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Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2005 4:11 pm Post subject: Green Basilisks???
These Are The Lizards That Run On Water....Has Anyone Every Had One?? Im Thinking About Purchasing One, I Think It Would Be A Cool Addition To My New Collection I Am Starting...Any One Have Any Ideas On Whether Or Not Its A Good Choice?? I Am Open For Opinions...
Joined: Dec 08, 2004 Posts: 998 Location: South Florida
Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2005 8:06 pm Post subject:
Not a good choice unless your going to give it a boat load of room! 90% of the time adults have a messed up nose/face because they will run full speed and hit the side of the cage over and over when they get scared! _________________ John Light
http://www.jlexotics.com/
Joined: Dec 11, 2004 Posts: 216 Location: BC, Canada
Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2005 9:37 pm Post subject:
Yes basalisks are able to run on water but like john said these lizards need a HUGE amount of room and even with a giant cage you would probably never see the water trick .
They are a very pretty lizard though, especially the males with that "sail" on there back.
Joined: Dec 08, 2004 Posts: 998 Location: South Florida
Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2005 11:00 am Post subject:
I have brown basilisks running wild ALL OVER my property! These animals are just everywhere! Loads of energy! They really need a large enclosure or they will not be happy! I happen to like the greens but I mine as well keep monitors or Tegus for that size enclosure! _________________ John Light
http://www.jlexotics.com/
Yeh They Suggest The Hatchlings Be Kept In At Least A 55 Gallon Aquarium...I Just Saw Them On The Discovery Channel When I Was 10 And Thought They Were Cool...lol..My Tegu Comes First But I Thought It Would Be Cool To See Them Run On Water...Thnx For The Input..
Joined: Dec 08, 2004 Posts: 998 Location: South Florida
Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2005 8:51 pm Post subject:
If you ever get a chance to come to Florida stop by my place! I'll take you to a canal you can walk along and watch them all day! If your lucky you'll even see the family of otters! _________________ John Light
http://www.jlexotics.com/
Joined: Dec 08, 2004 Posts: 998 Location: South Florida
Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2005 12:56 pm Post subject:
ever get a chance to come to Coral Springs, Boca, or any other close city to mine give me a shout! _________________ John Light
http://www.jlexotics.com/
Joined: Jun 13, 2005 Posts: 4 Location: Houston, Republic of Texas, Aztlan
Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2005 7:14 am Post subject:
I have three basilisks and I plan to build an outdoor enclosure for them, but they seem to be doing pretty well in their indoor set up.
when I put them in the bath tub sometimes they do the run on water thing, but they mostly swim. for them to really get going with the run on water trick they need a running start on dry land and quite a lot of space to run on, thats something you will rarely see much of in captivity though unless you build them a huge enclosure. they can get by with less space than an iguana, however they still need a pretty vertically oriented enclosure because they are arboreal for the most part. if you plan to get one I can show you how to set up their cage so they are not as likely to ram their nose against the glass.
mine have no nose injuries to speak of because the glass on three sides of the tank is almost completely covered with climbing surfaces, rock, bark, moss etc - that way the only glass there is to run into is the viewing area in front of the cage which they are less likely to ram into especially if you are watching them from the outside. This link shows a simple set up I made for the hatchlings out of two 10 gallon aquariums stacked vertically, I took the bottom out of the one on top and glued and taped them together. http://thetegu.com/modules.php?set_albumName=SturmsHerps&id=8d82&op=modload&name=Gallery&file=index&include=view_photo.php
for the hatchlings you want somethings small enough to catch them in but still big enough for them to have room to climb around in _________________ -Sturm
Joined: Dec 08, 2004 Posts: 998 Location: South Florida
Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2005 12:39 pm Post subject:
Sturm wrote:
for them to really get going with the run on water trick they need a running start on dry land and quite a lot of space to run on, thats something you will rarely see much of in captivity though unless you build them a huge enclosure. they can get by with less space than an iguana, however they still need a pretty vertically oriented enclosure because they are arboreal for the most part. if you plan to get one I can show you how to set up their cage so they are not as likely to ram their nose against the glass. This link shows a simple set up I made for the hatchlings out of two 10 gallon aquariums stacked vertically, I took the bottom out of the one on top and glued and taped them together. http://thetegu.com/modules.php?set_albumName=SturmsHerps&id=8d82&op=modload&name=Gallery&file=index&include=view_photo.php
for the hatchlings you want somethings small enough to catch them in but still big enough for them to have room to climb around in
I'm sorry but I need to COMPLETELY disagree with you. Basilisks are Semi Arboreal and spend ALOT of time on the ground. Infact I'll see more on the ground then I do in trees. They do not need a running start on land although it helps. Most I see take off from liley pads, or right off the edge of the bank. They need Alot of room and Id say as much if not more than an iguanna. As stated above 3 10gallons glued together would NOT be a good setup. Something longer would be much better then something higher. Please do some reading! _________________ John Light
