Leopard Lizard Care Sheets

I am wondering if anyone has any information on Leopard Lizards. I have been searching the web for a care sheet, but have been quite unsuccessful. I would appreciate any input anyone might have.

I currently am housing him in a 20 gallon High tank, with both a 75 watt basking light and an under tank heater. The temperature is around 95 degrees in the basking area. I also have a UV light. I have had him since February 14th, and he seems to be doing fine. However, would like to research him a bit more to make sure I keep him in a suitable environment.

Thanks a bunch.

 

Don't know anything but Leopard Gecko. There's a specific lizard forum here for Leopard Geckos.

There's a horizontal link bar on the top of his forum that says Home - Forums - LiveChat - Medical Info - CareSheets... Pretty sure if you click the latter you'll find the lizard type and caresheet for it.

You can also go on Google and type in Leopard Lizard/gecko Caresheet and check out various other caresheets across hte net.

 

Thanks for responding, but I definitely do not have a leopard gecko. It is a long-nosed leopard lizard (Gambelia wislizenii). They are apparently very rare.

Again... thank you for trying.

I have googled this as well and have found only one small care sheet on them.

 

Hmmm.. No one seems to know anything about this rare lizard. I am having such a hard time finding any information on him. There has got to be someone else out there with one.

 

there are two types of Leopard Lizards. long-nosed and short-nosed. Which one do you have?

The scientific name for Leopard lizard is Gambelia - so try doing a google search for that instead of 'leopard lizard' if you know what type of leopard lizard you have, you can easily find the full scientific name from there and narrow your search.

There was a previous thread WAAAAY back in this forums history about leopard lizards and caresheets. there were links in that thread and I'm sure if you do a google search or search in this specific forum you can find it.

http://coloherp.org/careshts/lizards/leop-brd.php guy who captive bred and cared for leopard lizards. He states what he does and what he puts the lizard in over time.

Here's a info sheet for the longnosed leopard lizard - http://www.sdnhm.org/fieldguide/herps/gamb-wis.html

One you find the scientific name for a lizard, the search thereafter becomes relatively easy.

 

Hey thanks for the info. As stated above, I know it is a long-nosed leopard lizard (Gambelia wislizenii). I have done many searches on google with the scientific name over the last month. I have been unsuccessful in finding many sources. Have only found one man that had a C.B. Long-nosed leopard lizard, but his care sheet was quite rare.

I will search for the thread on this forum. Thanks a bunch for your time. I'm glad someone knows something about them. Just want my little guy to be happy.

 

Ah, I missed that. Heh.

The only other help I can offer is to either buy a book on leopard lizard species (or iguana species) And/or find a close relative of the leopard lizard that Has a caresheet and work off that.

 

I recently found a book in one of the local pet stores, and found a short little paragragh about them. I will definitely keep looking though.

I know that they are close relatives to collard lizards, so I have been pretty much using the care sheets from them. I am sure my set up is fine. He seems very happy, and very active. He eats very well.

I am only feeding him crickets at this point. I hear that collard lizards can eat pinkies when they are older, but my little guy is definitely too small for that. Just hope that the dusted crickets are enough for him.

Thanks again for all your help.

I will try to post a pic of him on here if I can figure out how to.

 

he sounds so cute! If you figure out how to post a pic in this thread or link to one, I can't wait to see him!

 

Yay! I figured it out. Here is LEO.

Leo taking a nap in his tree.


Just hanging out.

 

He's beautiful. Where did you get him? I live in California, and both species are here, but in the wild, not in the pet trade.

reako45

 

Thanks so much. He is very handsome! I live in Boston, Massachusetts. I bought him from a local pet store. The minute I saw him, I knew he was coming home with me. Stretched the wallet that day. The girl at the pet store said she has been ordering reptiles for the store for two years and had never seen them available before. She said they are very hard to get captive bred Leopard Lizards.

I am very happy to have stumbled upon him.

Thanks again.

 

I have never heard of these lizards, im guessing they are kind of rare as you stated. I think they look kind of like bearded dragons or more like rankins dragons

 

Definitely looks similar to the collareds doesn't he. I'll have a search for you aswell.

 

Hi there,
I haven't visited these forums in a while just because there was no information on long nosed leopard lizards. I hope that Leo is doing well. It's a common misconception that people think you're talking about leopard geckos when you're talking about long nosed leopard lizards. They are two completely different species. The collared lizard is the closest cousin to the leopard lizard. And if you have a blunt nosed leopard lizard... those are endangered.

I currently have four long nosed leopard lizards: two adult females, one adult male and one juvenile male that is about 7 months old and they are all doing fine. I've had Ollie, the juvenile, since he was a four days old and there haven't been too many problems. There was a scare at four months when I found him one day suffering from muscle spasms and unable to respond to me or light. I took him to the vet that same morning and he gave Ollie liquid calcium supplement to take for 15-20 days. Ollie's spasms could have been avoided if he had a full spectrum UV bulb combined with natural sunlight. It's important that they get as much natural unfiltered sunlight during the growing stages.

