Best video I've found about caring for these lizards, thank you. Love these little lizards and used to have them as pets as a kid, even so, I learned a few things from this video. 👍
Not necessarily. Taking lizards that have well established populations in the wild in small numbers is not a bad thing. In fact, a lot of the time, western fence lizards that are taken from the wild, when given proper care, will live longer lives than they would have in the wild do to natural predators and parasites. I'm not saying you should take a ton of lizards from the wild for yourself, but if you take 1 or 2 it won't be a problem. Especially if you are trying to breed these lizards then it's okay to take it from the wild, if you get your permits for breeding western fence lizards. However, if someone cannot provide proper care for the lizard or doesn't have the knowledge to, then they most definitely should not take lizards from the wild.
i hatched one of these little guys 2 years back. best pet ive ever owned. you would be surprised how much different a hatched fency is compared to a wild one
One thing you didn't mention was that they are fossorial, which means they feel safe and comfortable when they have 'substrate' to burrow down into to sleep. Its very important to let them do their natural instinctive behavior so they can feel safe.
I live in Southern California where the habitat of blue bellies overlap with that of southern alligator lizards and western side blotched lizards. I prefer go after the alligators and side blotches because they're easier to catch (Alligator lizards are slower, and side blotches hide a lot less).
My boyfriend called me from work last night and he found a lizard we believe to be an eastern fence lizard or a western we aren’t entirely sure which one. He’d been in the warehouse for at least a month because he was first spotted in September but they couldn’t catch him. When they found him he was laying down with his eyes closed and would only move when disturbed. We have several other reptiles so I set up one of spare tanks (30gal long) as well as one of our sun dome heat lamps with 75 watt bulb in it and a UVB bar light. We put some of our branch climbs in there for him and set him on one under the basking lights to try and warm him up. I’m he isn’t very active, is more active today than yesterday as he did open his eyes and move around a little more as to yesterday he didn’t open his eyes at all. We tried to offer him water by dropping little drops on his nose but he just moved away from it. Any advise you’d have in helping him recover would be appreciated! We live in Wisconsin so he’s a long way from home... I couldn’t find much info on them online. Also is it possible the reason he isn’t opening his eyes much is because he’s in brumation or hybernation ??
Thank you for this comment! You did the right thing by setting him up with Heat & UVB. Good job on putting water droplets on his nose too! The problem might be that he is going into brumation (like you mentioned) or he doesn't have enough energy. Try throwing in some crickets to see if he chases them. If he doesn't seem to be basking, take him out and put him on the basking spot. Also make sure he has plenty of places to hide. I have an updated care guide coming this Friday that may help with some things. I also would recommend using a LOOSE substrate instead of a non-loose one like I said in this video. That is one of the reasons I am redoing the care guide because I don't agree with some of the things I said back then. Tell me if he isn't eating and I can suggest some things for you to do. Thanks for asking!
We’ve been putting 2-3 tiny pinhead crickets in his tank ever other day. We haven’t seen him eating any of them. He still rarely opens his eyes. He only opens them when he’s moving around and even then only briefly. I’ve been spraying the plants down in his tank so he can drink off of them and I also have a small water dish in there for him. It just worries me that he mostly has his eyes closed and I haven’t seen him eating anything. He does go and bask on his own and moves back and forth from the cold side to the warm side. But not much else
@@adelinurrutia9734 That’s odd. This is gonna sound crazy, but it works: Rip off the head of a cricket or any other feeder insect. Put the rest of the body up to the lizards face. It will sense something on its face and try to lick it off. Then it will most likely enjoy the taste and bite onto the insect.
I just found my lizard named shiggy. This is very informative. Do you mind sharing bonding tips? He is very young, so I know it will be easier to get him to bond with me. Right now he is kinda vibing, but how long can he go without a heat lamp? I should be able to get one next Saturday, but what is recommended as a substitute for now?
Hey! I have a quick question. What if I put my lizard cage outside and have a part of the cage have cover and so there is shade for the lizard so it doesn’t overheat. I’m completely new to taking care of reptiles and was just wondering if I could give it a happy and healthy life without buying a uv light.