http://www.jlexotics.com/
Joined: Jun 13, 2005 Posts: 4 Location: Houston, Republic of Texas, Aztlan
Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2005 1:41 am Post subject:
John wrote:
Sturm wrote:
for them to really get going with the run on water trick they need a running start on dry land and quite a lot of space to run on, thats something you will rarely see much of in captivity though unless you build them a huge enclosure. they can get by with less space than an iguana, however they still need a pretty vertically oriented enclosure because they are arboreal for the most part. if you plan to get one I can show you how to set up their cage so they are not as likely to ram their nose against the glass. This link shows a simple set up I made for the hatchlings out of two 10 gallon aquariums stacked vertically, I took the bottom out of the one on top and glued and taped them together. http://thetegu.com/modules.php?set_albumName=SturmsHerps&id=8d82&op=modload&name=Gallery&file=index&include=view_photo.php
for the hatchlings you want somethings small enough to catch them in but still big enough for them to have room to climb around in
I'm sorry but I need to COMPLETELY disagree with you. Basilisks are Semi Arboreal and spend ALOT of time on the ground. Infact I'll see more on the ground then I do in trees. They do not need a running start on land although it helps. Most I see take off from liley pads (a solid surface level with the surface of the water), or right off the edge of the bank (dry land level witht the surface of the water or a level surface near the edge of the water i.e dry land). They need Alot of room and Id say as much if not more than an iguanna. As stated above 3 10gallons glued together would NOT be a good setup. (not for a sub-adult, but for a hatchling it has proven adequate - the sub adult is kept in a larger tank) Something longer would be much better then something higher. Please do some reading!
Actually I have done quite a bit of reading on the subject -I have quite a few books, three of which go into great detail on basilisks and their care and maintenance and I did not say they needed a running start on land to do the run on water trick, only that it works best if they get a running start on dry land and if it is a large pool of water or some such thing. I also believe I mentioned that they did the run on water trick in the bathtub as well. Needless to say they could not have gotten a running start on dry land there.
Yes a set up as large as an iguana would require would be ideal-but is not necessary. what they do need is- adequate vertical space to climb- because they are arboreal, enough water to submerge themselves in that has to be changed daily, and some horizontal space to run around in. Too big of a cage for a juvenile would present problems in socializing them and also catching them when you need to clean out their cage- this is an indoor set up I am talking about- not to be confused with an outdoor enclosure, which depending on the climate you are in may only be usable certain times of the year- the rest of which you need to keep them indoors- unless you happen to have a heated greenhouse.
also, since alot of people have had problems with their basilisks damaging their rostrums on glass and or screen , I will also again re-iterate here, that my setup has prevented that from happening pretty adequately as none of my basilisks have yet demonstrated any rostral injuries.
a large outdoor set up will of course complement the indoor set ups, but unless you live in a tropical climate yourself, that outdoor set up will only be good a few months of the year- and if used during the cold months, will be more expensive to adequately keep heated _________________ -Sturm
Joined: Jun 13, 2005 Posts: 4 Location: Houston, Republic of Texas, Aztlan
Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2005 2:18 am Post subject:
John wrote:
Not a good choice unless your going to give it a boat load of room! 90% of the time adults have a messed up nose/face because they will run full speed and hit the side of the cage over and over when they get scared!
if the cage/tank/enclosure is designed with the right materials to where only the front viewing area is bare glass or screen they are less likely to injure their nose trying to run away, since in running away they wont be running towards the viewing side (i.e. front) of the cage.
if the other walls, panels, glass sides etc are outfitted with non-see through climbing surfaces, flat rocks, plants, bark etc they wont run directly into an object they can clearly see. that is why they are known to run into glass walls and screen windows etc because they can see through them and cant see the hard surface becuase it is transparent. if the only side of the enclosure that is transparent is the one side they are most often seen from that generally takes care of that issue since if they get spooked they will be more likely to run in the other direction instead of towards the person viewing (i.e. away from the one transparent surface left.)
also they have to be handled regularly and it it also good to feed them superworms with a pair of tongs by hand regularly, just so they associate their keeper/owner with food, water, treats etc as a process of taming and
socializing. aside from that they really shouldnt be handled too much until they are at least sub-adults, becuase by then they arent as fragile, though
basilisks are very delicate by comparison to many larger lizards _________________ -Sturm
Joined: Dec 08, 2004 Posts: 998 Location: South Florida
Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2005 1:56 pm Post subject:
I see I'm not going to get anywhere with this....some animals are best left in the wild, that is unless you can provide tons of room. _________________ John Light
http://www.jlexotics.com/
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