Regarding food, Ollie started eating pinkies at 5 months but your guy should get as much variety as possible. Ollie has eaten moths, crickets (be sure to gut load them), other smaller lizards, clover blossoms and grasshoppers.

If you need further information, please message me and check out http://ollieheartscrickets.blogspot.com. Good luck!



Ollie up front and from left to right, Paris, Victor and Nicky.

 

Leopard lizards are fantastic animals. Truly. I've caught dozens upon dozens in Nevada over the past 25 years and have four right now. They have unique personalities and are very tolerant of humans.

Quick advice - What you want to do is replicate Nevada conditions. Give him plenty of REAL sunlight (as much as possible), but know that he could bake to death if he doesn't have a place to escape the sun. An hour in the 11:00am-noon period and an hour in the mid-afternoon should be OK. Keep him warm during the day and let the cage cool down to room temp. over night. Water isn't totally necessary (they get their water from their food) but sometimes they like to lap it up from rocks or glass walls.

Dust crickets, mealworms, moths and other large-bodied insects with calcium powder every now and then. When he gets bigger he'll be able to take down nearly anything smaller than him, incl. other lizards. My leopards are fond of anoles.

My leopards like the occasional clover flower, rinsed in water. Easy to find in neighborhood lawns.

Leopard lizards love to dig their own holes and "shut the door" (which is to say they push the sand up to the entrance to keep out light, sound and visitors). Get the sand nice and damp and compact it. Let the lamps bake it dry and your lil' guy will dig a nice home.

When they're young, try to resist constant handling. I think it may stress them to the point where their appetite may suffer. At least in my experiences.

Field guides all say leopard lizards are vicious and make lousy pets. Well, they are vicious when first caught, but they calm down easily and quickly. I'm really partial to these guys and I hope the bad P.R. from the field guides keep all the yahoos from catching these guys.

 

Oops - double post.

 

First off... thanks so much for the information. It's good to hear that there is someone else out there who knows what these are.

Second... WOW! What a beautiful bunch of leopard lizards. The females are beautifully colored. Unbelievable pic too. I have read, however, that they can't be kept together because they are known to eat their own kind.

I know leo is a male. Could I possibly get another male and keep them together? Not quite sure how old he is. I am so afraid to give him pinkies. I am very afraid that he will choke on them. How big should he be if he is full grown?

He is so much fun. Love him! Thanks for all the info cooljerk and darlene. You've been a great help.

I am going to a reptile show in Tampa Fl this coming weekend. I'm hoping I can get more info on them there.

 

Re: keeping two males together. With Ollie and Vic, I think they get along because Ollie is about two inches smaller than him and not a threat to Vic. When Ollie was big enough to be placed in the same cage as the adults, he showed signs that he was not a threat to them. More specifically, he dragged his hind legs behind him around the adults. But he's been in the same cage with them for a while now and he seems normal. But I have heard that two males in the same cage are a bad idea. Two females and a male are fine so I would suggest getting a female if possible.

Leo seems to be the same age as Ollie as I can tell. If slight red spots are on his back, he may be still a few months younger. How long is Leo now? If he's full grown, he should be about 11 inches and more from tip to tail. (Ollie is still at nine, while the adults are between 11 and twelve inches.)

Re: the female leopard lizards. Thanks! They are both carrying eggs now and an incubator was bought this weekend in anticipation of eggs in a short while. A new thing!

I'm wondering how much you paid for Leo if you don't mind.


Ollie


Nicky


Ollie on top of Vic after hibernation.


Paris

 

As you may have guessed, Darlene and I are in kahoots. The leopard lizards we speak of are the ones and the same.

Yeah, leopard lizards can be cannibalistic... but it seems to be a last resort. All the same, I didn't put the little guy (Ollie) in with the larger ones (Paris, Nicky and Vic) when he was still really small. Now he's just a couple inches shorter than Vic and Nicky (who are both at 11.5") so there's no fear of cannibalism. Paris is longer & larger than all of them (12") but she's no threat to Ollie either.

I understand that clutches of eggs are laid late in the summer and hatch just as the adults are prepping for hibernation. This way, the young have a better chance of not being eaten by their parents.

As a kid growing up in Carson City, NV, I remember having a large terrarium with about a dozen leopard lizards in it. I kept it outside and they all flourished. Except there was one time where I was unable to get them a bunch of grasshoppers. A couple days went by and one morning I did a head count and discovered that the smallest leopard lizard was missing... and the largest leopard lizard was, um, full. Life lesson learned first-hand and for the rest of the summer I made certain that they ALL had plenty of grasshoppers to eat!

Re: pinkies -- go ahead and ask your pet shop for a small pinkie. Estimate one about the size of Leo's skull. He shouldn't have any problem eating it. They can't dislocate their lower jaw or anything but wow - I'm sometimes surprised what they can gulp down. Leopards all seem to have the same attack instinct - they go for the shoulders just south of the neck. Don't know why. Every pinkie and lizard I've seen them attack and eat has been nabbed this way.