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/ ! I / . Zoo Yb. (1990) 29: 70-74

Husbandry of the Spiny-tailed agamas

at Oklahoma City Zoo Uroma.rty.u acanthinurus and li. aegyptius

SCOTT WHEELER Oklahoma City Zoological Park, 2101 N E 50th Street, Oklahoma Citis, Oklahomti 73111, USA

Oklahoma City Zoo currently maintains two species of Spiny-tailed agama, Uromastyx acanthinurus and U . aegyptius. Although there are a number of references on the husbandry of U . acanthinurus (von Fischer. 1885; Brendel, 1959; Watson, 1969; van Kraalingen, 1980; Grimm, 1986; Wheeler, 1988), there are few data on the captive husbandry of U . aegyptius (Kevork & Al-Uthman, 1972; Henke et al., 1977). This paper presents compara- tive data on the captive husbandry tech- niques used for U . acanthinurus and U. tieg.vptius at the Zoo.

Both species are maintained under similar conditions. A detailed account of the husbandry of U. acanthinurus is given in Wheeler (1988). Two pairs of U. acjgjptius (Table 1) are housed on a substrate of sand in a 298 x 249 x 152 cm high glass-fronted exhibit which is provided with five temperature zones (Fig. 1) varying from a daytime high of c'. 58 C to a night-time low of 24°C. Illu- mination i s provided by four 2.5m 40W fluorescent power-twist Vita-Lite bulbs, three 400W metal halide bulbs and two

U

a

b II

2 9 8 crn t

Fig. I . Temperature zones for Cronitr\li x ocg\p/utt the temperatures shown for each Lone are daytime maximum (night-time minimum) a. heat plate 58 C (32 C); b.one 250W sun lamp 34 C (24 C): c.one 250W sunlamp basking rock 38 C (24 C): d. fibreglass rockwork 30 C (24 C); e. hide box (c. 30 cm under cage floor) 24 C (24 0.

250W clear heat lamph. The lamps are mounted ( '. 150 cm above the substrate. The photoperiod from March to November i s 14:lO (L:D); December to

1 I NCJII1 (~111) (c ln) (p i (cm)

~ ~~

: 4 i 4pr 1986 55 9 71 h 2 1 1 I0-h ; B 7 Apr 1986 50 8 2 9 2 21 6 0-1

A 27 Apr 19x8 50 8 197 1 1 6 6 x 0 B 27 Apr 1988 38 2 2 7 9 2 0 3 72'1

Table I . Data on measurements of two pair\ of I )onim/i \ w ~ t p / / i ~ \ at Oklahoma City Zoo.

NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN T H E ZOO WORLD

. . . . :. ! ....... . ...._ L... 0

... . . . . . .. i t . .

71

February is 10:14. Two plastic hide boxes are provided.

The lizards are fed once a day on a diet consisting of four cups of chopped greens (endive, spinach, mustard, turnip tops and kale leaves) and one eighth cup of chopped fruit (apple, banana, orange, carrot, sweet potato, tomato and whole kernel corn). Adult crickets Acheta domes- tics and waxworm larvae Galleria mello- nella are offered two to three times a week. Occasionally flowers are offered. Vitamins (Nekton-Rep) and calcium (D- Cal-Fos) are supplemented four times a week. Lizards have not been observed to drink standing water, although it is provided, and lightly misting them at least once a week appears to be adequate.

HIDE BOXES Observing burrowing lizards in captivity can prove difficult. Muth (1977) used cages with Plexiglas bottoms to observe the Desert iguana Dipsosaurus dorsalis. Werner & Miller (1984) developed a nesting chamber constructed from

concrete blocks and clay tubes for easy access to egg clutches of the Green iguana Zguana iguana. At Oklahoma City it was observed that subordinate individuals of U. acanthinurus tended to stay in burrows for up to three weeks without surfacing. To allow daily monitoring of the animals without disturbance a hide box was constructed based on a modification of Werner & Miller's design.

