There's Always a First Time.

We lost our first animal the other day.  It was one of the baby Golden Tail Geckos.  I had held fears for it from the start as it was what you might call the runt of the litter.  It was born a couple of days after it's clutch mate and was just that little bit smaller and less developed.  I saw it trying to catch food, and yet was never quite successful.

One morning about a week after it hatched, I found it curled up in a corner at the front of it's enclosure.  It looked quite out of sorts.  I picked it up and it was listless and the top of its head was what I would describe as almost caved in.  My first thought was dehydration, despite the fact that I mist them regularly.  I put a couple of drops of water in the palm of my hand with it only for the little one to give one final kick before expiring.  Quite a sad little moment.  This is a picture of him the day he was born.

Its clutch mate is going as strong as any of our other geckos.  Feeding and drinking well.  I don't know why the little guy left us so quickly, but, rest in peace little dude.

On a brighter note, the third clutch of Golden Tails hatched yesterday.  They both look very healthy and strong.  Here is one from this morning.  They come out so perfectly ready for action.  Fully formed and ready to go!

The first of the Golden Tail clutches is also going sensationally.  They are just so awesome to watch at night, hunting around their home.  Whilst I am no expert, I think they are now of a size where I can sex them.  I believe that there is one male and one female.  Time will tell of course, but, that would mean we have at least one keeper as I am after a couple more females to put in with my adult male.  The young male will most likely be the first gecko I ever sell.  The bar form seems to be the most popular of the three sub species of Golden Tails so I don't think I will have too much trouble if it comes to it.  But as the saying goes, there is a first time for everything...

JT's Back!

Hi everyone!

Sorry I haven't been writing for a long time.  I have been sooooo busy.  But, here I am!

Since I last wrote, our reptile tally has gone up.  Now we have a total of 3 Bearded Dragons, 8 geckos (with 3 more on the way), 1 Shingleback, 1 snake and we think Lizzy is going to lay 2 more eggs soon (Lizzy is our gecko).

Dad has now given me the responsibility for Penny, our Bearded Dragon in the shed.  She is hypomelanistic, which means she is mainly white.  Well, make it half the responsibility.  I get to feed her most days.

Did you know that geckos lick their eyes?  Did you know that geckos can also drop their tails when they are in danger and then grow them back?

We have had a new arrival today.  A baby gecko that hatched!  Dad has put some pictures on my post for me.

Hope this time it won't be 6 months before I next write to you.

Talk soon,
JT

What a week!

Action packed on the gecko front.  I was greeted by two new baby geckos first thing Monday morning.  How exciting is that!?  As you can see by the photos they are happy healthy and as cute as it gets.  I will look to get a photo with one of their parents in the same shot to get a size comparison.  But, take my word for it, they are tiny!  Little mini me's as it were.

As small as they are, looking at the photo with one of the eggs from which they emerged in the same frame, it really makes you wonder just how did they fit in there?

Perhaps the most surprising thing for me was the incubation period.  I thought I was a good chance at winning the guess the hatch date competition that I ran at work, but alas, I was out by a couple of weeks!  The eggs hatched after 49 days.  I had expected around 60 based on the research I had done.  However, after posting the images in the 'Gecko Geek Group' that I am a part of, the answers that it was not an unusually short incubation period came thick and fast.  Where were they when I was putting in my guess for the competition I ask you??  Still, I am glad that the guessing competition generated some light hearted fun at work and now I get to try my hand in the kitchen crafting chocolate geckos in the moulds I ordered from the US on eBay.  I think that will require a post of its own...

If you thought that was it for the week, hang on to your hat!  Today, a mere three days after the new babies hatched, Lizzy, their mum, laid two more eggs!  In the image below, you can see that they are just as healthy looking as their siblings' were.  So soon you ask?  It's actually not so much.  It is not uncommon for female Golden Tails in captivity to lay as soon as 4 weeks after their previous clutch and do so several times in succession. In the wild, because of the climate in the small region in Queensland in which they are found, Golden Tails will actually lay all year round.  The incubation period of the eggs will vary seasonally, but, otherwise the temperatures are such that generally, they hatch successfully, natural impediments notwithstanding.  Obviously, males and females are not confined to enclosures and as such no doubt do not breed quite as frequently as they do in captivity.

For that reason, I am going to move Ecko, my male into a separate enclosure to give Lizzy a break.  It is quite possible that she will have some retained sperm and produce further clutches.  But, I am going to try and minimise the chances of more clutches in rapid succession by keeping them apart for a few months.  The idea behind this is to keep Lizzy in the best of health.  Along with Ecko, she has proven that she can produce healthy babies (although this pair had done so with their previous owner also), my responsibility is more than just to enjoy the reproductive process.  It is also to ensure that they are kept in tip top shape.

