butterfly agamas (first care sheet) plz look!

[quadrapop]

when I first bought these lizards I couldn't find much about them at all and have noticed others having the same problem. I have never attempted a care sheet before so this is only to the best of my knowledge through experience and the use of agamid lizard books and any information found online. If there are any mistakes or wrong info please let me know by PM but im sure, although my first attempt it is more usefull than nothing.



Scientific Name: Leiolepis belliana
Common Name: Butterfly Agama/Butterfly lizard.

Family: Agamidae
Subfamily: Leiolepinae
Genre: Leiolepis
Species: Beliana

Size: These lizards usually grown to around 12 inches including tail. It is possible for males to be slightly larger.

Distribution: The distribution varies depending on subspecies. Leiolepis Belliana Guttata are found in southern China and Vietnam. Leiolepis Belliana Belliana are found in the northeastern coast of the Gulf and Thailand, also on nearby islands; coastal strip of Sumatra and Bangka Island. Leiolepis Cuvier are most commonly found in Burma and East to Southern China and the islands of Hainan and Bangka. Leiolepis Reevesi are more Northern but information on this subspecies is limited.

Substrate: In captivity a deep sand soil mix can be used as substrate. These lizards do like to burrow so the deeper the better, these burrows serve as living and hiding places.

Heating: Butterfly Agamas mainly leave their burrows only in the warmest hourse of the day and enjoy a basking area of 95f-100f. In a very large enclosure with a good temperature gradient higher temps can be used. In their natural habitat the sun can heat the ground to 130f and in this they display their full activity. A night time drop should be given. I personally switch off ceramics at night and have a heatmat on the base at 88f aswell as a room temperature cool end, all of my own prefer to sleep on the heat at night.

Humidity: The information about the humidity prefered for these lizards is hard to find and depends on subspecies, there are varying opinions, I have found that with Leiolepis B. Belliana a large water bowl and misting every other day is sufficient. A sand soil mix also helps maintain humidity. Butterfly lizards which are overly humid do not do as well.

Lighting: As diurnal lizards they require full spectrum UV lighting

Feeding: Butterfly Agamas are primarily insectivores eating crickets, mealworms and small hoppers in captivity, however they also enjoy the occasional vegetables. This can include leafy greens (no iceberg lettuce), cress, grated carrot and small amounts of cucumber. Personally I find these lizards do not have the biggest appetite. Leiolepis Cuvier will eat more vegetables and less insects.

Decor: Butterfly Agamas are mainly terrestrial but will make use of low branches and bark, they would bask on rocks naturally so enjoy a higher basking area such as a raised slab, this also allows somewhere to hide under at night. They will hide in and climb hanging plants so ensure they cannot reach bulbs etc.

Vivarium: These lizards are very active and like to run and jump, they appreciate space so the bigger the vivarium the better. 4ft long + will be suitable.

Breeding: Butterfly Agamas have not been greatly studied in their natural environment and little is known about their breeding habits although it is known that they predominantly monogamous. Although monogamous they live in groups but inhabit their burrows alone or in pairs.

[quadrapop]

anyone wanna give feedback?

[Exotic Mad]

very helpful as i'm getting 2 tomorrow thanks!

[talos]

i would like to add to your sheet for i agree there isnt enough info on careing for a butterfly lizard........i have had my butterfly lizard for about 2-3 weeks now and if its fine i would like to add somethings i have notice due to me watching my liazrd all the time because she is awsomeok so i just learned that they like to burrow thanks to your amazing sheet but my lizard is eating lol she eats 8-11 crickets a day and will devoire a good chuck of lettuce tho she only eats the lettece when no one is in the room lol and will on occation eat a mealworm or 2 or just plays with them i think this is do to the fact they do give much of a chase well this is all i got for now but if i learn more i wil post just so more ppl will have knowledge of these awsome lizards

[Kibalus]

Considering the general lack of caresheets on these guys on the net this is pretty good.
I would like to add a cuple things though.
I have owned a Leiolepis Guttata (Giant Butterfly Agama) for about 5 years now and while im definitely not saying that I am an expert on them or anything, I have come to some relisations on them that you did not cover in the care sheet.

Heres a picture of my female since there aren't any pics up here
She isnt colourful because as I said she is a Leiolepis Guttata not Belliana, but the care is the same.


1. I think it would be only fair to point out to anyone that butterfly agamas are rare in the pet trade for a reason. They're amazingly coloured, elegant, small sized creatures, so many people wonder why there aren't more around.
The problem with butterfly agamas is their affinity to desiese and bone-related issues when in captivity. Ask almost any person who has worked with these guys before, and im pretty sure that non of their animals are 100% flawless.
In the wild they dig deep burrows and no matter how much substrate you add, you will not be able to replicate their natural environment. So when they dig in the tank they will get to the bottom and continue clawing away at the glass/wodd floor until they weaken their fingers to the point they just snap, no MBD needed.
Another problem is that before they properly integrate into their new habitat (considering that most in-store BAs are wild caught) they are very likely to get ill or already come ill due to bad conditions in pet shops. Mine for example had a lung, eye and tail infection within the first half year that I had her, but after that she's been 100% healthy (appart from finger/digit loss). She already came to me with the infections, but they were in their early stages when i bought her so i didnt notice it on the spot.
So even though they are relatively cheap (around 20-40euros, sorry guys im slovenian, dont know the pricing in pounds), they will most likely cost you a LOT more due to vet bills.
And if you're not ready to pay for those bills, then I dont think you should be getting one as a pet anyways.