Vanessa Quan / Great question! If you want to house your fence lizard outside you must have the following requirements: Temperatures do not get any lower than 60 degrees where you live, the enclosure must be made out of screen and not glass (if you use glass, it will overheat the enclosure), you gotta give them multiple hides, make sure the enclosure gets hit by light, provide a place for them to bask, provide a large enough water bowl for them to soak in (if it gets too hot outside they can overheat and die), and make sure that the enclosure has a good lid so no predators can get to your lizard. One thing I would highly recommend for you: get a tortoise hutch and fill it with substrate and put a basking rock inside
I caught a baby fence lizard I think it’s a girl and it won’t eat or drink I have them meal worms small ones and she needs the food to grow especially when they’re young. Have any advice ?
I just caught my baby western fence lizard and I am going to get the right things needed for it. I do have some questions as this is the first lizard I have ever had. for the heating/ basking, You did mention that the heating should be 98-100 something, but what about the cool side? Should the cool side be room temp? For UVB, is 75 Watts good? Do I have to place the UVB a little higher than the enclosure (Like 3 inches)? Also, what are the night temps?
Nice! The cool side should be between 75-83 degrees F (23.9-28.3 Celcius). A 75 watt UVB light would make the enclosure too warm. I recommend searching on amazon: T8 Reptile Light Fixture. It depends on how tall the enclosure is. If it is 12 inches tall, you don't have to raise it. The night temperatures in the enclosure should be between 58-75 degrees.
Nice! That's actually good to hear that they're hard to catch! If they run around a lot when you're trying to handle them, that means you're giving them proper heating! Good job!
Thank you for the info! I'm wondering if you can help with my fence lizard situation, which is kind of unusual. A baby one found his way into my house last week; a brief inspection told me he was blind (one eye appears missing, the other was gunked up). Pretty clear he won't be able to make it in the wild. I've since bought a lot of the necessary materials (mealworms, calcium/vitamin powder, UVB light, 10-gallon tank along with the smaller Kricket Keeper), and he seems to have rehabbed somewhat. However, I'm not sure what special considerations I need to take into account due to his disability. In contrast to what you described, he LOVES chilling on my finger and tries to climb back on whenever I put him back in his terrarium. I assume this is because he can't see that I'm a big scary animal that might eat him. Do you have any ideas? Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.
Rising Sunfish Thanks for the comment! I noticed in the list of things that you ordered for him, there is no heat lamp. The reason he chills on your finger like that is because he isn’t heated up. They will not be active if they are not heated up, these guys are baskers. Provide a piece of slate or tile to hold the heat from the heat lamp. The reason he tried to climb back onto your hand when you try to put him down is because he is not use to a sudden change in environment.
@@PlanetOReptiles Oh, I wasn't aware the heat lamp was different from the UVB. Will a regular light bulb in close proximity work? He's still very small and delicate and I don't know that he's ready for the big cage yet. Thank you for the advice!
Rising Sunfish Anytime! He would do fine in a 20 gallon right now, just give him enough hides. A light bulb in close proximity would not work because: #1 there is a very high risk of burns do to it being so close to the lizard. #2 A regular light bulb just wouldn’t produce enough heat for basking temps. I would definitely say get a single dome reptile fixture, and then put a 75 watt reptile bulb in it. Keep the fixture on top of the 10 gallon where the screen is. Keep using your UVB light
Hello I have a question. I. Have these meal worms but they are not alive. They are dry and crunchy and they. Can snap in. Half and by the way can they eat Rollie polies if so do I have to kill them first or keep them alive
Great question! I would advise against feeding freeze dried or dead insects because your lizard most likely will not eat them and they are not as fresh as live insects. This isn't true all the time, but dead insects could possibly be harboring parasites and/or bacteria which could end up killing your lizard. I would also advise against feeding rollie pollies to your lizard simply because the ones in the wild often have parasites in them that will end up in your lizard. Your best bet would be grabbing insects from the pet store and breeding them at home. If you can't get them from the store then you can feed your lizard rollie pollies from outside.
How do I get my baby fence lizard to eat? Also do I need to use a thermostat for the heating? Got any tips on how to make sure the temperature stays the same in the enclosure?
Try putting him/her in a small plastic bin (something like a 6qt.) and put the crickets or whatever insect you are feeding, in it. You don't need a thermostat for the the heat lamp, just get an infared thermometer. If you keep your room the same temperature throughout the year, the temperature in the enclosure should stay the same as well.
