Keeping Western Blue-tongues in Sydney

[zen]

Does anyone keep Western Blue-tongues outside year round in Sydney & do they breed naturally outdoors.

Do they do O.K or do they suffer from respiratory problems &/or scale rot, like Shinglebacks do?

In NSW, Western Blueys are a Class 2 listed species which are either rare or difficult to keep (or dangerous). I wonder if it's because they're difficult to keep that they're Class 2, or is it just that they're vulnerable in NSW. :?:

 

[JeffHardy]

As you suggested Zen, their categorisation into Class 2 in NSW is a combination of their Vulnerable status under the NSW Threatened Specuies Conservation Act and their intolerance to sustained high humidity. I understand that if this species is kept outside in Sydney at all times you would be placing your animals in jeopardy.

 

[Pike01]

I disagree, wish i lived in Sydney to prove you wrong.

 

[peterjohnson64]

Hey Pike, please elaborate. If they survive OK in Logan I guess Sydney would also work - if anything your humidity would be higher. I also intend getting a full set of Tiliqua and am interested in knowing which ones I can keep outside in Sydney.

 

[JeffHardy]

Pike,

The category lists were compiled by herpetologists for Parks and Wildlife. So you reckon that consistently high humidity does not affect the species? Please elaborate with your experience etc. They will stay on class 2 because of wild status, but we don't want to give keepers a bum steer re husbandry.

Thanks

 

[zen]

Peter,

You said:-

If they survive OK in Logan I guess Sydney would also work - if anything your humidity would be higher.

:?
Where exactly is Logan City?

The exceptionally high humidity of Sydney is surely higher than Adelaide & Perth, which have a similar climate to the Mediterranean (i.e dry summers) and definitely much higher than far western NSW, the natural range for this species.

The Sydney area can be extremely humid. It's a freakish thing but Sydney has humidity higher than anywhere else on the NSW east coast. Higher than or equal to the far north coast of NSW and considerably higher than anywhere in between.
The humidity was 80% in Sydney the other day, without rain!.

I mentioned this in Pike's Western Bluey's for sale ad, on this site http://www.aussiepythons.com/PNphpBB2-viewtopic-t-14632.html

I was interested in his/her specimens, so that's why I'm researching the husbandry aspects of keeping them here.

I think it's an important factor to consider.

It'd be great to get some feedback from a Western Bluey keeper in Sydney, if there are any?.

 

[peterescue]

Logan City as\djacent to brisbane.
I would like to strongly disagree with you on this one Pike1. Dont be fooled by micro climate. There will always bee pockets that will allow them to be sustained but I would not risk Westerns outdoors in Sydney. My Parents live in Logan and for a large proportion of the year the humidity levels are reasonably dry. As attested by the large tracts of dry sclorypheral forset. Sydney is similar to Brisbane within close proximity to the river.

 

[zen]

Thanks for that Peterrescue,

It'd be interesting to know the microclimate humidity readings for the two cities for comparison.

 

[Magpie]

I live in Cairns, can I keep them outside?
Seriously, Squideny is a big place. Out West has to be a lot less humid than around the harbour / near the coast? On top of a hill would be less humid than in a valley etc.
Not saying it can be safely done by any means, just saying that humidity is not an absolute. I know Perth had a week or so of 90%+ humidity last year.

 

[Pike01]

I kept and bred shinglebacks outdoors for more than 10 years in Sydney.With minimum effort anyone could.Pick a sunny spot for the pit so it gets sun most of the day, put down a ground sheet of shade cloth, sit your pit on it, i use rings from water tanks.Next put down about 4-6 inches of coarse bedding sand as substrate.I dont put in any greenery, just logs and timber to hide under.use a terracotta potplant saucer for a water bowl.Put a wire lid on and i have a roll of shade cloth on the lid so at this time of year it is covering half the lid for shade.I believe the stories of shinglebacks and such dying from pnuemonia is from the oldtimers catching them from the wild and chucking them in an inadequate pit.Stress is the real reason they are dying.

 

[zen]

Hi Pike,

Thanks for the details of your set-up.
Is that for Shinglebacks or Western Bluey's :?:

Did you keep your Shinglebacks outdoors all year round?

Do you mind telling me what suburb or general area in Sydney you kept & bred the Shinglebacks in. :?:

Thanks


Cheers, zen

 

[Pike01]

Zen, didnt have westerns back then, but thats how i have my lizards set up now, only difference then was it was pool surrounds instead of tank rings.Suburbs were Mascot and Monterey.

 

[peterescue]

I live within 10k of both those suburbs and its its not condusive for shinglebacks. Mascot and Monterey both on sandy soil, well drained and dry.
humidity and moisture are the big problem. Humidity on its own is not the problem. Ever been out west when it rains.

 

[Pike01]

Yeah Pete, i wouldnt want anyone to risk it with westerns either, but i think some experienced people with shingles might want to give it a try.My first 2 westerns lived in side for the first couple of years (mainly cause i loved to watch them).And my babies got brought in for winter this year, but back out now, the western adults and shingles and centralians all stayed out through winter.And Pete, isnt Sydney surrounded by dry schlerophil forest.

 

[zen]

Pike, thanks for the locality info.
I'm surprised at how close you were to the water. The coast usually has higher humidity than inland suburbs.
So, as Peter pointed out, perhaps substrate is a critical factor.

I've heard of a Blue-tongue keeper in western Sydney, where there were heavy clay soils & he had awful problems with belly-scale rot in all his species.

 

[Pike01]

But arent shingles and westerns common in coastal dunes and heath in their range?Yeah i spose at Monterey the grass wouldnt even grow, just a sand backyard

 

[peterescue]

Lots of people keptheir shingles outdoors in Sydney. I have mine in an aviary but it has sand and gravel substrate to make sure all the water drains away. I had hell in the bottom of the yard. Turns out it was once a snake infested swamp.