2. Food wise:
What you listed for food was ok, but I'd like to add that they actually eat a lot more that that. They LOVE flower petals, especially Hibiscus and Forthysia petals, but make sure you pick them in a clean area (not next to the road, or especially not from flower shops because those are chemically modified for colour/growth/etc)... Almost all fruits are ok, Mango being one of their favourites (confirmed with other keepers). Mine also loves cherries, basically anything sweet, juicy and soft. Veggie wise, they can eat almost anything just DONT give them spinach.
But keepers should know something about the food they're offering to their herps. Heres a short sumup of good/bad common veggies/fruits:
Keep in mind that reptiles have a Calcium:Phosphorus ratio of 2:1, which means their body will want to keep it at this equilibrium. Feeding reptiles foods that are rich with phosphorus will cause the body to take the calcium from different places in the body to restore the 2:1 equilibrium, which means that the Calcium will go out of their bones/blood plasma, hence weakening them and in more serious cases causing MBD. And if the Calcium isn’t replaced the bones/ and blood plasma will still remain defficient and so gradually get weaker and weaker.
Anyways here are so foods that are rich with phosphorous and should tehrefore be avoided in large quantities: Bannana, Brussle Sprouts, CORN (has a Ca:P ratio of 1:13!), Tomatoes and Mushrooms
while some good Ca-rich ones are: Broccoli leaves, Cabbage, Chard, Kale and Watercress.

3. Breeding:
I have not, and will not attempt to breed these guys. Personally I believe it is unethical to breed such a problematic species, despite how nice they might look. But either way, from my female I have learned that, given a cooldown period over the winer (intentional or not) they will produce infertile eggs in the spring. Mine only started doing so last year (when she was already 4 years old). They show the typical signs of ovulation, their tail shrinks a great deal, they loose nearly all their body weight (quite a sad sight to look at) and their abdomen bloats greatly. You can see bulges on both sides of the abdomen once the eggs become big enough. They will usualy stop eating alltogether two weeks before the eggs are laid and then take a cuple days to recover before they start eating again (but make sure that when they do you feed them as much as they want. They are capable of regaining full weight within 2-3weeks). Do not remove the eggs right away, for the female will guard them viciously (my girl has never bitten me before, but as soon as i got too close to her nest she went for me mercilessly). Give her about 3 days to recover and then remove them when she isnt looking (given that the eggs are infertile, if they're fertile remove and incubate right away). They lay 3-6 soft shelled eggs (possibly more, not much documented as you said, mine laid 5 this season) that are deposited into a burrow. As I said the female will guard the burrow, and it has been recorded that in the wild the male and female will remain together and defend their burrow until the eggs hatch.
Heres a picture of my female with her eggs (she dropped them under the water bowl which i moved for this pic) and her body after she laid them:


(you can also see the fingerless feet she has due to the excessive digging i talked about earlier... its all healed up now, but as i said, most BAs look like that after a cuple years in captivity.)


And I hope that it goes without saying that they should be offered a large water bowl with fresh water every day. If you give them lukewarm water when you change it they will happily soak in it (mine flattens out and everything, clear sign that she likes it). They also drink a LOT compared to other desert-dwelling reptiles so water should ALWAYS be avaliable to them.

Anyways, now that I have written a whole essay I think I should shut up hehe :p
Either way, these guys are rewarding to work with, if not a little trublesome at times due to their healt issues. They do get quite tame but tend to have attitudes and dont tollerate handling for extanded periods of time (at least those I've worked with). Shyness tends to be up to the individual. My female isnt shy at all and she will sooner come up to you when you open the tank then run and hide, while her previous cagemate would run for cover as soon as anyone even stepped into the room.

Oh and one more thing, I dont advise having this species with any other reptiles, because they have a lot of spunk to them and would most likely turn aggresive on their cage mates (of different species, groups of BAs are perfectly ok). I once tried to put my female with a young freckled monitor just to see the reaction and she went for him mercilessly (i was expecting it to be the other way around), but no one got hurt as I quickly seperated them. Just goes to show that cagemates would most likely not be tolerated (and no i wasnt planning on putting a monitor, which prays on smaller lizards, in with her... it was just to test their reactions + the monitor was still smaller than her at the time)

Hope this helps, and please correct me if anything is wrong. As I said, Im no expert and Im not trying to sound smart by writing so much, I just wanted to point out everything i've learned working with them.

[quadrapop]

Thank you, You will know from experience how hard it is to find information on these, We have belliana in at work but some massive ones came in and as far as I can tell are guttata going by size and patterning too. I love these lizards. Sadly I had to rehome mines as the hours im at work or college meant I barely seen them once a week and it wasnt fair as they werent getting everything they could from me. They are in a great home but I still miss them and they are one of if not my favourite lizards.

[Kibalus]

No problem, and I fully agree. I've only ever come across one book on them aswell, and even that was just a small fraction out of a Uromastxy care book.
They probably are if they're bigger then usual. The Guttata (I think) are the largest, but I know theres 4-5 subspecies so im not 100% sure.
Just out of interest, how much are you selling them for? Not interested in buying or anything (its not like I could anyways, i dont live in the UK) but i'd like to see how pricing is in the UK for them.
Its sad that you had to get rid of them, but it was for the best i suppose
And I'd have to agree, I love mine to death aswell. Their body structure/personalities really fascinate me

[quadrapop]

I think they have been reduced to £20 approx. They are massive compared to usual and the spotting is completely different. I have some pics of my ones if you give me a min I will post them.

[quadrapop]

[Kibalus]

Im always amazed at how cheap these guys are hehe :p
But either way they look great, but I'm pretty sure those guys are leiolepis reevesii since they have that light yellow colour mixed with the thick black on the sides and the small spots on the back