Indonesian/PNG locale Bluetongues

[gigas]

I've been a lurker on this forum for some time now, but I thought I'd finally sign up recently. I only have two Australian animals, and those are two male Tiliqua scincoides intermedia, Northern BTS. The rest of my collected mainly consists of Tiliqua gigas ssp. keyensis, gigas, and evanescens.

Not many Australians are aware of blueys outside of Australia, so I'll attach a picture of each subspecies.

First off, Tiliqua gigas gigas var. "Halmahera". Attached is a photo of a young one named "Alice"...


Secondly, Tiliqua gigas evanescens. This skink was produced by me... his name is Domino.


Lastly, Tiliqua gigas keyensis. This is a crappy phone picture of a young one. They change pretty dramatically as they age. They are usually very dark and very speckled once they are matured.

 

[Evil_Birdy]

Wow! Such difference in colours and patterning to what we have here, especially in the first two. They are absolutely stunning animals. I am green with envy right now, they are just gorgeous. I want some.

 

[gigas]

Thank you! In countries outside of Australia, these subspecies are often overlooked. They import hundreds, if not thousands, every year — very unappreciated. I strive to breed them because there aren't many that have been successful. Being equatorial, it is hard to know exactly when they cycle, so I tend to introduce once a week during the dry season until they start mating. I got my first litter of Meraukes, T. g. evanescens, this February. Even scored a second litter the next month. Hopefully I can replicate this success next season.

 

[RoryBreaker]

Not many Australians are aware of blueys outside of Australia

Hi Dakota,

The above statement is so true.

I remember when I first saw pictures of the Kei Island form of blueys. I was blown away. Good to see you have acquired some now even though they are still uncommon in US collections.

Cheers,
Dave.

 

[gigas]

Cheers Dave.

I managed to pick up 10 from a local importer. They were born from gravid wild caughts. So far they are doing good, but are growing very slowly. I have never met such drama queens, either! If you open their enclosure, they puff up, lift their bodies into their air, and start hissing. Almost like a Knob-tailed gecko! Lol. I'm not sure why they do it, because I never hesitate to pick them up. Sometimes they'll whip around to bite, but I haven't been tagged yet.

- - - Updated - - -

Sorry for the double post, but I recently got one of the Keis out for a photo. I think I'm going to name this one "Ginger" if it turns out to be female.

 

[RoryBreaker]

Dakota,

That's going to be an impressive animal when its fully grown. Is there much variation in colour with its other siblings?

 

[Toska]

First off, Tiliqua gigas gigas var. "Halmahera". Attached is a photo of a young one named "Alice"...
View attachment 317799

Now that is a beautiful bluey.
Although I am a sucker for some nice red scales

 

[gigas]

Dakota,

That's going to be an impressive animal when its fully grown. Is there much variation in colour with its other siblings?

Yeah, I have two different "looks" within my group. Some with thin bands and a lot of yellow, some thicker bands that are darker. This group consists of two different litters. Here is one of the darker ones.