Lizard Articles page 4

Page Index:--

Assessing My Lizards.

Painting of Breeding Cages.

Keeping your Cages Clean.

It's Clay Nest Pans For Me!

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Assessing LIZARDS BY David Allen --DTA LIZARD STUD---

During the course of the season I assess all My Lizards some times repeating the assessment 2 or 3 times. I do this by using a assessment chart: see below:-

ring no: 05LCA 123 Pair no A1 Date: 14/7/05

Cap : Broken Cap Sex Cock

Colour: Gold -- very good even ground colour

Size: May be a slightly small. But shape nice

Spangles/breast work: Nice spangles on back not lining up very well yet

but still a little way to go through the moult. little breast work, leads me to think it's a cock.

Feet & Legs : need to be darker still too pale

Tail; Nice and striaght and fairly dark.

Other comments: Looks promising but size may let it down.

I find this assessment sheet very useful,

I can look back at them to see how the bird has improved during the moult

This can also help spot any faults they may have and highlight any faults or qualities of strains or bird bred the same way.

PAINTING OF BREEDING CAGES.

by David Allen.

This is the time of the year we think about painting our Breeding cages, in this article I look at the different types of paint that can be used. And there fors & against for each type of paint.

I like to paint my breeding cages every 2 to 3 years depending on how they look.

The cages can be painted with a variegation of different types of paint, but one thing they must all be is lead free, most are now.

You can use Gloss, Matt, Silk or Egg Shell paint which is available in range of colours and shades.

Gloss will give you a very wipe clean durable finish, but Gloss paint does have a strong odour, and if using in the birdroom whilst birds are near, give plenty of ventilation.

Matt is the next type of finish this will give a nice finish but is not as durable as Gloss, but you are able to wipe it clean.But it doesn't give such a nice finish as most of the other types I will suggest.

Vynil Silk finish is my favourite, it give a very durable finish which you can also wipe clean. This type of paint has very little, if any odour and there is no problem with painting cages with the birds in close proximity. But It doesn't have such a high shine finish as gloss.

Egg Shell is the final type of paint I am suggesting that could be used.

This can come in two different varities oil based & water based, i would suggest that if you chose to use this type of paint you use the water based variety. This paint does not have a very high shine finish, but it is very durable, probable the most durable of all the types I have suggested. It is also very easy to wipe down.

In compiling this article I have drawn upon my fathers vast knowledge of paints. As he has over 50 year experance with working with different types of paints in his job as a painter & decortrator.

My choice is Vynil Silk as I mentioned earlier, I like to use a Blue coloured silk,

Why you say well because I breed Lizards Canaries and the colour of the there show cage is also Blue. I try to get a colour that is similar to the show cage colour. I feel that using a similar colour in the breeding cages as to that of the show cage. Aides me in introducing my Young lizards to the show cage.

This is how I go about painting my cages.

Firstly I clean the cages out thoroughly scrubbing and scraping them out.

the next step is to lightly sand down the cages, then wipe the cages over with a damp cloth to remove any remaining dust form the paint.

When they are total dry I masking tape around the edges of the breeding cages as I paint the outside of the frame work of my breeding cages a different colour to the inside, normally white, and for this I do use a gloss paint.

I then paint the inside of the breeding cages. I like to paint them in the morning so giving time to dry before night fall to help with this I turn up my birdroom heater and put it front of the cages to help the paint dry quicker. My Birdroom heater is usually set on frost, to keep the water drinkers from freezing. But I make sure I turn the heater back to frost

before night falls so not to causing the birdroom to be to warm for to long, as this may cause the birds to go into a false moult or get them into breeding condition too early.

I leave the cages for 3 or 4 days before removing the masking tape and

then a further few days to make sure they are totally dry before putting any birds back into the cages. This may take slightly longer depending on the weather outside.

This can be quite a task as you will have to move birds around the birdroom to paint all the cages. unless you have a flight, [which I don't]

but the end result is well worth it a you will end up with breeding cages that look like new. If this is done regularly your breeding cages will last much longer, even a life time.