I caught one and I named it Alexander even though it was a girl she stayed still all the time she didn't really move and she let me pet her she was really nice but I decided to let her go cuz I couldn't see her like that so sad but then I just caught another one I'm going to release it too probably tonight don't worry I kept her in hot
Hello again!!! I’m not physically seeing my lizard eat and sometimes he’ll ignore the crickets for days? This normal? He wont eat in front of me or from my hand
Sorry for the late response. That may be due to the fact that he isn't feeling safe enough, the crickets are too big for him to eat, or the basking temps are off. Try giving him a little more heat and see if that helps!
Thank you! I adjusted temp and went with smaller crickets. She’s still alive and pooping so obviously eating I just don’t physically see. It when we first got her she would pounce on them immediately. Now she’ll let them crawl on her and ignore them 🤷🏻♀️
I personally do not know how to breed them just yet. People are working on it though. I am going to attempt to breed these guys very soon. I have an updated care guide coming tomorrow as well!
I’m no expert buuuuuuut western fence lizards NEED a substrate they can dig in that’s how they feel comfortable when sleeping or during the day, I mean this as no hate but just a tip for happy lizards
Thank you for this comment! I agree that they need to dig, my western fence lizards love to dig and feel secure doing it. I forgot to include that I give them a hide that has really deep dirt inside of it and that’s where they sleep.
Planet O Reptiles No problem! I was thinking my western fence lizards love to dig and I couldn’t see any dirt for them to dig and I got worried, just wanted to make sure your lizards are happy!
Nataly Delgado I might not have the exact answer since I did let mine go and boi got a bearded rag on but I used dirt from outside like fluffy dirt and changed it every now or then but eco earth blocked up dirt could also work really well but if you get dirt from outside you have to make sure there are no bugs or anything that could hurt your blue belly in the dirt, mine got mites and it may have been from the dirt I am not sure but if you are willing to I would buy the eco earth dirt as that has I think no risks of anything. For the dirt make sure that you have 2-3 inches so that they have space to dig in the dirt and make sure you can easily stick your finger in the dirt like how they would get into the dirt themselves. I also have a TON of other tips and needs for them if you would like to know and just one thing that is VERY important that you probably already know NEVER house two male together even if they are babies because they get really territorial and can injure themselves or the other male but housing two females is okay and you can’t house males together even if you have a very large tank and if you really have to use a separator that they cannot get through but you still shouldn’t even do that and make sure you get a heat bulb AND a uvb bulb, it was a mistake that I made but I got one and they were much happier. Sorry that was so long but is you need any more tips you can just ask me. :)
Mikes Reptiles and frogs The other person has good answers but I would also use ants and/or fruit fly’s wich you can buy flightless one at some pet stores
Planet O Reptiles Okay thanks for telling me I did not know I just remembered seeing some videos of people feeding their blue belly’s ants and fruit fly’s
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Best video I've found about caring for these lizards, thank you.
Love these little lizards and used to have them as pets as a kid, even so, I learned a few things from this video. 👍
This is so helpful thank you I’m a big fan of these guys I actually just caught one
Keeping wild lizards is a really bad idea, unless its injured or a baby because babies have a hard time catching small enough food.
Awesome! No problem!
Not necessarily. Taking lizards that have well established populations in the wild in small numbers is not a bad thing. In fact, a lot of the time, western fence lizards that are taken from the wild, when given proper care, will live longer lives than they would have in the wild do to natural predators and parasites. I'm not saying you should take a ton of lizards from the wild for yourself, but if you take 1 or 2 it won't be a problem. Especially if you are trying to breed these lizards then it's okay to take it from the wild, if you get your permits for breeding western fence lizards. However, if someone cannot provide proper care for the lizard or doesn't have the knowledge to, then they most definitely should not take lizards from the wild.
i hatched one of these little guys 2 years back.
best pet ive ever owned.
you would be surprised how much different a hatched fency is compared to a wild one
Nice!
One thing you didn't mention was that they are fossorial, which means they feel safe and comfortable when they have 'substrate' to burrow down into to sleep. Its very important to let them do their natural instinctive behavior so they can feel safe.
You're 100% right.
What substrate would be safe for this?
