Pit idea...

[thesilverbeast]

Hello!


I have the ok from my parents to make a bluey pit in the backyard.

I live in Melbourne, Aus so most people would know what the temps are like.

Now, ideally I want 2 easterns and 2 shingles as they are found in this general area.



Questions:

1) Can these species live together relatively safely? (i know theres always a risk)
2) What would be the minimum size i would be looking at?
3) Is it possible they would breed to hybridize or if i get one of each sex for both species they will just breed on their own with the right partner?

Will this idea work?



Thanks for your help!
Shaun.

[megaabel]

I DONT KNOW..sorry

but you are so lucky!

GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!

keep us posted!!

[Lisa]

Shaun, I know that Colin Hamilton keeps shingles and blotched (and probably easterns and westerns by now) in an outdoor pit together (because I've seen them!). He's up here in NSW, but I'm pretty sure Richard down in Vic does as well, and I think he's got a few cunninghams in the mix as well. I'd PM them, and also Geoff Gates in Vic because he's doing a whopper outdoor thingy for his so should have some ideas for you. And Leabilby has outdoor runs for hers as well.

I'd love to do that one day, but I'm just too paranoid living in the bush that something might eat them.

[thesilverbeast]

its still in the planning stages, if its not gonna work out how i see it then ill have to stick to a single eastern i have now (which i would still be happy with )

but will do!

[Lisa]

Oh, and in case you didn't know (because I know you go there!) Colin is Zulu on aussiepythons.com and Richard's RichardSC or something like that over there.

[Geoff Gates]

Hello!


I have the ok from my parents to make a bluey pit in the backyard.

I live in Melbourne, Aus so most people would know what the temps are like.

Now, ideally I want 2 easterns and 2 shingles as they are found in this general area.



Questions:

1) Can these species live together relatively safely? (i know theres always a risk)
2) What would be the minimum size i would be looking at?
3) Is it possible they would breed to hybridize or if i get one of each sex for both species they will just breed on their own with the right partner?

Will this idea work?



Thanks for your help!
Shaun.

Shaun,

Yes they will live in relative safety... but the bigger the pit the better. You will find they become territorial to certain areas of the pit.

Ummm, about 2 metres x 3 metres or if circular 3 metres in diameter.

Hybridisation is extremely unlikely but possible. (I've heard of shingle/blotched hybrids in the wild but it is very, very, very rare).

I will mention that most keepers in Melb' would not leave their shingles outdoors all year and would bring them inside even during summer if the weather was not favourable.

If the locale where you live has heavy clay soil one thing you could try for the stumpies is an area of the pit that has a six inch layer of sand with shade cloth underneath it for drainage.

Whereas the easterns would prefer lots of leaf litter and even a pile of grass or compost heap.

Go for it..... Good Luck.

[thesilverbeast]

Oh, and in case you didn't know (because I know you go there!) Colin is Zulu on aussiepythons.com and Richard's RichardSC or something like that over there.

awesome, i didnt know colin was zulu but i knew about richard. are you on there? you probably know already seeing as you brought up aps but im same username as here. have you seen me post?

[thesilverbeast]

thanks geoff,

im glad hybrids are unlikely!

so would those dimensions be the minimum or a good size for 4 of those guys?


with the stumpies, i know they are wild in my area (tullamarine) or at least have been before it was developed. how come the climate isn't suitable anymore? (or is it just that it wasnt before but they just put up with it?)

[Lisa]

Oh, and in case you didn't know (because I know you go there!) Colin is Zulu on aussiepythons.com and Richard's RichardSC or something like that over there.

awesome, i didnt know colin was zulu but i knew about richard. are you on there? you probably know already seeing as you brought up aps but im same username as here. have you seen me post?

Yeah, I figured there is only one silverbeast out there!
I read it, but don't post on it. There's too many wankers on there and you really gotta trawl through some excrement to get good info. Sure, they've got 10 snakes.....but they've only had them for 3 months.....but they know everything

There's a few others. Kris21 is on there, Leabilby used to before I told her to come here. I'm sure there's more, but my brain don't function so good on Friday nights

Anyway, our local will go bankrupt if we don't get a move on, so good luck with your pit !

[thesilverbeast]

haha yeah it gets a bit that way!

ill always offer my opinion but you may have noticed even here i will say at the end of my post that i have no idea what im talking about


if i tell them something, unless im 100% sure ill say "but you should check up on that, theres a good chance im wrong" or something of the like.

