# Land Mullets



## jinjajoe (Nov 22, 2011)

Does anyone on here keep Land Mullets ?? I have recently acquired a pair...... & wondered if anyone on here had any experience with them that they wish to share ???? 

This girl is a nudge over 60cm in length & is extremely temperamental as most Mullets are.....

Please post any photos or any info that you may have.....


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## snakeynewbie (Nov 22, 2011)

She's gorgeous, would love a pair of these. Mind sharing how much they set you back jinja? Might have to squeeze some into my budget


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## Snake_Whisperer (Nov 22, 2011)

Is it "normal" for them to be black Joe, or is that a hypermelanistic version?


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## dihsmaj (Nov 22, 2011)

I didn't know they get so gigantic!


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## jinjajoe (Nov 22, 2011)

they are all a very dark brown/black...

here is a snap of a wild pair off Google...


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## richardsc (Nov 22, 2011)

nice joe,i keep them,well just one at the moment,would love to get some more,they can be pretty shy,especially compared to blueys,but once they get used to the hand that feeds them they will happily come for food,they dont like heat like alot of lizards,mine only bask when background temps get low,good luck with them,there pretty impressive animals

some of the nsw forms are alot lighter and keep nice spotting into adulthood


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## jinjajoe (Nov 22, 2011)

richardsc said:


> nice joe,i keep them,well just one at the moment,would love to get some more,they can be pretty shy,especially compared to blueys,but once they get used to the hand that feeds them they will happily come for food,they dont like heat like alot of lizards,mine only bask when background temps get low,good luck with them,there pretty impressive animals
> 
> some of the nsw forms are alot lighter and keep nice spotting into adulthood



In the interest of colony forming I'll take yours from you Richard !!!! lol

Not only are they shy but this pleasant lady would bite your finger clean off & beat you with it...... quite literally...


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## richardsc (Nov 22, 2011)

haha,mine only hiss if you handle them,yours sounds like how king skinks react,they dont bother with a hiss,just twist and bite aggressivly,and man can they bite


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## jinjajoe (Nov 22, 2011)

I know of some babies that are on the way..... I'll send you a PM


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## snakeman478 (Nov 23, 2011)

Land mullets are awesome Joe. I recently bought 3 juvies. They are right up there with King skinks and Blueys at the top of my favorite skink list. PS. Will give you a ring over the next day or 2. Cheers


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## FAY (Nov 23, 2011)

Day old baby (one of 3) that was born this year.







Here is on captured from the pit.


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## zulu (Nov 23, 2011)

Looking good faye,mine spend all the time hiding in the outside enclosure where they fair very well,one of the hardiest skinks that ive kept.


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## FAY (Nov 23, 2011)

Well, the adults are outside. Had to catch the babes as soon as they appeared. They are not very street wise when first born lol
They have since been sold.


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## snakeynewbie (Nov 23, 2011)

Do you find they settle down much if handled from that size Fay or are they always little firecrackers no matter how much handling they get?


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## FAY (Nov 23, 2011)

I don't handle them at all snakey. They are the most timid of all our skinks/dragons that are in the pit.


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## Poggle (Nov 23, 2011)

how many brreds do you keep in the one pit ?


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## FAY (Nov 23, 2011)

We keep land mullets,barbata,long necks, eastern blueys and cunninghams.


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## RCW74 (Nov 23, 2011)

Love the look of these guys...great, now something else to add to the 'want' list.

Fay, out of interest, how many animals & what is your pit size? I'm hoping to be in a position to build one soon myself.....


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## FAY (Nov 23, 2011)

Have a look at this.

http://www.aussiepythons.com/forum/diy-zone-5392/building-pit-111301/


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## jinjajoe (Nov 23, 2011)

FAY said:


> We keep land mullets,barbata,long necks, eastern blueys and cunninghams.



How many adult Mullets are there in your pit ?? & what is the male to female ratio if more than a pair ???

oh & thanks for adding constructively to the thread..... some pictures of the adults ??? if you can get them before they run off !!!!


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## nagini-baby (Nov 23, 2011)

hit up cleobhp, she keeps and breeds them.