With any luck one or even both of the babies will be female and I will have nice little colony going.  I will most likely sell any males that are produced.  Out of the 4 eggs, the odds are in my favour to get at least 1 female.  Regardless, I will most likely only ever keep 1-2 males and never more than 1 in the same enclosure.  Just in case.

So there it is.  Quite an action packed few days.

GT Update

The title of this post sounds a bit like something you might type at a command prompt if you are like me an mess about on computers.  Not so of course as that is work and this is far from it :-).

I dragged myself out of my sick bed today to feed my Golden Tail Geckos.  They are in a fairly noisy, high traffic area, which is why I think that I have yet to see them eat terribly much.  By that I mean actually witness it happening.  There has been plenty of evidence of successful digestion to be cleaned up regularly, but, there has certainly not been anything like I witnessed today.

After having chatted with their previous owner in the past few days, I was a little concerned that I had not witnessed the enthusiasm for food that she reported.  She told me that they almost jumped out of their enclosure at food when it was presented.  This has not been my experience, and largely I have put this down to their location.

Today I made sure it was quiet during the feeding and for Lizzy (the female) at least, this made all the difference.  Before I left her to it, I witnessed her take 5 crickets!  I couldn't believe it.  It was satisfying enough to see her down a single insect.  But, to see her almost approach me at the start and then time after time hunt and capture her food was very gratifying.

The series of images in this post depict Lizzy on the prowl.  First locating her prey, then stalking and finally having captured her meal.  This was actually the fourth cricket that she ate.  It was so pleasing to see her enthusiastic for the hunt even after having what I would have considered a full belly.  I should note that she is looking gravid again, so this could be playing a significant part in her appetite.  That should become clear in the next week or two.

Regardless of whether or not there will be two more little gems laid in the coming weeks, it was simply fantastic to witness the fervent activity from Lizzy today.  The grace and dare I say athleticism of efforts are certainly representative of some of the qualities that drew me to want to keep geckos.  Quite pleased with some of the photos I took as well.  Three of which are here of course.  First glimpse of the underside of Lizzy's belly too.  Although worth noting that the potentially expectant mother has hidden her tummy from view to make that assessment somewhat more challenging!  Oh well, something else to look forward to.

Wake Up Sleepy Heads!

I bit the bullet today and turned the lights on for Lolly and Beau.  Beau in particular had been somewhat restless for the last week or two.  Never waking up as such, but, changing positions in the enclosure frequently.  So yesterday, I did a quick check that I had everything I needed by way of food etc and cleaned up food dishes in preparation for the big day.

The big thing to be sure to do when reptiles first wake up from brumating is to get them hydrated.  I have rarely, maybe one or two times, seen Lolly drink from standing water.  The very first time was shortly after she laid her first ever clutch of eggs.  I gave her a bath that day and she took a long quenching drink.  Unlike Beau, she never took to drinking droplets from misting and I never saw her taking water from bowls in the enclosure.  Beau on the other hand likes to drink in all of those ways.

After about 30 minutes of exposure to heat, I used a spray bottle on a stream setting to drop water on their snouts.  Beau took to it straight away.  So I put him front feet deep in the big water dish (ceramic pot plant dish) you see in the first photo here.  He dropped his head in and did not emerge for a good five minutes or so.  I then turned my attention more directly on to Lolly with the water stream.  As soon as she made motions to drink, I put here into the dish as well.  To my pleasant surprise, she drank also.

Since the intake of water, both have lazed directly under the heat lamp for the remainder of the day.  Neither look to have touched the veggies I have provided.  I will get some large crickets for them tomorrow and see how their appetite is fairing then.

Lacey seems to be recovering well from her burn.  She is certainly eating well, which is a fantastic sign.  Snakes will go off their food first before anything else when they are upset.  Lacey is ploughing through her food, so I am hopeful, if not confident that she is well on the way to recovery.  She is shedding individual scales and has been for the last few weeks.  I plan to contact the vet again this week as she asked me to give an update on Lacey's progress.   At that time I will ask about the scales also.  She pooped the other day, which was a great relief (to both of us I am sure).  It had been the better part of two months in between.  Not too alarming during winter or a growth spurt.  But, given that she has eaten regularly and I have kept the temperatures up...Let's just say I am glad that she did it.

A little more on how the burn happened.  Warming a snake from below, as I do with a heat mat has to be done using a thermostat, for safety, so that the temperatures don't get too hot.  Where I ran into trouble was having the probe for the thermostat, which regulates the power to the heat mat a few centimetres above the basking point.  This meant it was measuring ambient temperatures rather than the contact temperature that was exposed to the snake.  This meant despite having all quality equipment, the temperatures on the surface above the heat mat that Lacey was lying on, were not regulated correctly and prone to being far too hot.

