baby shingle back?? isnt it to early!

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miss2

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hi everyone, i went up to the pit to see the kids yesterday only to discover 2 baby shingle backs..... this is my first time at successful breeding so im a bit confused.... is it to early for babys to be born? i thought they still had another month before they started giving birth??
i have 6 others in the pit so am now wondering about them...

ideas?
 
sorry im no help on shingle backs...but sounds like the boys got horny early..:lol:
 
Yes it does seem very early for them to be giving birth. Mine haven't even started pairing up yet.

Mine normally give birth between March - May. If they are kept in a large outdoor enclosure it may be possible that they were born a few months ago and you could have missed them before they went into hibernation, and now they have just started coming out with the warmer days we have had down here.
 
They more than likely are from last season!
Shinglebacks are only just starting to show mating activity now and this will continue for another 2 -3 months. Remember they have a 5 month gestation
period.
 
Thanks guys I'll put up pics. So thinking there from last year and I missed them? There still so small though, the length only hand, maybe 8cm....? Just really strange. There jet black.Also Have noticed one of my males gets quote destressed when he can't see his wife, then as soon as her sees her he runs and sits on her, is that courtship?
 
I love shinglebacks, we have at least 2 (wild) breeding pairs living around my work, they are just starting to get active now. It's so cool seeing them walking down our paths, one after the other, giving you the "RAAAH! I'm a big scary lizard!" face if you get close. I've seen 3 babies in the last year, and I'd never seen a wild baby before then.
 
I miss sleepies, They were a standard encounter when I was growing up. Pretty sure they wouldn't like it in Darwin. I'll have to go home for a visit.
 
Thanks guys I'll put up pics. So thinking there from last year and I missed them? There still so small though, the length only hand, maybe 8cm....? Just really strange. There jet black.Also Have noticed one of my males gets quote destressed when he can't see his wife, then as soon as her sees her he runs and sits on her, is that courtship?
At this time of year my guys start following the girls and I often find them lying right beside them and resting their heads on the females backs. This behaviour happens with my animals before they mate.
 
Thanks guys I'll put up pics. So thinking there from last year and I missed them? There still so small though, the length only hand, maybe 8cm....? Just really strange. There jet black.Also Have noticed one of my males gets quote destressed when he can't see his wife, then as soon as her sees her he runs and sits on her, is that courtship?

I've heard that they mate for life and the bub/s stay with 'em for a year or something, anyone confirm this?
 
i know they CAN mate for life. one of my older males has refused to take another female after she died and it has been 3 years now... not sure about the baby bit though.
in saying that i know of people who have big pits with lots of them and i think they all have a "gang bang" lol
 
I've heard that they mate for life and the bub/s stay with 'em for a year or something, anyone confirm this?

From field obsevations and also within captive situations in pits (been keeping stumpies for 30 years) i find this wrong.

The babies are fully self sufficent from birth and go thier own way.

The mating for life thing IMO is incorrect in the majority of cases, If your lucky enough to be in the natural range of stumpy's in the spring you will
see up to 4-6 males in pursuit of a single female, the strongest/more virile male usually ends up mating and the same has been observed in our pits over the years.
 
From observations in my local area in regional SA. I would have to agree with Beemans above comment. I also keep shingles in outdoor pits and have quite often seen the same male mate with several separate females and show no signs of 'attachment'. And juvenile and baby shingle backs are usually found alone in a large environment. But in saying this I'm no expert in this subject and many more experienced and knowledgeable people have documentations and research stating otherwise. So I'm happy to be proven wrong by an accurate source.

Cheers Barf
 
I've heard that they mate for life and the bub/s stay with 'em for a year or something, anyone confirm this?

The ones around my work seem to be the same ones pairing up together every year, and last year two of the pairs had a baby hanging around with them for a good couple of weeks, but I often saw the babies on their own as well. Perhaps the bubs were just sharing the same den as their parents because there aren't that many decent hidey holes around here?
 
thanks joe, im very confused LOL
 
id say definatly born late last season,probably over wintered on there yolk reserves,march april is usually when to expect bubs,that being said,last season i had very late litters in outdoors kept lizards,eastern blueys on st pats day,usually jan/feb and had to bring some blotcheds indoors in mid april as they still hadnt dropped,usually mach,early april ,is it possable that they can over winter gravid and give birth after brumation

id be inclined to say they were just missed being born before brumation
 
must be from last year..... i must admit, i feel like a terrible mother LOL
 
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