thorny devils

[snakeynewbie]

So I have a question, if one could somehow solve the issue of massive numbers of ants being needed is it actually possible to get a hold of these guys in the pet trade? I am in the midst of landscaping my property and putting in enclosures for all my animals and would love to install a lovely big heated enclosure and turn it into essentially a giant well established ant farm and keep some babies in it

 

[elogov]

I highly doubt it, Well not legally anyway.

 

[Reptile_Maniac]

I have not seen anyone owning one around this sight but I think a few do! Unfortunately a thorny devil will eat a whole ant colony in one sitting, therefore an ant farm could be difficult to maintain!

 

[snakeynewbie]

*sigh*, yeah i kind of thought that might be the case but sometimes you don't know unless you ask


I have a massive penchant for the unusual and for creating little mini habitats as enclosures so it's always been a little dreamof mine :lol:

 

[Beard]

I knew a bloke who aquired a few some years back and by aquired I mean drove along and picked them up. Needless to say they all died a short time later.

 

[snakeynewbie]

Yeah when I say ant farm I'm talking a bit bigger than your average ant farm More like multiple enclosures with a number of colonies each that can be moved around and refreshed regularly.

I knew a bloke who aquired a few some years back and by aquired I mean drove along and picked them up. Needless to say they all died a short time later.

How stupid would you have to be....

It's something I'd have to be very sure was set up perfectly for many months before you could even have any confidence of adding devils into the equation.

 

[Beard]

Each devil will eat thousands of ants each day. It'll need to be more of a nation than farm.

Yeah when I say ant farm I'm talking a bit bigger than your average ant farm More like multiple enclosures with a number of colonies each that can be moved around and refreshed regularly.



How stupid would you have to be....

It's something I'd have to be very sure was set up perfectly for many months before you could even have any confidence of adding devils into the equation.

The bloke was, and probably still is a complete knob

 

[snakeynewbie]

:lol: Yep ant nation. I'd be thinking along the lines of a huge enclosure tht was big enough to self sustain actual ant hills, I've got the space to play with so sharing a good chuck of it with a couple of lizards wouldn't bother me.

5'm in the midst of enclosing a 30metre by 30 metre area for a permaculture set up which I plan to keep a single pair of blue wrens in so i'm a bit crazy that way :lol:

 

[abnrmal91]

Been done to death. Unless you live in the right area no you can keep them. http://www.aussiepythons.com/forum/australian-lizards-5383/thorny-devils-168504/

This topic has been done to death. They need very specific types of ants and they only eat of trails.

 

[Beard]

Mate you must have alot of backyard to play with and money to burn, you lucky bastard

 

[snakeynewbie]

sorry your link didn't work. I'm not sure what you mean by done to death though, I'm sure it's something that crosses the minds of some but I can imagine very few would actually be up to the challenge. I'm a zoologist/botanist and i work in the wildlife industry so I have a fair bit of knowledge on creating enclosed ecosystems. I also have plans for an indoor atrium that I intend to install cliimate control in to allow me to breed a couple of frog species that are very close to my heart.

I'd happily make the space and burn the money if I knew there was any chance of legally getting my hands on some.

 

[Pythoninfinite]

I have not seen anyone owning one around this sight but I think a few do! Unfortunately a thorny devil will eat a whole ant colony in one sitting, therefore an ant farm could be difficult to maintain!

Well, not quite a whole ant colony... They're not difficult to keep if you have the requisite species of ants and the space to allow them to live 'normal' lives. There was thread devoted to this about a month ago...

Jamie

 

[GeckPhotographer]

By done to death he means this topic of discussion has been talked about so many times it's become old. Regardless I think you are the first I've seen that could actually get it going but he's right. Thorny Devils only eat specific species of ants and eat them only off ant trails. They often wonder fair distances finding good trails before stopping at one. At least a couple places keep these in enclosures within their natural range and just have wire at the bottom of the cage to allow ant access. Otherwise I think it damn near impossible, you'd need more than just money to burn and space, you'd need innovative ideas able to mass produce ants of the right type in an enclosure specifically designed to create ant trails even in a small space. (Small space I mean less than A kilometer or so.)

 

[snakeynewbie]

Thanks guys, given me some ideas to think about and problems to work out the best ways to overcome. I'll also have to check licensing as well, not sure if it's even possible from a licensing perspective...

I think i'll probably still work on an enclosure with thorny devils as the long term wish and in the short term I can test some theories with regard to ant husbandry as well.

I have plans for a series of pits so I'll probably look at incorporating an ant hill into each of them even if their usual inhabitants aren't that big into ant, will give me better long term flexibility if something happens to one or more of the main hills.

 

[LadyJ]

Oh my... unless you're a zoo I don't think you can get one. Or should for that matter. Thanks for the laugh though!

 

[snakeynewbie]

I work at a zoo actually so it may be possible, it's actually something I'd love to set up for the zoo but I don't think they'd have the space, I on the other hand do.

 

[Beard]

Go for it mate, I met a bloke a bit over 20 years ago when I was first starting out with keeping reptiles. I was invited over to see his collection and get a few pointers. He had a few Perentes and was the first person in the ACT to have them, he managed to have laws changed in order to get them.

 

[snakeynewbie]

Thanks Beard.

Well it might take me a few years but I'll get there eventually. In my opinion it's not something that can be rushed, I fully expect it to be more like one of those things that is an end goal with lots of fun things to do and learn along the way and plenty of hurdles to cross.

I'm yet to check whether they actually fall into the licensing system here but once I have a perfect set up then I can start campaigning to actually keep them and show that they'll be kept as they should be.

 

[Beard]

Thanks Beard.

Well it might take me a few years but I'll get there eventually. In my opinion it's not something that can be rushed, I fully expect it to be more like one of those things that is an end goal with lots of fun things to do and learn along the way and plenty of hurdles to cross.

I'm yet to check whether they actually fall into the licensing system here but once I have a perfect set up then I can start campaigning to actually keep them and show that they'll be kept as they should be.

As a zoologist couldn't you slot it into a scientifec research cat?

 

[snakeynewbie]

:lol: Maybe...

I'd probably have to actually be conducting research, maybe something to do with optimal methods for captive husbandry