The second part of the issue comes in when we consider how snakes warm themselves.  In the wild, they will slither out onto a warm rock, probably just above the optimal temperature, knowing full well that when they block the sun onto that part of the rock, it's temperature will drop a little whilst the residual heat can be absorbed.  Add to that, they start warming from above via the heat from the sun, and they get a nice, full body warming.  I had no source of heat from above.  What this meant was that no matter how warm\hot\burning Lacey was from the poorly regulated heat mat from below, she was potentially shivering from the top down in the cool ambient temperatures of a Canberra winter.  The best image to have in your mind is an attempt to cook a roast in a frying pan.  The bottom could be burned to a crisp in the allotted cooking time, while the top half would still be red raw.

How do we fix this?  Well, now I have attached the thermostat probe directly to the bottom of the enclosure right where the heat source is and Lacey lies.  I have also added a heat source in the form of a halogen bulb above the enclosure, to raise the ambient and overhead temperatures.  It all seems to be going remarkably well.  The image here is what it looks like now.

I feel such a fool, that despite all the best intentions, research and questions I asked of experienced keepers, I managed to make one small oversight that injured our precious Lacey.  The lesson has be learned.  Just so unfortunately at Lacey's expense.  Happily, she should make a full recovery.

Adding to the Crew

My obsession continues.  Today 3 baby Northern Spiny Tail Geckos (Strophurus ciliaris).  Aside from being beautiful animals, my first impression of them is that they are tiny.  They are a month or so old and no more than 6cm in total length.  The first couple of photos here will give you some indication of just how small they are.  The first is of probably the boldest one of the three so far as he makes his way out of the take away container that he arrived in.  The second is the same animal on my thumb for some further perspective.  Now I am the first to admit that I have big thumbs, but, you have to concede, that is one teeny tiny gecko.

This species of gecko is in the same genus (Strophurus) as our other Golden Tail Geckos whose eggs are currently incubating and looking great.  I have gone for another Strophurus as their body shape and general aesthetics appeal to me more so than other species that I have investigated.  They are arboreal, which is a slight draw back when  compared some other of the Australian species that are terrestrial in that their housing requirements are a bit more demanding.  As adults, they can climb pretty much anything.  Fully grown they are only around 12cm long and their slender frames mean that gaps in enclosures that might be fine with other animals will present escape options for these guys.  It's not a big deal, but, there's no keeping them in a low height plastic tub as with a species that does not climb.  These species need a reasonable level of climbing height and structures, as well as a seriously escape proof enclosure.  Certainly things I can live with in order to experience these wonderful creatures.

I shared the last photo here with a friend of mine who said that they thought the markings made it look like a piece of Indigenous art.  I have to agree.  It also makes me think of all the gecko shaped screen prints and wooden carvings I have seen at every market stall I have ever seen.  That archetypal image of a sticky footed lizard scaling an impossible surface.  The markings they show at the moment will change as they mature.  I am looking forward to seeing how they turn out.

Right now they are in a small acrylic critter keeper on the desk in the study, fitted out with a heat mat, sand, a nice piece of wood for climbing and some artificial foliage for cover.  After turning off the main lights in the room, I have spent most of tonight watching the three of them cruise around hunting the little crickets I put in there for them.  They are primarily nocturnal, but, like the golden tails, they will sit out in the open on display, unlike many other Australian gecko species which is another very appealing aspect that attracted them to me.  What's not to like right?

The best of days the worst of days...

Today was the absolute definition of a rollercoaster as far as emotions went.  It started with the big time low that ebbed throughout the day.  The high came relatively early to lighten the mood somewhat.

I had my second ever trip to the vet this morning.  Over the weekend I had noticed that Lacey had some roughened scales on her belly that were browned as well as what looked like blistering along the back third of her belly.  It all looked very symptomatic of a burn.  As it was the weekend I consulted a trusted source who confirmed that it looked very much like a burn and perhaps some scale rot thrown in.  Needless to say neither is an particularly inviting prospect.

The world's most caring vet Jan Spate confirmed that it is a belly burn.  It occurred because I use a heat mat underneath Lacey's enclosure that she lies over to draw the heat she needs.  I will go into more detail on the mechanics of how a burn like this occurs and how to avoid it (lesson well and truly learned) in a later post.  Suffice to say that the burn was a result of my mistake and I'm pretty shattered about it.  You can see the nature of the burn in this first photo.  It is not serious and she will recover quickly.  She is eating well and generally appears to be as content as ever.  Loving her food is the way I would describe it.  Gave me a nip last night thinking it was feed time.  I have an ointment from the vet to apply daily.  She ate her latest meal tonight and I will apply the treatment tomorrow morning.  Expect progress updates soon.

On a brighter note, after the early morning run to the vet I went in to work.  First thing was to check on the geckos, now named Lizzy and Ecko after a naming contest with my colleagues.  I noticed sand around the entrance to the lay box which peaked my interest.  Further investigation of the underside of the container and I spied a glimpse of white suggesting that my suspicions about Lizzy were correct.  She had laid two of the smallest eggs I think I have and will ever see. I'm not entirely sure what I was expecting by way of size.  Reptiles tend to be measured in terms of 'snout to vent length (SVL).  That's their nose to their bum basically.  Golden Tail Geckos are around 12cm SVL.  So they are not exactly huge.  The two eggs that you can see in the images here are about the size of the very small jelly beans you can buy these days.  I put a five cent piece in the photo for perspective.

