8/9/2019 Care Sheet - Painted Agama

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Care sheet - Painted Agama

Common Names:Somali Painted, bush Agama, Sling-Tailed Agama, Painted AgamaScientific name:Laudakia stellio

Location:Greece & islands (inc. Cyclades, Rhodes & Corfu, Tur!ey, Cy"rus, #gy"t,

$srael, Syria, %ordan, ebanon, $ra', Saudi ArabiaSubspecies:

L. s. stellio:(Saloni!i Cyclades ()y!onos $slands, *elos, Paros, Anti"aros, +aos,

S"orades, Rhodes, CorfuL. s. brachydactyla: (+ Saudi Arabia, S $srael, Sinai *esert

L. s. cypriacus: (Cy"rusL. s. daani: (Saloni!a, many Aegean islandsL. s. picea: (S Syria, S ebanon, + $srael, + %ordan

L. s.vulgaris: (+. #gy"tSize -/01

Sexing: Seing males and females is easy 2ith this s"ecies3 the males ha4e a dar!

4ertical line of raised scales on the underside of the belly. The females do not.

Temperature:5as!ing tem"erature of 67-689C and a cooler end to :79C. A night time

dro" the tem"erature do2n to :6-:79C and gi4es a good tem"erature gradient.

Lighting:$ used to use the ;luorescent ards 2ere not 4ery

acti4e ece"t at feeding time so $ changed o4er to the )ercury 4a"our lam" and 2hat a

difference it made. They became much more acti4e and started courtshi" dis"lays of headbobbing and leg 2a4ing and in general a lot more acti4e. Their colours 2ere also greatly

im"ro4ed and much brighter.

Agamas are acti4e during the day and are often found scam"ering around to snatch u"their fa4ourite foods. They can tolerate greater tem"eratures (67-?09C than most re"tiles,

but in the afternoon 2hen tem"eratures reach around 69C (/009; they 2ill settle into

the shade and 2ait for it to cool do2n. ;re'uent fighting brea!s out bet2een males3 such

fighting in4ol4es a lot of bobbing and 2ea4ing in an attem"t to scare the o""onent. $f itcomes to blo2s, they lash out 2ith their tails and threaten each other 2ith o"en @a2s.

)any older males ha4e bro!en tails as a result of such fights. ;emales may sometimes

8/9/2019 Care Sheet - Painted Agama

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chase and fight one another, 2hile hatchlings mimic the adults in "re"aration for

adulthood. $t is best to !ee" trios of one male and t2o females.

Food:Agamas are mainly insecti4ores so feed them on ocusts, Coc!roaches, Cric!etsas a treat )orio 2orms and a 2orms. Their incisor-li!e front teeth are designed for

'uic! cutting and che2ing of their "rey. $ offer them greens and cho""ed fruits should be

offered once a 2ee! also.Water: $t is best to s"ray them once a day @ust before the lights comes on. They 2ill

drin! from the dro"lets from the 2alls roc!s etc. They also get 2ater from the food that

they eat and are "erfectly ada"ted to 4ery dry conditions. A small 2ater bo2l can be"laced at the cool end if desired but is not necessary.

itamins:*ust the insects in Calcium*6 "o2der fi4e times a 2ee! and 4itamins t2ice

a 2ee!.

Top Tip Put the feeder insects into a "lastic bag add a small amount of the calcium or4itamin "o2der and sha!e the bag gently this 2ill coat the insects. Then slo2ly ti" the

insects into the 4i4arium lea4ing the ecess "o2der in the bag 2hich can be re used.

!reeding:

Picture "# C$utch of eggs after %" da&s a'erage size of the eggs mm $ong

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Picture ") *atch$ing a$most out of the egg da& %+

)ost agamas are "olygamous. )ales may ha4e a harem of si or more females in theirterritory for breeding. *uring courtshi", the male bobs his head to eg 2a4e and de2la"

flashing to im"ress the female. Bccasionally, females initiate courtshi" by offering their

hind'uarters to the male and then running until he is able to catch u". The breedingseason in the 2ild is ty"ically )arch-)ay 2ith eggs being laid in %une-Se"tember during

the season after the rains. #ggs are laid in clutches of u" to t2el4e.

$n ca"ti4ity my Painted Agamas are seen courting 2ith lots of head bobbing, leg 2a4ingand flashing of the de2la" from the males. The females lay their eggs late *ecember

)arch and hatch after 7?-78 days at 6/9C.

%ohn Gamesby (: A"ril :0//