A 5 cm hole was drilled in one end of a 26 x 19 x 9cm high plastic box with a clear plastic lid and a transparent, acrylic tube 30cm long and 5cm in diameter attached to the opening at a 20" angle with a silicone sealant (Fig. 2) . Moist sand or damp sphagnum moss was used as a substrate and the completed box was buried c. 1.3cm deep in the exhibit substrate which could be brushed away to give easy access to the hide box.

Two hide boxes were placed in an exhibit with a group of four adult U. acanthinurus but although they allowed easy access to individuals, dominant animals pursued subordinates and forced

Figs 2 and 3. Hide boxes under cage floor showing (left) the single and (right) the multiple entrance versions: fop side view; bottom top view.

confrontations inside the boxes. Adding multiple entrance tubes to the existing hide boxes (Fig. 3) allowed subordinate individuals to escape.

By changing the size of the hide box, and/or entrance tube, this design could be used with various other burrowing lizards. Single entrance boxes were more successful with the less aggressive U. aegyptius. Two 60 x 45 x 22 cm plastic hide boxes were provided placed c. 30 cm under the cage floor and entered via a 12 cm diameter, 91 cm length of PVC pipe as a tunnel.

The advantages of this design are: ( I ) easy viewing of individuals without disturbing the exhibit or animals; (2) easy access to individuals; (3) easy monitoring of temperature in hide boxes; (4)escape tubes for subordinate individuals. Draw- backs encountered were: ( I ) substrate oc- casionally fell into the hide boxes when opened; (2) a C U. acanthinurus became too large for 5cm diameter entrance tubes.

COMPARISONS Uronza.stj~.v acunthinurus and U . aegjptius appear to do well in captivity if proper thermal, dietary and social conditions are provided. Our U. aegyptius have been kept under the conditions we have described for three years and U . uc.anfliinuru.s for seven years and we

believe they are progressing well. Although both species appear to have similar requirements. there are differences. I . Both species require high tempera- tures. A thermocline of 50-25°C coincides with natural conditions for Ci. acan- thinurus (Bons, 1959; Grenot. 1967: Watson, 1969; Goetz & Alberg. 1974: Vernet et a/., 1988; Honegger. pers. comm.; Mendelssohn. pers. comm.). Uroma.stj9.v aegyptius needs a warmer ther- mocline of 54-25°C (Khalil & Hussein. 1962; Kevork & Al-Uthman, 1972). 2. Urornastj~x ucanthinurus appears to be highly aggressive when kept in a group with more than one 3. Individual 33 will go through an elaborate combat sequence until dominance is established (Wheeler. 1988) after which the subordinate lizard will remain hidden, refuse to feed and lose weight. We rotate 83 to reserve units to reduce stress. Direct combat in U.aegyptiu.s has yet to be observed. although there does appear to be an established hierarchy. 3. Both species respond well to stimulated hibernation. A three-month hibernation period is provided for both U . aegp f ius and U. ucanthinurus from December until March. The temperature in the exhibit is gradually decreased to 14‘C and the lizards transferred together to a 378 litre aquarium with 43cni of sand substrate.

Fig. 4. Composition of diets of Uroniuytyu acanthinurus ( l e f t ) and C uc’K.xlp/m\ ( I I ~ / I ~ /

b. chopped fruit mix; c. wax worms; d. crickets; e. flowers. a. chopped greens;

73 NEW DEVELOPMENTS I N THE ZOO WORLD

original manuscript. Valuable information was provided by Renk Honegger, Prof. H. Mendelsson, David Blody. Rick Hudson and Doug Mahassey. Kay Decker is thanked for typing the manuscript. Line drawings were provided by Eileen Castle (Figs I and 5), David Grow (Figs 2 and 3) and Don Whitton (Fig. 4).

PRODUCTS MENTIONED I N THE TEX?

