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.