Ok Herp lovers time to pick your brains, my friend from Cali (not furryscaly) has offered to send me a baby alligator lizard I need to know what the best setup for the little guy. I know the get to be 8 to 16 inches long and need uvb light. i have a 20 long tank that I can use.

What kind is it? There are lots of species of alligator lizards in the southern U.S. Is it a WC? Well, they're terrestrial. Personally, my favorite substrate is dirt. You can't go wrong with dirt, as long as you bake it to kill unwanted critters. Well, I could tell you more, but that will have to do for now cause I'm gonna be late for my curfew. I now have 2 minutes to get back to my dorm room. Wish me luck! ZZZZOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!!!!!!

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

yes it will be a baby wild caught one. Is that bad? It will be a southern alligator lizard. I have looked into the substrates n stuff so thats not a problem.

Well I have made a decision to see if they have any at petsmart or petco first and if they are captive bred if cheaper than the leo I may get one but may just end up getting a leo as they dont require uvb and all that stuff.

AGH there are so many dang herps I want its not funny.

Wild caught animals sometimes have difficulty adjusting to captivity. They also will most likely have internal and external parasites. This isn't to asy that they CAN"T adjust just some handle it better than others. With captive bred animals they are already accustomed to confinement and the presence of and handling by humans.
There is an article in Reptiles magazine November issue about keeping and breeding the Southern alligator lizards.

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

Alligator lizards aren't quite as common in the pet trade as say, Leopard Geckos, but there's a few out there. There are at least 4 or so species of alligator lizards in the U.S. and the southern has at least that many subspecies alone! The range of the northern and southern alligator lizards overlap a lot, so to be sure you may want to look at the eye. I think the northerns have a darker, brownish eye, while the southern has a pale yellow eye...or it could be the other way around. I'll have to look it up.

An alligator lizard, whether it be CB or WC, will almost certainly be cheaper than a leo. Still, I'd go with the leo over the gator liz because it will be easier to house, easier to handle, there's more info available on Leopard Geckos, they don't require UVB lighting, etc etc. A leo would just be easier in the long run, especially since its your first lizard.

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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

Alas I dont get Reptiles magazine but can probably read bout them online. I have pretty much decided to not get one. I definitely like leo's and always have so thats what ill get as my first lizard.

Even if it is a baby WC? I just want to know more for the sake of learning as much as I can about different herps.

Even babies right out of the egg will have parasites. And unless you are hatching an egg you have wild collected the lizard will have already learned to run like crazy from anything even remotely larger than it is.
Either that or it got eaten

I'm the same way. I subscribe and read Reptiles cover to cover even if it is an animal I have absolutely no interest in keeping (at least for the present )
I find the information fascinating and you never know when I might pick up some little tidbit of info that someone will need further down the road.

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

Yeah, I'm the same way too I don't get Reptiles magazine though But I asked for a subscription to it for my B day!

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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

Matt I don't know about Texas but at herp shows around here there are usually reps there selling subscriptions at a LOT cheaper than regualr price. You might check it out.

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

Eh, no herp shows for me (I've still never been to one, ever). I'm not allowed to leave base till phase 2, and even then, I can't go anywhere else but San Angelo. One of these days I'll make it to a show though. They just don't have them in ND though but I know TX has them.

__________________
+5 bonus points to whoever finds me a job!

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