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Post by chrisd on Jan 21, 2009 20:04:28 GMT
The last few days here in East Yorkshire has been quite sunny with the temperature in the greenhouse reaching the low 50's. My female sand lizard has been out and about on both days sunning itself on a branch but returning to her hole quite early as the temperature drops in the afternoon. She has started to turn her deep green 'breeding' colour. There has been no sign of any of the others such as the male sands, the eyed lizards or the greens (viridis) for the last few months.
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barb1
Full Member
Posts: 217
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Post by barb1 on Jan 23, 2009 0:14:15 GMT
Hi Chris,
Yes, one of the females has been about on several days this week. Not far from the den and slips back under cover if she sees me. Before Christmas both females were out but have not seen the oldest one since then. This was the first year she has ever lived outside, I am hoping it is not too much of a shock to the system! I have not seen the male since October. B.
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Post by Iowarth on Feb 8, 2009 13:11:12 GMT
Despite the continuing bitterly cold weather one particular lizard has been sighted in the outdoor vivaria whenever we have a sunny day with little wind. This has been odd days throughout December, January and this month. He was up yesterday and again this morning. The lizard in question is a juvenile Lacerta agilis, hatched out in early August 2008. Initially he had me panicking as I was convinced he would get caught in the frosts. But, no, he clearly knows exactly what he is doing and, despite two consecutive nights of well below zero he has been up for the last two days - the only outd0or lizard who has been. And .... here he is, pictured at 1330 today. Obviously a born survivor! Chris
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morbid
Full Member
"Assumption is the Mother of all f**kups.."
Posts: 183
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Post by morbid on Feb 9, 2009 15:04:34 GMT
Lovley Chris!!
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Post by chrisd on Feb 9, 2009 20:55:43 GMT
Hi Chris,
My female was out today enjoying the weak sun despite temperatures of -3 / -4 the last few nights and snow still on the ground. The day temp was just above freezing, amazing ! Her colours have started to fade a little and she is looking a little thin but apart from that she seems ok. She wasn't out long. It makes you wonder if she would behave like that in the wild. I would guess the answer is probably not as she has the advantage of living in a sheltered greenhouse.
I would love to post some pictures here but I've tried a few times with no success. I've been toying with setting up my own website on piczo or myspace so that I can share my pictures. I will keep you informed.
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Post by Iowarth on Feb 9, 2009 22:24:52 GMT
Hi Chris Strangely, none of my greenhouse animals have been up - although I did check some of the hibernaculii and they were awake(ish)!. Down here, greenhouses can actually be too much for the temperate lizard leading to all sorts of irrational and unseasonal behaviour. It would be great if you could post some photos but I think there are sites where you can post and share photos saving the hassle of a website. Myspace is one, as you mention, others include Flickr and there is one with a name summat like photobox, snapfish and so on. Just do a search for "Photo sharing" and see what comes up. Chris
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Post by chrisd on Feb 10, 2009 19:58:35 GMT
This year I was going to look at improving the lizard enclosures further so that they experience a more 'natural environment' rather than being stuck in a greenhouse. I like the idea of giving the lizards an outside environment but I am wary of the Yorkshire weather and would like to provide them with better conditions for them to hopefully thrive in.
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Post by chrisd on Feb 10, 2009 20:22:47 GMT
Sorry, I accidently posted the last message without finishing it !
What I was going to say is that I am going to join a rabbit run to the end of the greenhouse enabling the lizards to come out into the sun and return to the greenhouse at the end of the day. Obviously, the run would have sides added which would extend down into the soil to prevent the lizards digging out. In addition the run that I am going to use has very small mesh and a tight lid to prevent escapes that way. Inside the 'run' I am going to decorate it with the a few rocks, heather etc and sand. I would ideally would like the lizards to return to the greenhouse at the end of the day and not to bed down in the run. The run should gain heat from the warm air escaping from the greenhouse. To catch this heat I was going to insulate some of the sides of the run with polystyrene sandwhiched between 2 pieces of plywood, one on the inside and a piece on the outside.
I was also going to use this idea and have other runs seperate from the greenhouse for other lizards.
I hope this might be useful to others and I will keep you informed of the developments.
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Post by drew121 on Feb 11, 2009 18:10:32 GMT
Nice photo of the Sand Lizard Iowarth , I have seen the occasional animal when at Ainsdale beach with family , it looks to me like the ones ive seen or is a Dorset lizard ?. Can't tell the difference myself . Cheers Drew
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Post by Iowarth on Feb 11, 2009 19:30:22 GMT
Hi Drew One problem is that the differences between the three races of Sand Lizard tend to apply to most individuals BUT all three tend to throw up odd individuals now and again that look like the others! I often jokingly, but accurately say that the most typical Merseysider I ever saw was a Dorset animal, the most typical Wealden a Merseysider (from the golf course to the north of Southport) and the most typical Dorset animal at Frensham in the Weald! This particular animal is pure bred Dorset race BUT, yes, you are quite right - he looks exactly like a Merseysider! The broad pale stripes are the Merseyside feature - they are usually narrow in Dorset animals and barely visible (often completely absent) in Wealden animals. All the best Chris
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Post by drew121 on Feb 11, 2009 20:00:27 GMT
Well !! I am now more confusd , but only really seen te in pics on here. Thanks
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