Eastern Water Dragon-eggs In Garden

[meako]

So back in early November 2016 I discovered several holes that had been dug in my garden in the Wollongong area.
The holes were all close together in a dry dusty concrete garden bed that only the toughest plants survive in.
It gets baked in the sun and drenched by the rain.Its next to the path and near the hoist.
At first I thought its those pesky feral rabbits . Then I was hanging out the washing and I saw the culprit.
Eastern Water Dragon. It was diligently scratching out the holes ,the dirt flying everywhere and totally unconcerned that I was watching. A piece of carrot was offered but disdainfully refused as if to say "Ive got better things to do".
Finally the right location was found and the hole got deeper and deeper until only a tail was poking out and the whole dragon was down there excavating. The dragon then positioned itself as if basking on the hole . i wondered if she was laying eggs. Some quick research told me that this was likely the case. The hatching would take place around late mid january this year.
Once the mother of dragons had departed leaving her clutch to fate I decided to beef up security around the nest. Brush turkeys and rabbits were not going anywhere near. I laid some old fence palings across to keep unwanted visitors away but still allow air and rain on to the site.
at the beginning of february i explored the site for any sign of activity and there was a lot of ants all over the place -not unusual. I gently removed some dirt and uncovered 2 eggs they were still full and fat looking . I didn't move or touch them and covered them back over. A week ago I noticed a new small hole in the covering which had caved in due to the looseness of the material. Could this be the exit ? Over 2 months have elapsed since the laying so yesterday evening I did another exploratory dig. And found this.

A dozen empty shells. No sign of anything untoward. They have been split .
I hope they all make it.
.

 

[meako]

Further to this -look who turned up at the top of the front steps during the big rainstorm a couple of weeks ago-must be about a month old. A feisty little fella and looking freshly shed.
Bonus!

!

 

[kingofnobbys]

It's tiny !!! considering how big the grow as adults.....

.... did you adopt it ?

I've be very tempted to give it nice safe and secure home (at least until it's bigger / over winter) ..... would be a real shame if it were taken by a neighbour's cat or dog.... or succumbed to cold and starvation over it's first winter.

 

[Smittiferous]

Given that many lizards seem to hatch up until this point in time in the year, I'd surmise that it'll probably be just fine on its own over winter.

@kingofnobbys Simply "adopting" reptiles is kinda rather illegal. Stop promoting it to every forum user who finds a critter in their yard.

As another forum user aptly put it, it is both misguided and illegal.

Sooner or later some poor sod who knows no better is going to take you up on that suggestion, get caught, and that'll be on you mate.

 

[kingofnobbys]

thanks for you opinion but ..... nah.

If it's a rescue type situation he'll likely be fine .... heck it was in his yard so he's not even removing it from it's territory. It may even be perfectly legal for him to take them from the wild where he lives (not all states have the same rule on this).

You can disagree all you like and be puritanical about the law, there are some here who even get all worked about someone daring to even touch or pick up wild reptiles), yet they go herping and interfere with wild reptiles to get that good photo....

So BACK ONTO TOPIC after smit's attempt at derailing the topic.
I hope the OP helps the little guy out (in a manner that he thinks is reasonable ). I also hope to see more updates on how his resident baby eastern water dragon comes along and grows and develops in the months to come .

 

[Stompsy]

A quick google search substantiates Smitti's claim that it is illegal to take and keep fauna from every state in Australia, without a permit.

 

[Smittiferous]

It's not my opinion, it's the law. Why do you think we have these governing bodies and permits etc required to keep natives?

I don't see any thread derailment with my post. It was a rebuke of your ill-advised and illegal suggestion. Also given that you yourself didn't even bother to stop and ask the OP in which state he/she lives in (given you say it's supposedly legal in some states, which in fact it is not) before giving said advice doesn't really help your argument.

Simply finding a lizard, snake or frog in your back yard doesn't equate a "rescue". Best thing the OP can do is leave it be.

And that's all I have to say to you @kingofnobbys

Good day.

 

[kingofnobbys]

And that's all I have to say to you @kingofnobbys

Good day.

good - is that a promise ?

 

[baker]

First up, awesome find and prior observation Meako, I bet you were rather happy to find this little guy hanging around your place and to have watched the female nest. Interesting to hear that your's dug far enough for most of her body to be underground. When I've found them nesting they've been rather lazy and only dug deep enough to safely incubate the eggs. An interesting thing with eastern water dragons is that they do show post-lay maternal care for a brief period, watching over the nest and even reburying it if its disturbed. If you've seen the one clutch laid its quite possible that another one or two nests from the same female may currently be in the area, so be prepared for a lot more potential hatchlings to emerge.

Now for the misinformation spread here. To quote yourself kingofnobbys, "Thanks for your opinion but.... nah". How about you keep your misguided and illegal opinions about what people should do with the native wildlife they find in their yards to yourself.

"Adopting" any native animal just because you found it in your yard is illegal. This does not change "state by state" as it is federal law that native animals are not to be interfered with, alive or dead. Now if this was a "rescue type situation" where the animal has been gravely wounded, you're correct that a person can then interfere and most likely have no repercussions, as long as they pass the animal to an appropriately licensed and trained wildlife rehabilitator. Finding a freshly hatched or young individual is certainly not a rescue situation. Yer might suck if it gets eaten, succumbs to starvation or temperature extremes, but guess what? That's nature. Very few if any individuals from a single clutch survive to adulthood.

Now, don't get me wrong. I don't care if you or someone touches or picks up a reptile. Hell I don't care if someone takes one or two from the wild as pets. Overall the impact of this sort of behaviour is quite minimal compared to the numbers killed on roads and for development (of course it could be argued that people taking wild reptiles exaggerates these other impacts). The major problem here is that you are spreading misinformation. If you want to keep any of the wildlife you find in your yard, go for it I don't care, but do not spread misinformation to other less experienced keepers that its "legal" to do so.

Cheers, Cameron.

 

[Operation-Goanna]

I'd make heaps of tiny hides for the little fellas, tho not go as far as to adopt them even if I had the licensing needed.

 

[Rob]

Baker has pretty much summed it up in his above post, but I'd just like to add that the promotion of illegal activity is not permitted on the forums.

For the sake of thread continuity I have left the current posts intact, however, any further posts (deemed to be promoting illegal activity) will very likely be deleted.

 

[Wally]

Why anyone would want to "adopt" wildlife when it's quite happily living in your yard is beyond me.

Great find meako. I'm more than a little bit envious!