Yay, Shinglebacks!

[kris21]

I've been looking for one of these guys for a long time with no luck then people were saying oh they are hard to come by as they dont have as many babies as blueys etc but today i found just what i was looking for!
A black bobtail, male 3 years old plus a brown baby thrown in too for not much more!
I can't wait to get them, i should have them in a few days!

Kris

[Richard.C]

congrats kris,u will love them,stumpys are awsome,would love to see pics when u get them

[DeadEye]

Yes i know a few people that have the south ozz morph and the stumpie morph in the USA .. Iam glad for you they are gentle tuff mates ..

[SailleSkinklover]

Arrrrgh, you are soooooo LUCKY!!! Congrats, I'm stoked to see pics of your new stumpers! I love 'em! Big heads and fat tails!

[Perenty7]

Congratulations kris, l am sure you will adore or appreciate having them once you get hold of them, and they will make a wonderfull pet to your Reptile collection.

l use to keep them in the earlier days, when l started to keep Reptiles, and l use to love having them as one of my pet Lizards, because they a so tame and placid and easy to handle.

Cheers, Les.

[kris21]

Yeah im excited to be getting them, they are both boys too.
A 3 yr old and an 11 month old. I do love the personality from what i've read and heard about these guys so i know im gonna be very happy with them
I will post pics when they arrive too!
Kris

[Funda]

:O Lucky you!!

Make sure to take pics as soon as you can!!

f.C

[DeadEye]

I work with them every day and find them just so orsm

good for you

[kris21]

I work with them every day and find them just so orsm

good for you

I'll take your word on that mate, i know you have these guys around you a lot!
Is there any major differences i should know before they arrive?
I've been reading about them but if anyone knows it would be you!


Kristy

[Lisa]

I work with them every day and find them just so orsm

good for you

I'll take your word on that mate, i know you have these guys around you a lot!
Is there any major differences i should know before they arrive?
I've been reading about them but if anyone knows it would be you!


Kristy

They are a little more difficult to keep here along the east coast as they don't like humidity and can suffer respiratory problems as a result.
Some tips:
Keep them indoors during summer. Take them out for their sun as often as you like, but keep them indoors.

Don't leave a water bowl in the tank like you do with bluetongues. Rather, offer them water once or twice a week. Or else keep a very small water bowl in the tank (I use the lid of a vegemite jar for Santos).

If you think your room is too stuffy in summer, a small desk fan pointed at an open window helps to lower the humidity, or else use air conditioning.

Use a more drier substrate like paper or Dr Harrys rather than something organic that can raise the humidity.

They seem to prefer veggies and grasses and weeds more so than bluetongues so you shouldn't have problems feeding them.

They like a nice hot hot spot, but make sure the cool end is quite cool.

I got Santos through an east coast summer fine last year and did all of the above (although I do live at a higher altitude, but Colin keeps them in the Sydney 'burbs alright too). He did get a little dry once, but sorbolene cream fixed that.

I find with Santos that he when he goes, he just goes and goes and goes and goes and goes like the energiser bunny, but when he's had enough he totally passes out. There's no in between.

They are also quite placid and don't tent to show aggression towards other lizards. They look really dopey, but I think Santos is quite smart in that he has a good memory for places and things. But he's also a bit compulsive about them too.

When they shed, they get much more oily than bluetongues, so don't handle them much when they shed. But they shed almost in one piece (it peels back from their head like a snake) and it doesn't take them as long as a bluetongue They're usually done in a day whereas blueys can take a few.

Hope that helps

[kris21]

Great, thanks Lisa!
Your Santos is the reason behind me wanting a black one!
He's so beautiful, i just love him and i hope my Spike is just as nice....i haven't seen any pics so i have no idea.
They are arriving tomorrow if all goes to plan, so what substrate do you use for Santos, dr Harrys?
And what veggies does he seem to prefer? Does he take fresh and frozen?

Thanks again,
Kristy

[lernmeabook]

Looking forward to pictures!!!!

Those shinglybacks is cool lookin mmhmm!!!

[Lisa]

Great, thanks Lisa!
Your Santos is the reason behind me wanting a black one!
He's so beautiful, i just love him and i hope my Spike is just as nice....i haven't seen any pics so i have no idea.
They are arriving tomorrow if all goes to plan, so what substrate do you use for Santos, dr Harrys?
And what veggies does he seem to prefer? Does he take fresh and frozen?