Power-twist Vita-Lite bulbs: 40W fluorescent lamp, manufactured by Duro-Test Corp., 232 I Kennedy Blvd, North Bergin, NJ 07047, USA. D-Cal-Fos: bone ash, vitamin D3 supplement, manufactured by Fort Dodge Laboratories Inc., Fort Dodge, IA 50501, USA. Nekton-Rep: vitamin, amino acids and trace element supplement, manufactured by Nekton-USA Inc., 1917 Tyrone Blvd, St Petersburg, FL 33710, USA.

Fig. 5. Post-anal bulges in 33 can be used for sexing Uromastyx acanthinurus and U . aegyptius. In ti. acunrhinurus (shown above) the bulges are seasonal: left as they appear from March to end of June; right from July to end of February.

The aquarium is heated at one end by a 250W clear heat lamp (22°C) until an ambient temperature of 14°C is reached. At this temperature no food is offered. The U . aegyptius are hibernated as a group but because of aggression between 38 the U. acanthinurus are hibernated individually. 4. The current diet provided at the zoo appears adequate and consistent with that reported by other authors (von Fischer, 1885; Ditmars, 1933; Kolor, 1957; Bons, 1959; Brendel, 1959; Watson, 1969; Kevork & Al-Uthman, 1972). The U. acanthinurus appear to feed more heavily on insects than U. aegyptius (Fig. 4). 5. Both species can be sexed by post-anal bulges in 33 (Fig. 5). In U. acanthinurus, the bulges appear to be seasonal (March- June). This may coincide with an increase in activity of the testicular cells (Kehl & Combescot, 1955; Arslan et al., 1972, 1986). The bulges are obvious all the year round in U . aegyptius.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I am indebted to Richard Lockwood, David Grow, Jack Schneider and Jack Grisham for reviewing the

REFERENCES AKSLAN, M., JALALI. S . , NASREEN, T. & QAZI, M. H. (1986): Seasonal changes in epididymis and the effects of FSH and testosterone in the spiny-tailed lizard, Uromastix hardnicki. Zoo Biol. 5: 25 1-259. ARSLAN, M., JALALI, S. & QAZI, M. H. (1972): Seasonal variations in testis of the spiny-tailed lizard, Uromastix hardwicki Gray. Biologia. Lahore 18: 18-26. BONS, J. (1959): Les Lacertiliens du sud-ouest marocain. Systematique-repartition geographi- que-t.thologie4cologie. Trav. Inst. scient. chi.riJ (zool.) No. 18: 1-130. BRENDEL, H. (1959): Meine afrikanischen Dornschwanze (Uromastix acanthinurus). Aquar. Terrar. Z . 1 2 373-375. DITMARS, R. L. (1933): Reptiles o j the world. New York, NY: Macmillan Company. GOETZ, K. H . & ALBERG, C. (1974): Behavioural temperature regulation in the desert agama, Uromastyx acanrhinurus. Pfuegers Arch. Eur. J . Physiol. 347: R 22-33. GRENOT, C. (1967): Observation physio-ecologique sur la regulation thermique chez le lizard agamide Uromastix acanthinurus, Bell. Bull. Soc. zool. Fr. 92: 5 1-66. GRIMM, J. (1986): Afrikanische Dornschwanz- agamen, tiromasryx acanthinurus-langjahrige Erfahrung bei Haltung and Nachzucht. Aquarien Terrur. Mschr. Ornith. Vivur. 33: 384389 . HENKE, J., HENKE, H., NETTMANN, H.-R. & RYKENA, S. (1977): Bemerkungen zum Thema ‘Ernahrungs- weise’ von Uromasrn aeg-vprius (Reptilia, Sauria, Agamidae). Sulamandra 13: 112-1 13. KEHL, R. & COMBESCOT, C. (1955): Reproduction in the Reptilia. Mem. Soc. Endocr. 4: 57-74. KEVORK, 0. & AL-UTHMAN, H. S. (1972): Ecological observations on the Egyptian spiny-tailed lizard Uromastix aegyptius: I . On food and feeding habits, with notes on the climate and vegetation of the study area. Bull. Iraq nut. Hisr. Mus. 5(2): 2 M 4 .