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## matt1084 (Nov 23, 2011)

Ive only got the one also but its full of character. Just like all others ive come across it will take a chunk out of you give it the chance. Ill try get a pic up of him, he used to be really black but has lightened up a bit, hopefully he goes black as he gets older.


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## cleobhp (Nov 23, 2011)

Yep we have a massive pair that had 7 bubs this year, born Feb 1st, shy and timid and would bite your arm off if you grabbed them. Lol Johnny bought 3 off me but we are keeping the rest, as far as I know they breed every second year, so im not expecting them to breed this year.


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## jinjajoe (Nov 23, 2011)

cleobhp said:


> Yep we have a massive pair that had 7 bubs this year, born Feb 1st, shy and timid and would bite your arm off if you grabbed them. Lol Johnny bought 3 off me but we are keeping the rest, as far as I know they breed every second year, so im not expecting them to breed this year.



I reckon the every 2nd year thing is only anecdotal (I have heard that also)........ there would be no possible physilogical or environmental reason for this surely (would be happily corrected) ??? I know a local herper that has bred them say 5 from 7 years with no specific pattern.....

Pictures please !!!!! thanks


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## D3pro (Nov 23, 2011)

Glad to see your expending your lizard collection mate! Those pitch black mini crocks look awesome!


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## Tiliqua (Nov 23, 2011)

I've had a definite m/f pair for the past year. Male is feral and thrashes about, the female is tolerant of some handling but will let you know when she's had enough by trying to destroy all humans.


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## jinjajoe (Nov 23, 2011)

D3pro said:


> Glad to see your expending your lizard collection mate! Those pitch black mini crocks look awesome!



just safeguarding against lizard shortages as you do....... You can free handle them next time you are here & harden one of you soft snake keepers up a bit.........


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## jamesjr (Nov 23, 2011)

Wild one from Port Stephens


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## jinjajoe (Dec 24, 2011)

just finished my outdoor enclosure for these guys.... the male is pictured & you can just see the tail of the female pictured earlier in the thread..... HOPEFULLY they do not fight too much & settle in as it is the first time they have met today !!!!


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## D3pro (Dec 24, 2011)

Those look great Joe. Well done.


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## MathewB (Dec 24, 2011)

Got a pic of the whole pit Fay?


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## jinjajoe (Dec 24, 2011)

he just chased her round the pen & gave her a bite.... I hope it was just a 'I'm Boss & don't you forget it !!'bite & not a 'When the sun comes up on Xmas day you will die or be limbless my dear' bite...... I would say lol but I'm nervous !!!!


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## snakeman478 (Dec 24, 2011)

Good luck Joe. They can be tricky to introduce to each other. As i told you earlier today, i have witnessed them tearing legs and tails off each other. They can be downright savage.


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## MathewB (Dec 24, 2011)

Is this just with the land mullets? Or can it happen with cunninghams?


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## jinjajoe (Dec 24, 2011)

Most Egernia are notorious at introduction time !!!


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## MathewB (Dec 24, 2011)

So what does this mean for my little guys and their mum when I introduce them back outside with the male? :S


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## justbrad (Dec 24, 2011)

They look great Joe...... They sound almost as ferocious as my ex-wife!


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## Exotic_Doc (Dec 24, 2011)

justbrad said:


> They look great Joe...... They sound almost as ferocious as my ex-wife!



LooooL your ex wife sounds like my ex girlfriend hahaha


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## justbrad (Dec 24, 2011)

Exotic_Doc said:


> LooooL your ex wife sounds like my ex girlfriend hahaha



Lets hope they never meet!


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## snakeman478 (Dec 24, 2011)

You should be right Mathew, but if you breed them next year and separate mum and the offspring then try to reintroduce them to dad and the yearlings then i can almost guarantee you that this years babies will munch the new borns. seen it many time before. However if you let the mum birth in with them they should form a nice little colony for you. That said even introducing aanother animal of ANY sex or age is also fraught with danger and usually ends badly. In my experiences anyway.


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## Exotic_Doc (Dec 24, 2011)

justbrad said:


> Lets hope they never meet!


