Heating and Lighting:

The lighting of the vivariums can be with TL lamps, which will help to keep the plants alive and UVB tubes to help the agamas to synthesise D3 for good bone developement and calcification of the eggs in females. This in turn should provide the means for maximum use of the all important utilisation of calcium in the diet. Gonocephalus generally seem to prefer higher temperatures than Acanthosaurus which will not take temperatures above 27c. The preferred range of 23-25c being the optimum range. They tend not to actively bask under a heat bulb source. Gonocephalus prefer a basking daytime temperature of 30-35C in the warm end to 20-26 at the cooler end. This is a good thermal gradient. Night temperatures for both types of dragons can be allowed to drop to 16-18C and is probably beneficial.

Hibernation:

This would appear to be unnecessary.

Food and Water:

All types of invertebrates can be offered, such as earthworms, (a favourite), woodlice, giant mealworms, waxworms, (limit these as they can become addictive to the exclusion of anything else), crickets, cockroaches and snails. Some individuals will take fish and pink mice. Water is covered in the housing section.

Reproduction:

This is at an early stage but Acanthosaurus have been reared from captive born young with few problems other than fatalities through higher temperatures during the summer months. This was solved by setting up a cool room. There is practically no source of Captive bred animals at this stage as all breeding stock originates from fresh imports or gravid female imports laying viable eggs and producing captive born young. I bred some Gonocephalus chameleontinus about 10 years ago but only 2 animals from a clutch of 6 eggs. One of these was raised to sub-adult stage before passing it on due to lack of space at the time. The hobby has moved on since then and there is a whole range of equipment to allow correct temperature control, UV light, and humidity control, not to mention the increase in feeder insects. These dragons will, like chameleons soon be available in small numbers to specialist breeders and enthusiasts and probably in time to a larger market. Reptiles normally do well in captivity and produce relatively large numbers of young as they are generally in nature at the bottom end of the food chain. This gives us an opportunity to adapt them to our much more sophisticated Vivariums, Terrariums of the 20th Century.

Any other hints or tips:

Further reading and comments. Amphibians and Reptiles of Peninsular Malaysia and Thailand, An Illustrated Checklist. Tanya Chan-ard, Wolfgang Grossmann, Andreas Gumprecht, Klaus Dieter Schulz. ISBN 3-9806813-0-0 Agamid Lizards, Ulrich Manthey and Norbert Schuster TFH 1996. (German translation). Reasonably priced. Good range of pictures and useful text. Good photographs of Acanthosaurus and Gonocephalus. ISBN 0-7938-0128-1 Lizards Volume 1 of 2 volumes, Manfred Rogner, Krieger translation from German, Nice all round lizard book with sections on vivaria, lighting, feeding, vitamins, reproduction, incubation. Detailed sections on Acanthosaurus and Gonocephalus, as well as many other tree dragons. ISBN 0-89464-972-8 (set 1 & 2). ISBN 1-89464-939-6 (vol 1) Herpetofauna of Vietnam Edition Chimaira 2009 ISBN 978-3-89973-462-1. Nygen Van Sang, Ho Thu Cuc, and Ngiyen Quang Truong. English. Complete check list with photos and some specific location data. Classic reference book. Guide to Philippine Flora and Fauna Volume X. Amphibians and Reptiles, Prof. Angel C Alcala, Natural Resources Management Centre, University of the Philippines. 1986. ISBN 971-1026-28-7