Devilish devil

[Reptiles4me]

Hi guys I'm really keen on getting a thorny devil but know nothing about keeping or even obtaining one. So could you help me out here its really starting to bother me.

 

[sharky]

I'm not sure you can even own one! My brother and dad have been bugging me about it for ages. Get a Thorny Devil. We should get a thorny devil. Why haven't you got a thorny devil yet?
It get annoying :/
Honestly I have never seen them for sale before nor have I seen them on a species list....good to know if they are available though, eh?

 

[Monitors_R_Us]

You can't get one, they are extremely hard to keep due to what they eat and how much and other husbandry issues also.

 

[Chanzey]

Do you own a large scale ant farm

 

[sharky]

I was going to suggest that as well...how would you get your little guy enough black ants? They would go everywhere in your house and hide away from the lizard.

 

[reb01]

The issue with keeping thorny devils is the amount of certain ants they eat,maybe if you live in the NT or WA this wouldnt be a problem,otherwise alot more keepers would own them,i think they are a awesome lizard

 

[Reptiles4me]

Well I used own one fairly big ant farm and if I got a thorny devil I would do the smart thing and build/buy a small feeding pen/enclosure. Monitors_R_US what do you mean I can't have one what aren't you telling me? Ow and reb01 I agree with you they are awesome lizards and if I see one for sale I will buy one without question and then tell you about it. I been a reptile keeper for the past 8 years I will get through any problem that arises after perchis.

 

[Monitors_R_Us]

Well in NSW you cannot get them on licence ( I am assuming you are from NSW and also that other states do not allow them, I should probably check that ). Also it is not just the food but the very, very dry conditions that they need and the "sulkiness" like frillies that they can aquire in captivity. Not saying they are impossible to keep but definitely one of the hardest lizards.

 

[jairusthevirus21]

I know of one guy in the UK that managed to get a Devil feeding on crickets by lacing them with 'formic acid' for the first few months... does anyone know more about this??????

 

[Reptiles4me]

I'm from VIC ,I have here'd that there are some small number of breeders in the NT and CA. However I'm not sure if I can or what class licence I have to have to keep 1 or 2 in VIC. If I can then I will get some and then breed them.

 

[Snake-Supplies]

Nah, as far as I know you're not allowed to keep them as they eat so many ants as mentioned before.

Would be cool, but no...

 

[Stuart]

Life expectancy of a Thorny Devil in captivity is 6 to 12 months due to the specific requirements they need to stay healty. Even the guys at the Alice Springs reptile park are known to have special condtions that allow the animals to be collected, displayed for a certain time and then returned to the wild. (This was a few years ago I was told so things may have indeed changed)

 

[JrFear]

i think a few people are getting abit ahead of them selves!

 

[Shotta]

even zoos and and other places that had them have trouble keeping them also i dont think any have been bred in captivity an i was told the average cost for one is around 3000 to 4000 lol you would be saving for awhile.....

 

[Sezzzzzzzzz]

I'm from VIC ,I have here'd that there are some small number of breeders in the NT and CA. However I'm not sure if I can or what class licence I have to have to keep 1 or 2 in VIC. If I can then I will get some and then breed them.

CA?? Not an Australian state that i am aware of.

 

[Variety]

Could always glue a small party hat onto a geckos face

 

[KaotikJezta]

Well I used own one fairly big ant farm and if I got a thorny devil I would do the smart thing and build/buy a small feeding pen/enclosure. Monitors_R_US what do you mean I can't have one what aren't you telling me? Ow and reb01 I agree with you they are awesome lizards and if I see one for sale I will buy one without question and then tell you about it. I been a reptile keeper for the past 8 years I will get through any problem that arises after perchis.

You were keeping reptiles at 5? Maybe your parents were. They only eat one species of ant and they eat thousands of them. As far as i am aware they are not on any species list, someone correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[SteveNT]

I know of one guy in the UK that managed to get a Devil feeding on crickets by lacing them with 'formic acid' for the first few months... does anyone know more about this??????

They cant even fit a meat ant in their mouth. How are they supposed to eat crickets????

They have been bred in the Alice by Dr Tony Bowland who raised them in pens which were baited to attract the requisite black ants. His thornies went to the Desert Wildlife Park.

 

[KaotikJezta]

Thinking of venturing up your way next year Steve!

 

[thesilverbeast]

Well I used own one fairly big ant farm and if I got a thorny devil I would do the smart thing and build/buy a small feeding pen/enclosure.

I've done some things with the Melbourne Museum who have one, They have two HUGE fish tanks (If I had to guess I'd say 4x2x2) connected so that one colony is in both. This takes up a LOT of space. Its really cool though, any animal put in there as food is bones in 24hrs.

A small feeding pen/enclosure wouldn't work as you would need heaps of ants there and in my experience the devil gets overwhelmed when the ants "Swarm" over it when they work out what is happening (as happens in small enclosures, hence why it isn't exhibited often and lives behind the scenes) so if the ants weren't in their natural single file lines so that the devil can pick them off, he wouldn't really eat.

I know of one guy in the UK that managed to get a Devil feeding on crickets by lacing them with 'formic acid' for the first few months... does anyone know more about this??????

This seems pretty unlikely. They have TINY mouths and as stated above, they spook easily with prey and they sit there and orient themselves onto a travel path of the ants and pick them off one by one. Crickets move around randomly so I would say the devil would not come into contact of the prey often enough to eat enough.

Life expectancy of a Thorny Devil in captivity is 6 to 12 months due to the specific requirements they need to stay healty. Even the guys at the Alice Springs reptile park are known to have special condtions that allow the animals to be collected, displayed for a certain time and then returned to the wild. (This was a few years ago I was told so things may have indeed changed)

The Melbourne museum has had one for longer than that. While they have had a male die, the female is still going strong. She's a very big girl too. They do not display them and then release them. She is a permanent resident.