Favoritism

Sungazer (Smaug giganteus, A.K.A. Giant girdled lizard, giant dragon lizard, et al) is the largest species of armored/armadillo lizard. They're extremely cool, but extremely endangered due to poaching.

CB = Captive Bred. There is some confusion among newcomers to the pet trade. Captive Bred shouldn't be confused with Captive Born, wherein a wild caught specimen is pregnant and the babies are born in captivity. Captive Bred means both parents were bred in captivity. See Knowledge For Buying: CB, WC, CBB?

CB stands for Captive bred, as opposed to wild caught

-Brandon

Gotcha. So I actually wasn't looking at Sungazers, it was one of the smaller armadillo lizards. Ouroborus cataphractus

Deabrua":2wmua08t said:

Gotcha. So I actually wasn't looking at Sungazers, it was one of the smaller armadillo lizards. Ouroborus cataphractus

Click to expand...

They're cool too, and IMO worth researching.

They're definitely worth researching... near impossible to find legally (according to research made since my initial post asking about it)

Are we still talking about the Sungazers or one of the other species? According to Clint Laidlaw (see link above) some species are legal, though availability is another matter. Due to their low reproduction rate, many "for sale" are WC. Finding CB is possible, but rare & difficult, and probably have long waiting lists.

I see what you mean; the legal status of Ouroborus cataphractus seems unclear. Some claim they're vulnerable, but according to Wiki:

The species Ouroborus cataphractus was classified by the IUCN as Vulnerable until 1996, but has since been downgraded to Least Concern. This is mostly due to a general cessation of collection for the pet trade, which was a significant drain on populations but is now illegal.[1][3][5] The armadillo girdled lizard is thought to be somewhat susceptible to fluctuations in its primary foodsource (termites), which in turn can be impacted by climatic events such as changes in rainfall patterns, as well as to habitat changes through invasive alien plant species and poor fire management.

Click to expand...

Aside from the legal status, the fact that would give me pause is their diet--termites. I found similar when investigating horned lizards, whose diet is primarily/exclusively certain species of ants.

I wouldn't necessarily give up though--there are so many species of armadillo lizard, there may still be one that could work for you. If not, there have been some other excellent suggestions, and a whole world of cool lizards to choose from. Ever heard of the Western Fence Lizard? Some of those are striking, and the coolest thing (IMO) is that...

[There's] a protein in the lizard's blood [that] kills the bacterium in the tick that causes Lyme disease. The infection inside the ticks' gut is therefore cleared and the tick no longer carries Lyme disease.
--Wiki

Click to expand...

The Jeweled Lacerta (A.K.A.) is also a beautiful species, and more readily available CBB.

Whoops, I see we're straying off-topic here, but you can certainly pursue this question/discussion in another thread or forum, e.g. General Reptile Discussion.