Thanks for your help. You're one of my favourite forumers around here, love your skinks names, and the cages, makes me laugh every time

[Richard.C]

heya silverbeast,stumpys and easterns will be fine together,as geoff said its possable for them to interbreed but highly unlikely,also im not sure if stumpys were ever naturally occuring around tullamarine mate,if u r referring to the one reported to have been found there recently could easily be an escaped or let loose captive,but who knows,i could be wrong,lol,the best bluey for outdoors keeping would be blotcheds,there so cold hardy and thrive in melb,easterns should as well but make sure u have lots of cover for them,ive found easterns seem to stress out if housed with my blotcheds outdoors,so dont keep them together but house cunninghams and eastern and gippy water dragons with the blotchys with out any dramas,just have to remove gravid female blueys when there close to having bubs as waterys could easily eat them,also if u are considering housing stumpys outside,u need to keep them pretty dry,i keep mine indoors all year,im paranoid of them getting crook outdoors but will be experimenting with a covered enclosure shortly,others like geoff i think house outdoors where they r,im on the mornington peninsula,so a smidge cooler and more humid than tulla area,oh and u r right lisa,theres some on aps that are like that,lol,gotta watch out for that zulu charactor,haha,kidding colin,good luck silverbeast,dont be shy to ask for oppinions either,the more the better

[Geoff Gates]

I doubt stumpies have ever occurred naturally at Tulamarine.

All the stumpies around Melb' bushland are either captive escapees or have been set free.

BTW... I'm on APS too but you won't know my sign-on.

[thesilverbeast]

im sure my sisters partner has told me that he used to catch wild shingles when he was a kid!

maybe he's getting confused with something else? cunninghams maybe?

either way i might give shingle backs a miss until i can keep them indoors.


Brings me to another question, after its all set up, how much work is it to maintain ect? is feeding difficult to do to make sure everyone gets some or is it just put a plate in there and let them go for it?

what do you do to run it successfully after the initial setup?

thanks!

[Geoff Gates]

im sure my sisters partner has told me that he used to catch wild shingles when he was a kid!

maybe he's getting confused with something else? cunninghams maybe?

either way i might give shingle backs a miss until i can keep them indoors.


Brings me to another question, after its all set up, how much work is it to maintain ect? is feeding difficult to do to make sure everyone gets some or is it just put a plate in there and let them go for it?

what do you do to run it successfully after the initial setup?

thanks!

Some excellent questions.

There is a photo of my old pit in the enclosure section of this site.

You will find that your blueys will be ready to feed after they have had time to warm up - usually sometime after 11:00 AM.

As they are living outside they will not feed as often as the weather determines whether they can feed or not. On colder (but sunny) days put a thermometer in the sunshine in the pit. If the temp reads 32 degrees or above they will eat.

When I thought the weather would be conducive for feeding I used to leave food out for them in different areas of the pit before work.
Though ants crawling over the food & european wasps buzzing around were often an issue.

To ensure everyone is getting a fair share I would supervise the feeding at least once a week. Also changing their water at least weekly.

If you have created your pit correctly there is minimal work required to maintain it. There is much less work required than keeping them indoors.

Occassionally you could add new leaf litter and replace a log. I would also make some hide boxes with a hinge lid for easy access.

Try planting Dianella, Lomandra, Poas & other native Ozzie grasses - blueys love them and those plants are tough as old boots.

I would also raise the ground level of the spine of the pit to allow for drainage to the walls of the pit. Perhaps get some river pebbles around the inner wall to get the water to soak away.

Then sit back in the sunshine with a drink and enjoy.

[Richard.C]

i just plate my ones food up and they dig in,lol,i do spread it around at times though to make sure they all get some,also i watch there condition,usually i feed more than they can eat and remove it later in the day if not eaten,not often i get the chance though as they generally scoff it,mind u i have over 30 blotchies between both sides,7 cunninghams plus 6 water dragons so generally gets eaten,as geoff said if they can warm up enough they will eat,they may nibble if there not warm enough.mine generally stop eating fully between april and early september,i have a thread on here maybe page 2 or 3 showing my lot eating in numerous pics if your interested,i accidently erased all the stuff on my computer so lost all my pics so will have to start over unfortunatly