Re: wanted: red headed agama care sheets

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Posted by Geoff Johnson on November 04, 1999 at 21:35:48:

In Reply to: wanted: red headed agama care sheets posted by b.j. on December 15, 1998 at 17:31:10:

Unfortunately, there is very little info available on many agamid species, including the red-head agama, a.k.a. the rainbow lizard. I am currently working on writing a care sheet, but am not anywhere near done at this point. Reputable dealers will be hard to come by, as the vast majority of red-head agamas still come from the wild. They aren't necessarily difficult to breed in captivity, but they are difficult to breed in the vast quantities that the pet trade desires. Fortunately, the red-head agama is an extremely common reptile in Tanzania and Kenya, so the wild population has not been damaged too much. Hopefully the pet trade will get into captive breeding sufficiently enough to stop the need for wild capture.
Some basic info on them though:

Agama agama is a common rock-climbing and tree-dwelling lizard in tropical Africa. It is found in savannas, rocky areas, and along the edges of forests. The adults form social groups of between 2 and 25 individuals, in which there is one dominant male, females, and a few non-dominant males. They have a strictly guarded territory, which they defend from other lizard species, and agams of other social groups. The dominant male is usually found near the center of the territory, with the breeding females, and the rest of the group spend most of their time in the outskirts of the territory. During breeding season, the females make twitching movements to court males. Usually they twitch their tails, and make jerky movements with their entire bodies. The females lay between 3 and 8 eggs at a time, usually no more than once or twice a year. They eat numerous species of arthropods. Spiders, insects, etc. Primarily eating beetles, beetle larvae, small wasps, and spiders. In captivity, a diet of crickets (with calcium supplement) and super worms (zophobus morio) will suffice. They generally have few medical problems, though wild-caught and some captive bred agamas have problems with worms and/or mites initially.
Oh, and as for the colouration, females and young are a pretty dull brownish colour, but have a better temperment overall. Males have bright colours and can be blue, red, yellow, orange, purple, or any combination of the above. Generally colouration varies from population to population. Genetic traits are extremely varied in isolated groups. The common subspecies of flatland Tanzania and Kenya is blue with a yellow or red head. Hence the name red-head agama.

Hope this helps, check out my website for the caresheet once I get it up. Just opened my shop, so the webpage is still being worked on.

Geoff

: i am very interested in agamas. i need to find a few sources about them. this has proven to be quite difficult. any info. about them, reputable breeders, or any literature over this interesting specis would be very helpful.
: thanks a bunch, b.j.

Geoff's Pet Shop

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: Unfortunately, there is very little info available on many agamid species, including the red-head agama, a.k.a. the rainbow lizard. I am currently working on writing a care sheet, but am not anywhere near done at this point. Reputable dealers will be hard to come by, as the vast majority of red-head agamas still come from the wild. They aren't necessarily difficult to breed in captivity, but they are difficult to breed in the vast quantities that the pet trade desires. Fortunately, the red-head agama is an extremely common reptile in Tanzania and Kenya, so the wild population has not been damaged too much. Hopefully the pet trade will get into captive breeding sufficiently enough to stop the need for wild capture. : Some basic info on them though: : Agama agama is a common rock-climbing and tree-dwelling lizard in tropical Africa. It is found in savannas, rocky areas, and along the edges of forests. The adults form social groups of between 2 and 25 individuals, in which there is one dominant male, females, and a few non-dominant males. They have a strictly guarded territory, which they defend from other lizard species, and agams of other social groups. The dominant male is usually found near the center of the territory, with the breeding females, and the rest of the group spend most of their time in the outskirts of the territory. During breeding season, the females make twitching movements to court males. Usually they twitch their tails, and make jerky movements with their entire bodies. The females lay between 3 and 8 eggs at a time, usually no more than once or twice a year. They eat numerous species of arthropods. Spiders, insects, etc. Primarily eating beetles, beetle larvae, small wasps, and spiders. In captivity, a diet of crickets (with calcium supplement) and super worms (zophobus morio) will suffice. They generally have few medical problems, though wild-caught and some captive bred agamas have problems with worms and/or mites initially. : Oh, and as for the colouration, females and young are a pretty dull brownish colour, but have a better temperment overall. Males have bright colours and can be blue, red, yellow, orange, purple, or any combination of the above. Generally colouration varies from population to population. Genetic traits are extremely varied in isolated groups. The common subspecies of flatland Tanzania and Kenya is blue with a yellow or red head. Hence the name red-head agama. : : Hope this helps, check out my website for the caresheet once I get it up. Just opened my shop, so the webpage is still being worked on. : Geoff : : : i am very interested in agamas. i need to find a few sources about them. this has proven to be quite difficult. any info. about them, reputable breeders, or any literature over this interesting specis would be very helpful. : : thanks a bunch, b.j.

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