basic introduction  


Blue rock lizard (Pelrosaurus thalassinus) or "California blue rock lizard" (English literal translation). Its natural range is limited to the western half of the Baja California Cape region, the large peninsula of northwestern Mexico, and the offshore islands of Espírito Santo and South Partida. There they live in rocky areas and canyons in mountainous and semi-desert areas. Because these tall rocky cliffs have many crevices, they go there to take refuge when they are in danger or feel too disturbed.

Taxonomically, blue rocks belong to the order Squamata - suborder Iguana - Phrynosomatidae. Unexpectedly, the blue rock lizard, with its blue velvet-like texture, is biologically so closely related to the "hemalai" horned lizard.

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Although from the outside, the two genera appear to be completely unrelated. But the horned lizards have a common characteristic: most of them are adapted to dry areas with high ultraviolet intensity. This means that they can’t be fed by just turning on a UVB bulb.

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A small “supercar”


In size, they really aren't too big. The total length is only about 30cm. If the tail is cut off, it may be less than 30cm. Of course, there are also records of 40-45cm for long-term captive individuals. But no matter the length, in terms of space size, the smaller ones will not save much space than the larger ones - because they are really good at running!


In captivity, if the space is high enough, they will rarely come down from high places if there is no special need. Moving quickly on vertical rock faces is their favorite way of life. Once frightened, they will flee at high speed. In the wild, they can even jump over 1.2 meters and land accurately! But if the captivity environment is too small, this may cause them to be bruised.

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According to the report of long-term breeding and breeding of blue rock lizards in Germany, it is recommended to keep a pair of blue rock lizards in a medium-sized breeding box of 140x60x100cm or above. Why is it so long? It is to provide space for the frightened animals to escape without being injured. Because hitting it will aggravate the stress! And why is it so high? Because blue rocks never live on the ground, being at high places is more in line with their habits and makes them feel more secure. Unlike the maned lions, we have to pay special attention to the stress response of wild animals.


Of course, many people will think that "it is a waste to raise such a small lizard in such a large environment." No way, the environmental needs of animals are not necessarily judged strictly based on body size. Activity and activity are also important reference factors. The blue rock lizard just clicks on the latter two. If you still think it's "wasteful", you can also try polyculture of vegetarian lizards from similar origins with not much difference in body size. For example, the common wall-beating lizard (Sauromalus ater) shown in the video is a common matching solution. But remember: you must pay attention to isolation and inspection before mixing, and you must closely monitor their social behavior after mixing!

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The easy part of feeding


When breeding space is not an issue, then half of the battle to successfully raise and breed them is basically achieved. The next layout plan is more common: you can either make your own large background board like in the video, or you can buy ready-made products and connect them with climbing objects to form a three-dimensional activity area suitable for their movement.


Since they do not stay on the ground for too long and are not species that require high humidity, the choice of bedding material is relatively easy: there is no need for too thick a bedding material to lock in water, and there is no need for complicated combinations to prevent accidental ingestion. A relatively solid ground can be laid out by mixing clay with sand and watering to solidify it.


If you are raising a pair, it is best to prepare an egg-laying box in advance. Just like the temporary delivery room for the bearded dragon lizard, you can prepare a separate egg-laying box of 25x15x20cm. A little shade can satisfy their egg-laying needs.


Their diet is not special either, and they can eat a variety of insects as their staple food. But mealworms are not a good food, so intake must be controlled. The staple food should be mainly locusts (live locusts from T Baosou), various crickets, and cockroaches. Adults will also eat flowers, plants and fruits, especially yellow flowers or fruits that attract their attention. When plants are abundant in summer, eating more of these plant foods can reduce the need for artificial feeding of multivitamin powder.

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But no matter whether you eat meat or vegetarian, you can’t skip one thing – it contains D3 calcium powder! Moreover, it must be high-concentration D3 calcium powder. Why? This leads to the difficulty of raising them: high UV demand

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The hard part of feeding


Blue rock lizards are a standard [Ferguson Zone 4] species, which means that their requirements for ultraviolet light are similar to the giant ring-tailed lizards mentioned above. In terms of behavior, giant rings rarely climb high, so the height of the breeding environment can be much shorter-this allows less ultraviolet rays from artificial lamps to be lost. But Blue Rock is different. With a height of more than one meter, the radiation intensity of most lamps cannot meet their requirements. Or only in a small area, the UV values can meet their requirements. And since they are so active, they may not always stay in that spot.


But if it does not receive enough ultraviolet rays, the skin cannot synthesize enough vitamin D3. Without enough vitamin D, there is no way to absorb calcium. In the long run, calcium deficiency is inevitable. But calcium deficiency also varies by degree. Mild calcium deficiency may not be visible until eggs are laid; only severe calcium deficiency will be visible on the bones - but by then it is basically too late, and the deformities that have already occurred are irreversible. And whether it is mild or severe calcium deficiency, it cannot be seen in the short term. Sometimes it will only appear in as short as three months, and sometimes as long as one or two years.


In our impetuous circle, there are not so many people who can persist in raising them for half a year. Many people "play" with them for two or three months before getting rid of them - as long as they do not witness the occurrence of the disease, it means that they will not get sick.

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In order to avoid this situation, the best way is to [give them sufficient conditions and let them choose by themselves]


How should lighting fixtures be configured? First, you can configure a 36W 10.0 T5 lamp, which can ensure the UVI base of a large area; then place a UVB bulb of about 26W or a sun lamp of about 100W on one side, which can ensure that at least within 30cm There is sufficient UVB intensity.


At the same time, natural light or metal halide lamps are used to make the hot zone with the strongest ultraviolet rays reach 42-45 degrees. In this way, the temperature on the other side of the environment should be able to drop to 27-32 degrees. This is the best temperature matching solution. In order to cool down the cold area smoothly, we cannot arrange too many UVB sun spots, otherwise the overall environment will be too hot.


However, since the artificial lamps currently on the market lose UVB very quickly at long distances, it is necessary to add [high-concentration vitamin D calcium powder] to their food. For example, Repashy's high-concentration vitamin D calcium is packaged in blue rock lizards.

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But whether this high-concentration vitamin D should be taken every day or once every half month depends on your actual lighting configuration. If your lizard can get unobstructed sunlight every day, then it doesn’t matter if you don’t eat it; if you are willing to turn on a high-wattage sunlamp, then maybe eating it once a week is enough; if you are only willing to turn on a 26W UVB bulb , then you may have to eat everything... I can't ask everyone to use the highest configuration to raise animals, but you should at least understand the principles behind this and find a suitable alternative plan according to your own situation.


The above is the key information for raising blue rock lizards. If you have any questions, you are welcome to leave a message in the comment area. If the number of reads in this issue can exceed 2,000, we will introduce issues related to the reproduction and rearing of blue rock lizards.


Please stay tuned, I will also share these rare information and experiences with you in the future

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