species of lizards able to be housed outdoors in melbourne

[alex_c]

im going to build a pit soon and want to know what can be housed in it. and is it ok to build it out of brick or should i just build it out of rhs or timber as the frame with corrugated iron as the wall covering? and is it worth adding artificial heating so it doesnt get too cold? and does anyone have pics of their setups?

[richardsc]

hi alex,i live on the mornington peninsula,bit cooler than melb but same thing i guess,i keep blotched annd common bluies,eastern and gippsland water dragons and next spring will have my lacies outdoors full time as there getting some size to them,also cunningham skinks,theres plenty more u could keep outside to,what i keep out side ,i dont use any heating and no plasic roofing,they r exposed to the natural elements and r doing great,and breeding regularly,dont have pics of cage but it is tin in the ground around a wooden frome and the rest covered with avairy wire including roof,so its like a walk in avairy,hope that helps
richard

[alex_c]

Originally Posted by richardsc

hi alex,i live on the mornington peninsula,bit cooler than melb but same thing i guess,i keep blotched annd common bluies,eastern and gippsland water dragons and next spring will have my lacies outdoors full time as there getting some size to them,also cunningham skinks,theres plenty more u could keep outside to,what i keep out side ,i dont use any heating and no plasic roofing,they r exposed to the natural elements and r doing great,and breeding regularly,dont have pics of cage but it is tin in the ground around a wooden frome and the rest covered with avairy wire including roof,so its like a walk in avairy,hope that helps
richard

thanks do they all get along ok?

[richardsc]

hi again alex,yeah they all get on well,have longnecked turtles in with them as well,how ever the water dragons appear to have eaten a couple of new born blothed bluies,ive found 3 of them which have been ok,so hopefully they r ok,so thats the only issue with keeping them together,i have easterns and gippslands so have divided an 6 metre by 4 metre enclosure in half to keep the water dragons seperated,eg easterns on one side and gippies on the other,im curious as to what else i can keep out side to,will be experimenting with some others to

[junglepython2]

Jackies will also be fine outside as they occur locally.

[jordo]

Shinglebacks go alright outdoors as well. People have had varying success keeping beardies outdoors in Vic, it depends a lot on enclosure design and position as to whether they survive ok or not.

[Chrisreptile]

i keep my eastern water dragons outside.

[richardsc]

yep jacky dragons are a goer outdoors in melb,beardies would need to be covered to keep dry,but easterns might go ok,water skinks and a few of the smaller varieties of egernia will do well,eg whites,tree and black rock skinks and kev on here keeps desert sand goannas outside as well,depends on how u set up cage,some will need to be kept dry as humidity and cold damp wont b good for them,but if they live locally or close by in similar conditions open air caging should b fine,be easier keeping smaller animals indoors though as outdoors would be harder keeping track of them,and some u will be able to keep outdoors over the warmer months and bring in for winter or prolonged cold spells

[richardsc]

lacies wont be with the other lizards though,as they will consider them a meal,lol,thought i should clear that up
cheers