The first of 2012

[chrisd]

Happy New Year everyone. Last few days have been quite warm which has brought a few of my animals out of hibernation to make the most of it. A female exigua, male Billineata and a male Viridis have all been out for a few hours. Last year nothing surfaced until mid March, then again the winter was a lot colder. Not long to spring now!

[viridis]

Happy New Year Chris.I have had a male strigata out today.I am not too pleased though asd he shouldn`t be up yet.It worries me that there may be a problem.

[chrisd]

Happy New year viridis (C), Has your strigata disappeared again and if so then there should be nothing to worry about ? My animals have all disappeared again and hopefully it was just a one off. In away I hope that this mild winter doesn't bring them out too early before the weather has a chance to warm up and the days lengthen.

[huddy7]

Chris ,Are your lizards under glass or acrylic?? , these lizards are up way to early, in my experiance these early risers tend to die..looking forward to your reply

[chrisd]

Hi Huddy,
They are outside but at the moment the cages are covered in glass. They are experienced hibernators and have come through quite a few winters. This is the earliest they have appeared and only when the weather was unusually warm. I wasn't worried but I am now a little after you mentioned it. I'm going to keep a close eye on them but haven't seen them out since.

regards,
chris

[huddy7]

Hi Chris, Are your vivariums closed on all sides? ,(green house style) or glass covered with mesh sides, I have outdoor vivariums up in Cumbria and in the Winter I cover 2/3rds of the top with twin wall polycarbonate sheeting to keep the worst of the rain off I also cover the ground inside with bubble wrap about 15 inches thick ,screwed up into balls.with my method the vivs dont get too wet ,nor do they get warm too early in the year . I breed the Merseyside race of sand lizard for the reintroduction program through ARC, Amphibian and Reptile conservation trust, based in Bournemouth.

[chrisd]

Hi Huddy, It's good to know of others that breed Lacertas here up north. I'm in York) I question the fact that I'm too far up for them to flourish. Locally lizards are quite thin on the ground.
My cages have to be on concrete due to garden limitations but are well protected with enclosed wooden and glass sides. They are fully covered with glass which is propped open during the warmer months to let natural sunlight in. (but little very rain) It would be far too cold for them if kept in just a cage with mesh sides. It is a very exposed, windy site. Inside I have insulated the cages with polystyrene sides, back, bottom and hibernation chambers. A compost/ sand mix has been piled up sloping from back to front. In winter I cover the cages with bubble wrap. I must admit that the cages do become very warm when covered if the sun is out but there is a cold wind during in the seasons. I know that you must experience conditions similar if not worse to mine and any ideas would be appreciated.

[huddy7]

Hi Chris,I think your vivs are getting too warm too early in the year,I would favour a setup within your garden that would allow a space of 1ft -18 inch between the top of the viv and the winter lid,Does this make sense to you? for good hibernating conditions you need good ventilation within the viv ,and also most lacertid species need to be in what I term a touch damp substrate ,I prefer sand , and my viv has got Southport beach sand in it ,

[chrisd]

Hi Huddy, I think that the unusually warm winter and the fact that I uncovered them when the sun came out helped to heat the cages up. I will consider leaving a gap between top of the viv and the winter lid to keep the temp down. But I would worry that the cold winter wind and that the frost could get inside the cages would be harmful to the lizards, unless you mean leave the gap and then cover everything over after that ?
The substrate in the viv (sand and compost mix) while sheltered, has grass and plants growing in it and is a good 40/50cm deep and is slightly dampish. I try to keep it somewhat on the dry side as the weather can be cold and damp and I don't want to increase the risk of colds and infections with my animals if they are on/in damp substrate especially in winter. I have lost a few animals due to this in the past. Being further north and probably in a colder/wetter situation how do you compensate for this; if at all ? Do you have success with breeding your lacertas in those conditions ? I struggle and always in mind to to move all my animals into the greenhouse away from the worst of the weather, giving them a more stable climate. Thanks again for your advice as it is great to talk to someone who is experiencing conditions similar to what I experience here up north !

[barb1]

First Lepida female up and sunning. Always good to know they have come through OK.

[monkeyboy]

Sundays "mini spring" tempted most of my stuff up as well, muralis out in force (though to be fair the male was up and about on an off throughout the winter) female argus and one juv (still waiting on one) plus a YB toad was sunning himself (though again he didnt seem to really snooze at all) and still waiting on 6+ argus babies that overwintered in a shed (too scared to put them properly ouside!) 2 of the original 9 didnt want to hibernate and have died. Temps were pretty much identical to outside just frost free. both were runts so I guess its just the run of things. Glad to hear others are having positive news.

[chrisd]

I can't say that we had a mini spring here but it has been warmer. A male Exigua and a few male Viridis have been out very briefly. So far so good, there's a few female Exigua and a smaller male yet to show + others.