KHALIL. F. B HUSSEIN. M. F. (1962): Studies on the temperature relationships of Egyptian desert reptiles. 1V. On the retention of heat of Uroniasfys uegyp tia, Agama pallida and Chalcides seppoides. Bull.

KOLOR. K. (1957): Jugendentwicklung von 1~ro111a . s /~~ .~- ac~un/hinuru.s Bell. Zoo/. Gar/ . , Lpr.

MUTH, A. (1977): Eggs and hatchlings of captive Dipsosnurus dorsalis. Copeia 1977: 189-190. VAN KRAALINGEN. R. (1980): The birth of an African mastigure lizard ( CJrcm~astys acnnthinurus) . Lacertu 3 9 3-5. [In Dutch] VERNET, R., LEMIRE. M., GRENOT, C. J. & FKANCAZ, L M . ( 1988): Ecophysiological comparisons between two large Saharan lizards, liroma.sti\- ucanthinurus (Agamidae) and Varnnus griseus (Varanidae). J . arid Environ. 14: 187-200.

ZOO/. SOC. Egypt No. 17: 80-88.

(N.F.) 23: 18-27.

VON FISC'HEK. J . (1x85) L k r \rtriinderliclie Schleuderschwanz f L.roniusfi.y cic,mri/hinuru.s Bell.) in der Gefangenschaft. Zoo/. Gurf. 26: 269-278 WATSON, G. (1969): Notes on the care of mastigurr lizards Uronirr.stix uc~trn/hinurirc a t Jersey Zoo. In/.

WERNER, D. I. & MILLER, T J . (1984): Artificial nests for female green iguanas. Herpetol. Rev lS(2). 57-58, WHEELEK, S. (1988): Husbandry of the spin)-tailed agama. C'ronmtyx rrc~ciiitliii~iit.rr.s, a t the Oklahoma City zoo. In Proc~c~c~din&$ I ( J r h - / lrii infc~rrrcitiotifr/ hrri)rto/ogic,n/ symposium: 107- 1 17 Thurmont. MD: Zoological Consortium Inc

ZOO Yh. 9 49--50.

Manuscript submitted 6 April 1989

I n / Zoo Yh ( 1990) 29: 74-84 ( The Zoologic,il Societ!, nt Londoii

Husbandry and breeding of chameleons

at Oklahoma City Zoo Chaniaeltw spp

EILEEN CASTLE Oklahoma City Zoological Park, 2101 N E 50tli Street, Oklalioma ( ' i t \ . , Oklrrhonur 73111, U S A

Members of the family Chamaeleontidae are found almost exclusively in the southern two-thirds of Africa and on the island of Madagascar. Chameleons are uniquely adapted to life in trees. These diurnal lizards have independent turret- like eyes, quick colour change abilities and a highly specialized feeding mode.

The Oklahoma City Zoo first obtained chameleons in the early 1970s when they were imported from Africa in large numbers. Chameleons had proven to be notoriously difficult to keep in captivity (Wagner. 1958; Bustard, 1959, 1963; Mattison, 1982). Very little is known of their specific husbandry requirements and the average longevity at the Zoo was less than two months.

In 1985 the herpetariiim staff initiated a chameleon breeding programme. The lack of adequate outdoor exhibits and seasonal fluctuations in weather (Oklahoma City. 35"27" N , 97"32" W) made i t necessary to house animals indoors six or more months of the year. Air conditioning added to the building in 1984 helped combat excessively high summer tempera- tures (3540°C). The Flap-neck chame- leon Chamutdro clilcpis , which was relatively inexpensive and easy to obtain. was selected as the initial programme species. Although literature on husbandr] requirements was limited, several natural history accounts were found (Wagner. 1958; Brain. 1961) which provided guid- ance on temperature. diet. social man-