Thanks again,
Kristy

Yep, he's on Harrys, and half astro turf. Here's a recent tank pic:


His tank's on the small side, it's only 4x1 foot - it's just a fish tank. But he's still quite small. I'll upgrade him probably in a couple of months.
The heat globe is a 100w Philips Spotone (the small one) but I change that to a 75 watt in summer, UV is a 3ft batten type, and under his hide box (the pink monstrosity in there!) there's a heat mat about the same size. I usually have that on from about 1-6pm because he seems to like a nice warm bed, but doesn't like it on all night. I hope I didn't scare you none, it's just humidity can be a problem, but having said that, problems due to humidity are visible unlike internal issues. So if you do think there's a problem you usually can recitify it quick smart.

He eats anything. And I mean anything! Like, his favourite food is the driveway !! He likes shiny things too like zippers, screws and nails, buckles, any kind of body piercings

Obviously he's not allowed to have them, as much as he tries! But his favourite veggies are zucchini, squash, button mushrooms, capsicum and cauliflower. Fresh or frozen but all raw. He loves any type of fruit, particularly blueberries and plums. Loves raw meat or anything wriggling like bugs and centimapedes and cooked chicken is also a fav. Santos (and Ralphie) are great, they'll eat anything. But Jubby takes after his mum and is a bit fussy and regimental when it comes to food

You'll love your shingles. They are so totally different to bluetongues. Not just their personalities, but their behaviour, their skin and body, their movement. They're not better! Just different!

Where's yours coming from?

[kris21]

Wow, he really does eat everything, lol.
I'll keep this thread in my faves so i can read it when its needed. I brought some veggies today and a pack of those frozen berries so hopefully they'll like them...if not i sure will!
They are coming from somewhere is NSW, can't think of the name but Spike is from the Albury area and im not sure about the baby. I'm getting an enclosure bulit as we speak with an extra big air vent to help with humidity. I was just at Coles and couldn't see the dr Harry stuff so i ended up grabbing another bag of the coles brand i use with my bluey. I hope thats ok, from the looks of it its pretty much the same stuff.
Thanks for the info, its much appreciated and im sure my boys will appreciate it too!

Kristy

[Lisa]

That's not far from where Santos came from, I'm sure he came from Wagga, the exact town is called The Rock (guy's name was Chris Coombes).

The Coles stuff is the same as Dr Harrys, I think they just rebrand it like they do with Homebrand or Black & Gold etc, but since I shop at Woolies or IGA, I get Harrys. I feel weird going through the checkout with 4 or 5 of the 20L bags, I'm sure they think I'm some crazy cat lady

I noticed last week that fresh blueberries (or as we call them, blobries!) are back, they're about 4 bucks a punnet at Woolies. They're still a little hard and tart being the first of the season, but after about a week in the fridge they get more juicy and softer.

So then, are they here yet?

[kris21]

Yep, Just got back from the airport!
I had drama with AAE again though, they said they won't be here until tomorrow so the lady who i got them off called and said no way, you told me they would be in Newcastle this afternoon so he said yeah ok then....
So i picked them up, opened the box and they were so cold. I couldn't believe how cold they were so they are both now laying on the basking rock heating up. I gotta get dinner and everything done so i might be able to put some pics up tonight
They are so cute, looks like paint drops all over them too!

Kristy

[kris21]

Here they are....Spike on the right and Rocky on the left. I would have took more pics but the kids used the rechargables in their gameboys so they died on me!!!
Oh and i added one of my bluey Bronson too....can't let him feel left out.

[Perenty7]

Kris,

Your new pair of Stumpy Tails and your Eastern Blue-Tongue lizards all look beautiful and healthy,and l like the enclosure set-up for your new Stumpy Tails.

l'am sure they will settle down into their new home, now that l have seen their enclosure, and l can see you really care for your Pets.

Keep up the good work, and who know's one day they may breed for you,
and have some beautiful babie's.

Cheers, Les.

[kris21]

Hi Les, that enclosure actually belongs to my bluey...they are just borrowing it until theirs is built, maybe by tomorrow or the next.
I cleaned it all out for them so everything is fresh for them and they are curled up sleeping together getting all nice and warm.

I don't think i'll be getting any babies, the lady said they were both boys. I know you can always be wrong with that so i'll just have to wait and see.

Thanks Les

Kristy

[Richard.C]

nice healthy looking stumpys kristy,the one on the rock tile looks female,but id have to see a birds eye view to be sure,nice looking animals though,good luck with them