The Captive Mystery of Abronia species

I first read of Abronia in The Completely Illustrated Atlas of Reptiles and Amphibians for the Terrarium . There’s a small black and white photo of Abronia taeniata. Its head pointed downward, tail entwined on a branch. The broad head shape reminded me of the Alligator lizards (Elgaria multicarinata) native to what was once my home area. As it turns out, they are related.

I honestly don’t comprehend enough taxonomy to say whether they’d be cousins or make some familial reference. Speaking of family, they’re in the Anguidae family which is a large family of lizards native to the New World. They have two to three subfamilies depending on who’s reference you’re using. Seventy-two species within Anguidae family twenty-eight of which make up the Abronia genus.

It appears only two species show up with any regularity in American herpetoculture. (Abronia graminea) and (Abronia taeniata) seem to be the popular species.

Abronia of any species, are a more advanced keeper captive reptile.

Pricey Pets

The prices ranging from $300.00 to $750.00 keep most would be reptile keepers from a spontaneous purchase. It can and does happen where we might purchase an animal and ‘sort details’ later. While Abronia sp. are ‘hardy’ they’re not as tolerant of mistakes in their captive care as say would be a Leopard Gecko (Eublepharis macularius).

Abronia Natural Habitat

From their availability it seems as though Abronia graminea are the more popular species. The arboreal alligator lizard as the Abronia genre are known commonly, are known for another reason in their native areas of Veracruz, East Puebla and Oaxaca in Mexico. Escorpion de arbol (translated as Tree Scorpion) are believed to be venomous by native people. It might be the ‘attitude’ from which all the Alligator lizards get their more common name. As their (Elgaria sp.) relatives (Abronia sp.) seem to not be overly fearful of human interaction and will readily bite when threatened. It’s up to us as care givers to learn and understand the communicated warnings to remain unbitten. Bites from (Abronia sp.) are rarely serious, none I’ve been made aware of have required any medical attention outside a cleaning of the bite and a bandage.

Abronia Description

(A. graminea) and (A. taeniata) obtain a total adult length of 16 cm with a SVL (snout to vent length) of 14 cm. (Abronia sp.) are a stout bodied lizard with large scales. The head is well set off from the neck area by large triangular skull. As mentioned earlier (Abronia sp.) have a prehensile tail used to move through their forest canopy home by grasping limbs for stability. (A. graminea) range from teal blue to a deep green color. (A. taeniata) on the other hand are a greenish to yellow lizard with black bands running across the dorsum.

Screen Enclosure

If there’s one thing every keeper agrees with, it’s this. There’s no substitute for using all screen enclosures when keeping (Abronia sp.) Not only is temperature a primary concern but how temperature is managed is also critical. Like Chameleon species (Abronia sp.) need air circulation with humidity. Their natural habitat is cloud forest, roughly 80% humidity as a constant with a lot of rainfall.

Opinions on the size of enclosure for Abronia vary somewhat. Some keepers report Abronia thrive in a less than two foot tall enclosure. Other owners report nothing less than a four-foot tall enclosure will suffice. You may decide to split the difference and go with a three-foot tall enclosure, it’s been my experience with (Abronia sp.) and reptiles in general; providing a large properly designed enclosure is the best option for housing.

Choosing the right reptile

I see it less now than I used to, I still see it though. When you go to purchase an animal do the animal and yourself a favour. I know we keep exotic species I’m not saying we shouldn’t. What I’m saying though is put some serious thought into ownership of any pet. If the animal you’d like to keep is a tropical high humidity animal. Understand if you live in the Arizona desert, there’s going to be significant cost to maintain these.

Decor

When it comes to decor, there’s no substituting a densely planted ‘true vivarium’. Most of the currently available reptile safe plants will work. I tend to use more native plants for any ‘true vivarium’ I construct. Bromeliads of various kinds, Sansevieria, and Pothos are the most commonly used plants when it comes to (Abronia sp.)

Reptile Safe Sphagnum Moss is apparently a key element for a thriving captive (Abronia sp.)

Substrate

Sphagnum moss is an excellent substrate for reptiles of all kinds; most often associated with amphibians. Sphagnum at a depth of two to three inches will not only hold moisture and add the ambient humidity, it’s also a known antibacterial substance. The Legendary Dartmoor site has an incredible discovery to share where the processing of sphagnum moss for wound treatment is well documented. According to at least one study I’ve found An analysis of antiseptic and antibiotic properties of variously treated mosses and lichen Morton, Elaine; Winters, Josh; Smith, Lauren 2010 green sphagnum does indeed contain antiseptic properties whereas fruticose lichen does possess a “strong antibiotic compound”.