Of course as you do, Lizzy buried the eggs in the very very, back bottom corner of the box.  The only indicator really was the sand around the entrance and a little bit of lateral thinking.  Lizzy herself does look a lot slimmer, but, I doubt I would have quite picked that she had laid without a pretty detailed inspection.  I have chosen to use perlite as the medium to incubate the eggs in this time.  It is the white pebbly looking material around the eggs in this second photo.  I found that I was less than entirely happy with using vermiculite this season with the Dragons.  There was mould in the egg containers for the first time in the second clutch.  I'm not sure that the clutch was as strong as the previous ones that Lolly has produced, but, I do think that the vermiculite may have contributed to the outcomes somewhat.  Most of the eggs survived and produced healthy babies.  I just felt that the consistency of the vermiculite may have contributed to the few that were lost.  So I am moving to another commonly used material that just appears to me to be cleaner and retains the moisture in a better way.

I have started another competition at my work to guess the hatching date of the two eggs.  I should mention that geckos only ever lay two eggs, so all is very normal on that front.  I thought the competition was at least another way to try and bring a bit of light into an otherwise shady day.

What's Doing with the Reptiles?

So what's going on with the reptiles?  A lot of nothing in some cases and in others life continues as normal with the odd twist or two.  Half the crew is asleep for the winter in Lolly, Beau and Bruce.  The rest are going along beautifully.

Our newest family members have settled in really well by all indicators.  I am in two minds as to whether or not the female gecko is gravid (pregnant).  She is certainly looking 'chubby' as you can see from these photos taken when I took her out of her enclosure briefly to try and get a better idea of the situation.

I've asked around the appropriate traps of the intermaweb and the collective wisdom is that it is very difficult to tell with the Strophorus family generally.  Apparently with some of the more commonly kept species you can actually see through the skin on the undersides of their bellies when they are gravid and the eggs are clearly visible.  It can be a simple matter of placing the female in a clear container and looking at her from underneath!  Oh for it to be that easy.

Additionally from what I understand, female Golden Tails are larger than their male counterparts and can carry a bit of size around the belly.  This can also make it hard to tell when they are carrying eggs of course as from what I am seeing now, my girl is just as likely to be settling in and feeding well as anything else.  I am also tending to think it is more that she is just faring well in her new home as at this time of year, it would be unusually late to see her produce young.  Not unheard of given the right environmentals, but, unlikely.  So at this stage it's ready on watch for the next couple of weeks.  I had planned to turn the temperatures down for the winter cooling period in preparation for the next breeding season this week.  Now it looks like a couple of weeks just holding station for now.  I have also made a 'lay box' just in case.  This consists of a relatively small plastic container with a hole about the size of a twenty cent piece cut in the top, filled with a moist sand, vermiculite mix.  This is so that the female can dig a tunnel to lay and bury her eggs (should she have them in this case).  It will break the natural look of the enclosure somewhat for the time being.  But, better to play on the safer side of things as it were.

I weighed and measured Lacey today as you can see by the third photo here.  I have not weighed her for a couple of months, but, that is in the main because she has been looking so fit and healthy.  That was confirmed today during the checks.  Since she's been with us, Lacey has doubled in length and is nearly eight times her original weight!  She is looking just fantastic at around 110cms and just shy of 250 grams.  She came out for family cuddles with everyone today and remains an excellent handler, gracefully making her way through the hands of all those 'brave' enough to line up for a touch.  I still maintain that pythons are certainly the best pet that I have come across from the perspective of being something out of the ordinary and most certainly from an ease of care perspective.  Fascinating to look and, handle and interact with generally.  Great pets.  Simple as that.

Sharing the Love

Since I started keeping reptiles a few years ago now, I have been very pleased with the opportunity it presents to talk to people about them.  Most recently this has been the result of my new geckos stirring up plenty of interest at work and beyond.  Of course I get plenty of funny looks and much interest at the fact that I keep Dragons and even a snake.  I guess it must startle people somewhat that an otherwise average looking Joe like me is 'into that sort of thing'.  I think on the whole, most people would be surprised just how many people are.  But, that is another story entirely.

I've always liked things that are unique, or at least a little different.  I suppose that is what must have at least in some way drawn  me to keeping reptiles.  However, it is the peculiarities of the ACT licensing system that has lead me to keep a far greater variety of animals than I ever thought possible (and even sensible if I am honest about it).

