measured with? Digital or analog? If everything's right and it was eating fine before, then it's probably just the stress of the new environment. I know with geckos (different, I know, but allegorical), it's advised to new owners that their new pet might not eat for the first few days.

~Maggot

[beardeds4life]

Another thing is to consider on top of humidity, temperature, cover, and stress is that it might have parasites, as many WC reptiles do. Was it eating well before?

~Maggot

Already mentioned that :rolleyes:

[EmbraceCalamity]

Already mentioned that :rolleyes:You said a fecal needs done, and not everyone would necessarily know what that means. I was clarifying. But I'll be sure to check with you next time before I post. :)

~Maggot

[StudentoReptile]

It could be stress, but like others said, nearly all MHDs are wild c aught. With few exceptions, most last only a few months.

In my experience, what tends to happen is that by the time lizards arrive in the U.S., they are in a very steep downhill spiral towards their premature death. They linger in the pet shops for a couple months (just long enough for someone to buy them), and by the time, the new owner gets them home, the lizard lingers for a few weeks and dies. Its not necessarily the new owner's fault; its simply that this species doesn't handle the transporting across half the planet very well.

[beardeds4life]

You said a fecal needs done, and not everyone would necessarily know what that means. I was clarifying. But I'll be sure to check with you next time before I post. :)

~Maggot

I am sorry if that wasn't clear. Ummm you dont need to "check" with me before you post?

[KORBIN5895]

So my local pet store has hatched out three babies that gravid females laid.

[StudentoReptile]

That's great news, Korbin. There are a few folks that breed them successfully, and have great luck with them.

[KORBIN5895]

That's great news, Korbin. There are a few folks that breed them successfully, and have great luck with them.

I realize it was pretty irrelevant bit I was impressed with them
....

[StudentoReptile]

There are some species where it seems WC specimens do almost as well as CB. On the flipside, there are some where the CB specimens are bulletproof, but the WC ones are just a pain to work with. IHMO, mt horned dragons are in the latter group.

[EmbraceCalamity]

That's cool they're doing that. It's nice to see a primarily WC species being produced in captivity.

~Maggot

[beardeds4life]

I doubt they will ever be produced in any numbers though. WC animals are so cheap so the majority of people looking for a pet wont pay more for a CB animal.

[EmbraceCalamity]

I doubt they will ever be produced in any numbers though. WC animals are so cheap so the majority of people looking for a pet wont pay more for a CB animal....All herps started out WC (with maybe a few hybrid exceptions). Eventually, as more are produced, more and more of the population is CB until it's primarily or entirely so.

~Maggot

[poison123]

I doubt they will ever be produced in any numbers though. WC animals are so cheap so the majority of people looking for a pet wont pay more for a CB animal.

I would definitely pay more for a cb and i know several people who only buy cb especially when it comes to an animals that is very sensitive like a MHD.

[totheend]

...All herps started out WC (with maybe a few hybrid exceptions). Eventually, as more are produced, more and more of the population is CB until it's primarily or entirely so.

~Maggot

The problem is no one wants to invest in breeding something that is sooo cheap as a wild caught. People don't breed anoles or house geckos or MHD because it isn't worth it ... $$. So some things just remain wild caught.

[poison123]

The problem is no one wants to invest in breeding something that is sooo cheap as a wild caught. People don't breed anoles or house geckos or MHD because it isn't worth it ... $$. So some things just remain wild caught.

If somebody is breeding reptiles it should be for the passion not the profit. If there only breeding for the profit then there in the wrong hobby. Theres no profit in breeding reptiles unless you breeding high end morphs.

[EmbraceCalamity]

The problem is no one wants to invest in breeding something that is sooo cheap as a wild caught. People don't breed anoles or house geckos or MHD because it isn't worth it ... $$. So some things just remain wild caught.It probably depends more on the interest the particular species has in the hobby and the availability of WC specimens. As I recall, it wasn't long ago that cresties were pretty rare and almost entirely WC, and now there are even too many of CBs and almost no WCs (if any at all).

