The Plan

Consider this my New Year's Resolution for 2011...before we all die horribly in 2012 :P

1) Get settled in Ashland, Oregon, establishing a permanent (for the next two years at least) residence down there where my reptiles are welcome.

2)Have all three of my current herps checked out by veterinary services, complete workup.

3) New cages for all three of them. I now have a sufficiently sized cage for each animal. I have a 30 gallon Vision cage for my Bearded Dragon, a 20 Gallon for the Uromastyx (specifically 20 gallon rather than 20-long, to provide more depth and range of height, more on that later), and a 20-long for my Schneider's Skink.

4) Work on improving the general health and longevity of my main three reptiles BEFORE considering adding new animals from my acquisition list, which will be discussed come my next post.

Back In The Saddle

After a lengthy absence, I have returned. It took over half a year after the death of my savannah monitor, Basil (see last post), to regain my confidence. I'm back in Bend for a scant few days to visit my family and friends before heading back to school in January. So let's see, what do I have for updates?

As of May I was working for Pacific Coast Fruit Company in Portland, Oregon, one of the most god-awful, bleak, depressing, and oppressive establishments I've ever come across. No care for their employees at all. Anywho, I worked there for the last 6 or 7 months, and got fired last Monday for a reason which falls into the sketchy, fuzzy grey area between legal and illegal- after having just suffered a rather painful fall at work due to a foot-bath mat slipping out from under my feet, I proceeded to clean myself up and continue work. I apparently (but to no memory of my own, I only have my Boss's word on this since she supposedly saw it through the security camera) forgot to wash two cases of broccoli before pouring them into a bucket for use in our products. My supervisor, a great Cuban guy named Manuelo who I greatly respect and look up to, after checking to see if I was okay and not injured, did the exact same thing. Now, this is where the situation gets dicey. At PCF, most vegetables are required by GMP (don't ask me what that stands for, we've never been told at our GMP training meetings) standards to be soaked in "perasan," a solution made of heavily diluted Peroxyacetic Acid and water. This is a general, consumable-safe cleaning agent that we dip most vegetables in(though a fair few are not dipped ever, such as snow peas, green beans, peppers, etc.). Normally, our cases of Broccoli are supposed to be dumped into a bath of perasan and then dried and emptied into a barrel. Obviously, having just fallen, this slipped my mind. And having been worried about me because I had fallen, it slipped my supervisor's mind as well. So, upon checking her security cameras when the report of my having fallen was filed (no doubt to ensure that I didn't file for worker's comp), my boss noticed our indiscretion. We were immediately suspended for three days, every product that had used broccoli from that day was recalled, costing the company a few thousand dollars, and my boss would use our days suspended to decide whether or not to fire us. Well, long story short, she did.

So yeah, that's the story. Now, free of job, I'm heading back to school at Southern Oregon University in Ashland, Oregon, to major in Journalism and use the next two years down there to set up shop and take care of my lizards, the right way. All that's beginning as of January 1st, and I will update you all then, with full measurements and updates on my animals.

Life Gets You Down...

This has been a terrible year for me and my pets...I feel really negelctful. First my Iguana and both corn snakes die because they were under the care of my friend in Bend- because I was staying with my family and my mother refuses to allow reptiles in her house. I'm not honestly sure of the cause of death on those, although I'd guess the standard high mortality rate that goes with young reptiles (particularly snakes and farmed iguanas). Furthermore, today my savannah monitor, a recent acquisition, died horribly....busted the lock on her cage to escape. My apartment I'm staying in is on the 15th floor, and all there is for an "outdoors" is my balcony. I leave the door to the balcony cracked open so the cat can reach its litter box out there. So...basically the Sav escaped her cage, got outside (which I didn't think it would do, because it's nearly 30 degrees here at night), and fell off....15 floors to the street below.

I feel terrible, and helpless, and like a bad pet owner....perhaps now isn't the right time to be keeping herps, given where I am in life....

Always Hard to Deal With...