My lizard refuses to move and it doesn't seem to want to eat it also a baby
I live in Southern California where the habitat of blue bellies overlap with that of southern alligator lizards and western side blotched lizards. I prefer go after the alligators and side blotches because they're easier to catch (Alligator lizards are slower, and side blotches hide a lot less).
Yeah I like catching alligators and side blotched lizards more too
My boyfriend called me from work last night and he found a lizard we believe to be an eastern fence lizard or a western we aren’t entirely sure which one. He’d been in the warehouse for at least a month because he was first spotted in September but they couldn’t catch him. When they found him he was laying down with his eyes closed and would only move when disturbed. We have several other reptiles so I set up one of spare tanks (30gal long) as well as one of our sun dome heat lamps with 75 watt bulb in it and a UVB bar light. We put some of our branch climbs in there for him and set him on one under the basking lights to try and warm him up. I’m he isn’t very active, is more active today than yesterday as he did open his eyes and move around a little more as to yesterday he didn’t open his eyes at all. We tried to offer him water by dropping little drops on his nose but he just moved away from it. Any advise you’d have in helping him recover would be appreciated! We live in Wisconsin so he’s a long way from home... I couldn’t find much info on them online. Also is it possible the reason he isn’t opening his eyes much is because he’s in brumation or hybernation ??
Thank you for this comment! You did the right thing by setting him up with Heat & UVB. Good job on putting water droplets on his nose too! The problem might be that he is going into brumation (like you mentioned) or he doesn't have enough energy. Try throwing in some crickets to see if he chases them. If he doesn't seem to be basking, take him out and put him on the basking spot. Also make sure he has plenty of places to hide. I have an updated care guide coming this Friday that may help with some things. I also would recommend using a LOOSE substrate instead of a non-loose one like I said in this video. That is one of the reasons I am redoing the care guide because I don't agree with some of the things I said back then. Tell me if he isn't eating and I can suggest some things for you to do. Thanks for asking!
We’ve been putting 2-3 tiny pinhead crickets in his tank ever other day. We haven’t seen him eating any of them. He still rarely opens his eyes. He only opens them when he’s moving around and even then only briefly. I’ve been spraying the plants down in his tank so he can drink off of them and I also have a small water dish in there for him. It just worries me that he mostly has his eyes closed and I haven’t seen him eating anything. He does go and bask on his own and moves back and forth from the cold side to the warm side. But not much else
@@adelinurrutia9734 That’s odd. This is gonna sound crazy, but it works: Rip off the head of a cricket or any other feeder insect. Put the rest of the body up to the lizards face. It will sense something on its face and try to lick it off. Then it will most likely enjoy the taste and bite onto the insect.
I just found my lizard named shiggy. This is very informative. Do you mind sharing bonding tips? He is very young, so I know it will be easier to get him to bond with me. Right now he is kinda vibing, but how long can he go without a heat lamp? I should be able to get one next Saturday, but what is recommended as a substitute for now?
Hey! I have a quick question. What if I put my lizard cage outside and have a part of the cage have cover and so there is shade for the lizard so it doesn’t overheat. I’m completely new to taking care of reptiles and was just wondering if I could give it a happy and healthy life without buying a uv light.
Vanessa Quan / Great question! If you want to house your fence lizard outside you must have the following requirements: Temperatures do not get any lower than 60 degrees where you live, the enclosure must be made out of screen and not glass (if you use glass, it will overheat the enclosure), you gotta give them multiple hides, make sure the enclosure gets hit by light, provide a place for them to bask, provide a large enough water bowl for them to soak in (if it gets too hot outside they can overheat and die), and make sure that the enclosure has a good lid so no predators can get to your lizard. One thing I would highly recommend for you: get a tortoise hutch and fill it with substrate and put a basking rock inside
I would say yes like during the summer but in the winter bring her or him in and put it in front of a window I own one also ....
I caught a baby fence lizard I think it’s a girl and it won’t eat or drink I have them meal worms small ones and she needs the food to grow especially when they’re young. Have any advice ?
I just caught my baby western fence lizard and I am going to get the right things needed for it. I do have some questions as this is the first lizard I have ever had. for the heating/ basking, You did mention that the heating should be 98-100 something, but what about the cool side? Should the cool side be room temp? For UVB, is 75 Watts good? Do I have to place the UVB a little higher than the enclosure (Like 3 inches)? Also, what are the night temps?
