terrence Posted February 3, 2008 Report Share Posted February 3, 2008 After recently seeing forum posts of people discussing their various lizard collections, I became curious about how easy it is to get into? (Or more precisely, how *affordable* it is... after seeing some rather alarming pricetags on trademe etc) Is there a particular bargain lizard breed which is the cheapest way of starting out with this hobby? Or a particular shop/breeder who I should contact? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott16 Posted February 3, 2008 Report Share Posted February 3, 2008 blue tongues are cheapest i think . $300 for a baby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
broms2 Posted February 3, 2008 Report Share Posted February 3, 2008 blue tongues $300 - $400 babies waterdragons $300 babies inland bearded dragon $350 - $700 babies most others $1000.00 plus or get a native permit and keep natives which you get free off other permit holders. be careful though once you start its hard to stop :bounce: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bulldogod Posted February 3, 2008 Report Share Posted February 3, 2008 Yes, be careful, addictive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HaNs Posted February 3, 2008 Report Share Posted February 3, 2008 NATIVES Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
broms2 Posted February 3, 2008 Report Share Posted February 3, 2008 Hans do you keep natives? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrence Posted February 3, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2008 Thanks everybody for the suggestions! From everything I'm reading it sounds very intriguing, though the prices these ancient little creatures command is quite something I can imagine the addictive nature of the collection too... Ouch, $300 for a single baby... Are they very hardy little things? I don't mean to sound cold - it'd be bad enough if it promptly left this mortal coil, but the added monetary loss would just be salt in the wounds! I'd imagine they must be fairly hardy and pretty likely to live many years? Regarding the native permit etc - presumably in that case you'd have to prove to DOC that you know what you're doing, have a large suitable terrarium etc? Or is it more of a simple formality to get the permit? I'm liking the sound of free natives - and while I don't currently have experience with keeping reptiles, I'd be sure to learn quickly and provide a decent environment for them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OscarBoy Posted February 3, 2008 Report Share Posted February 3, 2008 Ummm u 4got to mention there is bearded dragons 4 $500(babies on tm) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott16 Posted February 3, 2008 Report Share Posted February 3, 2008 inland bearded dragon $350 - $700 babies Ummm u 4got to mention there is bearded dragons 4 $500(babies on tm) no broms said price for beardies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
broms2 Posted February 3, 2008 Report Share Posted February 3, 2008 terrence, to get a permit there is a small fee, you need to build an outside enclosure and get the all clear from doc check out the link for more info www.reptiles.org.nz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OscarBoy Posted February 3, 2008 Report Share Posted February 3, 2008 oh my bad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HaNs Posted February 3, 2008 Report Share Posted February 3, 2008 Hans do you keep natives? 4 or 5 :roll: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrence Posted February 3, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2008 Ok thanks guys. One thing I'm wondering is, why *do* they command such prices? Is it simply that there aren't many of them in NZ, so people are just willing to pay that price as they're exotic? Or is it hard to get them to breed in captivity, so babies are few and far between? Or some other factor I'm missing? If for instance I managed to get a decent enclosure setup, and got 2 babiy blue tongues, male and female - presumably within 1-2 years they'd reach breeding age, and I read their gestation period is around 100 days, and usually results in 5-10 babies?? Is it likely that a newbie such as myself could simply introduce the 2 in a "romantic hutch" hehe, and then expect nature to take its course, and result in a whole bunch of new additions? I'm presuming they do have a limited mating season... which would likely mean no more than one lot of babies per year? I'd imagine if that IS the case, many of you would be able to sell a couple of the babies and recover your initial outlay? I'll go and do some more reading about them too, but if you have a spare moment to help me get my head around what to expect with these creatures that'd be great Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExotherMan Posted February 4, 2008 Report Share Posted February 4, 2008 presumably within 1-2 years they'd reach breeding age Allow for 3 years commonly for blue-tongues, Dragons can easily be made to reach 'breeding age' earlier, although I will never recommend it. and usually results in 5-10 babies My first breeding produced 19... Records show anywhere from 5-25 would be more precise. Your simply talking about a population of animals that is still growing to meet demand in New Zealand, and in many cases the level of knowledge is still catching up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparkyNat Posted February 15, 2008 Report Share Posted February 15, 2008 You can get 2 coastal bearded dragons for $1000 at the moment almost like buy 1 get 1 free Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Varanophile Posted February 15, 2008 Report Share Posted February 15, 2008 You can get 2 coastal bearded dragons for $1000 at the moment almost like buy 1 get 1 free bargain. these are cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparkyNat Posted February 15, 2008 Report Share Posted February 15, 2008 Yeah thats what i thought too, up 2 a few days ago they were $1000 each but im guessing the auction closes in 12hrs that they want them all gone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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