Baskden a warm den for reptile folk · baskden.com Collared Lizard — Vet-Prep Sheet
🔍 Find a reptile / exotics vet — before you need one
- Search the ARAV Find-a-Vet directory (the Association of Reptilian & Amphibian Veterinarians), or in the UK the RCVS Find-a-Vet — or search "reptile / exotics vet near me".
- Call ahead and ask the key question: "Do you see reptiles?" Not every practice does.
- Ask the exam fee when you call. Knowing the cost up front removes the money-panic in a crisis.
- Find and save one now, while things are calm — not in the middle of an emergency.
📇 Fill this in now — before the crisis
Two minutes now saves ten in a panic. Print it and keep it with your care notes.
🚨 Is this an emergency now?
See a reptile vet promptly if you notice any of these:
- Not eating for an extended stretch once fully settled, or noticeable weight loss / a sunken, thin tail base
- Weakness, tremors, a rubbery or swollen jaw, or trouble walking - possible metabolic bone disease from poor UVB/calcium; see an exotics vet
- Sunken eyes, wrinkled skin, thick stringy saliva, or lethargy - possible dehydration
- Labored or open-mouth breathing, mucus, or wheezing - possible respiratory infection (often from being kept too cool or too damp)
- A retained shed that constricts toes or the tail tip, or any wound, swelling, or persistent open-mouth gaping
- Straining, no droppings for a long time, or a bulge/prolapse - see an exotics vet promptly
When in doubt, a vet call is never wrong — most issues are reversible if caught early.
🚗 On the way / while you wait
✅ Do
- Keep it warm at a safe transport temperature — a cold reptile crashes fast (a warm car or a covered container with a warm, not hot, pack helps).
- Keep it calm, dark and quiet in a secure, ventilated container — stress makes almost everything worse.
- Bring it in its own container so the vet sees it as it lives.
⛔ Don't
- Don’t offer food, or any OTC, aquarium-shop or online-forum remedy — many are useless or harmful and can mask the signs.
- Don’t let it get cold on the way in.
- Don’t handle it more than you must.
🎒 What to bring
- A short video and a couple of clear photos of the behaviour or sign — it may not show it in the clinic.
- A note of your setup (basking, cool-side and night temperatures, UVB, humidity, substrate) and exactly what — and how often — you feed.
- Your reptile, transported safely in its own secure, ventilated container — kept warm (see below), not in a cold car.
🗣️ What to tell the vet
A general vet may not know this species. Come ready to explain its correct care:
- Temperature
- Hot. A basking SURFACE temperature of 104-118°F / 40-48°C, measured on the rock or platform with a probe or infrared temp gun (not an ambient dial thermometer). Build a rock/platform stack up toward the lamp to hit it. 77-90°F / 25-32°C on the cool end during the day, so the lizard can pick its own temperature across a real gradient. A natural nighttime drop to 68-79°F / 20-26°C is fine and healthy. No night heat is needed unless your room falls below the low 60s°F.
- UVB & lighting
- High. This is a Ferguson Zone 3-4 open-sun basker: provide strong UVB with a target UVI of 4.0-6.0 in the basking spot. A high-output T5 tube running roughly half the enclosure length works well - e.g. Arcadia Desert 12% T5 HO or Zoo Med Reptisun 10.0 T5 HO. Mount it over the warm side and set basking-spot distance by bulb (about 8-12 in below if over mesh; farther for a bare bulb). A Solarmeter 6.5 is the honest way to confirm your UVI. Run 10-12 hours a day.
- Humidity
- Low and arid. Aim for around 30-40% for the western/desert form; the eastern form tolerates a bit more (up to ~50%). Good ventilation, a mostly dry setup, and just a humid burrow/hide are enough - this is not a misting species.
- Enclosure
- 36 x 18 x 18 in (90 x 45 x 45 cm) is the realistic minimum for one adult, but 48 x 24 x 24 in (120 x 60 x 60 cm) is a much better home and is what these fast, active runners deserve. Floor space matters more than height. Front-opening with a mesh/ventilated top.
- Substrate
- A naturalistic, diggable desert mix: washed play sand, or a roughly 60/40 blend of clean topsoil and fine sand, packed at least 4 in / 10 cm deep so they can burrow. Add flat rocks and stone piles for climbing, basking, and hiding. Skip loose calci-sand and dusty "desert sand" products.
- Diet
- Insectivore. The bulk of the diet is live insects - crickets, dubia and other roaches, black soldier fly larvae, the occasional hornworm - offered daily to a healthy adult, as much as they'll eagerly eat in a few minutes. In the wild they also grab spiders and even small lizards, but you don't need to feed vertebrate prey. A little leafy greens/flowers can be offered but is a minor extra, not a staple.
- Supplements
- Dust insects with a plain calcium (no D3) at most feedings, and use a reptile multivitamin that includes preformed vitamin A (retinol, not just beta-carotene) a couple times a week. With strong UVB in place you need little or no added D3, but a light D3 dusting weekly is a reasonable safety net. Gut-load feeder insects well. Replace supplement pots every ~6 months as potency fades.
⚕️ Reptiles are ectotherms kept at species-specific temperatures — a cold reptile can’t metabolise medicines properly, so tell the vet your exact temperatures and keep it warm for transport. Reptiles are prey animals and hide illness until it is advanced, so early changes matter. Mention your UVB/lighting and any supplements or remedies you’ve already used, and ask for reptile-safe products and doses.
Then note which of the warning signs (above) you are seeing, when they started, and whether they are getting worse.
❓ Questions to ask
- Do you routinely see reptiles? If not, can you refer me to a vet who does?
- What are the likely causes — and could my setup or diet be contributing?
- What is the treatment plan, the likely cost, and what should I watch for at home?
- How do I prevent this from happening again?