LOOOL 
edited : was abit rude


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## jinjajoe (Dec 25, 2011)

jinjajoe said:


> he just chased her round the pen & gave her a bite.... I hope it was just a 'I'm Boss & don't you forget it !!'bite & not a 'When the sun comes up on Xmas day you will die or be limbless my dear' bite...... I would say lol but I'm nervous !!!!



I am afraid it was the latter as he smashed her 4 or 5 times today I decided enough was enough & removed her before he caused any serious damage..... 

I suppose that was happy xmas from the Mullets !!!!! 

she is now licking her multiple minor superficial wounds in an indoor enclosure....... she will be fine after a few meals & a good shed for those who wonder how bad she has been hit but from his relentless chasing of her he would no doubt have ripped her to pieces if left together...


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## Exotic_Doc (Dec 25, 2011)

Jinjajoe what do you do in a position like this? Give up on breeding this pair? I know next to nothing about Land Mullets.. :$


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## jinjajoe (Dec 25, 2011)

Exotic_Doc said:


> Jinjajoe what do you do in a position like this? Give up on breeding this pair? I know next to nothing about Land Mullets.. :$



Egernia are all a bit like this...... I have been trying for the last week to pair up all of my tree skinks with some successes & some failures..... if you thought Blueys were difficult then try Egernia they put the 'C' in a certain expletive deletive. 

The answer to you question however is to make sure that you are around the entire day when you do it so that you can avoid major injury. Then try again with a slight change of situation....... in this case they were both introduced into the same enclosure at the same time which I thought might work...... so I'll let him settle in & let her feed a few times & shed & then try again as he may let her once he feels like he owns the joint........ after a couple more failures then I will look to other keepers to maybe swap or buy another & have another go..... 

In my experience with breeding any Skinks the biggest barrier is introductions & sexing....... once you crack this you will almost certainly have gone 90% of the way to succeeding if breeding is your goal..... So I suppose it is a case of don't give up & just have another crack..... but under no circumstances turn your back on volatile situations as you will end up with dis-figured or dead animals.


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## wokka (Dec 25, 2011)

What would happen if you put a wire divider in the outside pen?


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## jinjajoe (Dec 25, 2011)

wokka said:


> What would happen if you put a wire divider in the outside pen?



its an idea..... but you would have to introduce at some stage & Egernia either do or don't get on & are essentially a colony animal so segregation almost defeats the purpose........ 

besides one end is naturally shaded & one isn't...... so an aspect change would be required also.......


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## -Peter (Dec 25, 2011)

Bellatorias major live in an extended system of borrows that allow individuals to keep clear of each other till mating. They tend to be solitary most of the time. In captivity if you dont have the space its best to introduce them when they are younger or separate the enclosure with a piece of glass or perspex so that they can see each other but not make contact till they become settled.


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## zulu (Dec 25, 2011)

Are you sure that you have a male and a female jinj,sounds like two males,the onley fighting i get here with egernias is the males,they are very territorial.
Landmullets usually good even with smaller and larger as long as another male isnt placed in the cage,same with cunninghams,if you have multiple males you end up with one left eventually.


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## jinjajoe (Dec 25, 2011)

-Peter said:


> Bellatorias major live in an extended system of borrows that allow individuals to keep clear of each other till mating. They tend to be solitary most of the time. In captivity if you dont have the space its best to introduce them when they are younger or separate the enclosure with a piece of glass or perspex so that they can see each other but not make contact till they become settled.



yep some mesh or perspex or the like is an idea so that they can check eachother out initially..... but the photo that I posted on the 1st page & many sightings suggest that they are not as solitude as you suggest..... but yep in the rainforests of SEQ & Northern NSW they live in fallen down rotting trees with intricate tunnels so it is easy for escape......



zulu said:


> Are you sure that you have a male and a female jinj,sounds like two males,the onley fighting i get here with egernias is the males,they are very territorial.
> Landmullets usually good even with smaller and larger as long as another male isnt placed in the cage,same with cunninghams,if you have multiple males you end up with one left eventually.



any sex of Egernia in fact any sex of any skinks can potentially fight not correct to say only males will fight.... & they are a pair.....