Nice! The cool side should be between 75-83 degrees F (23.9-28.3 Celcius). A 75 watt UVB light would make the enclosure too warm. I recommend searching on amazon: T8 Reptile Light Fixture. It depends on how tall the enclosure is. If it is 12 inches tall, you don't have to raise it. The night temperatures in the enclosure should be between 58-75 degrees.
Just caught one today@ thank you for explaining !
Glad I could help!
It belongs in the wild.
What would a baby like to eat the most? Are ants okay?
I have 2 Fence Lizards. They are VERY hard to catch. My success rate is like 10% success.
Nice! That's actually good to hear that they're hard to catch! If they run around a lot when you're trying to handle them, that means you're giving them proper heating! Good job!
I always catch em
They're actually pretty easy to catch. You just need the right technique that works best for you. The best one that works for me is a a lizard noose.
You're not doing it right. I catch them all the time, its not hard
Thank you for the info! I'm wondering if you can help with my fence lizard situation, which is kind of unusual. A baby one found his way into my house last week; a brief inspection told me he was blind (one eye appears missing, the other was gunked up). Pretty clear he won't be able to make it in the wild. I've since bought a lot of the necessary materials (mealworms, calcium/vitamin powder, UVB light, 10-gallon tank along with the smaller Kricket Keeper), and he seems to have rehabbed somewhat. However, I'm not sure what special considerations I need to take into account due to his disability. In contrast to what you described, he LOVES chilling on my finger and tries to climb back on whenever I put him back in his terrarium. I assume this is because he can't see that I'm a big scary animal that might eat him. Do you have any ideas? Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.
Rising Sunfish Thanks for the comment! I noticed in the list of things that you ordered for him, there is no heat lamp. The reason he chills on your finger like that is because he isn’t heated up. They will not be active if they are not heated up, these guys are baskers. Provide a piece of slate or tile to hold the heat from the heat lamp. The reason he tried to climb back onto your hand when you try to put him down is because he is not use to a sudden change in environment.
@@PlanetOReptiles Oh, I wasn't aware the heat lamp was different from the UVB. Will a regular light bulb in close proximity work? He's still very small and delicate and I don't know that he's ready for the big cage yet. Thank you for the advice!
Rising Sunfish Anytime! He would do fine in a 20 gallon right now, just give him enough hides. A light bulb in close proximity would not work because: #1 there is a very high risk of burns do to it being so close to the lizard. #2 A regular light bulb just wouldn’t produce enough heat for basking temps. I would definitely say get a single dome reptile fixture, and then put a 75 watt reptile bulb in it. Keep the fixture on top of the 10 gallon where the screen is. Keep using your UVB light
I have one named liazardo davinci and this video helped a lot thanks kid
Nice! Glad I could help! Make sure to check out the new one though, there are some major changes that I made to the care guide.
Hello I have a question. I. Have these meal worms but they are not alive. They are dry and crunchy and they. Can snap in. Half and by the way can they eat Rollie polies if so do I have to kill them first or keep them alive
Great question! I would advise against feeding freeze dried or dead insects because your lizard most likely will not eat them and they are not as fresh as live insects. This isn't true all the time, but dead insects could possibly be harboring parasites and/or bacteria which could end up killing your lizard. I would also advise against feeding rollie pollies to your lizard simply because the ones in the wild often have parasites in them that will end up in your lizard. Your best bet would be grabbing insects from the pet store and breeding them at home. If you can't get them from the store then you can feed your lizard rollie pollies from outside.
how many mealworms can I feed my liz in a meal, and how many meals per week?
Does this apply to Eastern Fence Lizards as well?
Easterns would have a tad bit higher humidity requirements, but other than that, yes!
Thank You!
Thanks for the video super helpful just caught one ❤️
Nice! I'm glad it helped!
How do I get my baby fence lizard to eat? Also do I need to use a thermostat for the heating? Got any tips on how to make sure the temperature stays the same in the enclosure?
Try putting him/her in a small plastic bin (something like a 6qt.) and put the crickets or whatever insect you are feeding, in it. You don't need a thermostat for the the heat lamp, just get an infared thermometer. If you keep your room the same temperature throughout the year, the temperature in the enclosure should stay the same as well.
