Charlie

yes that is their scientific name... keep them at about 24-26 degrees adult tank would be 300 liters or bigger is better but you can keep babybs in the same size tank, they are very good swimmers and would love the xtra space. they are not really social, you can keep one its own happily, because if you get a pair the male will start attacking the female when it comes into season... water depth is usually 2x the length of their shell... this is in case they fall in backwards they can flip themselves back up... for the basking ramp it could be a idea but also they need a spot where they can get completly out of the water to back. no point of plants, they will just rip them all out... plastic ones they may eat... PH can be kept at 7... tap water is fine... i would recomend a BIG canister filter, they make huge messes when they eat...!!! weekly 50-75% water changes are a must to keep the water clean and fresh make sure to feed them in the water because they cant digest food on land... Never hand feed adults as they can bite HARD... Make sure you have a good UV lamp... They are wicked turtles!!!

no well your post was FULL of sarcasim... well mayby if you cant afford to pet proof your outside cage then mayby you shouldnt have them outdoors?

well for babys the required temp is 40 degrees in the bascking area. usually this is on a large rock, because at night if you choose to not run lights the rock should hold a high enough heat temp to hold until the morning. in the cooler sides temps should range to about 27-28 degrees If your tank falls under 18 degrees at night you need to invest in a red reptile bulb to keep temperatures up and to not disterb the sleep patterns of the dragon... For the bulbs at your size tank i would use a 100 watt bulb over the basking rock/branch (if its to hot simply move it away from the tank until a good temp... in the other areas of the tank you could use a 50watt bulb... rember if at night it gets too cold use a red bulb to buff up the temps. For UV i recomend Sera UV reptile bulbs... my opinion best in the market...

i dont like the natives due to the paper work on having to get them, i may get some one day but at the moment i simply cant be bothad with all the drama. I am getting the Leos because i like the colouring of them. Lots of reptiles dont have status in NZ like the bearded dragons, but they are most common? Torts are reconised by MAF its just finding a breeder with stock to sell is the issue.

anyway this isnt are thread to trash so back on topic... any more issues you can PM me directly

didnt see any posts started by me saying... Im getting 5 Leos to breed and make lots of money what do i do??? I can think of many many hobbyists that got into breeding to make money and they do, but they also have awsome collections, great husbandary skills, huge knowledge in which they poor back into the hobby? so are they not hobbyists?

I appreciate your concerns, however leos are deemed as a beginner reptile world wide... just because they cost a fair amount of money doesnt make them any harder to keep... I understand how to care for these animals.

what would be the point? you cant release them to public... id just have a really expensive import room... But i would be then allowed a crocodile... but not really worth it? id rather spend the money on what you can have.

wow was just a suggestion, no need to be snappy about it.

mate when you are spending close to 5k on reptiles in one go you tend to read ALLOT also i do have red eared sliders...

well yes but they could have eaten plants wich could be posioness/carry ferts... may not be enough to kill a dragon but it could make a young one ill??? best to know where your feeders came from.

just a mild work of caution, wild mouse can carry disease or may have recently consumed poision. If so it could be harmful to your dragons... id say just for safty best to pest proof your inclousure. However it would have been so cool to see!!!

Does anyone breed bugs on a mass scale for reptile feeding? if so post what you breed...

i wonder if their other bugs can be bread from?

if you wanted it for reptiles there are 6 that have a IHS created for them??? no point really...

oh they told me all their bugs where sterile? Oh no i have no intentions of trying to super grow my Leos that fast but im just saying that its a stable diet. If i wanted to protein overload them/fat overload id feed them wax worms

Mealworms have been credited by breeders for many many years now, when dusted with calcium and vitamin powders appropiatly. Large US breeder have reported that they can reach 40g in 4 months!!! thats heavy being a adult female weighs around 55g no yes i am getting them through biosuppliers until my culture is ready. (yes i know their cultures are sterile so i have sorced others)

it all depends on what you want the facility for? each has its own standard...

fair enough i wasnt sure that such a club was already present

yea but it doesnt really cater for exotics does it??? also didnt think about that aspect of theft... but could be useful for more commons such as dragons/turtles??? until the exotics become established... sort of like how the NZKC is set-out?

good decision to keep the silver because if you sold him and got the green in a year or so he would be the same size? Save the pennys for a bigger tank !!

Who would be interested in the production of a reptile club NZ wide, where we keep some sort of database on who has what and whos breeding what??? could be a way to save many species in NZ???

It is $2000 to get the licence, then you have to update it every year and pay maf to come out a certain number of times a to check it still is maintained to standard at a hourly rate.

yea you need to get your food source ready well in advance for them, i am getting Leos at the end of the month and i am starting my worm cultures now...

astroturf is good, easy to clean and its better than sand for babys. Do you know all about temps and lighting requirement for beardies?