Alas....today my Green Iguana (Iguana Iguana), Rigel, died. As is typical with many mass-imported reptiles, especially iguanas, the stress, parasite load, and poor farm conditions within which the iguanas are initially raised before being shipped to the U.S. takes its toll on their health, and can cause premature death and other issues. Indeed, many young Green Iguanas don't make it past their first year, as is the case with Rigel. Although he seemed perfectly healthy and active when I got him, and I (admittedly) foolishly didn't take him to a vet, his health had been declining for the last two days or so, with rapid weight loss and less-than-healthy colouration, despite having ideal captive conditions for him, and he expired in the night, only to be found still and lifeless within his cage this morning. I will miss him greatly. I'll treat this as a good life-lesson, and in the next few weeks will have a full check-up done on all of my remaining reptiles, and make sure to redouble my efforts in keeping them happy and healthy.

To the readers out there, let this be a lesson to you, never get a Green Iguana as a pet unless you're experienced and fully prepared to care for one in its fullest.

My Current Crop

Hello all, it's been a while since I updated the list of my current reptiles, so I thought I'd take some time to do so.

Lizards- I currently own 5 lizards:

Nuzzle- Schneider's/Berber Skink (Eumeces Schneideri); purchased in February of 2009, approx. 2 years old

Scute- Mali Uromastyx (Uromastyx Maliensis); purchased March 2009, approx. 1 year old

Sola- Bearded Dragon (presumably Pogona Vitticeps); purchased September 2009, born Easter '09, so just under a year old.

Rigel- El Salvador Green Iguana (Iguana Iguana); purchased December 2009, approx. 9 months old.

Basil- Savannah Monitor (Varanus Exanthematicus); adopted March 27, 2010, unknown age, length 2.5 feet approx. Best guess is 1-2 years old.

Snakes- I currently own 2 snakes:

Oro- Corn Snake (Elaphe Guttata); Anerythristic morph, Purchased October 2009, approx. 10 months old

Sylph- Corn Snake (Elaphe Guttata); Snow morph; Purchased February 2010, approx 10 months old

On the Horizon- I plan on acquiring a few more reptiles in the near future, both for breeding purposes and as pets:

American Alligator (Alligator Mississippiensis); I'm hoping for a hatchling or yearling, which I will name "Sovereign," though I have no intention of breeding it, as they're pretty cheap and easy to find online already. This one's planned for waaaaaay down the road, however, once I've set up shop permanently somewhere and have the space, money, and time necessary to care for it.

Crested Geckos (Rhacodactylus Ciliatus); I'm going to acquire three or four of these cute lil' buggers in order to breed them, so I can begin my breeding business in earnest. Not sure what I'll name my breeders...

New Caledonian Giant Geckos (Rhacodactylus Leachianus); I love leachies, I want to find a good two or three of them at $300 each (the cheapest I've ever seen them) and raise them to adulthood for breeding and profit.

Rubber Boa (Charina Bottae); I really like this particular family of boid snakes, such as the Rosy Boa and Kenyan Sand Boa. Rubber Boas haven't really made it onto the mainstream market or breeding operations yet, so I intend to help begin that trend. I need to acquire a few captive bred ones or catch a few in the wild.

Well, there you have it. My current assortment of animals, as well as a few of my plans for the future. I hope to have my breeding operations underway by the end of the year (hopefully even sooner), and will keep everyone informed and updated as always.

Native Species: Sceloporus Occidentalis- The Western Fence Lizard

Today, March 24, 2010, marks my first wild herp catch of the year. I managed to capture an adult male Sceloporus Occidentalis- Western Fence Lizard. These feisty little guys are all over my hometown of Bend, Oregon, and in the Spring and Summer are found in less populated portions of Central Oregon basking on rocks, scurrying away hurridly when approached.

A member of the spiny lizard genus, Sceloporus, these small reptiles are found throughout much of the Western US, and inhabit desert or arid scrubland ranging from Nevada and Idaho to the West Coast in Oregon, Washington, and California. It is easily confused for other spiny lizards in its range like the Sagebrush Lizard (Sceloporus Graciosis), but is distinguished by having three specific iridescent blue patches on its underside: two on either side of its underbelly and one on its throat, which the SageBrush Lizard lacks, as well as light orange markings underneath the throat and arms in some specimens.

Western Fence Lizards are apparently fairly frequent breeders, as there are always an abundance of them in my area. Today seems to be the first day they've come out of their winter brumation, as I've been searching the usual areas for them for the last few weeks. They tend to go into brumation (hibernation for reptiles, basically)around late September, and re-emerge once it warms up in late March or early April. I often find hatchlings throughout the summer up to around August, and when kept in captivity before, the adults have attempted to devour hatchlings, suggesting a high reproductive rate to accomodate for cannibalism when times are tough.

