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Atlas / Library / Shinisauridae / Chinese Crocodile Lizard
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Shinisauridae

Chinese Crocodile Lizard

Shinisaurus crocodilurusกิ้งก่าจระเข้จีน

Photograph: Wilfried Berns, Aufgenommen mit einer Nikon Coolpix 5700 · CC BY-SA

Photographed by an observer on iNaturalist and published under a Creative Commons licence; the photographer and the licence are named under the image. It is not an animal of ours, and no animal was handled by us to produce it.

14:00
Day

Drag the sun. Chinese Crocodile Lizard is diurnal, so what it is doing changes with the light.

Semi-aquatic

The way of life is written in this sheet, word for word. The climate words summarise the two figures above them, they do not add to them.

CITES I is a global listing and holds in every country. National law is not global, and we hold no national wildlife law for any country, Thailand included. Check your own authority before buying or selling.

Check your setup against this sheet I keep one 102 plants usable with this species
Back to the globe My keep

https://keepr.pet/husbandry/en/shinisaurus-crocodilurus

‹ All husbandry guides
Adult size20–40 cm

Identity

Adult size

1.75 m20–40 cm
1520100400 cm
20–40 cmNose to tail, adult

The size the sheet states for a grown animal.

Why

Two drawings, because they answer two questions. The silhouette is at true scale against a 1.75 m person: it says how big this animal actually is, which no number does for someone who has never seen one. The bar under it is logarithmic and shared by every sheet here, so a 2 cm isopod and a 4 m python both stay readable on the same axis and two species can be compared at a glance.

Family / Order
Shinisauridae / Squamata
Origin
Adult size
20–40 cm
Lifespan (captivity)
10–15 yrs
Activity
Diurnal; semi-aquatic
Temperament
Shy, slow, sit-and-wait: display species
Legal
CITES I: highly protected; CB + permits essential

How common this animal is

228Live individuals in declared US trade filings

NOT a measure of how many are kept. These filings count animals shipped for any purpose, including the food trade and laboratory supply, and they are United States records only. The three largest volumes in the source belong to a food frog, a bait species and the standard laboratory amphibian.

US Fish and Wildlife Service LEMIS declared wildlife import and export records, as compiled in the received dataset

Enclosure and conditions

Basking
30–35 °C (86–95 °F)
Ambient / water
20–24 °C (68–75 °F)
Humidity
70–90%
Water feature
≥ 1/3 enclosure, 5–8 cm deep, FILTERED
Key rule
Must be able to dry off fully (else skin rot)
UVB
Low–moderate
Min. size
90 × 45 × 45 cm with land + pool
Substrate
Bioactive land + branches over water

Diet

Staple
Earthworms (favourite), aquatic insects, crickets, roaches
Extra
Small fish, shrimp, snails
Frequency
Juveniles often; adults 2–3×/week

Behaviour and handling

HandlingMinimal: delicate, semi-aquatic
CohabitationPairs possible with space
DefenseShy; may bite if cornered

Reproduction

Life course

Day 0Hatch
10–15 yrLifespan in care
10 yrMinimum commitment
Sexual maturityNot in our data

Read from the lifespan and maturity the sheet states, for animals in care and not in the wild.

Why

The minimum commitment is the low end of that lifespan, and the reproductive window is what is left after maturity: both are subtractions on stated figures, not figures of their own.

Reproduction
Live-bearing
Litter
2–12 neonates
Gestation
~9–12 months

Common health problems

Skin rot
Signsfrom constant wetness
Preventprovide a full dry-off zone
Respiratory infection
Signscool + damp + stagnant
Preventventilation + clean filtered water
Metabolic bone disease
Signspoor UVB/Ca
PreventUVB + calcium

When to see a vet

This is not veterinary advice. If red flags appear (open-mouth breathing, months of weight loss, 'stargazing', persistent regurgitation) consult a qualified exotic (herp) veterinarian. Quarantine new arrivals 30–90 days.

Good to know

  • A 'living fossil': the only species in its family; sleeps with eyes closed like a crocodile resting.
  • CITES I: one of the most protected pet lizards; buy captive-bred only.
  • A 'living fossil' — the only species in its family; sleeps with eyes closed like a crocodile resting.
  • CITES I — one of the most protected pet lizards; buy captive-bred only.

Common questions

Is it legal?

CITES I: needs captive-bred origin + permits; check with the shop.

Fully aquatic?

No: semi-aquatic; needs land to dry off.

What it needs

  • Paludarium 90×45×45
  • Filter + pump
  • Low-mod UVB
  • Basking lamp + thermostat
  • Branches over water
  • Calcium

Sources

Reptiles Magazine — Chinese Crocodile LizardSpecialty Serpents care PDF

Others in this group

Green IguanaIguana iguanaGreen AnoleAnolis carolinensisRhinoceros IguanaCyclura cornutaDesert iguanaDipsosaurus dorsalisChuckwallaSauromalus aterKnight AnoleAnolis equestrisArmadillo Girdled LizardOuroborus cataphractusLong-tailed Grass LizardTakydromus sexlineatus

What this sheet states

46%
TemperatureHumidityEnclosure sizeActivityOriginDietSourcesUVB

This sheet states 4 of 7 of the fields this product runs on. What is missing turns something off: thermal rail and temperature audit, humidity instrument and audit, enclosure size audit. We show the gap rather than fill it with a plausible number.

UVB is measured but does not count: it is absent from 421 of 678 sheets, and on most of them that is not a gap, since a nocturnal snake's sheet has no reason to state a UV index. Counting it would call the library incomplete without cause.