Now that I am actually able to keep geckos, the animals that I originally set out to have, I've started to reflect a little.  What I think strikes me most is the opportunities to learn and share with others about these fascinating animals, in particular with my kids.  Quite spontaneously this afternoon, I took Lacey outside to take some photos and the kids joined in.  I'm really happy that they are so comfortable with her and that I have been able to provide them with interesting insights into topics such as genetics, reproduction and the care and safety issues associated with animals.  You can see from these photos that they are both more than happy to interact with Lacey, as they are with all our animals.  I dubbed our youngest the snake charmer this afternoon.  The way she handled Lacey showed me just how much she has learned and really how much she has grown up.  Even if she is still only four.

I guess the point of my self indulgent monologue today is partly to show off my beautiful girls, but, also to articulate how much I enjoy sharing my interest in the hobby of keeping reptiles.  It's great to see the expressions on peoples faces go through a variety of shock, polite interest and sometimes even some wide eyed wonder.  Perhaps the most pleasing part of it is that I've been able to help a few others get started in the hobby as well.  From my two seasons of breeding Dragons, four of my babies are now in homes that knew nothing about keeping reptiles previously.  I was more than happy to gift them to their knew owners on the basis that they had the right set ups, knowledge and intent to care for them.  So far so good.  Here's to many more years with these great pets!

The Wait is Over!

 It may have taken nearly 3 years to get my license, but, the wait was more than worth it.  Today, we took possession of a pair of Golden Tail Geckos (Strophurus taenicauda triaureus).  They came on a plane from Melbourne and we picked them up at the airport.  This picture is of them still in the container in which they were lovingly packed this morning.

This yet to be named pair are male and female and have successfully bred this season.  Their former owner sold them to me as she is downsizing her collection.  I am completely thrilled at the opportunity this presented me to start keeping geckos with this species and these individuals.  The arboreal Strophurus genus, often called spiney tails caught my eye some time ago, over the more popular terrestrial species commonly kept by enthusiasts.  I like their slender tails and find their markings more appealing to my eyes at least.  Despite often being called spiney golden tails because of their classification, this particular species does not posses the spines often associated with their cousins like Strophurus ciliaris.

Interestingly this species was recently reclassified into three subspecies, hence the triple barrel name of Genus, species and subspecies (Strophurus taenicauda triaureus).  Normally only genus and species are used to classify animals.  The name translated means, turning-tail, stripe-tail, three golden.  This is because not only do these guys have a single well defined golden stripe down the top side of their tails, but, they have one less prominent stripe down either side of their tails as well.  They are commonly referred to as the barred form of golden tails which I assume is because of the neat rows of black and white stripes running vertically opposed to the golden stripes running the length of their tails.  The sub species is also distinct from the two other species in a few other ways, including their amber eye colour.  The other two sub species have red, and white eyes respectively.  If you are interested in reading more, check out the reclassification document on Danny Brown's site GeckoDan.

I must say that I was taken aback when I opened the tightly sealed container and saw these guys in the flesh for the first time.  They are stunningly beautiful and my pictures do not do them justice.  Everything from their amber eyes, black and white markings right through to their golden striped tails is just breathtaking.  I am so looking forward to watching and learning more about these little guys first hand.  With any luck they will breed for me this coming season too.  Another great experience to share with the kids.  For now, they are settling into their new home and I'm trying to think of some groovy names for them.

A New Member of the Family

This week saw the much anticipated arrival of our newest Dragon now named Penny.  Like Lolly and Beau she is a Bearded Dragon.  After going through what was a surprisingly straight forward process of getting licence and import permits sorted, I gratefully took possession of Penny, a 4 week old female hypo (hypomelanistic) Dragon.

Hypomelanism is a recessive genetic mutation in some animals causing malfunctioning melanin (pigment) production or problems with its transport to pigmented cells.  What does this mean in practical terms?  Melanin is the thing that browns us when we tan.  It also makes the patterned markings on Bearded Dragons as well as other things on them dark.  A Dragon that has a genetic mutation that either inhibits the production of melanin or the effective transport of melanin to the parts of the body that it would otherwise darken is said to be hypomelanistic.  Where this is the case, the animal will generally appear lighter all round.

There are some key factors in determining if a Dragon is definitely hypo.  A Dragon can be lighter and indeed almost white, without being hypo.  As this is a genetic trait rather than polymorphism, which is the term describing non genetic colour variation in animals, to be a true hypo key expressions of the trait must be present through generations.  The easiest trait to identify is that true hypos have clear nails on all their toes.  Normal Bearded Dragons have black nails.  If you have a Dragon that has clear nails, then it is a hypo, the traits are genetic and they can be passed on to future generations through selective breeding. Hypomelanism is not the same as Albinism where no melanin is produced at all, which, in Bearded Dragons, is not a terribly desirable trait as it is something that has the potential to severely shorten their life and generally does.  But, that is another discussion.  You can find more information on this and other Bearded Dragon genetic traits on this page - LINKY.