Written by David Allen of DTA LIZARD STUD

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KEEPING YOUR CAGES CLEAN?

I have written an article on how to paint your breeding cages which was printed earlier this year. since then I have repainted my cages but have tried a different type of paint to which I had previously used in this article I explain why I opted for the change and the results it has give me. [prevous article]

Why you ask? did I make the change.

Well I breed Lizard Canaries which are colour fed, which I give in the drinking water.

But the problem with this is that the back of the cages can look like a slater house.

I have previously used emulsion, which was washable. But I could not get all the stain

of the colour food off completely. So it would mean I would have to repaint my breeding cages every year.

So this year I decide to paint my cages with Gloss paint, I normal paint my cages Blue.

Instead I used white Gloss as I had a large tin in the shed. {Saving me spending out] Some fanciers maybe able to take there cages out of the birdroom to paint, but I am not as my blocks are 12's and are rather large for me to find somewhere to paint them.

I here people say what about the smell & the fumes, that gloss paint gives off well the gloss I had was low odour so this was a problem, but my birdroom is well ventilated.

When I had painted them all they looked great.

Then came to the really test, when I started to coloure feed my young Lizards.

So it came to clean the cage out for the first time, I don't have tray's in the bottom of my breeding cages. So to clean out I take the fronts out, moving the bird into the next cage or into a show cage, which works as show trainning.

Before I started to clean them out I raided Tracy my wife kitchen clean cupboard for some clean products, a kitchen spray with bleach in & a sponge pad. [the type with a scrubbing pad on the top].

I clean the cage out then sprayed the back/side & floor with the Kitchen spray, then I scrubbed the area with scrubbing pad. With kitchen towel I wipe the cage dry. The cage came up as good as new. I then spray the cage with a disfinetant [Durmitex] and put fresh floor covering down in my case I use shavings.

I have continued to do this every time I clean out and it seems to be working well.

But now I have my own Kitchen spray,scrubbing pads & kitchen towel. as Tracy was fed up of asking for hers back!

By David Allen of DTA LIZARD STUD.

IT'S CLAY NEST PANS FOR ME!

Why clay nest pans you ask?

Well in this article i will try and explain why it's clay nest pans for me.

I have used many different types of nest pans in my time with canaries, palstic, wicker, wooden and apartment nest pans. [the ones that hang on the outside of the cage.] But I now feel clay pans are the one for ma. I have a few reason why i use clay pans, most are only theories. but they work for me, and that's what matters.

I beleive that as the nest pans are made of clay which is porous they will absorb moisture. I beleive this works in two ways, which i will explain how as I explain what I do.

Here is how I prepare my clay nest pans for the breeding season. Fristly before the breeding season starts I soak all my clay pans in a solution of Durmitex and water for 24 hours. They are then allowed to dry ,as the clay is porous I beleive it retains a percentage of the solution it was soaked in. The retention of this solution within the nest pan helps prevent mite etc.

Next I put my nest felts into the nest pan, these have also been soaked in the same solution as the pans. The nest felts are allowed to dry completly, they are stuck in place with a hot glue gun. this ios easy and they seem to stay in place very well.

at the end of the season the felts are easily removed, by placing them in a bucket of very hot nearly boiling water, which again contains Dermitex and a disinfectant. These are once again left to saok for 24 hours, when you will find the nest felts are easy to remove. The nest pan only requires a little scrub to clean them up. they are allowed to dry thoroughly then put away until next season.

The second way in which I beleive the clay nest pan works in being porours, is that it will absorb any moisture from the nest itself. So stopping sweating hens and messy wet nests.

My clay pans are held in position by a wire ring, which are fitted to the back of the cage, the simple drops in the wire ring making it easy to remove when required.

I have been doing this same process for anumber of years now and so far, "touchwood" I have had no problems with sweating hens or mite in the nest. If this luck or because of what I do I am not sure but as long as it carries on working I carry on with my method.

If it works don't change it!

clay nest pan & nest felts

lizard hen on nest

CLAY NEST PAN WITH WIRE