Shinglebacks and mates?

[user 30368]

Would a bobtail lizard prefer to live on its own, or have a partner of the opposite sex?
I am wanting people's opinions. I have a male bobtail and was thinking of up-grading the size of his viv and providing him with a wife. I have had people saying this is not a wise idea as they chose to live alone in the wild and only partner up with a mate at breeding time. I have read this myself in the texts and except it. However, I also have read that bobtails form a close bond with their mate and breed with the same partner for most of (if no all) of their life.
Another factor that interested me was a trip to my local reptile park. Out side were MASSIVE bobtail/blue tongue pits. There was more than enough room for the lizards to avoid each other and bask, hide or eat. I went in the January to see them. I believe this is not breeding time.
What I noticed was that they all seemed to be in pairs. Like i said, there was more than enough room for them to bask in the sun without interacting with each other. So if they like to be alone, why were so many of them paired up and laying side by side?

So i need to decide what to do with my bobtail and can't make my mind up. Do i leave him on his own, i provide a mate for him?

What are others opinions on this?

 

[PeppersGirl]

We bought a mate for our female over a year back, and it appears that they have formed a close bond and really appreciate the company. They live in a 4x2x2 viv but when allowed out they will follow each other around the house. Occasionally (in early spring) they pester each other but they always sort themselves out... in our opinion it was worthwhile

 

[varanophile]

Hi Stimilove,

I have never seen any evidence of monogamy in shingles. I have a large outdoor enclosure with 14 shingles currently. The males have never shown any interest in one particular female over any of the others. From what I've observed the males simply respond to movement, especially during the breeding season. They will follow and try to mate with anything that moves the right way; be it male, female, juvenile, or even another species such as a western bluetongue. This is also shown by the fact that all 7 of my adult females show signs of breeding and this year at least 6 look to be gravid, even though there are only 2 adult males.

I've tried to see if the same is true in the wild. To do this I've looked at pairs during the breeding season. In every case it was a male following a female. I've tested the bond by finding another girl and placing her close to the pair and gently encouraging her to start walking away, whilst the other female is left stationary. Almost every time the male will leave the original female and follow the one that is moving, often completely leaving the original female behind (don't worry I put them back the way they were found when I've finished watching).

I'm not saying that long term pairings do not happen in the wild, I'm just not convinced it can be considered actual monogamy.

As for them getting lonely I wouldn't be too worried. They are probably the safest of all the Tiliqua to keep in groups due to their gentle natures, but I don't think they have any great need for company.

Be aware that having a gentle nature is only a rule of thumb, and some can be quite aggressive towards others and inflict serious injuries. Males can also be quite enthusiastic during the breeding season and put considerable stress on a female who can't get out the way of his hormone fueled one track mind.

 

[user 30368]

Thanks for the input, guys
I guess the best option is to get a mate for my male, but have a viv that can be devided in the breeding season (and if any agression occures).
Lets say they get along realy well and have no isses being together - would babies be a possibility being in an indoor cage?

 

[-Peter]

Large groups of males will follow and attempt to mate with females.

 

[disintegratus]

They are "monogamous", they can only concentrate on one female at a time

 

[Bluetongue1]

Varanophile,
The largest outdoor pit I have seen in someone’s backyard was 10m by 10m i.e. 100 square metres. Bobtails’ average home range in the wild is one square kilometre i.e. one million square metres. The point I would make here is that captive conditions do not emulate conditions in the wild in terms of territories, sex ratios and interactions between individuals.

The South Australian study on Bobtails, conducted over 20 years, determined that pairing is an ongoing arrangement with females being the more active partner in seeking out their chosen males during the breeding season. A percentage of males were shown to be promiscuous in that they would mate with other females opportunistically. The male is known to follow the female around at a distance of about one metre.

It would be interesting to know the result of your little experiment without interruption. Would the male have followed that female indefinitely? Would the female partner of that male have pursued the errant male and intervened? It is not possible to draw any firm conclusions on the basis of the information provided. However, it certainly does raise some interesting questions. Good on you for doing that which you did!

Blue

- - - Updated - - -

Varanophile, my apologies if I came across as critical of what you had say. I was actually quite impressed that you had taken the time to observe your animals and to put their behaviour into perspective. And even more so that you had tried a little experimenting of your own.

Let’s just put the SA study into perspective. They have established behaviour patterns for those animals in the study area. These may or may not be generally applicable across the full distribution of bobtails. Anecdotal evidence would indicate similar behaviour patterns in WA.

I think your observations show that males will be promiscuous where circumstances allow and that the development of monogamous relationships is probably dependent on much lower densities. Males would appear to be strongly driven by their hormonal impulse to mate, as indicted by your comments on observed mating behaviour. So in the SA study, one would have to say that it is likely the female is the primary influence on fidelity.

The experiment you did with swapping females was really interesting. It is only a shame that you had to terminate early. Clearly the male following the female is doing so on sight. Yet the original pairing would have been based on pheromones, given the area involved. It raises some interesting questions. At what point, if any, would the male realise his mistake. When the male discovers his mistake, would it make any difference to his hormonal driven desire to mate? Would the female determine that the male had been led astray and attempt to intervene?

Varanophile, apart from revealing some very interesting behavioural characteristics of bobtails, your observations have opened up a number of questions that would make an excellent subject for someone to undertake a potential study of.

Blue