According to an email from a concerned keeper, I shouldn’t post advice on this forum, considering my less then a year experience with these dragons, and the fact that there husbandry has already been laid down by other herper’s.

Well id like to say something before my retirement on this forum!

First I don’t give advise, I only offer alternatives ( new ideas ) I am fully aware that what works for me might not work for others, conditions vary from keepers to keepers and they don’t have the same animals, therefore exact replication of husbandry is unlikely.

Secondly, yes I agree others have more experience and have written good care sheets, obviously these are intended for your lizards health. However no husbandry is set in stone, there will always be room for improvement, I am not saying that I offer improved husbandry over what’s been written, no I am only sharing my personal observations and ideas, you the keepers should be responsible enough to know what works for your lizards.

Why do I feel comfortable with sharing my work? Its very simple.

I have been working with reptiles for almost 3 decades, not only keeping and breeding them, but mostly studying them, how there behaviours, how they eat, how they deal with diseases and how they use environmental tools.

Sure I am new to these dragons, however iv made 1000s of observations that leads to a better understanding of them, little details that would pass unnoticed by most keepers, are to me of great importance, my work is to brake down these details and understand there implications.

I could post all day and every day about something that’s never been documented on these dragons, not because I know so much or have read a lot, but simply because I know how to read behaviour.
Subtle details like this arm thing ( see photo) allows me to learn many things about natural behaviours, they do this when there body has reached thermal max (about 88f )

Any paramedic well tell you that the best way to cool a heat stroke victims is to apply ice to the wrist, this is exactly what these lizards are doing, except they don’t use ice, the combination of moisture and wind is all they need to lower there temps to a more comfortable level. Lick your wrist and stick your arm out the window and you will understand what I am saying here.

Sins these are ch babies kept in a closed environment, its easy to figure out that this is an heritage behaviour, not a captive induced behaviour. Such details must be taken into consideration when our goal is to improve husbandry.

Thanks for letting me vent.
Rgds

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