Carnivorous as many desert reptiles are, the Western Fence Lizard is no exception, readily devouring most spiders, beetles, crickets, and other insects that it encounters within its range. It shares its home range with a few other reptiles, including the aforementioned Sagebrush Lizard and the Western Skink (Eumeces Skiltonianus), and is frequent prey for various birds, Western Rattlesnakes (Crotalus Oreganus), and Coyotes.

On average, one will find Sceloporus Occidentalis basking on rocks in the morning, sunning itself alongside usually one other Western Fence Lizard, possibly a mate. They make their homes within piles of rocks, empty rodent burrows, and other such crevices, and will always retreat to these hiding spots when approached or threatened. If trying to catch a specimen, they will flee to another rock once their chosen spot is lifted or moved aside, and will even try to hide near your shoes or up your pant-leg if you're not careful (one amusing instance last year had one crawling up my pant-leg, I had to undo my pants, reach my hand down it and grab the little bugger while he was confused). When grabbed, Western Fence Lizards will squirm, oftentimes dropping their tail in a process called autotomy (the tail heals over very quickly and then grows back in a very short time, it doesn't hurt the lizard). In self defense, they will bite readily, latching on hard and hissing angrily. Many times I have noticed that, once picked up, this is their first response, and thus have made it a goal to thrust in to grab them immediately, knowing that the "slow and steady," cautious approach to capturing a specimen will usually result in the same thing. If you're planning on keeping one or several of these fascinating and active little reptiles in captivity, a simple care sheet is provided below, and a much more detailed one will be provided in the future.

Genus: Sceloporus

Species: Occidentalis

Common name: Western Fence Lizard

Adult Size: 4-6 Inches

Climate: Desert/Arid Scrubland

Temperature Range: 65 degrees F to 95 degrees F, 100-105 degrees F basking spot

Humidity: 20%-40% on average, keep it fairly low-humidity, provide a water dish for drinking and a little sphagnum moss in a hiding cave.

Lighting: This species needs a full heat/UVB setup, provide 10-12 hours of light and heat per day, maintaining a standard day/night cycle.

Cage Size: 10 Gallon tank for between 1 and 3 individuals, a 20 gallon-long will hold a breeding group of 1 male and 5 females or so adequetly. Males will fight for dominance and can easily injure one another, so don't house them together. Make sure, if catching lizards where there are several varieties, to ascertain the specific species you have caught. Sceloporus Occidentalis and Sceloporus Graciosis can be quite vicious and territorial towards eachother.

Feeding: smaller (2-3 week old) crickets are best, sprinkled with calcium D3 supplement and gut-loaded. Feed a single adult specimen of S. Occidentalis 5-10 crickets every 2-3 days.

Handling: these are flighty, defensively-aggressive lizards, they will hiss, drop their tails, or bite when picked up, and will often take every opportunity to jump from the handler's hands when startled. Hold them over the tank, consider wearing handling gloves if you don't like being bitten, and spend some time holding them every day to get them acclimated to it.

Summary: Best observed rather than held when in captivity, but quite common and easy to find in the wild, Sceloporus Occidentalis, the Western Fence Lizard, is a small, quick, and very interesting species to behold. They are enjoyable animals to watch, as they are often very active, and can make a very nice addition to any herpetoculturist's collection or field-herping outing.

*image found on google image search, I have no claim on this image and am not to be given credit for it under any circumstances.

A Note On References

Although I am a dedicated keeper and researcher of reptiles, I have no specific degree or fancy doctorate as of yet, so I'm hardly to be considered a legitimate source for study and information. This is just to let everyone reading my blog (if anyone does, in fact, read it) so they don't mistake my provided information for plagiarized info or some such. This is basically just a courtesy, everything in my blog here is based on my personal observations or relatively commonly known knowledge (scientific names, place of origin, etc.) so I cannot be accused of plagiarizing information such as the scientific name of Uromastyx Maliensis or the native habitat of the schneider's skink.

That said, I hope you all understand my safeguarding by writing this post, just so nobody's confused.

Cheers, SWN "Lucidum"