Varanophile

I always act in good faith- whether it's gear or livestock, I'm sorry if you have an issue- communication may not be your strongest point I have heard. You seem a little confused buddy....got any 'super deals' on 'guaranteed splits'? There is someone selling some on trade me at he mo, maybe have a look at how to write an honest ad........or ask a professor on how to do it, lol :thup:

PM 'Houthouse', I'm sure he would know- been there done that.

I'm sure we could get it on to feijoas and guavas....nikau palm dates maybe? Release some in the orchards up Keri Keri?

did I replace your bulb? I did for other people. Cost me a packet, good ol' 'Ultimate Reptile Supplies' in Oz did me a deal....pity the bulbs were crap. In hind sight you are lucky it blew, my dragons died of leukemia as a result of those bulbs.

Check this doco out.....giant fruit eating monitor that lives in the trees. Awesome. Maybe it will be on the next MAF list of approved lizards????? Wouldn't eat any native animals if it escaped............ :digH:

Ever had your beardie outside, enjoying the sun...then something blocks the sun....they freak out. Natural response to possible bird predator blocking the sun....wouldn't a thermostat flicking the light on and off be the same? Natural seasonal variation in ambient temp is good, not bad....dragons use these cues for brumation/breeding, so why would you try to regulate everything.... I am sure I am missing something here, are you in the hobby for the 'gismo' aspect maybe FaceAnthrax?

exoterra ones better than arcadia. Petware is the wholesaler for both, so you can order through your local pet shop. I just don't get the thermostat thing. Only time you would use one is if your tank is too small? 5 foot tank. Basking spot of 37-45 Celsius down one end. Then the dragon chooses when to bask and when to go down the cool end. I have used thermostats and I can't see the point if your set up is correct. If your tank is over heating then the ventilation or size of tank or bulb wattage is wrong. Maybe there is an advantage to them in terms of reducing temp for brumation. The other thing is that if you really want your dragon to have the best possible home then you would be using merc vapour bulbs and/or an outdoor cage, and you can't use a thermostat for merc vapours.

Might have me mixed up with someone else on this? Also your right on that that size though is far too small for an adult

1 metre x .5 x .5 for an animal that grows to .75 long is too small...unless you cut its tail off.

And FaceAnthrax I presume this enclosure is until your WD is sub adult and then you will get a larger one (enclosure that is)?

How long you been keeping BD's FaceAnthrax? My knowledge is from 12 years of cock ups I have made....don't super heat your dragons and feed them dog food, remember uva/uvb doesn't travel through glass, don't put merc vapours on a thermostat, don't buy made in china bulbs that are not quality tested, don't use sand that has salt in it, don't keep babies of different sizes together and miss a feeding session, don't sell W T F's on TM.....and so many more.

Maybe...I am yet to see any heated shrubs yet though in desert or coastal areas in Aussie. There is plenty of research about it being good for lizards to chill a bit at night as it reduces their metabolic rate....makes them live longer. Every knows that reptiles need a heat source, but they need it in order to digest food and be active- not 24/7. If in doubt I think its best to imitate their natural environment where their morphology, behaviour, metabolic enzymes etc etc have evolved over 10's of millions of years. Compare a slow grown red ear or snake neck turtle (natural conditions) to one from a heated tank 24/7 and you'll see that one of them looks a lot healthier than the other....same goes for whistling tree frogs- they thrive in 15-20C, but don't do so well above 25C. I raised my first lot of water dragons with the 24/7 heat and they grew really fast....pity about the low fertility though. Inland BD's, Coastal BD's, Water Dragons all require brumation...not a good idea to heat at night then suddenly stop doing that when you brumate them I would think, yeah? Anyone got an opinion on this or am I just being a cheap a-se?

Just curious...define 'too cold'? You know beardies are from the desert and water dragons can tolerate down to zero celsius aye?

If your enclosure is inside, which it sounds like it is, you need a merc vapour bulb or metal hallide (chews through the power) as a source for uva/uvb. You'll be amazed at how superior these bulbs are compared to standard light + fluoro tubes. You'll get about 24 months out of a good quality one, which works out at about $40 a year for the exoterra ones. You want the merc vapour down one end so that there is a heat gradient that allows your w/d to regulate its own temp. No need for night time heat source. 60W is probably a bit low in terms of wattage, the bulb would need to be really close to the basking spot.....go for a 100w merc vapour, or failing that a 160w. Then email me and let me know where you bought it.....I need some too. DONT use a thermostat on a merc vapour, you will blow the bulb.

I am trying to source some merc vapour bulbs. Just wondering what brands are out there at the mo. and from where and how good they are. I don't want to pay mega bucks for the JBL ones and the Exoterra ones from Petware are not due in for 6 months at least........you would think that someone would recognise an opportunity. Anyone bought in their own recently off the net?? Cheers.

Are you planning to brumate your beardie (you should be)? If so, mine are 2 weeks away from shut down and I have plenty of room. I'm North Shore, but I work at the airport. My email is below.

thorny devil. only eats a certain genus of ant. we have this genus of ant in nz.

:sml1: What if we engineered a virus specific to MAF??? I'd chip in for that.

Ha ha. Forgot about that. Cheers.

I feed huge numbers of locusts and crickets and mealworms and bees....no issues with overweight animals. But yes I agree if you feed foods high in fat like pinkies and waxies then you would have an issue. You are right about the animal protein for reptiles, especially for beardies it is a no go area...maybe once or twice year ok. Anyone had a dragon get obese from just insects (no waxies though) ????