Planet O Reptiles ok, thank you!
I caught one and I named it Alexander even though it was a girl she stayed still all the time she didn't really move and she let me pet her she was really nice but I decided to let her go cuz I couldn't see her like that so sad but then I just caught another one I'm going to release it too probably tonight don't worry I kept her in hot
Great video! Wondering if you know how to tell gender of hatchlings, or ones so young they have no blue color (yet)?
Thanks! Baby males should have blue coloration right out of the egg, females will have none. Great question!
thanks for advice!
Hello again!!!
I’m not physically seeing my lizard eat and sometimes he’ll ignore the crickets for days? This normal? He wont eat in front of me or from my hand
Sorry for the late response. That may be due to the fact that he isn't feeling safe enough, the crickets are too big for him to eat, or the basking temps are off. Try giving him a little more heat and see if that helps!
Thank you!
I adjusted temp and went with smaller crickets. She’s still alive and pooping so obviously eating I just don’t physically see. It when we first got her she would pounce on them immediately. Now she’ll let them crawl on her and ignore them 🤷🏻♀️
Can you make a video on how to breed them?
I personally do not know how to breed them just yet. People are working on it though. I am going to attempt to breed these guys very soon. I have an updated care guide coming tomorrow as well!
I have one named blue he likes hangout out on my shoulder
Sick!
I’m no expert buuuuuuut western fence lizards NEED a substrate they can dig in that’s how they feel comfortable when sleeping or during the day, I mean this as no hate but just a tip for happy lizards
Thank you for this comment! I agree that they need to dig, my western fence lizards love to dig and feel secure doing it. I forgot to include that I give them a hide that has really deep dirt inside of it and that’s where they sleep.
Planet O Reptiles No problem! I was thinking my western fence lizards love to dig and I couldn’t see any dirt for them to dig and I got worried, just wanted to make sure your lizards are happy!
@@PlanetOReptiles My fence lizards always hide in the bark and dirt I gave them. One tricked me into he escaped!
@@junosdiary3142 what type of substrate do u use??? I want to make sure I have a good substrate for mine:)
Nataly Delgado I might not have the exact answer since I did let mine go and boi got a bearded rag on but I used dirt from outside like fluffy dirt and changed it every now or then but eco earth blocked up dirt could also work really well but if you get dirt from outside you have to make sure there are no bugs or anything that could hurt your blue belly in the dirt, mine got mites and it may have been from the dirt I am not sure but if you are willing to I would buy the eco earth dirt as that has I think no risks of anything. For the dirt make sure that you have 2-3 inches so that they have space to dig in the dirt and make sure you can easily stick your finger in the dirt like how they would get into the dirt themselves. I also have a TON of other tips and needs for them if you would like to know and just one thing that is VERY important that you probably already know NEVER house two male together even if they are babies because they get really territorial and can injure themselves or the other male but housing two females is okay and you can’t house males together even if you have a very large tank and if you really have to use a separator that they cannot get through but you still shouldn’t even do that and make sure you get a heat bulb AND a uvb bulb, it was a mistake that I made but I got one and they were much happier. Sorry that was so long but is you need any more tips you can just ask me. :)
Thanks
No problem! Thanks for watching!
Can anyone tell what a baby one should eat
Mikes Reptiles and frogs / Great question! A baby can eat small Dubia roaches or pinhead crickets!
Mikes Reptiles and frogs The other person has good answers but I would also use ants and/or fruit fly’s wich you can buy flightless one at some pet stores
Kirby M - Good suggestions! Careful with the ants because they are very acidic. Good for horned lizards but not so much for fence lizards
Planet O Reptiles Okay thanks for telling me I did not know I just remembered seeing some videos of people feeding their blue belly’s ants and fruit fly’s
You want to make sure what ever you are feeding them is smaller then the width of their head
I own a western fence lizard and his name is echo
Cool Name! Awesome that you own one, they are really cool lizards!
The comments here are absurd. Catching a wild animal and containing it is inhumane.
Yooooooo who disliked this??!
Ikr😂
I have a baby
Cool!
How can you tell how old they are?
@@laurabradley1928 You determine it by their size. It’s pretty easy to tell when it’s a baby