Mountain Horned Dragons Acanthosaura sp.
Description: A medium sized arboreal lizard from the rain forests of Southeast Asia, mostly active during the day. Once adapted to captivity they make wonderful pets that are docile and can be tamed and handled. Always wash your hands after handling any reptile. Almost all will be wild caught and should be treated for parasites. Sometimes females will be imported gravid and may have difficulties when it is time to lay the eggs. These lizards are very "spiky" with horns above their eyes and a row of spikes going down their back. Sizes range from around 10" to 14". Sexual maturity is reached when they are about 1½ years old. Males are territorial and should not be housed together, females get along OK as long as there is enough space for each of them. The most commonly available species are A. canthosaura, A. capra and A. lepidogaster. Less frequently seen are A. armata and A. crucigera. A. capra is brownish to greenish (color lightens or darkens according to mood), juveniles are more colorful. The eye skin has alternating rays of color and much of the top of the face is a different color. Yellow and rust colored streaks are visible when the large throat pouch is extended. It grows to 12" in length, lacks spines above the eyes and on the back of the head, but does have a horn behind each eye. The long head and dorsal crests have a gap between them, the spine scales are tapered at each end (lanceolate shaped) with wider bases than the other species. Some specimens exhibit very long and grandiose horns and crests. A. lepidogaster Juveniles are quite variable in color and have many different patterns that tend to fade at adulthood. Males grow from 8" to 11", females are normally slightly smaller. It has short spines above the eyes and on the back of the head and the short head and dorsal crest scales are spaced closely together. A. armata is brownish to greenish over laid with a lacy pattern, this is darker on the males, which generally are bright green. They lack the mask that the other species have and are also a bit more hyper and could bite. Males grow from 11" to 12", females are normally 1" to 2" shorter. It has a small throat pouch and long, thin spines above the eyes and on the back of the head. The long, thin head and dorsal crest spines start out being the same length. A. crucigera has quite variable colors with a distinct black or dark brown cross behind the head. Males grow to about 10", females are normally an inch or so shorter. It has spines above the eyes and behind the head. The head crest is taller than the dorsal crest with a wide gap between them. These may be more aggressive than the other species. Temperature: Daytime 75° to 82°F with a 5° to 10°F drop at night. Humidity: High, around 70-80%. Lighting: UV lighting may be utilized and grow lights are needed for the plants in a jungle habitat. Use a timer to simulate the tropics, 12 hours on / 12 hours off. Feeding: They will eat a large variety of insects including mealworms, super worms, crickets, earthworms and silkworms. Dust the food items with a calcium and vitamin supplement at least twice a week for young, growing lizards and about once a week for adults. Can be hand fed. These lizards dehydrate easily and will not drink from still water. A bowl that is large enough for them to soak in with an air stone bubbling in it should be adequate. Habitat: A large, tall enclosure is required. Set it up as an arboreal jungle with sturdy plants, plenty of branches to climb on and areas of soft substrate to dig in. A large filtered water area with a waterfall is ideal. Sexing: Males have a large, bulbous hemipenal bulge at the tail base, females have a tiny bulge and a thinner tail that tapers starting near the base. Even sub-adults can be sexed. Breeding: Cycling or environmental changes are not needed to stimulate breeding. Courting behavior will often take place in mid summer and is sometimes a bit rough for the females. A breeding group can have only 1 male with 1 or more females. Be sure to feed them well and give extra supplements during the weeks prior to breeding. After a single mating (using delayed implantation of the male's sperm), females can produce 2 to 6 clutches, each with 2 to 20 or more eggs. Gravid females will get fatter and then lumpy and the first clutch of eggs should be laid about 4 months after mating. Subsequent clutches will be laid every 2 to 3 months thereafter until the breeding period ends. A simple way to provide a nesting site is to keep one area of the substrate (at least 4" to 5" deep) slightly moist by misting it daily. 7 to 10 days before egg laying, the female will likely stop eating, become less active and may spend several days soaking in the water. Digging the nest could take a couple of days. If you notice dirt in her eyes afterward, be sure to rinse it out by gently spraying with water. Incubation: Put a couple of inches of lightly moistened, coarse vermiculite in a plastic container. Carefully bury the eggs half way into this incubating medium without changing the orientation from the way they were laid. Put holes in the lid and put it on, then place the container in the incubator at 68° to 74°F with high humidity around 70 to 80%. Check every few days for bad eggs and add water to the vermiculite as needed. Check more often as hatching time nears to remove the babies upon hatching. It usually takes 4½ to 6 months for the eggs to hatch. The hatchlings will not eat for the first few days, living off their yolk reserves. During this time, keep them in somewhat sterile surroundings on moist paper towels with sticks to climb on. Then move them into 10-gallon or larger tanks set up like the adults’ habitat. The babies will need to be misted to learn about drinking. A system of water dripping into their water dish will draw them to it. Feed them plenty of the same (but smaller) insects as the adults.
Heath issues: New lizards are usually wild caught, stressed and unhealthy. The normal load of parasites such as worms, flukes and nematodes that wild reptiles usually carry can become harmful. Bacterial infections can also be a problem. The females may be gravid and could die egg bound or after egg-laying. Frequently, they will not eat or drink and spend most of the time languishing on the bottom. Veterinarian treatment may be required. A "sterile" environment using paper towels or newspaper for the substrate with a temp of 80° to 82°F should be used during quarantine and treatment. Force feeding and hydrating with a mixture of strained meat baby food, mashed banana and vitamin/mineral supplement thinned with pediolyte may need to be performed. Soaking in lukewarm water or pediolyte can also be beneficial at this time. |