Besides fieldherping I also have another passion and that are New Guinean Crocodile skinks or Tribolonotus spp.
Over the past years I kept both species available in captivity and bred both in quite large numbers (at least for these species)
Most pictures are not that good and between 1 and 4 years old.
Jordi
Tribolonotus gracilis (the most common available of both species)
Adult female
Young male
Tribolonotus novaeguineae
Male with two hatchlings
Adult male
New Guinean Crocodile Skinks
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- Hans Breuer (twoton)
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Re: New Guinean Crocodile Skinks
Cute....in an antediluvian way!
Re: New Guinean Crocodile Skinks
...are those actually "true" skinks, Scincidae? If so, sure is interesting how they've so far diverged from the general skink physiognomy. Thanks for making us aware of these animals. I'd like to see more.
Re: New Guinean Crocodile Skinks
I've considered keeping a few of these neat creatures if my funds would allow. One thing many sites differ on is whether they supply UVB light to these guys. Do you? Also-what temperature range do you use for gracilis? You seem to be doing quite well with them.
These are scincidae. Definetly an oddity as far as scalation and body form go among skinks-but skinks are arguably one of the most diverse groups of lizards.
These are scincidae. Definetly an oddity as far as scalation and body form go among skinks-but skinks are arguably one of the most diverse groups of lizards.
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Re: New Guinean Crocodile Skinks
Are many other people producing them? I've seen ads for supposedly CB adults/subadults but never trusted them, and I remember these as having a reputation of being difficult. Neat lizards though, very dinosaur like IMO..
Re: New Guinean Crocodile Skinks
Yeah, reminds me of Tuatara ...which is pretty ancient.Paul White wrote:Neat lizards though, very dinosaur like
Re: New Guinean Crocodile Skinks
Thanks everyone!
They are for sure a very special genus within the Scincidae. I've seen a lot of very interesting behaviour with these animals (parental care, vocalisation etc.)
Since a few years T.gracilis is bred in captivity in quit large numbers actually. However as far as I know, T.novaeguineae is only bred by a handful of people, but are not that much more difficult to keep and breed than T.gracilis. But be careful, Indonesia is exporting all wildcaught specimens as captive bred but they are definitely not. If you know how, they are not that difficult. I had success with a lot of hiding places but in my eyes the most important thing for success: don't bother them if it is not necessary. They can be very shy and are very sensitive for stress.But it differs also a lot between animals, I have one female T.novaeguineae that is visible 90% of the time and she isn't bothered by anything at all. But on the other side I also have a lot of animals I only see once every three weeks or so. I build enclosures with waterfalls and a lot of real plants in which they seem to do very well. They made complete tunnel systems through the soil. I will try to post some pictures of previous enclosures and some more pictures tomorrow. Actually I am writing an popular-scientific article about this genus and it's husbandry at the moment.
@ Joseph. S.
It depends, not every breeding pair has a UV light here. And to be honest I don't see that much difference (But I use D3 supplements). In the wild they inhabit leaf litter near small streams or coconut husk piles at plantations. They don't like to bask at all so I don't think it is that critical for this species but for sure it won't hurt them.
They are for sure a very special genus within the Scincidae. I've seen a lot of very interesting behaviour with these animals (parental care, vocalisation etc.)
Since a few years T.gracilis is bred in captivity in quit large numbers actually. However as far as I know, T.novaeguineae is only bred by a handful of people, but are not that much more difficult to keep and breed than T.gracilis. But be careful, Indonesia is exporting all wildcaught specimens as captive bred but they are definitely not. If you know how, they are not that difficult. I had success with a lot of hiding places but in my eyes the most important thing for success: don't bother them if it is not necessary. They can be very shy and are very sensitive for stress.But it differs also a lot between animals, I have one female T.novaeguineae that is visible 90% of the time and she isn't bothered by anything at all. But on the other side I also have a lot of animals I only see once every three weeks or so. I build enclosures with waterfalls and a lot of real plants in which they seem to do very well. They made complete tunnel systems through the soil. I will try to post some pictures of previous enclosures and some more pictures tomorrow. Actually I am writing an popular-scientific article about this genus and it's husbandry at the moment.
@ Joseph. S.
It depends, not every breeding pair has a UV light here. And to be honest I don't see that much difference (But I use D3 supplements). In the wild they inhabit leaf litter near small streams or coconut husk piles at plantations. They don't like to bask at all so I don't think it is that critical for this species but for sure it won't hurt them.
Re: New Guinean Crocodile Skinks
Interesting. I wonder what was going on in this paper(high mortality of baby T. gracilis attributed to lack of UV)
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1 ... 8/abstract
What do you feed and how/what do you supplement?
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1 ... 8/abstract
What do you feed and how/what do you supplement?
Re: New Guinean Crocodile Skinks
I kept one a long time ago and found it to be one of the most secretive animals I've ever kept. Very cool animals but boring if you don't get to see them.