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Thirsty Geckos

Handling Bobtails, Shinglebacks and Sleepy Lizards

Tiliqua rugosa rugosa is also known as the Bobtail, Shingleback and Sleepy Lizard.

Bobtails make excellent first pets, especially for children.  Even wild caught Bobtails will tame relatively quickly, especially when food is involved.

All the bluetongue lizards including Bobtails, Western Blue-Tongues and Centralians don’t like having their feet off the ground, so always handle them in a way that supports their body and feet; on your hand, in the crook of your arm or even over your shoulder.  (Some Bobtails can have a bad habit of pooping when you pick them up so don’t hold them against your body if they’re likely to do this!).


Bobtails that have been in captivity for a while or are captive-bred, rarely flare up in that distinctive posture with mouth open displaying their blue tongue angrily.  However, basking in the sun tends to draw out that primal display sometimes and this should be taken into consideration if you need to pick your pet up. Even very tame, hand-fed Bobtails may attempt to ‘display’ half-heartedly when approached, after basking for a while.

The safest and securest way to pick up an angry Bobtail (even if it’s just pretending) is to grasp it firmly around the neck, behind the head and over the front shoulders pinning the front legs.  Your tame Bobbie will probably just go limp in your hands but you can now safely transport him!

Often wild Bobtails are found in yards or attempting to cross a road.  They need to be picked up and relocated to a safe place such as un-cleared land.  Wild Bobtails most often do nothing except move off when confronted.  But they can hiss loudly, “display’ and even try to bite. While most of them are just bluffing - do not be fooled - these lizards can be very fast and aggressive when frightened.  When they bite, they bite hard and don’t let go!

To catch a wild Bobtail, stand very still over it and wait until it drops out of its display.  Quickly grab it behind the head with one hand and expect it to twist and thrash strongly until you put it down!  (It won’t necessarily do this but if you’re not expecting it you could drop the animal and injure it if it does.)  With particularly aggressive Bobtails try offering it something to bite such as a thong (take it off first!) or a piece of cardboard, before you grab it.  Place it in a box with a secure lid so you can easily transport it to a relocation site.

These wonderful lizards make great pets and tame very easily.  They can be hand-fed, taken for ‘walks’ in the garden and carried around.  But sometimes a good healthy dose of sunlight can make them a bit feisty.  They are not frightened or aggressive; they are just doing what comes naturally and are still very unlikely to bite you.  Knowing how to handle it safely keeps your fingers out of harm’s way and protects your pet as well!

Bearded Dragon Behaviour

Bearded Dragons get their name from the pointed spines around their face.  This stunning photo was taken recently of a Central Bearded Dragon showing off it's "dragon-ness" perfectly.  Click on the photo to see it enlarged.

This is a Central Bearded Dragon that was found in the Central Queensland area around Yeppoon, Shoalwater Bay, Great Keppel Island and Byfield, only 50kms in from the coast. 

For other excellent photos of Central Bearded Dragons visit these links:

1. http://www.blognow.com.au/albums/tinacee/&task=view&up_id=10322

2. http://www.blognow.com.au/albums/tinacee/&task=view&up_id=10321

3. http://www.blognow.com.au/albums/tinacee/&task=view&up_id=10320

Many thanks to Gryphonn and Tinacee for these great shots.

At this stage only Pogona minor minor’s (Western Bearded Dragons) in the photo below are allowed to be kept as pets in WA.

During mating, both males and females inflate the 'beard' under the chin making the spines more prominent and the Dragon seem bigger and more impressive.  Males will bob their head with a jerky movement and the females 'wave' one of their front legs.  Males may display to each other to establish dominance or territory.

Hatchling Bearded Dragons will 'wave' to each other to recognise each other as Bearded Dragons and as a means of social communication.  When they get to 3 or 4 months old the young males will bob their heads and the females will wave.  This behaviour can help sex the animals at a young age.  Arm waving in adult females is a submissive behaviour during mating season and also to prevent aggression from males.

Another behaviour observed in Bearded Dragons is tail raising.  When being kept together for the first time, Dragons may raise their tails in a posture indicating they are tense or alert.  This can also be seen in animals kept in cramped conditions.

Although Dragons rarely seem to fight they do assert their dominance in other ways.  Captive groups arrange themselves in a social hierarchy with the most dominant animal taking the highest or best basking perch in the enclosure.  The next most dominant animal will take the second best position, etc.  Giving Dragons plenty of room will create less stress and natural behaviour.

If you do see your Dragons ‘fighting’ similar to the two in the photo below, this is actually the act of copulation, which can look quite aggressive.