After that little science lesson, what we have day to day is a cute little baby Bearded Dragon.  Her name is Penny, after her namesake on the TV Series, The Big Bang Theory.  As she is so small compared with our other Dragons, she is being kept separately until such time as she can be safely housed together with at least our other girl, Lolly if not all three together.  She came to us in fantastic condition with a nice fat belly having been well cared for.  From day one she has been enthusiastically eating all the live food I have been putting in front of her, both woodies (speckled cockroaches) and crickets.  I will start introducing veggies on the weekend.  I was also very happy to see her drinking very well when I have misted her with water.  To this point, everything is going very well!  In the future, I have plans to breed her with Beau and my mind wonders off at the possibilities down the track with her offspring and Lolly as well.  But for now, she is cute, healthy and a load of fun.

DIY Enclosure Series - Part 3

After many moons between activity on my enclosure project, I have finally managed to make some reasonable progress.  I was motivated mainly by Bruce's temporary home becoming more than temporary given how long he has been in there.  Also by my tendency not to finish projects like this.  With that in mind, I decided to focus on the bottom enclosure that will be Bruce's permanent dwelling.  After all, it would make good practice for the upper enclosure that is a fair bit bigger, which will make it more difficult to manage on my own.  Better to start with something a bit easier to handle.

To get to this point, I have cut the base and backing boards.  These are MDF that I had in the garage that I thought to use rather than running out and buying melamine or similar.  I sealed them with two types of pond sealer. The first is what gives the boards the blue colouration.  It is a think grainy substance that dries in an almost rubbery texture.  Over that is two coats of a clear sealer that is much thinner, more watery in texture.  Both these products are non toxic as they are designed for fish ponds.

I also sourced glass to fit all three other sides.  The front and right side cut to fit fixed and snugly.  The left hand side toughened and bevelled to be hinged as a door.

I have also made a series of flyscreen panels for the top and sides for ventilation.  I am so close to finishing.  I am two pieces short to complete the final panel from the top of the enclosure.  I made three for a couple of reasons.  Firstly it will make it easier to access the top when the lighting is in place as I will not have to remove the whole top to reach in.  Additionally, I made the assumption that smaller panels would provide greater strength to support light fittings as the spans are smaller.  I still have to figure out how I am going to secure the side flyscreen panels.  They fit well enough but are not fixed to the frame as yet.

The part that I have found the trickiest has definitely been the mounting of the glass door.  The glass is cut as per the dimensions provided to me by the frame manufacturer.  It is a very tight fit.  Not having done this before I was looking for some insight as to how to hang the door.  After a visit to my in-laws to look at their TV cabinet, which, just happens to have the exact same hinges, I set to it.  I drilled holes in the aluminium box sections that frame the top and bottom of the door to take the hinge mounts after measuring and marking the right locations and size of hole required.  Then comes problem number 1.  The joints for the framework are solid metal and penetrate a fair way into each span.  Some of them have channels on some of their faces.  Others do not.  The one that penetrates the top span framing the door does not and covered the hole such that I could push in the hinge mount.  Shattered.

I decided to cut my losses and drill a second hole at a point past where the joint pieces penetrate the span.  This will leave me with a somewhat unsightly surplus hole in the span, but, at least the door will mount.  After drilling the second hole and mounting the door in it's hinges, physics gets in the way.  Physics or geometry or something.  As the hinge is further along the span of glass, their is part of the glass pane protruding out the back of the hinge.  Originally I had planned to have the hinges mounted right up in the corner as I had seen on the TV cabinet.  This means that the glass panel essentially opens in place.  With the hinge place further along the span, the part of the glass behind the hinge starts to protrude in the opposite direction.  Problem being that the glass panel is such a tight fit that as I tried to open the door, the edge trying to move into the enclosure straight away gets caught on the aluminium frame and cannot get past it.  So the door will not open.  There in we have problem number 2...

This story does have a happy ending as you can see in the photo above.  With some belated lateral thinking, I decided to drill a hole in the metal joint, just deep enough to take the hinge mount in its original location.  With a little fiddling I got this right and low and behold we have a working door!  Having said that, there is no way that the handle and locking mechanism I was supplied will fit as the glass is cut just too snug.  Good for no escaping animals.  Bad for fitting a lock.  I am going to see what other options I can come up with, but, for now a small piece of the plastic beading used to mount the other glass panes will do just fine as a temporary way to secure the door and leave it possible to open it easy enough.  Of course I still have a somewhat unsightly hole surplus to my needs from the door mounting experience.  But, the outcome is otherwise satisfactory.

So there you have it.  A little work left to do on this one this week should see Bruce installed very soon.  From there it will essentially be rinse and repeat on a bigger scale and hopefully without the same mistakes!

Baby Time!

I dropped home at lunch today and checked on the incubator as I have been doing with increasing frequency as my expected date for the first clutch of Lolly and Beau's eggs to hatch approached.  Today my quick check came with a nice surprise.  Hatching eggs 2 days early!  2 days ahead of my calculated date at least.  Not too bad for a novice I guess.

