White Plains Show

[drache]

I may be wrong, but I don't think it's a fossorial species. I think it's very much a surface dweller. I'll read-up and come back to you, if you can't find much on the net.

you're right - I did some reading
somehow I guess I had it in my mind that the best reason for a lizard not to have legs would be a subterranean existence

[adamanteus]

I just hope he can be made to accept rodents

I doubt that, Rhea, they're specialized lizard eaters.
I hope you can read this.... I don't fancy typing it all out!

[drache]

yeah - I'd read that one, and I shall not be daunted
animals can be recalcitrant, but they can be fooled - especially if they're hungry, and I think this one is
he's in fine shape and I don't know whether anyone captive breeds these guys, but that's what he looks like, and he can go a while, before I'll worry
he follows movement very closely, and yesterday for a moment I though he was trying to go for one of my fingers, so part of me hopes that he's been exposed to them - pinkies that is
the other possibility is that he's warming up to eat me when he grows up

[Stefan-A]

If it's a specialized lizard eater, it might be best to stick to lizards, Rhea.

[adamanteus]

If it's a specialized lizard eater, it might be best to stick to lizards, Rhea.

Yes indeed, I concur. Can you find a local breeder of feeder lizards?

[drache]

Yes indeed, I concur. Can you find a local breeder of feeder lizards?

will have to do some research, but I imagine so
as of now I do have a frozen gecko who died of kidney failure
kind of big though
I've never wanted to have a difficult animal, or one that grows as big as this one potentially can, but I really really like this one and am quite willing to put in the extra effort it takes
I wonder whether reptiles and rodents are substantially different in the type of nutrition they provide - would like to learn more about that

[adamanteus]

To be honest, Rhea, I don't think it's a question of nutrition, it's about prey preference. These lizards are, from what I have read, diurnal hunters/ambush predators... I think you might struggle to get it to accept dead prey of any kind ... even appropriate prey. I think your hopes of feeding it f/t pinkies are probably unrealistic.
As I said, I've never kept this species, so I may well be way off mark, but I have read a lot about it over the years (always wanted one) and I believe this species is better suited to specialised keepers who have the correct prey items to hand.
Personally, I think you chose a difficult one, and I would warn (again) against impulse buying.... "Look what I got.... what is it? What do I do?"
I wish you every success with this lizard, Rhea, it is a truly magnificent creature, but I think it will take considerably more than a scented pinky to keep this one alive.

[Zephyr]

Hmm...
If this is the specimen from Carolina Exotics, they said it was eating insects.
Heck, if it was that one, I was looking into buying it at one point. XD

[drache]

To be honest, Rhea, I don't think it's a question of nutrition, it's about prey preference. These lizards are, from what I have read, diurnal hunters/ambush predators... I think you might struggle to get it to accept dead prey of any kind ... even appropriate prey. I think your hopes of feeding it f/t pinkies are probably unrealistic.
As I said, I've never kept this species, so I may well be way off mark, but I have read a lot about it over the years (always wanted one) and I believe this species is better suited to specialised keepers who have the correct prey items to hand.
Personally, I think you chose a difficult one, and I would warn (again) against impulse buying.... "Look what I got.... what is it? What do I do?"
I wish you every success with this lizard, Rhea, it is a truly magnificent creature, but I think it will take considerably more than a scented pinky to keep this one alive.

I do understand what you're saying, James
and I did do some casting about for info, before I bought this guy
I do fervently hope you're at least a little bit off about the level of difficulty I am likely to encounter, because I really want to succeed in keeping him alive and getting him to thrive
I know that I am setting myself up for potential heartbreak, and I did know that when I got him, but I also felt very strongly, that where he was, at the table of LLLreptile, among every kind of herp on the market, that he was having a better than 75% chance of getting picked up by someone even less experienced than I am, with less resources and willingness to go the extra length, and I decided that it was worth trying to see what I could do

[Repfanatic]

Hi. I've had a Burton's legless for almost a year now.


I tried switching him to rodents MANY times, No go. They go off sight and not scent like snakes do, so it's impossible to fool them. When I got my guy I was told he eats crickets. Nope. I feed him 1 or 2 anoles a week. Here's a picture of his tank.

I have a layer of eco earth and then a layer of aspen on top of that. The drift wood is used as a basking spot. He doesn't go up there very often, but it does get used. I have a heat pad on the left side that gives off a ground temp of 83-86. The cool side is 75-80. The heat lamp has a 40 watt bulb in it to make a basking temp of 90-95. I'm not sure what the humidity should be, but since they're from Australia I imagine it shouldn't be too high. I mist the tank every other day. I also use a reptisun 10.0 UVB since they're dinural and don't burrow often (I've seen mine burrow once). This info is just what works for me since I haven't been able to find much as far as care sheets go for them, so I've had to experiment. Good luck with yours!