Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi, I'm kind of new to MHD's, and am having great success. I've founf lots of good stuff on husbandry and breeding but I have one question that I keep getting sketchy info on: how long do these guys live?
Thanks!

From something I read, here I think, they can live up to 9 years
the Article, quoted 1-5 but that was written a while before it was published, since then Marcia has come to believe that 5 or more is more likely, and since THAT she has heard that one survived 9 years (I believe) and that is on THIS forum somewhere
so looks like you are in for a LONG haul with these neat little guys
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Elizabeth (ecb)

Make this world a better and more beautiful place that You have been in it
*Edward W Bok*

Today I learned a lot from the vet visit. He commented on their lifespan, and said in captivity they can usually live around 2-4 years in a 30-50 gallon tank. Here in Arizona there is a women who has an entire room dedicated to her 2 MHD's (she's obviously very wealthy).

My vet told me when he visits her house it takes him at least 5-10minutes JUST to find her MHD's. The room is about 12x12, with a ceiling height of about 10ft. The lizards are allowed to roam freely through the room, and the good majority of the ground is covered in substrate, and has live trees. There is a sunroof for light so the trees can live, there is UV and Heat lamps placed through out the room for the lizards. Anyways, her lizards living in this type of environment are about 5-6years old, and in good health. So unless you plan on having something setup like this, the vet told me he hasn't seen any MHD's live longer than 4years. Of course there are probably a few cases where they have lived longer than that, but on average 3-4years seems about right.

Hope that helps.

I feel that until very recently, like the last 5-7 years, we have known very little about these animals. I feel that the 2-4 life span is based on keeping the animals in habitats that aren't suited to this species. I will agree that if you try to keep it in a 30-50 gal tank for it's entire life it will be stressed and may not live a full life but if given a setup like the article and my web site describe you MHD should live a good long time WITH PROPER MEDICAL MAINTENANCE.

It seems that in the last year or two it has been easier to convince new owners to take their MHD to a vet very first thing. These keepers are having much better success than what was once though to be possible. On the other hand, those who listen to the pet store clerk and try to keep their MHD in a 20-30 gal tank with a heat rock and a cave with temps of 80-90° F will have a hard time getting the animal straightened out when he does realize this is not the proper setup for this animal. The less you stress your animal the better it will acclimate and the longer I would expect it to live.

I think it would be great to be able to dedicate a 12'x12' room to my group but I don't think it is what is needed for just a pair of MHDs.

I know that in the wild a MHD would have a larger area but they are not real active animals and as long as they have the proper height they should be all right in captivity without an entire room to live in. If space was the only factor in longevity then how could we expect any other species to adapt? The leopard gecko for instance will survive in a 10-gallon tank and they are known to live up to 25 years in captivity.

So, rather than looking at just the space, I do think that we have to take into account all of the environmental factors. For instance, humidity, which would be hard to manage in a room. Can you imagine the damage 70% humidity would do to plaster or sheet rock walls? Not to mention the woodwork and window frames. So, in this situation you would have to compromise the MHDs need for humidity or risk ruining your home.

Anyway, this is all speculation and only time will tell. I hope to keep my babies long enough to find out! I have already kept my oldest for 5 years in captivity and he is still my best breeder, looks great, and eats like a pig most of the time. I hope that he lives for at least 9 years and considering his health and vigor I won't be surprised if he does!
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Marcia - FroggieB Dragons
www.froggieb.com/MHDHome.html

Thanks for all your help, everyone. I'm hoping to get Cthulu, who we just got, I think she's probably around 18 months because she's 4 inches snout to vent, and where I got them from gets them in right when they hit sexual maturity, to live as long as Marcia's dragon. We're moving her into a 5 fot taal by 3 wide and 2 deep cage this summer, possibly with a male. And she's going to have her first vet check in the next week or so, once we manage to capture a fresh fecal sample to take with us.