Reptile care info
Abronia, Captive Husbandry and Breeding Notes by Jason Wagner
Introduction
I’ve been keeping Abronia collectively for about 6 years, but have only been successful with breeding them for three years, from 2003-2006. I owe a great deal of gratitude to a professor in the Pacific Northwest who teaches Biology and shares my passion for working with the Abronia genus, but he prefers to remain anonymous. He was very helpful to me early on in providing basic husbandry guidelines for keeping this beautiful lizard species. My goal in documenting these notes on keeping Abronia is primary out of respect for the animals. I want to share my observations so that others who may have the opportunity to keep these lizards will at least have a reliable reference point from which they can work to gain there own experiences. Abronia have adapted to a unique environment in the niche habitats they occupy in the wild, and as a result their captive care and maintenance does take some special attention to detail, if one is to become successful working with them. I try to maintain a level of humility with the entire subject of captive husbandry, because in effect, all we are really attempting here is to mimic in as many ways as possible, what they would have in the wild (obviously without the dangers of predators and preferably without parasites). Try as we might, there is no way to duplicate their native environment exactly, but we can get close enough to be effective in producing them on a sustainable basis and in my book that is an achievement worthy of the effort.
Abronia taeniata, male Abronia graminea, male
Brief Natural History
Abronia lizards are found in several unique habitats but primarily inhabit cloud forests at high elevations in Central America, mainly in Mexico and Guatemala. They are also found in some instances in Oak scrub and Pine forest areas, also at high elevations. There are about 26 species known to Science depending on who you ask, and they are live bearing, producing a single litter each year. Because they are not common in their native ranges and are limited to small territories, there are some species which may have already gone extinct due to massive land clearing for agriculture or charcoal. In the wild they are mostly arboreal and usually live high in the trees, although I have found specimens on the ground and in rotting wood, or hiding in large clumps of moss. The trees they live on are generally large oak varieties, and are typically covered with moss, ferns, orchids and most importantly…bromeliads. They use the bromeliads as a micro-habitat for humidity, water, and shelter. They are found at high elevations, usually between 4000-8000 feet (1200-2500 Meters). At these high altitudes, there is a great deal of temperature variance between day and night, which is an important element to consider in captive husbandry, as I have found they will thrive best in a situation where they are provided with a strong night time temperature drop. The temps will range from as low as 40F and can be as high as 90F, but those are generally the extremes. In the cold season where they live, night temps can reach below 40 Degrees F ( 5 Celsius) for short periods of time and it may even snow on occasion. During these very cold seasons, the lizards have been found to den together in hollow trees full of rotting mulch, where the temps are likely around 50 F (10+°C). I assume that they don’t stay out in the open air exposed to such cold temps. The same principle applies for the hot season and high temps. They will seek out cooler shelters, like thick moss growing over a large rock in the shade…which may be 70 degrees F (20°C), when the ambient air temps are hovering around 90F (32°C). They are most active at temps around 75-80 F (25-28°C), and that is when you will find them basking or searching for food, typically in the morning hours from 9-11 am. On a mild sunny day, they can be seen basking later into the afternoon, usually in the trees. I believe its helpful to bookmark a weather website and monitor temps as well as rain patterns for Puebla, Mexico or Huehuetenango, Guatemala, as both of these climates support Abronia in the wild. Cloud forests by definition are commonly a misty, foggy, high humidity area and it is in this niche environment where Abronia thrive. These areas typically get a lot of precipitation, and on a frequent schedule. The mild climate also supports a large diversity of insects and my guess from captive observation is the Abronia take advantage of this. Breeding usually takes place from September – December and 7-14 babies are born typically from April-June.
Typical niche habitat of Abronia photographed in Mexican highland forest on a sunny day.
Enclosure Design
All-Screen cages are the best choice, as they provide adequate ventilation (think of a tree dwelling species) and the advantage of offering natural sunlight. Males should be kept separate, and will typically fight if kept together. Babies will also fight if kept too crowded. I have only seen females fight twice and it wasn’t too severe, mainly a nip to establish territory (Abronia vasconcelosii). I keep my animals in large screen cages, heavily planted with bromeliads and orchids, and offer plenty of climbing limbs or branches. The most important thing I give them is a 2-4 inch layer of long-strand sphagnum moss as substrate on the bottom of the cage. This provides moisture, and a cool area to retire from heat. The moss should be kept moist in some areas, not all wet all over, and should be dry in some areas. Occasionally I like to let the moss dry out completely, since that does happen in their native environment too…short dry-spells. The moss also has been documented as having a natural anti-bacterial property and was even used in World War I to transport organs, etc. UV light is thought to be important, and I would agree. I have noticed my lizards always look more brilliantly colored when they have had extended exposure to natural sunlight. Abronia graminea for example will typically fade to a grayish teal color if kept indoors under incandescent lighting with little temperature variance over a long period. In nature, they are usually a brilliant emerald green. I provide natural sunlight by moving the screen cages outdoors when the weather is good, but when kept indoors I offer a low emission UV light, that doesn’t put out a lot of heat. I use Arcadia compact fluorescents, UVB 7% in the hotter summer months and then switch to Active UV Heat bulbs (or similar) in the winter. These lizards will not do well if they are kept hot like a lowland tropical reptile. The high altitudes where they come from fluctuate a great deal in temperature, but they almost never go over 90 F (32 °C), and I would not allow them to be exposed to weather under 45 F (7°C) if I can help it. I have recently started keeping the cages on a Concrete slab, as I find that when the temps get too hot in the daytime, the moist moss resting directly on the flooring of the cage that is on the cool concrete, provides a cool temperature gradient that may be useful to the lizards. It is very important to provide shady areas within the cage if the animals are being housed outdoors. This can be achieved with broad leaf plants or cork bark slabs sitting at an angle in the enclosure. They will die if they are left in a hot cage left in full sun with no shade obstructions, and have no way to thermo-regulate from the pounding direct heat of the sun through the screen.