It is not always easy to see which Dragon is dominating which as staring seems to be their most aggressive behaviour.  However a subordinate animal will end up with no place to bask and possibly the last to feed, resulting in stress and malnutrition. 

A stressed Dragon will go much darker than his natural colouring and sometimes almost black.  This can happen when introduced to a new enclosure, new cage mates or when the animal has been pushed out of the hierarchy within a group.

Sometimes in winter if the temperature in the enclosure is too low, Bearded Dragons may attempt to brumate and will dig a hole and bury themselves for days at a time.  This is perfectly natural behaviour.  However cage furnishings should be arranged safely so that a digging Dragon doesn’t undermine a rock and accidentally damage itself.  Increasing the temperature in the enclosure by just a couple of degrees may also encourage the Dragon to remain in the open and not brumate.

Lizard Stories of Bearded Dragons:

http://www.blognow.com.au/GDS/28801/I_runned_over_Tinacee39s_Lizard_I_think.html

http://www.blognow.com.au/manahmanah/28461/One_for_Gabby.html

Resources for this article:

The Guide To Owning A Bearded Dragon by David Zoffer & Tom Mazorlig

Photos and Lizard Stories courtesy of Gryphonn and Tinacee

Photos by Reptile Trader

Notechis scutatus

Notechis scutatus is commonly found in the vegatation around water such as streams, swamps and lakes. 

Bibra Lake is a popular park opposite Adventure World in Perth that has playgrounds, bike paths and bird look-outs.  This particular specimen was seen recently in the middle of a mildly sunny winter afternoon basking on the rushes not more than a metre from the jetty that leads out to one of the bird look-outs.  

You can see how it has flattened out its body to absorb as much of the winters sun as possible.  Although not seen to hibernate in the Perth region during winter, it is possible that they brumate in the colder parts of Australia, eg Tasmania.

Tiger Snakes are one of the few species of elapids that bear live young instead of laying eggs and this has enabled them to inhabit the cooler southern parts of Australia including Tasmania.  They are active during the day and night and being tolerant of the cooler weather, often come out on cool nights looking for food.

Their favourite food is frogs but they will also take lizards, mammals and will climb low bushes looking for young nesting birds.

Like all snakes, Tiger Snakes are very good swimmers and are often seen in the water.  They shelter beneath logs, tussock grass, low shrubs and in abandoned rabbit burrows.  This one eventually decided it didn't like all the quiet attention it was attracting and slid underneath the bent rushes it had been basking on. 

A Tiger Snake will attempt to flee if disturbed.  Although they have a reputation for being aggressive this may be confused for defensive behaviour that includes raising the front of its body off the ground with its neck flattened similar to a cobra.  However experience has shown that they are not inclined to bite unless touched.  So.... do NOT touch!

Notechis scutatus is Dangerously Venomous.  Its venom contains components that cause paralysis, coagulopathy (which can cause excessive bleeding) and muscle destruction (permanent damage) and an untreated bite can cause death.  Even young Tiger Snakes should be treated with caution.

Almost everyone has a venomous snake story....What's yours? 
Leave a comment and share your story!  We'd love to hear from you.

Resources for this article included:
A Guide to the Reptiles and Frogs of the Perth Region

Lucifer - An Example of Frill Neck Lizard Behaviour

LUCIFER

Lucifer was a young Frill Neck Lizard we had in store in 2005.  He was our favourite because he 'displayed' so much, but his behaviour was defensive - he didn't like us!

Frillies spend most of their time up in trees.  Yes - they really do!  You won't see them very often when walking through woodlands, because they sidle quietly around to the other side of the tree they are in, so you can't see them.  You will notice that their colouration helps with camouflage against bark and branches.

But when a Frilly is cornered it can become quite fearsome!  Firstly it will hiss loudly and frill up making it look bigger than it really is (there are bones in the frill on each side of the head - these bones are connected to the jaw - when the mouth opens wide the frill automatically stands out).  If you ignored the hissing and got too close to Lucifer he whipped with his tail.  When it connects it feels very much like the flick of a wet teatowel and leaves a welt on the skin (personally experienced!).  A Frilly will also act like it is going to attack and will charge at you and bump you solidly. But despite this display, I have never seen one attempt to bite!  Mind you, those jaws and teeth can easily chew through a mouse and crunch on bones, so I certainly wouldn't put my finger in a Frilly's mouth!

When Spring came last year, Lucifer was housed with some girls, which completely distracted him.  For some reason he became as docile as our captive raised Frillies.  However, Spring also brought out some very aggresive mating behaviour between our males and females.  But that's another story.....