Australian lizards.

[Bushviper]

Yesterday I saw the Aussie lizards were rather restless so I whirled up some paw paw for them. I got these pics of them munching.



and the shingle backs



Later on last night Bushbaby saw the one little Shingleback trying to bite the biggest one on the front legs. She pulled them apart and could not understand why they would do that after having grown up together. I did not want to believe that they would start thinking of mating yet.

Lo and behold today I see this which I have never seen before. It would seem as if I have two males and one female.



It is not positive copulation but at least it is a start. If they do breed it will be the first time in South Africa. The chances that any will be on the market any time soon however is very slight.

[Rob]

Thats positive. Good luck, holding thumbs.

[froot]

That's good news. What is male combat like with this species? They probably spur each other on but is there a risk having 2 males together?

[Leos r gr8]

Congrats BV, those shinglebacks are looking superb. You must be a very happy chappy with them! How old are they and when can you expect them to be breeding?

[Bushviper]

I am not sure about how bad the male combat could be. I have sent out a few emails and am waiting to hear back. I know the Blue tongues get very aggressive and hope the same is not to be said about the Shinglebacks.

These animals are about 2 years old which I think might be too young. This is Pretoria so they might actually get sexually active earlier than usual considering they were not cooled down last winter.

[gaboon69]

Interesting post. We will hold thumbs for you as it should be a great learning curve.

[BushSnake]

From what I understand Shinglebacks partner up for life in the wild. What happens in captivity?

[Buck Rogers]

From what I understand Shinglebacks partner up for life in the wild. What happens in captivity?

I absolutely think this trait would be carried out in captivity. They usually pair up and are inseparable for months and after copulation they separate and the next year they find each other again and repeat the process for the rest of their lives (or so has been recorded).

BV this is a huge step even if nothing has happened yet, these can be fussier to breed than some cat species and if they don't like the potential mate that's the end of it. It will also be fantastic to have some second generations born in SA and I hope I have a shot on that list

[Carpetpythons]

The males do not combat. It might just have been the scent of the food on the other ones legs that provoked the bite. The partner up for life thing is also not true. I bred mine 4 years ago, the male and female were from different localities. The female was wild caught and the male has been in captivity for almost 15 years. The female also did not retain sperm as she was also a long term captive. They do seem to be bi-annual breeders though. They love canned cat food, especially the jelly meat variety from whiskas. I think yours might be a little young to breed bushviper, but you never know. Reptiles seem to mature faster in captivity. Also remember that in the wild their diet consist of about 75% plant material. They love bright flowers and some weeds. Their favourite food seem to be snails and they would eat handfills in one go. I believe that crushing the snails shells play a vital role in keeping their jaw muscles strong. I hope this information helps.

[Bushbaby]

The "biting" happened quite a while after eating (i.e. fed in the morning, biting late afternoon / evening) and they had finished their food a while before that, so it could not have been that it walked through the food.

Our's get mainly fruit & vegetables and only meat once a week. We do not have snails in our garden, but we have fed them snails in the past. They are just as bad as the blue tongues when it comes to snails, loving every bit of the slimey creatures!!

Carpetpythons, which gets larger, the male or the female? What is typical breeding behaviour?

[Carpetpythons]

Those lizards look like 2 year olds. I would think that they might be too young. You can not sex them on size. They are morphologically similar, males and females. You can not prone them either. You will immediately know when they have paired up. The male will follow the female everywhere. You can also not detect pregnancy, one day they are fat and the next day they are still fat but with babies!

[Buck Rogers]

You will immediately know when they have paired up. The male will follow the female everywhere.

how long does this usually go on for? Is it only the courting period and after mating the male will leave (from what I have seen in documentaries) or will the male still follow up until the female gives birth?

[gaboon69]

Another question for CP. Despite your strict legislation over there, are you allowed to export any permitted indigenous reptiles from oz?

[Carpetpythons]

They start following each other in early spring. This following usually only lasts till the female falls gravid. They part as soon as they can as they live in an extremely harsh environment. Males usually stop feeding during mating season and the sooner the females fall gravid, the sooner they can start eating! There are usually hundreds of pairs crossing roads in September and October, sometimes cars hit them and you woulde be surpriserd to see how quickly the live one leaves the dead one behind. There is no evolutionary advantage to being monogamous If you are a reptile. There has been no legal export of any Australian reptile since the late seventies. Except for zoos. Regards.

[Nasicornis]

Congratulations, holding thumbs for you.