Air Circulation & Humidity

This may seem a strange guideline when you first read it. A colleague and Tribe member of ours Justin Morash was careful to point out. Abronia species seem to susceptible to respiratory infections caused by stagnate moist air. While as mentioned they come from a cloud forest environment which regularly is in the 80% humidity range. While most would accurately think humid air is moist air what causes the respiratory infection? This is where air circulation comes into play. If fresh air isn’t allowed to flow through the enclosure then stagnate microbe filled air is allowed to stay inside and infect the lungs. The process is much more complicated than I’ve explained but that covers the basics.

Abronia can reportedly adapt, to an occasional drying out period. I wouldn’t allow more than 48 hours without a full misting. I’m sure you’ve surmised by now, the temperatures will be the ‘typical’ tropical temperatures we see for jungle environment reptiles.

When it comes to humidity the other mistake most often made is keeping Abronia in a ‘swamp’. Abronia are a tropical species but they still ‘dry out’ from time to time as it’s not always raining in the cloud forest. I would entertain the use of a rain system. Whether you build a rain system or buy one which is commercially available, you need to create a scheduled rainfall allowing incremental days of no rain.

Temperature

Ambient temperatures for Abronia sp. should never get above the low 80’s, kept in the higher 70’s somewhere around 77-79F is ideal. Within the basking area I would recommend a ceramic heating element on a thermostat which regulates to 86-88F.

Measuring ambient temperature in a vertical enclosure? Blue Maestro has a solution for how to get the best readings in a vertical enclosure. In a vertical enclosure you’re looking at the center third as being the area where we’d place the ambient temperature probe. While closer to the top where the sun would be in the wild we place our basking CHE and UV light fixtures.

Lighting

Abronia sp. much like their Agamidae cousins the Bearded Dragon (Pogona vitticeps) fare much better in natural sunlight. My mentor once told me

“Bearded Dragons kept outdoors in a proper enclosure will always be brighter and more colorful than those kept under man-made UV lighting”

He’s right. It’s one of those things where either our technology or our understanding cannot yet grasp the entirety of recreating the necessary natural habitat. It’s been noted by well-known authorities such as Jason Wagner ‘Abronia graminea will fade in color if not kept properly’. There’s been notable success using mercury vapor UV bulbs according to most people I’ve spoken with. Even with the 10% UV bulbs I’d make certain a natural sunlight regimen be in place, where weather permitting, the reptiles are allowed to spend as much time as possible outdoors.

Dietary Supplements

Abronia species don’t take the standard food fare of dusted insects. Dusting insects or raw ingestion of mineral and vitamin supplementation can potentially cause serious issues. Secondary ingestion of vitamins and minerals doesn’t seem to cause any issues. This means when feeding Abronia we don’t do the typical “shake & bake” method we’d use for our other lizards. Vitamins and minerals should be ingested secondarily, as part of a gut loaded feeder insect. Any insect that’s gut loaded should be gut loaded on a plant material such as leafy greens and assorted fruits and vegetables. Feeding crickets to Abronia sp. raised on chicken mash in one authors opinion may give the Abronia too much protein.

Feeders

Insects are the most common fare for Abronia sp. Crickets, mealworms, hornworms, roaches (where allowed), silkworms, and according to Justin Morash snails are enjoyed as a treat. The soldier fly larvae (Phoenix Worms) are particularly useful source for calcium. I would avoid feeding any type of rodent prey. Pinkies might be taken by the (Abronia sp.), I’d however be concerned as this doesn’t seem to be a natural prey item.

The Abronia Species Future

Abronia sp. are rare in their native habitats. Contrary to popular media fed public opinion, the ‘pet industry’ is a saving grace to numerous species of reptiles and (Abronia sp.) are no exception. Their native habitats are being devastated by forest clearing for lumber, then the cleared land being used for farming. Sustainable forests are possible and not outside the realm of reality. To go hand in hand with this we can also share with the native people a way where not only the forest dwelling animals but also the flora as well can be sustainably harvested.

(Tip o’ the hat to Kim Leger for photo selection)

*Authors note: According to colleagues who keep Abronia in Europe the following species are fairly regular there. A. deppii, A. mixteca, and A. lythrochila for the update!