Here are some pictures that I quickly snapped.  As of tonight there are about half a dozen that are completely out of their shells.  4 of which I have put into a separate open container on the shelves that I have set up for them.  I will leave them in there without any substrate just to dry out and lose any of the vermiculite that has clung to them.  Vermiculite is the medium I use that the eggs sit on while they incubate.  It is the grey, pebbly looking stuff in these photos.  The babies come out covered in fluid and the vermiculite tends to stick to them.  So a day in an empty tub to dry out and clean up is in order.

After a day, they will go into the 120 litre tubs that I have set up with light, heat and UV ready for them.  I have 2 tubs set up for the moment with plans for up to another 3.  Bruce is in the sixth tub at the moment while I build his new enclosure.  That leaves 5 tubs for the clutches that Lolly and Beau produce this season.  Dividing the babies up will mean the loss of less toes and tails between the siblings.  I plan to keep each clutch for around a month to make sure that when I move them on they are healthy and also to see if there are any little gems in amongst them.

For now it's time to enjoy the new arrivals!

DIY Enclosure Series - Part 2

As stated in the first post in this series, the aluminium box framing for the enclosure that I am building arrived a couple of weeks ago.  I have not progressed too much since then for one reason or another.  I am please to report however, that things should pick up from here.

Here is a picture of the bottom enclosure loosely assembled.  You can see the framework goes together nicely with the combination of different joints and profiles of metal going together rather like a jigsaw.  The only bit that takes any time is making sure that you have the right piece in the right place.  Again, much like a jigsaw, they only go one way if everything is to come together correctly.  If you enlarge the photo, you can see the pieces of dark black PVC beading that will secure the glass panels when they arrive.

Speaking of glass panels, they should arrive this week.  After a bit of too a fro with different suppliers, a friend of mine who works for a window manufacturer has come through with the goods as it were.  As far as construction materials go, they form the last big pieces.  I will have to get hold of a little more fly screen building materials, but, they are just consumables as I have all the tools that I need and will be quick to lay hands on.

This second picture here is of all the framework loosely assembled, just to see if I had all the pieces and that everything was in order.  Good thing I went through this process as I not only found out how careful you need to be putting the right pieces in the right places, but, also that there were some components missing from my shipment.  An email or two sorted that and I received the required materials in a second postal delivery.

So now what I need is a little time to start the construction elements of the project.  I have cut one of the base pieces for the enclosures out of MDF that I had in the garage for another purpose that is no longer required.  Due to the nature of the profile of the tube that takes the MDF, it is the only material for the panels of the enclosures that must be in place prior to knocking everything together.  Once I have all the pieces I can firmly fit everything and then mount the glass and fly screen panels later.

I was very happy with the first base piece that I cut and it fit well.  The second one I managed to cut a little narrow and I will have to redo it.  Fortunately I have enough material on hand to be able to do that without having to purchase more.

Overall, the process is progressing.  Just slowly.  I hope to pick up the pace now.  So stay tuned!

Eggciting Times Round 2!

Lolly laid her second clutch of the season this afternoon.  My beautiful wife rang me at work to let me know that she though Lolly might be in the throws of laying as she had dug herself a mighty hole in the laying box.  It turns out she was entirely correct.  I had been expecting Lolly to lay as early as last weekend as she had been giving off plenty of signs that she was getting close.  I guess no one can rush a mother or her babies and nature just has to take its course as it were.

You can see in the first photo, that by the time I came home from work, Lolly was just finishing up.  The egg you can see in the back left corner was the only thing giving away her nest site.  For some reason, she left that one on the surface.  The rest were well and truly buried at the bottom.  I was able to see the technique she used to compact the sand to settle and maybe disguise the site.  It was fascinating to see her using her head to bash the sand down and the force with which this was done.  Given the location of the egg you can see on top (ie directly on top of the nest site), I moved it to the far corner of the lay box to protect it.

In this next photo, you can see the clutch itself.  I retrieved 24 eggs this time.  Unfortunately there were 7 other eggs that were either infertile, referred to as slugs, or that had been crushed.  With a total of 31 eggs, this was Lolly's largest clutch.  I wonder if that is why there were infertile eggs. In the case of what look to be the viable eggs, there is the general appearance of them being longer and flatter than her previous clutches.  I am hoping that it is just that prior to laying that things were just a little squishy in there.  They might round out a bit now that they are out and about as it were.

The final picture you can see here is the proud Mum to be, literally basking in the afterglow of her big effort of the afternoon.  At this point she had relaxed in a nice warm bath and had actually coloured up very nicely.  This photo doesn't do the yellow colouration she had on display justice.  She is a beautiful dragon and I am really hopeful that her genetics combined with Beau's will produce some excellent offspring.

For now, she has time to recover and I will be pumping her full of good tucker to help her recover and fatten up.  Chances are she will lay once or twice more this season.  I have promised her the year off next year.  I think she has well and truly earned it!

