Chuckwallas are solitary with the exception of breeding season. Mating takes place in the spring, after hibernation, and males will use head-bobbing, licking, nudging and jaw-rubbing to entice females to mate. Males will compete for the right to mate with females by biting and head-butting each other. A clutch of 5 — 16 eggs is laid in an underground nest, which the female will incubate.
Once hatched, there is no parental care. Chuckwallas are diurnal, spending the day near their burrows either basking in the sun or searching for food. Threats to chuckwallas include habitat destruction and degradation, as well as collection for the pet trade. Common chuckwalla. Sauromalus ater. The T8 lamps are around 1 inch in diameter, they must be replaced every 6 months or so and they have an effective range of inches.
T5 lamps are the newer iteration. They are around half an inch in diameter, they must be replaced every 12 months and have an effective range of inches. When mounted around 30cm from the main basking spot these UVB tubes should provide the correct basking zone.
The UVB unit should be mounted to the ceiling close to the back wall. This configuration will provide a nice UV gradient from the back of the enclosure towards the front and from the top of the enclosure to the bottom. With the UV and basking lamp set up this way we achieve a temperature gradient along the width of the enclosure and a UV gradient along the depth of the enclosure. This means that whatever the chuckwallas requirements they can find the perfect position within the enclosure.
Though the Chuckwalla is a basking species it may desire some time during the day in an area with little to no light. To allow this we advise providing partial and full hiding spots throughout the enclosure. Chuckwalla thrive in a low humidity environment with hard decorations to climb over and bask on.
When selecting a bedding we try to ensure that the pieces are unlikely to stick to the chuckwalla's food, and are not going to increase the enclosures humidity. In store we normally use a coarse beech woodchip as it is clean, cheap and easy to spot clean. If you plan to keep the chuckwalla in a bio-active enclosure a nutrient rich soil and clay mix with some sand for aeration would be best. Though the chuckwalla has a temperature gradient running from side to side which we will be keeping at the correct temperatures, there are times when the chuckwalla will want to get really hot.
To allow this we use dry hard wood decorations like java wood or grapevine pieces situated near the warm end but far enough from the lamps that the chuckwalla is not at risk of coming into contact with the basking lamp. The chuckwalla will climb its decoration to get to a hotter part of the enclosure. Chuckwallas love the warmth coming from their basking lamp but they also appreciate secondary belly heat which will radiate from warm objects.
Natural rocks like slate are perfect for this, so are heavy artificial ornaments. These decorations can be placed under and around the basking area and should warm up nicely. If the lamp is too low there is a chance that natural rocks could get too hot so you are best to check the surface temperature to avoid burns.
As discussed in the lighting section there will be times when the chuckwalla does not want any UV and needs a bit of shade. To ensure that the chuckwalla can get away from the light whenever necessary we advise spreading full and partial cover throughout the enclosure. Examples of full cover decorations would be caves, flat cork pieces or any other ornament that provides a shady spot to rest.
Examples of partial cover would include tall plants , trailing plants and themed ornaments like skulls or a cactus skeleton. Chuckwalla are omnivorous meaning that they can eat a varied diet of vegetables, seeds and insects. Normally, this species is kept as a herbivore and provided fresh salad daily and a bowl of dry seeds. Live foods are offered very rarely and only as a treat. For the vegetable portion of the diet, we recommend spring greens, curly kale and Italian herb mix as the base of the salad.
Grated carrot, parsnip or courgette can be added for additional textures and chopped bell peppers can be added to provide colour to the salad and make it more enticing for the chuckwalla. Vegetables to avoid include onion, peas, spinach, iceberg lettuce and anything else that might be acidic or could swell with moisture.
A few times a week it is advised that some roughage is added to the salad. Various weeds or plants like plantain, dandelion, chick weed can be chopped up and added to the top of the salad. Alternatively dry herb cobs or flower mixes can be rehydrated and mixed into the salad. Both the food dish and water bowl should be kept on the cool side of the enclosure to prevent them from raising the humidity in the enclosure.