~Maggot

[totheend]

It probably depends more on the interest the particular species has in the hobby and the availability of WC specimens. As I recall, it wasn't long ago that cresties were pretty rare and almost entirely WC, and now there are even too many of CBs and almost no WCs (if any at all).



~Maggot

Hey, I agree 100%! I am just stating what seems to be true. Cresties were bred though because there was money to be made! They were expensive creatures many years ago. But a CB house gecko won't be worth anything. Just the reality of it.

Ooops I replied to the post that was sent to my email!! Either way...it's about the $$

[EmbraceCalamity]

Hey, I agree 100%! I am just stating what seems to be true. Cresties were bred though because there was money to be made! They were expensive creatures many years ago. But a CB house gecko won't be worth anything. Just the reality of it.

Ooops I replied to the post that was sent to my email!! Either way...it's about the $$I'm not really into breeding things because I feel like it's usually unecessary, but someday, I'd like to get to breed something that's not very common in the hobby, like the Australian thorny devil.

http://www.outback-australia-travel-secrets.com/image-files/australian-desert-animals-2.jpg

Would be epic. :D

~Maggot

[totheend]

If somebody is breeding reptiles it should be for the passion not the profit. If there only breeding for the profit then there in the wrong hobby. Theres no profit in breeding reptiles unless you breeding high end morphs.

I agree, however I was just saying that is how it is.

[KORBIN5895]

Actually there would be a mad cbb market for mhd if the cbb were easier to keep than the wc. My local pet store's cab babies seem to have been doing very well.

[beardeds4life]

Well the majority of the population (i.e. normal people buying petstore animals not us) would not pay more. Frilled dragons are mainly wc because it costs more to breed them so it is not worth it.

[KORBIN5895]

Well the majority of the population (i.e. normal people buying petstore animals not us) would not pay more. Frilled dragons are mainly wc because it costs more to breed them so it is not worth it.

If the pet store only carried cbb because they know that wc are a headache people wouldn't have the option. There are still wc cresties available but few pet stores order them.

[Lankyrob]

Pet stores want animals that are easy for THEM to care for until point of sale, they know CB are easier to survive than WC so as soon as there is a supply of CB animals any sensible shop owner will take them over WC.

[StudentoReptile]

The only way CBB will dominate over WC is if there is a morph, or mutation found. Until then, MHS will always remain WC. Wait until someone finds a fire-engine red or albino MHD...that may chagne things.

[Pirarucu]

The only way CBB will dominate over WC is if there is a morph, or mutation found. Until then, MHS will always remain WC. Wait until someone finds a fire-engine red or albino MHD...that may chagne things.This. Until something makes them more pricey, cheap WC animals will remain cheap WC animals. You will get a few babies from enthusiasts, but nothing large scale. Look at Savannah Monitors. They cost importers less than $10 each to import. The simple fact is that it costs a LOT to raise up and breed cheap animals like that, and you get very little money from it. Certainly not enough to make up for how much you lose. Therefore they are only bred by people who like them and want more than one anyways. Large scale breeding will not happen unless it is profitable. Tree monitors are expensive and smaller, and they are being bred increasingly more frequently, because there is money. A CBB tree monitor may cost over $1000, whereas a CBB sav will cost around fifty dollars. See the difference?

[beardeds4life]

Pet stores want animals that are easy for THEM to care for until point of sale, they know CB are easier to survive than WC so as soon as there is a supply of CB animals any sensible shop owner will take them over WC.

Petstores want to make money. The only reason they ever give a rat's as* if they die is because they are losing money.

[Azulafan199]

so sorry for not getting back on sooner. I lost the link to the site and after a hunt I'm back. The lizard is doign fantastic. I put a cover over his home for a few days and that seemed to work out great. He's eating drinking , and very lovely to work around. His name is Googala and he loves to just hang out with my son. Could ask for a better dragon to watch over my son. the two are buddies . Thank you all for your help.