Taking baby blue tongues out of the wild

[SLACkra]

ok well at school today, first day back hols not long enough some chick in teh group i was hanging out said she had a baby blue tonge that she had taken out of the wild. she said she got a full setup for it. anyways i asked why she did. she said she took it out of the wild because it was a small baby and also mentioned cleaning out an area and finding it.

she also said that she and her family had called the wildlife folk and that they had told them that if the animal was in danger they could remove it.

what danger!!! the flamin thing was a baby so what its gotta try to survive in the wild! its called survival of the fittest! if the lil dude dies then he wasn't up to scratch and thus was taken out of the gene pool.

anyways what to do what to do.... calling the wildife people on her probably wouldn't do anything, blueys do not need a licence so any nitwit can take one out of the wild...

what should i do if anything?

andrew

 

[Jason]

i dont like it any more then you, but i dont know what you can do....sory

 

[munkee]

I'd say make sure she is well aware of how to care for it. The worst thing is if she killed it by not knowing how to care for it. I didn't think taking from the wild was allowed under any circumstances (may be wrong).

You may convince her to release it back to the wild, maybe not. Just make sure she doesn't stuff up caring for it. Just my thoughts on the matter.

 

[Jason]

i would have to agree with munkee, let her know how to care for it if she aint goin to let it go

 

[staffsrule]

Yeah i agree. As sucky as the situation seems, all you can do is hope the little fella has a good life. if she has gone out and got the full set up for it, she obviously intends to keep it. Hell maybe the little fella got lucky and has landed himself a good life... On saying that I still cant work out why people would do this, why not leave them in their natural environment. If they want one so badly, go buy one that has been bred in captivity....

 

[Pike01]

Its a baby bluey, get over it.Nearly everyone started by catching a bluey or something and keeping it.You said she got a full set up for it, so she is obviously taking pretty good care of it.I bet alot of the more experienced herp started just like this, i know i did.

 

[MrBredli]

Agree with you completely pike1.

I would be more worried about the fact Rocky Reptiles has 100+ wild caught Stimson's Pythons for sale... among other things...

 

[SLACkra]

ok good points. least shes looking after it pretty good. says she got all the stuff for it(recomended by the petshop(most petshops i don't trust, shifty advice)) uv lamp heat lamp etc. is getting fed veggies and possibly crickets(first day of school my memory is just starting to function properly again). i told her that they eat canned dog food/cat food. seems like its in able hands but i would rather it being in the wild so it can make lil bluies! its not like there that expensive!

andrew

 

[Pike01]

Or the hundred thousand blue tongues that get run over or killed by cats and dogs every year. There are more idiots that kill them with shovels than kids that catch and keep them as pets.Offer her advice and if she gets really interested she might release it and do things properly. All young herps should be encouraged, not prosecuted.

 

[Pike01]

Slacker, where are you, I will give her a legal one if she gets a licence.

 

[SLACkra]

melbourne. so no licence. so theres no way to tell whether a bluey was baught at the shop or taken from the wild.

oh well its just a bluey they reproduce quite quickly.

andrew

 

[steve6610]

i'd give her as much info as you can on looking after it,

the only point i'd like to make is, all you fellow herpers that are against a kid catching a bluey from the wild and keeping it safe should remember that every reptile they own come from animals that were caught from the wild, so please remember that if it wasn't for people catching and breeding wild reptiles over the last ???? years you wouldn't have the great reptiles you have today,

think about it ????????????............

cheers,
steve............

 

[bikiescum2003]

i agree let her have it but keep your eye on it and give her ideas on how to care for it. i started out withy a bluey and a gippy water dragon(both were rerealsed after a few months at a creek that ran through own property) all in all blues are dumb after a week there tame after 2 days back in the wild there fine.

 

[Skorpious]

Found a bluey in my parents yard today when I was visiting. First one have found there and saved it from the little yappy dogs. I was tempted to keep it for a few days but let it go nearby instead. Can't see the problem with it really. Blue tongues aren't in danger, and its not like the girl is taking them in mass numbers or trying to profit from them. So if its being looked after, prosecuting her for it being wild would kind of hypocritical. If no animals were taken from the wild in the first place, none of us would have these things we call 'pets'.

My two cents

 

[alexr]

SLACkra Why not introduce her to APS? If she is serious about caring for the little fella - let her ask the questions. (who knows she might get the bug :wink.

 

[stencorp69]

Its a baby bluey, get over it.Nearly everyone started by catching a bluey or something and keeping it.You said she got a full set up for it, so she is obviously taking pretty good care of it.I bet alot of the more experienced herp started just like this, i know i did.

Did anyone start their interest in Herps with a shop bought reptile? Most would have looked after some type of herp before getting a legal one. IME

Sten

 

[AGAMIDAE]

Pretty harmless I would have thought, where else does one establish an interest

 

[herptrader]

The reason no licence is required for Blue tongues and a couple of other species is because the are very secure in the wild. Stumpy tailed's were recently taken off the no licence list (and put onto schedule 1 licence) because it was realised due to their breeding that numbers would not recover quickly if reduced buy what ever.

Off licence (schedule 5 from memory) animals sold by pet shops must be logged and included on the returns. They do not have to record who they sold them to though.

What would concern me (a lot) more is if the animal was being collected to be sold in the pet trade.

Encourage the young herps as they are good for the long term benifit of most herp species!

 

[AGAMIDAE]

What would concern me (a lot) more is if the animal was being collected to be sold in the pet trade.

Encourage the young herps as they are good for the long term benifit of most herp species!

I agree.....

 

[Caveman]

When I was 12 I hitchicked from Melbourne to Ipswitch, caught a beardie then went to my Gran's where she put me on a bus and sent me home. The whole trip took about 7 days. Many years later I finally realize how horrified my parents must have been during the time I was missing. There were no captive bred animals available, espescially for kids with limited resources.