Wild vs captive behaviour in northern blue tongues

[MandaMiaZep16]

Hi all,

Wondering if anyone has experience in wild northern blue tongues as well as captive northern blue tongues. I have one on my nt wildlife carers permit after being hit by a car and sustaining a broken jaw. Now happy and healthy it's time he goes back to a safe wild habitat however ever since the day he came in he was rediculously friendly and I was always suspicious that he was an escapee captive owned blue from here in Darwin.

My question is, would a wild blue tongue be extremely comfortable with being handelled or would all wild bluesy show defensive signs or signs of stress. And if he were captive and I released him would he survive in the wild? I want him to be released safely if that is where he belongs, but I worry that it he was captive like he seems, he may die quickly in the wild.

Any ideas?

 

[-Peter]

They become quite placid very quickly.

 

[ArcticMonkey]

My youngsters are very aggressive compared to Easterns. Not sure whether they grow out of it.

 

[bk201]

Wild blue tongues can actually naturally be quite placid just because a reptile lets you pick it up without fuss does not mean its captive just that it was not very bright.

 

[saratoga]

I've picked up lots of these in the wild and always found them to be pretty placid, relax very quickly in your hand.

 

[sniffmylizard]

If you are in Darwin and you let it go it will be dead inside of a week. When was the last time anyone saw a living blue tongue in the NT. The only relatively safe place to let it go would be east point reserve. Is there anyway you are able to keep it yourself. Does the injury affect its ability to catch food?

 

[MandaMiaZep16]

Hi sniffmylizard

Indeed NT blue tongues are on the decline along with elapids and goannas/monitors and frillies. Luckily we are still finding babies and adults in some suburbs and bush land where efforts have been put iin place to reduce the effect of came toads, as even reptiles who previously hadn't been thought to consume frogs as part of their diet have been oddly effected by them. East point reserve is exactly where he would be released, and in fact there is regular monitoring and now micro hopping of blue tongues, yellow spotted monitors and grill neck lizards at east point reserve, so that's a good suggestion

NT wildlife permit laws mean that he could not be kept captive unless he was deemed by a veterinarian and parks and wildlife commission to be unable to survive effectively in the wild due to permanent injury. He eats well and his sight seems good, his eye is a little more sunken than it should be but he certainly sees me coming when it's dinner time haha

The fact that people have said that they have experience very relaxed and placid NT blueys suggests that he may be wild after all, and a life of captivity for a wild animal seems very depressing. I'm actually going on a field day tomorrow to monitor the lizards at easy point sdo maybe I'll chat to the feild naturalists about him too.

 

[MandaMiaZep16]

Saratoga and bk201: Do they initially show defensive signs like open mouth showing tongue? Or do they surrender to being picked up right away?

 

[sniffmylizard]

Hi sniffmylizard

Indeed NT blue tongues are on the decline along with elapids and goannas/monitors and frillies. Luckily we are still finding babies and adults in some suburbs and bush land where efforts have been put iin place to reduce the effect of came toads, as even reptiles who previously hadn't been thought to consume frogs as part of their diet have been oddly effected by them. East point reserve is exactly where he would be released, and in fact there is regular monitoring and now micro hopping of blue tongues, yellow spotted monitors and grill neck lizards at east point reserve, so that's a good suggestion

NT wildlife permit laws mean that he could not be kept captive unless he was deemed by a veterinarian and parks and wildlife commission to be unable to survive effectively in the wild due to permanent injury. He eats well and his sight seems good, his eye is a little more sunken than it should be but he certainly sees me coming when it's dinner time haha

The fact that people have said that they have experience very relaxed and placid NT blueys suggests that he may be wild after all, and a life of captivity for a wild animal seems very depressing. I'm actually going on a field day tomorrow to monitor the lizards at easy point sdo maybe I'll chat to the feild naturalists about him too.

That's awesome to hear you are full bottled on the delicate situation we are in. Over the last week while I have been bush I have come across quite a few Mertens which is great. I have also seen a few dead ones on the road which is not good. It is good that we still have east point and something Ossetia being done to protect them.

 

[MandaMiaZep16]

That's awesome to hear you are full bottled on the delicate situation we are in. Over the last week while I have been bush I have come across quite a few Mertens which is great. I have also seen a few dead ones on the road which is not good. It is good that we still have east point and something Ossetia being done to protect them.

Thanks sniff,

I have organised to have him microchipped by the frog watch group, the ones studying the effects of cane toads on top end reptiles. He will then be released into their research facililty at east point reserve. How exciting thanks so much for your help, it is a scary to know the reality of the decline on our reptiles due to cane toads. While there are groups who believe that our native wildlife will all recover eventually from the hit of toads, there is research to show how scattered these populations are becoming and it is reasonable to consider that the family group diversity just won't be available in the future for species to breed and restore their numbers.