# thorny devils



## blueyman (Aug 21, 2011)

hey everybody,
does any body keep thorny devils?
if so could you please post some pics to look at 
cheers cam


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## abnrmal91 (Aug 21, 2011)

I don't think anyone does. They are too hard to keep. They need thousands of ants a week. A bit hard to feed.


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## blueyman (Aug 21, 2011)

yeah i guess, but if you lived on a property with heaps of bull ant colony's you could probelly bring them over to the ant hill for an hour or so mayby?


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## SteveNT (Aug 21, 2011)

use the search function



blueyman said:


> yeah i guess, but if you lived on a property with heaps of bull ant colony's you could probelly bring them over to the ant hill for an hour or so mayby?



They dont eat bullants, they try but their mouth is too small, they eat tiny black ants by the thousands.


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## Pythoninfinite (Aug 21, 2011)

They don't eat bullants, they eat small black ants, and only when they're running in trails - they don't pick them up randomly. They aren't that difficult to keep if you have sufficient outdoor space to let them live fairly 'normal' lives. I used to put them into bottomless canary cages, place these over the ant trails for the day, and just leave them to themselves. I had some for 6-7 years and they remained quite healthy.

Jamie


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## blueyman (Aug 21, 2011)

awsome thanks, how much do they normally cost?


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## snakeluvver (Aug 21, 2011)

I have never seen one for sale


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## Defective (Aug 21, 2011)

blueyman said:


> awsome thanks, how much do they normally cost?


you don't quite get what we're saying do you??? try reading these, it might help with your questions

http://www.aussiepythons.com/forum/herp-help-38/thorny-devils-captivity-114735/

http://www.aussiepythons.com/forum/australian-lizards-5383/thorny-devils-66588/

http://www.aussiepythons.com/forum/general-reptile-discussion-42/thorny-devils-126890/

http://www.aussiepythons.com/forum/australian-lizards-5383/thorny-devil-54474/

http://www.aussiepythons.com/forum/australian-lizards-5383/thorny-devil-82318/

http://www.aussiepythons.com/forum/general-reptile-discussion-42/thorny-devils-73844/


http://www.aussiepythons.com/forum/australian-lizards-5383/thorny-devils-66588/http://www.aussiepythons.com/forum/general-reptile-discussion-42/thorny-devils-126890/http://www.aussiepythons.com/forum/australian-lizards-5383/thorny-devil-54474/http://www.aussiepythons.com/forum/australian-lizards-5383/thorny-devil-82318/i think that should answer all your questions....i'm not being rude, this ^^ is what happens when you type in 'Molochs' to the search function....

*Statistics
*Members: 25,836
Threads: 143,945
Posts: 1,652,654

^^^that many members + that many threads + a truck ton of posts = the topic has probably been done = Search function genius!!!


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## alrightknight (Aug 21, 2011)

I remember reading they have one of the most specific diets on the planet of any animal. I would imagine it would be hard to supply thousands of ants a day unless you have a colony in your backyard.


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## snakes123 (Aug 21, 2011)

I remember reading on here you cant keep them, even if you could get the 1000 andt per day they stress and die, or something else but they just die in captivity.


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## frogboy77 (Aug 21, 2011)

i think the only person who owns them lives at alice springs and works at the alice springs reptile centre, i think crocodile cove might have a pair?......


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## snakeluvver (Aug 21, 2011)

frogboy77 said:


> i think the only person who owns them lives at alice springs and works at the alice springs reptile centre, i think crocodile cove might have a pair?......


I also think Sydney Wildlife World had one.
Oh and the Melbourne museum or something?
But there are some private keepers who keep them.


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## SteveNT (Aug 21, 2011)

Again I refer you to previous threads, there has been heaps of input. Some very interesting stuff.


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## Pythoninfinite (Aug 21, 2011)

snakes123 said:


> I remember reading on here you cant keep them, even if you could get the 1000 andt per day they stress and die, or something else but they just die in captivity.



Read some of the posts in the thread before you post things that indicate you know nothing about the subject...

They are difficult, not for novices, but not impossible...

Jamie


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## ianinoz (Aug 21, 2011)

SteveNT said:


> use the search function
> 
> 
> 
> They dont eat bullants, they try but their mouth is too small, they eat tiny black ants by the thousands.



Only ever seen one in the wild, nearly drove over the little guy when travelling high way between Fitzroys Xing and Kununarra in the Kimberleys (in autumn 2000). Pulled over and walked back to have look at it and to pick it up and move it about 100m away from the road. 

Didn't seem to mind being handled.

Always wondered what kind of ants they liked, Was told by someone they'll raid termite nests as well as little ants.
Little back ants wouldn't be hard to keep as a colony. They are prolific breeders and everyone has them in their yard and garden.

Who ever suggested using raiding bull ant nests must be crazy.... those buggers are vicious and really hurt when they sting you, if you think green ants are bad, their sting is a love tap in comparison. You wouldn;t want them in a container in the house or the car, if they got out you'd have to vacate the premises and fumigate it to get rid of them.