Food and Water
I make a special effort to offer a variety of insects. The favorites are large black diurnal crickets, followed by grasshoppers. They will also take green caterpillars, like hornworms, snails, spiders, meal worms, soldier fly larvae (phoenix worms – high in calcium content), roaches, etc. I often feed my Abronia by hand or with tweezers, as they can sometimes be a little pokey in their eating habits. When feeding lizards that are almost purely insectivorous like Abronia, I believe its important to be aware that they do not have the liver or kidneys equipped to deal with a high protein diet, for example like a snake that eats only mice. They instead will generally eat bugs that are full of plant matter themselves, like an arboreal caterpillar, grasshopper or katydid. When I offer crickets, I make sure they have eaten a good variety of leafy greens like kale, romaine lettuce, dandelions, and then I supplement that with fruits and vegetables. I also like to provide the feeder insects with a mix of ground up whole grains as substrate…essentially to “gut-load” the lizards food items with decent nutritional content. I do not recommend that Abronia be fed exclusively on store bought crickets that have been raised on chicken meal, which is a high protein diet for baby chickens. An occasional pink mouse is probably OK as a food item, but I have never offered one, and would definitely not over do that. I believe the variety in the insect diet plays some kind of important nutritional role for captive lizards.
I almost always spray mist daily the plants, enclosure sides, and lizards themselves if they are out. Additionally, 2-3 times a week, I will provide a dripper cup that drips about one cup of water over a plant in the enclosure so the lizards can drink at their leisure for a period of about 15 minutes. I use tap water that has sat out in an open bottle for 24 hours. Another watering method that I really like and am currently testing, is to use a “misty mate” pressure spray bottle. This high pressure system emits a fine mist over a period of up to 20 minutes and is excellent for simulating a cloud forest environment.
Breeding behavior and raising young
The Adults will typically breed in their second year, when they are full sized and sexually mature. I have seen breeding activity as early as August, and as late as November. The pair may stay “locked up” for as much as 24 hours. Babies are born in the months of April to June, typically. My females have produced 7, 11, and 13 babies at a time. In my experience, females will not eat their young, but I don’t trust the males or other adults. Gravid females will develop “chalk sacs” on the sides of her jowls before giving birth, likely as a calcium supply. She will also gain weight, noticeably. Perhaps the toughest part of keeping Abronia is raising the babies. They have all the same requirements as the adults, except they are smaller and have less body mass so they are more susceptible to over heating and death from high temps. I have found that anything over 85 F, is dangerous for them. They also may have little battles with each other over space so it is best to keep them in small groups, like 2 or 3 to an enclosure. I’ve tried keeping them separate in small “kritter keepers”, which seemed to work OK but they didn’t have optimum exposure to UV lighting or ventilation. However that was a good way to ensure they were catching and eating their prey. Finding and offering small insects on a daily basis seems to be very important for the first 3 or 4 months. This can be challenging. I’ve caught small grasshoppers by hand, and hunted for little green inch worms in the lawn, and used a net to do field sweeps, plus offer the normal crickets and smaller meal worms. I’ve also recently discovered soldier fly larvae (marketed and sold as “Phoenix worms”) which are a good size and move slowly enough to be devoured by the young. Plus they are high in calcium which is probably good at this stage. My best experience has been to keep the babies exactly as the adults in full planted screen enclosures. I had to use aquarium silicone to plug the small holes in the corners of the screen cages so the little crickets and bugs wouldn’t escape. It’s important to offer plenty of small insects daily, but don’t overwhelm them so that the crickets are constantly bothering them at night, for example.
Miscellaneous Notes
The number one killer in my opinion of Abronia, is allowing them to get too hot. If you don’t want them to breed, maintain them at room temperature constantly, and don’t drop the temps down at night. There seems to be a correlation with temperature variance and breeding success. Be wary of ants that can scout and mount surprise attacks, particularly with babies. I watch temps closely and keep my animals outside for about 5 months of the year, which I think contributes to their overall health, and reproduction.
Abronia are rare in the wild, and with their small native habitats under a considerable amount of pressure, in some cases to the point of devastation, I feel it’s important to do what we can to preserve them in captivity when we have that opportunity. The best solution would be to establish wild preserves in their native habitat where they can be safeguarded from the land clearing practices, etc. But as an alternate method of conservation, I see considerable value in learning how to establish them successfully in a captive environment.
We express our thanks to the author of this article Mr. Jason Wagner. To find more information about the captive management of these lizards please visit http://projectabronia.com/
