Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I know that some of you keep DHLs in groups, and this seems to work out well, but do many of you just keep one?

Do DHLs tend to prefer being alone, like most predators, or does social interaction seem to benefit them, based on YOUR observations?

I find that certain species may prefer social interaction. The platyrhinos and solare seem to very well. The 4 male juvenile platyrhinos siblings I have tend to prefer remaining close, though not all up at the same time. I find my adult solare male/female pair to very much prefer each others company even when provided with large expanses to bask or sleep elsewhere. They can almost always be found burrowed right next to each other, and if one is down and the other awake, the alert one will usually have it's forelimb resting on the one that is burrowed.
cornutum in my experience appears much more independent. Especially with differing species near it. I had one exception of a juvenile female which seemed to fancy my solare male, and not only stuck close to him, but took on a head bob looking much more like a solare than the "slow-two" typical for cornutum. The elder cornutum female wasn't hostile to others, but if anything, prefered company of the other smaller cornutum.
Two hatchlings ( cornutum & solare ) tend to spend most of their time apart, while awake. Basking and foraging in different manners and areas. However, when sleeping, the cornutum can usually be found burrowed on top of the solare.
In fact in the last year I have started to rethink what this might mean for social behavior in the wild. Maybe it's resources in some cases, but often HLs can be found in the wild very close to each other. I have considered providing a den environment to see if they would cohabitate in a burrow that way if given a choice. I think the platyrhinos might after observing them digging a nice space out under a shallow feeding/water dish a few times.
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"A man that should call everything by it's right name, would hardly pass the streets without being knocked down as a common enemy." The Complete Works of George Savile, First Marquess of Halifax 1912,246

I had suspected such behavior, heard about it from other Herpers, and experienced it with mice, but what you say ASTONISHING to me.

Thanks, so interesting & helpful!

Desert Don
Portland, OR

My herping/hiking buddy & I discovered our first ones in the wild, in the Alvord Desert of OR. At a gravel pit, we found two juveniles sitting next to each other in the road (siblings?).

Later, another juvenile was seen, apparently alone.

After that, we found an adult, also apparently alone.

Of course, we have NO IDEA how they sleep at night! (;