thorny devils?

[snake_king]

i love thorny devils and i have always wanted one but i dont even know if its legal to have one.
the info out there isnt enough to anser all my questions about all i know is they eat around 10000 ants a day

i would really like it if you guys can tell me abit about them and if you can feedd ythem other than ants

P.S. i went out to alice springs a few weeks ago and i found this one on the side of the road eating ants


here are some pics

[ally_pup]

They are gorgeous aren't there i will be intersted in the replies for this one, would love one too, such interesting creatures

[snakenurse]

If you have all the RA mags, Jochem from the ASDP wrote an article on keeping them. As far as I am aware they are only permitted in a few states. They aren't an easy animal to keep feed wise, they generally dont like to be handled either. I have had the pleasure of looking after them and collecting ants was a daily chore!

[Hix]

Thorny Devils are the subject of threads on APS about 4 or 5 times a year. If you do a search on "Thorny Devil" or "Moloch", you will find plenty of previous discussions on biology in the wild and keeping them in captivity, as well as some good photos.



Hix

[peterjohnson64]

I have heard that if you can demonstrate that you have 3 or 4 fully set up ant colonies you will be able to buy one of these. I heard this from a friend who works at Sydney Wildlife World. So, first, all ya gotta do is get 4 good ant colonies established and you can get one. You merely move it from colony to colony each day. Good Luck!!!

[grimbeny]

but pj, the one at SWW died

[dailyskin]

They are so amazing, but I think (IMHO) these are one animal best left in the wild... While you CAN keep them in captivity, it seems so dicey... I like the idea that they are a bit of an enigma, doing their own thing out there...

[Pocket Lizard]

10,000 ants a day is a bit of an exaggeration, however daily feeding (almost every day of the year) of at least a few hundred is recommended hence they are not really suitable for most keepers. If you work from home and have a reliable ant supply year-round, then you may be able to keep them alive long-term.

Then there is the small matter of them only eating certain ant species...

[Sunny]

hey mate

dont bother in getting one 99% end dying you will never be able to keep up the amount of ants needed even with 4 or more colonies they only eat one kind of ant thats why zoos rarely keep them Quote from the herp at the zoo" we have them brought in to us but we get rid of them past experience they die just be happy with photos"and the going price if you can even find one is around the 5 thousand mark lot of money for an animal that will be on death row
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[levis04]

a good friend of mine keeps and breeds them with no problems, rather than chasing the ants or collecting them every day he has dripper hose smeared with honey and dog food running all through his back yard and the ants are there all the time! they run through the thorny cages all day. in wet weather he covers the hose up with a box that has openings and the ants are still active from time to time, the opening allow the thornys to still feed. they are very demanding if you dont have the ants but if so are a plesaure to keep and not that difficult to breed, they are not for beginers. They are expensive too.

[Renagade]

it's all about the ants...

[Pythoninfinite]

I used to keep them in Perth, a long way south of where they normally live. They are easy to feed if you put them in a budgie cage without a bottom, over ant trails ( they WILL NOT eat randomly running ants in spite of what you may be told, so "collecting" ants is pointless), and left there most of the day. They will just sit at the ant trail and pick 'em up all day long. People south of Perth have bred them without too much difficulty.

They seem to be a "pinnacle" lizard on the east coast, but they are very common in the west from Kalbarrie north, so lots of them end up in the metropolitan area.

Jamie.

[Pocket Lizard]

It is true that if ants swarm all through the Moloch enclosure then the animals will have trouble feeding. When ants crawl over their head they close their eyes and stop feeding until the ants are gone. Very small enclosures with too many ants added result in this problem.

However, you can collect ants and feed them in their enclosure, but the enclosure needs to be failry large to prevent the above problem, and have an effective ant delevery system which will encourage the ants to "trail". Put the ants in a timber box for example, with only one or two exit holes. The ants will trail out of these holes and the Molochs will quickly realise this and sit beside the box picking off the ants.

It is a huge problem that people pick these things up off the road and transport them huge distances. There is this weird notion that they need "saving". I'm sure a Moloch that ends up being handed to a wildlife carer or zoo in Melbourne really appreciates being saved.