Genetically engineered virus? 100 years from now or sooner almost certainly could be done...surely.

In NZ in terms of native reptiles, you need someone to 'donate' you some of their stock and you need to have a license (pay a fee to DOC..possibly be inspected at some point if we have time Sir). Some people get off on the fact that they have animals that other people don't, it is more about having a 'collection' as a pose to conserving a species. You can't sell animals or release into the wild, but you can give them to that guy that did you a favour, or that kid that likes dinosaurs cos they are kool. In Australia anyone- provided you are licensed (paid a fee, had your enclosures inspected, know your stuff/have the right experience) can purchase a native reptile (appropriate to their experience) from an individual or a retailer (different in each state). If you are successful at breeding your reptiles then you can sell them to someone that has the right skills to look afther them well (they have a license too)..... And you can't release into the wild. The aussie system does its best to prevent mixing of subspecies or species being released and having a negative impact on the local fauna/flora- if you live in Perth then you can only keep the local species of bearded dragon. In Victoria you are allowed to keep monitors from the Northern Territory simply because there is no way they could establish a wild population as they need conditions that are completely different to Victoria- no risk of any enviromental impact ( same as iguanas, day geckos, leopard torts in New Zealand) Here in NZ you frequently see multiple species that can hybridise in the same cage, resulting in hybrids.... :facepalm: And the aussie system generates income for itself and conservation initiatives and provides a safe guard against extinctions- example: Cane Toads are spreading West. They are toxic to the 3 water monitor species. It is likely the monitors will be extinct in the wild at some point. Once the Cane Toad issue is solved (could be 1 year, could be 100) then the captive monitors in the hobby can be used to reestablish wild populations....internationally recognised practice...why can't we do with Otago Skinks????????????????????? But yes you are right- they can't keep exotics...and yes, it is not clear which ones we can have. And most experts except that BOTH systems have the same ammount of abuse in terms of illegal export (at least the reptiles smuggled out of Oz may be captive bred instead of wild caught which seems to be the trend here in NZ), so there is absolutely NO benefit to the system we are involved in....essentially we have a system that a retarded 6 year old could create during morning tea time in place for natives, and a system that is all over the place like a mad woman's c--p in place for exotics.....australians are not especially renowned for their intellect but they are obviously way smarter than MAF.

Just my opinion...in nature beardies (like many other species including leopard geckos, bluetongues, water dragons, frogs, box torts) are feast or famine.....that is the very reason why reptiles exist and thrive in harsh environs. Provided you offer the right foods then it is impossible to over feed. Obviously don't offer your dragon 500 waxworms in a session (extremely high in fat and not an insect the dragon would eat in nature), but offering as many locusts or crickets or mealworms as they can eat as often as you want is not an issue. The only thing I have noticed is that dragons well fed on bugs are less likely to eat greens. Alanmin: Metabolic bone disease can only be caused by not enough calcium, or no UVA/UVB to convert it into body tissue. The only probelm I see in terms of overfeeding is over supplementation of vitamins or calcium- so as I said earlier do it once a week for calcium and no need to even bother with the vitamins provided you feed a variety of foods. If your dragon is fat then it is as the result of inactivity ( have you brumated it) or lack of exercise....which is why you need a large enclosure or give your dragon the ability to have a wander round in a large outdoor cage or deck or balcony or supervised run on the grass at least once a week.....they run ALL over the place non-stop. The way people like Repto or Sneaky or ReptileNutt keep their animals is the right way- lots of room and the animal regulates its own body. If you want to have a pet whereby you can control every aspect of its life then get a mouse. Too many people adopt methods or create theories that are over complicated (big trend in American reptile literature) and melodramatic...applies to food, temp, incubating, bathing, humidity, substrate, 'my dragon turned black this morning because I was late feeding him :facepalm: ' etc. As Repto said earlier don't over think it (temperatures), just imitate the environment where the animal evolved. According to the US 'experts' basking spot needs to be within a 4 degrees celsius range and you can't drop temps under 65 fahrenheit- CRAP!!!!!!! Inland Bearded Dragons are found over a truly massage range. They can tolerate heat/cold, no food/lots of food, no water/flooding....they are hugely resistant to insect venom (bees and wasps) and have the ability to eat almost anything....if it moves and it fits in my mouth I will try and eat it. For example if a beardie comes across a large food source in the wild he will pig out, and often there will be massive numbers of locusts for several weeks in a row. He won't think, 'hmmmm maybe I should watch my weight'. You must have all heard about only feeding young prey items that are less in length than the width of the dragons head- OMG...you really think that a baby beardie in the wild uses this method to assess whether it eats a bug?????? Just feed the right foods and offer variety. Give the animal an environment that allows it to exhibit its natural behaviour...simple. I know some of you have become involved in this hobby after being involved in other hobbies that are very technical- breeding discus/horticulture etc and that it makes sense to want to be as technical as possible but you can over do it. A dragon in a large outdoor cage that is fed once a week on bugs and finds it own greens has a way better quality of life (and they live longer) than one in a 4 foot tank that gets exactly 14 hours of fluorotube and a basking spot that is exactly the perfect temp, is fed locusts every second day and crickets every third day and has its food dusted with vitamins on Mon, Tues, Wed and gets to wander round in the lounge during Coro Street twice a week......you get the drift. Just adopt basic common sense and observe your animals behaviour.

Henward is right. Also, warm areas of skin result in the capillaries having a higher blood flow, which make your dragon appear a brighter colour.