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## SteveNT (Dec 25, 2011)

I think the name is the crappiest name I've ever seen for a splendid beast. Sorry, bit pissed with the celebrations of the virgin birth etc. We flogged everyone on the pool table and back to base. Great to be here. Sunset is stunning if a bit faster than most.

Happy Xmas you mob. Do good and get good.


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## FAY (Dec 25, 2011)

zulu said:


> Are you sure that you have a male and a female jinj,sounds like two males,the onley fighting i get here with egernias is the males,they are very territorial.
> Landmullets usually good even with smaller and larger as long as another male isnt placed in the cage,same with cunninghams,if you have multiple males you end up with one left eventually.



We had two female cunninghams kill the introduced boy.
The new boy is OK as he is so much bigger than them.


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## jinjajoe (Dec 25, 2011)

FAY said:


> We had two female cunninghams kill the introduced boy.
> The new boy is OK as he is so much bigger than them.



This is my experience also Fay.......

I have been trying to put a large colony of Tree Skinks into 5 or so groups this last few weeks...... they are all sexed correctly & jeez there really is no rules...... ok sibs tend to get on but as you say an adult female can turn around & smash anything the same as a male can & a female can like one male or another specific female & turnaround & smash another animal....

at the end of the day all animals are individual & will behave as such.......


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## FAY (Dec 25, 2011)

jinjajoe said:


> This is my experience also Fay.......
> 
> I have been trying to put a large colony of Tree Skinks into 5 or so groups this last few weeks...... they are all sexed correctly & jeez there really is no rules...... ok sibs tend to get on but as you say an adult female can turn around & smash anything the same as a male can & a female can like one male or another specific female & turnaround & smash another animal....
> 
> at the end of the day all animals are individual & will behave as such.......



True!

I have a youngish mullet in the huge enclosure on the verandah. The others are in the pit. It is the shiest of all the animals in this huge enclosure. Every second night I give them mealworms/superworms. I have just gotten him to accept the super worms of my tweezers. Takes time.


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## snakeman478 (Dec 25, 2011)

Egernias/Bellatorias of ANY sex and ANY age can and will fight to the death if they dont like each other, even reintroductions of animals that have bred before can end in fatalities or severe injuries. I have witnessed it on many occasions over the years. Like Jinjajoe said, all animals are individuals and have different behaviours. I have seen these animals in the flesh and they are a definate pair.


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## richardsc (Dec 26, 2011)

its true,both sexes can be aggressive,one of the biggest and most dominant cunninghams i ever had i thought was male used to pick on another large male,and have goes at the smaller cunnies in the group,i seperated the large male as he had wounds to both rear legs,that presumed big aggressive male ended up dropping 7 bubs as it was also seperated from the main group due to fear of it hurting others


joe i have a pair of gidgees that behaved similarly,the male was chasing the female around biting quite alot,tail and legs,i was thinking of seperating them but then he actually started mating her after a few weeks of the chasing,mind you it was in may,so way out of wack for breeding time,,but ever since i havnt witnessed the aggression,your pr may just need time to become aquainted,my old pr of mullets which i now only have one of got on great,never any aggression,they actually used to hang around together,sleep together ect ect,even when i got the male to put in with the female,from the word go they got on great guns,

i dont find mullets overly aggressive,ive seen a few wild ones to,they are shy and hiss and struggle on being held,but never had them try to bite,king skinks on the other hand dont mess around,they dont bother hissing,they twist then bite,and they dont nip,they mean business,lol,but they are all individuals


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## zulu (Dec 26, 2011)

Can onley talk from my own experience,the male cunninghams have culled each other down so that i have one male left and any fatalities i checked to see what sex they were.
Western bluetongues,ive had the same thing,got one male left,landmullets here are compatible.
Blotched bluetonges about the same story,got one male left.
The female lizards here dont get picked on except for mating these days and thats the way i like it.