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## reptilian1924 (Aug 21, 2011)

frogboy77 said:


> i think the only person who owns them lives at alice springs and works at the alice springs reptile centre, i think crocodile cove might have a pair?......


The Alice Springs Desert Park and Alice Springs Reptile centre, do keep and breed the Thorny Devils, because they a found in the wild where these 2 zoos a located, and can be assured of providing them with their natural diet tiny black Ants, that a only found in that region Central Australia.

l also know of someone who keeps and breeds these awesome Lizards privately in South Australia, l cannot mention their name or where abouts they a located in South Australia sorry.


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## dihsmaj (Aug 21, 2011)

disregard this post


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## mrkos (Aug 21, 2011)

What a rude response are you one of those types that likes to belittle people at every opportunity?


Pythoninfinite said:


> Read some of the posts in the thread before you post things that indicate you know nothing about the subject...They are difficult, not for novices, but not impossible...Jamie


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## snakeluvver (Aug 21, 2011)

Snakeluvver3 said:


> THORNY DEVILS *GENERALLY* EAT MEAT ANTS IN THE WILD, AND *ONLY* MEAT ANTS.


Bit of a contradiction lol



mrkos said:


> What a rude response are you one of those types that likes to belittle people at every opportunity?


Dont mind jamie, he may seem harsh but hes just a sofie lol Sure he didnt mean to sound unkind.

I know that there are people who keep them and theyll accept meat as well as ants, among other things.


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## sammy09 (Aug 21, 2011)

snakeluvver said:


> I also think Sydney Wildlife World had one.
> Oh and the Melbourne museum or something?
> But there are some private keepers who keep them.


one at sydney wildlife world died ages ago


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## snakeluvver (Aug 21, 2011)

iluvbiebersammy9 said:


> one at sydney wildlife world died ages ago


I used past tense, sammy


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## Tiliqua (Aug 21, 2011)

The wildlife world specimen/s died due to not being able to be cooled well enough at night if i recall a talk from one of their keepers correctly. There are also one or two private keepers in QLD with them. They have been offered on herpshop.com.au years ago for about $4000. Buyers had to prove they could sustain their diet.


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## ianinoz (Aug 21, 2011)

Tiliqua said:


> The wildlife world specimen/s died due to not being able to be cooled well enough at night if i recall a talk from one of their keepers correctly. There are also one or two private keepers in QLD with them. They have been offered on herpshop.com.au years ago for about $4000. Buyers had to prove they could sustain their diet.



That price is rediculous. No wonder some people are tempted to catch and sell reptiles illegally.

I'm betting the seller had no takers. Heck they'd spend the money on a desert safari and catch a few of their own and keep them in secret, it would be lots cheaper (not that I''m advocating this - I think they are better left in the wild and watched and photographed insitu and then left to do their own thing).


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## BigWillieStyles (Aug 22, 2011)

ianinoz said:


> That price is rediculous. No wonder some people are tempted to catch and sell reptiles illegally.



For a dedicated collector, 4000 aint that much. Remember, GTPs were around this cost a few year ago.


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## snakeluvver (Aug 22, 2011)

BigWillieStyles said:


> For a dedicated collector, 4000 aint that much. Remember, GTPs were around this cost a few year ago.


A few years ago RSP's were something like $10000 a pair, so I think $4000 for a new, hard to keep species in the hobby is pretty reasonable. Due to the rarity in the hobby you'd expect the cost to be high, but I dont think its ridiculous at all.


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## Pythoninfinite (Aug 22, 2011)

mrkos said:


> What a rude response are you one of those types that likes to belittle people at every opportunity?



Hmm... I might be , but not at EVERY opportunity, only carefully selected ones! I only belittle people when, despite the information already available in the thread from someone who has experience with the subject, they post with a series of absolutes which indicate they are spruiking unhelpful hearsay.

Jamie


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## Fuscus (Aug 22, 2011)

Snakes downunder had this guy a few years ago. I really need to do a return visit to see if he is still there


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## crocdoc (Aug 22, 2011)

Thorny devils don't just eat any black ants but a specific genus of ants. The species they feed on out west has a close relative here on the coast (Sydney) so they can be kept outside of the red centre provided one has a few colonies of these ants going.


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## jordo (Aug 22, 2011)

reptilian1933 said:


> their natural diet tiny black Ants, that a only found in that region Central Australia.


 


crocdoc said:


> Thorny devils don't just eat any black ants but a specific genus of ants. The species they feed on out west has a close relative here on the coast (Sydney) so they can be kept outside of the red centre provided one has a few colonies of these ants going.



Spot on crocdoc. I've known captive animals that are fed from ant colonise originally collected from Ballarat in Vic.

And as I say every time I comment on a Moloch thread. They're actually dead easy to keep. There is nothing difficult about maintaining a captive ant colony.


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## eipper (Aug 29, 2011)

how would you know Jordo????.....go on rub it in


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