DIY Enclosure Series - Part 1

Ever since Bruce came on the scene, I have needed to do something about a permanent home for him.  In reality his arrival accelerated the need I already had to provide permanent accommodation for Lacey through her adult life.  She can only live so long in a 20 litre tub after all.  As much as it is ideal for her now, in a year or so, it will be completely inadequate.  Add to these requirements my general interest in DIY lately and you find me where I am today.  On the cusp of starting to build my own custom enclosure for both Lacey and Bruce.

I read an article in the current edition of Scales and Tails magazine that went into some detail the merits of building your own enclosure using tubular aluminium to construct a frame on which to encompass the various materials that make up its faces.  I set upon this concept over and above what I had been thinking, which had centred on using melamine to construct a wooden home for our reptiles.  I like working with wood.  That is not to say that I am any good at it.

The article described the tubular aluminium as being available with different profiles.  That is to say with different extrusions on it that would help simply secure different materials such as glass and wood.  With this and other basic information in hand I set about researching the manufacturers of the aluminium tube and what options were in fact available to me before setting about designing what I wanted.

The two images in this post are what I came up with.  The are produced in Google Sketchup and are to scale as a result.  I sent the designs to a couple of manufacturers and based on the great advice, help and the products themselves of one of them, I ordered the framework for my new enclosure.  I am very pleased to report that it arrived today!  So let the fun begin...

You can see in the images that I have designed a two storey home for the critters with Lacey to be in the penthouse and Bruce in the basement.  The void in between is where lighting for Bruce's pad will sit.  I have also included flyscreen panels on the top and sides for ventillation.  The left hand sides of both enclosures will have toughened glass hinged doors.

I am really looking forward to the interesting challenge of this piece of construction and will keep the progress recorded here.

Reptile Health Diary – 01/10/2011

Quite an interesting month just gone.  From Lacey and Bruce both shedding to Lolly laying her first clutch of eggs for the season.  Plenty of fun to be had.

Lolly
Weight: 407 grams (-40)
Length: 48.8 (+3)
Food: Bok Choy, Crickets, Fuzzy Mouse, grapes
Toilet: regular
Behaviour:  Lolly provided us with 29 beautiful eggs this month that are currently incubating and looking plump and viable.  This explains her weight loss.  In the week and a half since she laid them, I have been pumping her with food and she has been ravenous as you would expect.  Given that the weight of the eggs was just over 100 grams, I am not unhappy that she is only 40 grams lighter.  In all likelihood she will lay another clutch in the next 2-3 weeks!  So I have to be sure to keep her food up to ensure she stays in the best of health.

Beau

Weight: 289 grams (+9)

Length: 44 cm (+0)

Food: Bok Choy, Crickets, grapes

Toilet: regular

Behaviour: Beau, having proven himself on the breeding front has settled into a relaxed routine.  He is not the voracious feeder that Lolly is, but, then again, he is not eating for 30... He does eat well and is still putting on mating displays with Lolly.  I have plans in the works that will enable me to separate them once copulation is confirmed.  For now, Lolly has to put up with his amorous advances for a while longer unfortunately.

Lacey

Weight: 78 grams (+17)

Length: 72.5 cm (+6.9)

Food: 1-2 fuzzies per week (10g approx.)

Toilet: regular (weekly)

Behaviour: Lacey has made a smooth transition from pink mice to fuzzies this month.  She had one slightly off week eating just one fuzzy.  This was most likely because she had just shed her skin.  The shed was in one piece this time, which was pleasing.  This week she ate one larger fuzzy weighing in at between 9 and 10 grams.  I wondered if how she would go, but, whilst it took a little longer than usual, it looked like a pretty satisfying meal as it moved down towards her stomach.  She remains a quiet and pleasant handling pet.  I should have got into snakes sooner!

Bruce

Weight: 396 grams (+71 )

Length: 34.5 cm (+ .8)

Food: eggs, dog food, grapes

Toilet: regular

Behaviour: Bruce continues to grow well.  Although it appears to be mostly outwards this month!  I am working on a permanent arrangement to house Bruce as the hospital tank is becoming more inadequate each passing day.  I hope to have something sorted this coming month.  It will be good to have him in a permanent home.  He continues to be somewhat of a grumpy sod, but, in a way that makes you smile rather than anything truly aggressive.  When I went to measure him today, he took a half sleepy attempt to bite my hand.  It wasn't until I lifted up my hand to give him a once over that I even noticed what he was doing.  There was no malice and barely even any intent in it.  I know that if he wanted to he could give it a red hot go and I would know about it, but, deep down I think he is more of a grumpy smurf than a villain.   I tried putting him in with Lolly and then Beau in with him with a view to lessening the stress on Lolly with Beau's mating advances, but, he seemed to be more interesting in annoying the Dragons than anything else.  Out of curiosity no doubt and funny to watch, but, certainly not a long term strategy either way at this stage.