# Thorny Devil



## amageingrace (Apr 29, 2007)

can anyone help me to find thorny devil breaders i am really interested please email me at [email protected] thanx all


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## mickousley (Apr 29, 2007)

sorry no body breed them to hard to keep


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## MrSpike (Apr 29, 2007)

Yes I know a breeder but you need a class 2 lic in NSW and need a few thousand black ants a day to feed them, and not just any species of black ant.

Kane


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## cris (Apr 29, 2007)

ppl do breed them, dunno who but. They need alot of ants but breeding ants wouldnt require a phd :lol:
If you dont have experience keeping lizrds i wouldnt bother about it as it would be a really expensive way to learn the hard way. If you know what you are doing go for it.


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## Aslan (Apr 29, 2007)

I have heard of people breeding them - but as everyone has said, good luck getting enough ants


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## amageingrace (Apr 29, 2007)

thanx guys just wanted to get some knowledge about them thought a breeder could help but thanx everyone for the quick replys


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## Kirby (Apr 29, 2007)

alice spring reptile center bred them, as of my knowledge last winter previouse summer.. 

they only keep them as they has several ant nests on there location.. DAILY they take each thorny out sit and watch it ast a trail of ants as it slowely licks up these ants.. *rolls eyes* by the thousand a day... and only a particular species.. 

they are ALOT of work, and time, and most probably, money... 

theyre cute, but not worth the time IMO.. as they would only be display animals, and they wouldtn bond easily as a bluey or beardie..


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## Craig2 (Apr 29, 2007)

i cant see whats so hard about breeding ants they seem to breed pretty well around my house atm lol


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## bubba (Apr 29, 2007)

lol


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## OzRocks (Apr 29, 2007)

yeah i think alice springs reptile park is the only place that has had some decent breedin.....
but whats good with them is they can just go out the back and gettin a thousand ants in 1 hit....
but also i think the ones that bred were in outside enclosures....so it wasnt really captive conditions....i coould be wrong


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## Bench Warmer (Apr 29, 2007)

i remember their thorny devil display at asrp,it kind of goes around the corners of the fence probably covers 5-10 metres.. and had several devils in there,i didn't notice the ants but they were on red sand


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## Hickson (Apr 30, 2007)

There's two facilities in Alice Springs with Molochs - Tne Alice Springs Desert Park, on the outskirts of town, and a Reptiles only facility in Alice Springs itself. The Desert Park has bred them several times both indoor and outdoors.

To feed them outdoors they just put some honey on the ground in the enclosure, and then they wait a few minutes.

To feed the ones indoors they get a piece of old termite mound, drizzle honey through it, wait until the ants are all through it, then put it in the Moloch's tank.



Hix


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## nvenm8 (Apr 30, 2007)

Reptiles Australia Magazine Volume 2 Issue 5 has an article about the husbandry of the Moloch horridus. A great read if you are interested.


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## amageingrace (Apr 30, 2007)

hanx heaps guys found out some great information


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## OzRocks (May 1, 2007)

yeah thats an interesting but simple technique to get food....but wouldnt the ants get stuck in the honey, and dont thornys need moving prey?


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## Hickson (May 2, 2007)

I believe they don't run into the honey, but stop at the edge, collect some and take it back to the nest. And that alerts the nest to where there's a big high-sugary food source waiting for them.



Hix


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## OzRocks (May 2, 2007)

Oh ok....makes more sense now


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## learning snake man (May 4, 2007)

*sound,s like you ANT going to get one lol*


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## moosenoose (May 5, 2007)

Sounds weird, surely there is a supplement you could give them??? Don't they do the same thing with echidnas? Anyway, cool looking animals, I love how they take in water through their feet!  VERY COOL!


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## BT (May 5, 2007)

they have some at sydney wildlife world with ants crawling arourd the enclosures


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## chickenman (May 5, 2007)

i went to sydney wildlife world for the sole reason to see the thorny devils but when i got there they had the enclosure covered up i was like ARGH!!!!


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## x_aussie_bloke_x (May 9, 2007)

moosenoose said:


> Sounds weird, surely there is a supplement you could give them??? Don't they do the same thing with echidnas? Anyway, cool looking animals, I love how they take in water through their feet!  VERY COOL!


 
sort the same but the echidnas use the nuzzle their snout into the ant mounds and then the ants appear. then they eat. 
I WANT TO KNOW HAS ANY EVER HELD A THORNY DEVIL AND IF THERE SPIKEY?
WHAT IS SPIKEYER THORNY DEVIL OR AN ECHIDA?


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## hornet (May 9, 2007)

echidna's are spikey, thorny devils havesoft spines, also dont post in caps, its annoying, alice springs desert park cannot sell to public, if you do find a breeder expect to pay $3000-$4000 possibly more


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## gillsy (May 9, 2007)

no they will only eat ants, and the ones at wildlife world weren't coping with public life. 

they have now settled and are on display.


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## hornet (May 9, 2007)

yup, only ants, but not only one species, the prefer the genus iridiomyrmex but will take any species of small dark trail forming ant


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## Chrisreptile (May 9, 2007)

hornet said:


> echidna's are spikey, thorny devils havesoft spines,



maybe sort of like a beardys spikes?


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## hornet (May 9, 2007)

i think the larger spines are soft but the smaller tubercles i think are like beardie spines, also i have heard of them beaing fed termites, roaches, mealworms and crickets from hatching but the longest survivours lasting 1 year, could it be the formic acid in the ants that the devils need?


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## x_aussie_bloke_x (May 9, 2007)

oh kk i thought that was correct .... echidnas spines are alot harder 2


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## lynfrog (May 9, 2007)

saw a single thorny devil on display at syd wildlife world on friday night- very active and fantastic to see - my first look at one in person. walked around like 'roboreptile'. no ants in sight.


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## nickamon (May 10, 2007)

I've held a thorny devil, and they have soft spines, like a beardie.


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## MoreliaMatt (May 10, 2007)

x_aussie_bloke_x said:


> sort the same but the echidnas use the nuzzle their snout into the ant mounds and then the ants appear. then they eat.
> I WANT TO KNOW HAS ANY EVER HELD A THORNY DEVIL AND IF THERE SPIKEY?
> WHAT IS SPIKEYER THORNY DEVIL OR AN ECHIDA?



an echidna by far!!! thorny devils look tough but arent, theyre spikes are quite rubbery.... 

i knwo this because i used to touch them all the time... i lived at ayers rock for a while and i used to move them off the roads up there on a daily basis....


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## x_aussie_bloke_x (May 10, 2007)

Oh ok well thanks anyways... i wanna hold a thorny devil lol... but 1 day i will hopefully haha


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## da_donkey (May 10, 2007)

I have seen at least 3 threads on APS with people claiming to have thorny devils 

Donk


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## chickenman (May 10, 2007)

i know we could all move to ayers rock and just sit there and watch them all day, that would kinda be like owning one.... hmmmm i wonder if i could run away from home and move their, or maybe convince my parents to go to ayres rock instead of queensland in december.... hmmmm.
would love to own one they look so cooll


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## OzRocks (May 10, 2007)

da_donkey said:


> I have seen at least 3 threads on APS with people claiming to have thorny devils
> 
> Donk



Im sure some people do own them,
but the thing is are they being legally kept....cos if your in the right area its not to hard to catch, find an ant trail and youll find one soon enough....and besides, its not an animal known for its speed to escape


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