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## -Peter (Dec 26, 2011)

My female cunninghams kicked out the males. They lived in a separate part of the enclosure to the main colony and one had to be removed completely. The blotchies dont seem to mind but there is a a good amount of room so there are three males while the eastern bluetongues seem to have one dominant male who makes it hard for any other males. You dont see any aggro, just other males losing condition steadily over time. The mullets didn't cope with each other and I had to sell the one remaining one. I dont remember the gender off hand, perhaps Richard does. I had Liopholis modesta and it was the males that tore each other apart. Water skinks behaved similarly. Pinktongues were a nightmare for me with seven animals having to be housed in five separte enclosures. Shinglebacks on the other hand didn't seem to care in the slightest.
Like Zulu all the females seem to cruise along though they show the scars of mating.


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## FAY (Dec 26, 2011)

hahaha I have seen a cunningham (not that big) grab a huge bluey by the tail and march it around the pit. They are fearless!!!


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## -Peter (Dec 26, 2011)

Yep, though I had a large female cunningham come off second best to a T.s.intermedia. Had to euthanaise her he did so much damage to her skull.


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## richardsc (Dec 27, 2011)

peter,i was pretty confident he was a male,its actually interesting to hear peoples findings on these behaviours in there skinks,and shows that depending on the animals and differing situations behaviours can vary


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## MathewB (Dec 27, 2011)

This thread is starting to become some sort of horror story


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## jinjajoe (Jan 3, 2012)

I photographed this successfully housed colony today at a very private collection in extremely natural surrounds......


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## Pineapplekitten (Jan 3, 2012)

ALL exxttreemmellyy natural lol... nice pics Jinjee, turned out good!! Lots of really nice animals


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## Python55 (Jan 4, 2012)

Reminds me of something else all Natuuraal.. Ahhh funny _Salope_ haha 

cool looking animals, never seen them before.. never even heard of them actually..


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## Pineapplekitten (Jan 4, 2012)

That was a heat of the moment reflex action lol.... AND i know what '_Salope' is.. :twisted: _If i didnt already have infractions you'd get a verbal *** kicking ..

they are cool though!!


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## euphorion (Feb 2, 2012)

View attachment 236703


Sorry about the bad photo, this one was quick and nipped back into hiding after this was taken. This is in Springbrook National Park, Twin Falls Circuit


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## jedi_339 (Feb 2, 2012)

When I was a kid growing up in NSW we used to have a colony of approx 10 of them just in front of the chook pen, I remember trying to catch them all the time :lol:

they used to bask together regularly, however there 'nest' was in a large pile of sticks and fallen timber so there was plenty of opportunities for them to remain seperated at the best of times.

I still have memories of me as a 5yr old trying to use dads landing net with some raw mince on top to pick them up..........had a bloody hole in it, then they were smart enough to crawl underneath and eat it from the bottom, good times, always been one of my favourite skinks


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## richardsc (Feb 8, 2012)

any luck getting them together joe?????i just picked up an adult pr yesterday so fingers crossed they get on with my big girl


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## jinjajoe (Feb 14, 2012)

richardsc said:


> any luck getting them together joe?????i just picked up an adult pr yesterday so fingers crossed they get on with my big girl



+1 !! I also picked up another adult pair 3 weeks ago & threw them in with the other female & zero problems....... my big aggressive male now lives inside by himself !!!!!!
I'll update with photos soon......


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## deebo (Feb 14, 2012)

Glad you got some to get along joe. That big male was a like a little dinosaur - very impressive animal.


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## richardsc (Feb 15, 2012)

nice one joe


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## miss_mosher (Feb 15, 2012)

I know the Cunninghams was only mentioned right at the beginning of this thread, but I'm from near Brisbane in QLD, and my dad nearly killed one with his shovel while gardening! He brought it straight over and we had no idea what is was, so we searched and searched through our reptile books and finally found it. Obviously NOT a local breed so we were amazed when we found out what it was. And I just have to say, I have never seen any lizard bend a spoon the way it did, I'm glad it wasn't my finger! So you're crazy for keeping them, haha! Do these land mullets you have, have a strong bite as well?


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## jinjajoe (Mar 20, 2012)

Lovers !!!!

not the best image.... but the result I was looking for finally !!!!!


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## richardsc (Mar 20, 2012)

nice one joe,my 3 are still getting on great guns,fingers crossed they stay that way,lol,impressive animals


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## kr0nick (Mar 20, 2012)

Man those are cool. Jet black and A decent size sign me up for first clutch


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