Cute babies, Rich, but those are not armadillo lizards Armadillo lizards are a type of girdled lizard (genus Cordylus) and are indeed Cordylus cataphractus. They're very rare in captivity though and a true armadillo would cost a pretty penny more than the ones found in pet stores.

The ones in stores are another species of girdled lizard, usually what I presume to be Cordylus tropidosternum, the tropical girdled lizard. This species is incapable of rolling in defense as the armadillos do, but that knowledge doesn't sell as well as the prospect of having a rolling reptile. You'll find that an image search will show that C. tropidosternum looks much more like yours. A newly hatched true C. cataphractus would look like the photo of an adult you posted, only smaller. One of the most noticable differences is in the shape of the head, but the colors and scales are also a bit different.

Cordylus cataphractus:
CapeSnakes
http://www.maniacreptiles.com/image/...o%20lizard.jpg
http://storage.canalblog.com/66/27/134144/6005342.jpg

Cordylus tropidosternum:
http://storage.canalblog.com/89/65/134144/5548979.jpg
http://storage.canalblog.com/60/65/134144/5548005.jpg


This site is in another language, le monde des cordylus, but if you scroll down there are links to the right that will show you a variety of Cordylus species. There are several that resemble C. tropidosternum, so yours could be one of them, but C. cataphractus is quite distinct.

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You would be 100% correct Matt! Thanks bro. It is indeed a Cordylus tropidosternum. (The adult is identical to their mom.) I ran some searches on the armadillo lizards, and they closely resembled that of which we are selling. I just assumed the "differences" in appearance were do to the fact that they are being housed by Petco.

Thanks for pointing that out Matt. I appreciate it.

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No prob They may also be C. jonesii, which is sometimes a subspecies of C. cordylus and sometimes of C. tropidosternum.

Here's a redder "supposed" C. jonesii and another photo of C. cataphractus to compare another common color variety vs. the armadillo:

http://www.aqualandpetsplus.com/Lizard577.jpg

http://www.dcpaleo.org/Leisure/Anima...lloLizard2.jpg

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+5 bonus points to whoever finds me a job!

"Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines." - John Benfield

Rich,

Oddly enough, I've been considering getting a job at Petco as well. It is literally right across the street from my house, and I'm there quite frequently. While I am not even close to your caliber in reptile knowledge, I do have some knowledge about a variety of species, including various herps, fish, rodents and crustaceans, plus my husband's a vet, so I guess I know quite a bit about canine/feline as well.

Anyway, I can't get a job unless/until they can fix my back and get me out of pain. Several things seriously wrong in there, but I might have surgery soon to fix some of it. Of course I'm already considering to whom I could entrust my precious geckos, frogs, toads, etc. They bunny and GPs are easier, but I might ask a guy from Petco to take care of my herps while I'm down-n-out. Of course, whoever has them, I'll call them obsessively to make sure everything's being done properly. Sigh...

At this Petco, they seem to do the opposite - at least with rodents. I've seen more than one example of their having a 'for sale' mouse or hamster or whatever that gives birth, then they give the mom for adoption, and sell the babies. Could it be a difference in state law? I'm in Indiana.

Anyway, neat little creatures you've got there.

Jen

It may be a state thing, I don't really know. At our facility though, the selling of the babies is simply taboo and should be across every state from the reasoning.

Each animal that Petco sells has come from a distributor or reseller. For legal purposes, taxes, etc., each animal is accounted for, entered into the system, and then removed electronically when they are sold.

When babies are born, they are not accounted for. When you begin selling them, the system will begin displaying more animals being sold than that of which was in the store. So that means your store now has a higher revenue return on merchandise that "didn't exist". It could lead to internal investigations, fraud, etc.

As an update to everyone on my girdled lizards (and the reason I came to this thread to post) , I am now down to 1. This one appears to be eating and the other apparently wasn't. On my daily inspection, I found him yesterday under one of the rocks. He hadn't expired to long before I found him as he was still "limp" (no rig yet) though his eyes had already dried out. I am guessing the night or day prior. (I check them when I get home from work.)

I posted previously that I believed both had eaten, though I had only seen one. I now conceed that I was mistaken apparently.

The one that remains is very shy and hides most of the day. I do find feces daily, so he is eating. The crickets are also disappearing. The next 30 days will depict if he survives as well. I am keeping my fingers crossed.

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Sorry to hear about your baby Rich....its normal to lose a baby....hopefully the other one will pull through for you....

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Warmest Regards from Lyn