Chuckwallas will get most of what they need from their diet but there are some vitamins and minerals that they require in higher concentrations. These are normally provided in the form of calcium and vitamin powders which are dusted onto the live food and sprinkled onto the salad. There are many brands and types of supplements but normally they come down to a pure calcium, calcium and vitamin or vitamin only supplement.
Within these groups they will also either include or exclude synthetic vitamin D3. Vitamin D3 is produced by the reptile when it is exposed to UVB and among other functions it allows the chuckwalla to use the calcium in their diet. If you are sure that the UVB levels in your enclosure are perfect you can use a supplement without D3, if you are not sure it would be best to use a supplement with some D3.
In our store we currently use a simple calcium powder with D3 and a balanced multi-vitamin with D3 called Nutrobal. For most of the animals we alternate these daily so that they get their vitamins every other day while getting calcium every day. If you keep a male and female together, they may breed. You do not need to do anything to encourage this. As long as they are healthy and the conditions are good, it will happen naturally.
You need to consider whether you want this to happen before introducing the pair. What will you do with the babies if you incubate the eggs? A gravid female should have access to a nesting box to lay her eggs. The box should be large enough that she can fully turn-around inside it. Inside the nesting box we use a soil mix that is kept humid enough to hold its shape but not so wet that it will saturate any eggs.
We have found that ProRep spider life is perfect for this. Once laid, the eggs should be incubated in an incubator at 84 o F. We incubate our eggs in sealed boxes on a moisture rich substrate such as Hatchrite to trap the humidity around the eggs. After approximately 60 days the eggs will start to hatch, the first babies to emerge will encourage the rest of the eggs to hatch.
Chuckwalla, as with most pets, require a clean environment to thrive. We recommend a spot clean as often as possible every day and a full clean every 4 weeks or so. If you are keeping the chuckwalla in a bio-active enclosure you can spot clean and monitor the enclosure instead. It may still be necessary to remove waste from the decorations, walls and substrate depending on the live custodians you have chosen for the enclosure.
When cleaning the enclosure, you should remove your chuckwalla, all decorations and all of the bedding. Once the enclosure is clear you can clean the entirety of the enclosure and all of the decorations with a reptile friendly disinfectant.
The disinfectants we sell usually work very quickly and only need to be left for around 30 seconds, instructions should be found on the products packaging. Once the disinfectant has done its work it can be wiped away from the surfaces with a paper towel.
In some cases, you might want to repeat the process a second time to ensure that the enclosure is thoroughly cleaned. We would not recommend using disinfectant to clean absorbent natural decorations like cork or bark as it may seep into the product and remain. Instead, these can be scrubbed with hot water and left to dry before putting them back into the enclosure. If you need the items to be dried quickly, we would advise leaving them in the empty enclosure with the basking lamp on and doors wide open.
The additional heat should evaporate a lot of the excess moisture much faster. My Account. Contact us. Wishlist 0. Bearded Dragon Vivariums. Chameleon Vivariums. Leopard Gecko Vivariums. Corn Snake Vivariums. Royal Python Vivariums. Tortoise Vivariums. Vivexotic Repti-Home Vivariums. Vivariums With Cabinets. Vivexotic Cabinets. Vivexotic Repti-Views. View All. Glass Terrariums. Tortoise Tables. Turtle Tanks. Outdoor Enclosures.
Plastic Tanks. Water Dragon Vivariums. Crested Gecko Terrariums. The piebald chuckwalla has a gray-to-black face, with same-colored splotches over its entire body, which is tan to yellow.
There has been a study going on for years at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum involving San Esteban Island chuckwallas, where there is a large breeding colony.
Among other things, the behavior and reproductive biology of these impressive lizards is being studied there. There is another Baja Island form which is quite distinctive, Sauromalus hispidus, the spiny chuckwalla. What makes this animal very different is its spiny tail. All other chuckwallas have a much smoother tail.
Sauromalus ater is the name presently given to all chuckwallas living in our Southwestern deserts. All of the former subspecies of S. These large, plump lizards have loose folds of skin around the neck and shoulders.
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