Any information on Sungazers?

kbaker116

kbaker116

Well-Known Member
Does anyone have any information on Giant Sungazer Lizard breeding? I heard the San Diego Zoo bred them once but does anyone know of any other successful breeding?
 
Thanks for that information, do you know how they did so. I hear they are really hard to breed and I was wondering if there were any techniques I have heard of hibernation though.
 
The sdz still has them. That's all I know, but I could ask a reptile keeper next time I see one.
 
Otter Lord said:
The sdz still has them. That's all I know, but I could ask a reptile keeper next time I see one.
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Look forward to it equally.
It is the inane ... interest of a herpophile ... (LOL).

I know Blijdorp-Rotterdam maintain them in a very large indoor exhibit. They have a stringent hibernation regime there.
No success to date alas.
 
They seem to be very difficult to breed, something I had not realised. The only reference to Chester's breeding that I know of is on page 8 of the North of England Zoological Society Annual Report for 1980.

'Among births and hatchings, three Lord Derby's Lizard and several Leopard Gecko were bred.'

Page 16 is part of the animal inventory, showing one specimen held on 1st January 1980, 3 imported, 3 bred, one did not survive, 2 deaths and a total of 4 specimens at the end of the year. The sex of the lizards was not reported. No cause of death of the two lizards was published.

After reading this

Chicago Herpetological Society

it seems that the female which gave birth at Chester may well have been gravid on arrival, though this is not reported in the Annual Report.

Below is the only reference I have found concerning breeding the sungazer to date.

Reptiles Magazine Volume 9.6 (June 2001) Keeping and Breeding the Sungazer by Bert Langerwerf.
 
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@bongorob: Thanks for the information, do you know of any way of obtaining that article? And if you own it would you be willing to scan it and send it to me? By the way I work for a guy that has 3.3 sungazers and he hasn't had much luck breeding them but from the looks of it we probably won't. They are a very interesting species though.
 
@Otter Lord: I am not sure how much information they will give you but if you are going soon I would appreciate you asking. However if you aren't going for a few months they might be gone by then (to the Columbus Zoo).
 
kbaker116 said:
@bongorob: Thanks for the information, do you know of any way of obtaining that article? And if you own it would you be willing to scan it and send it to me? By the way I work for a guy that has 3.3 sungazers and he hasn't had much luck breeding them but from the looks of it we probably won't. They are a very interesting species though.
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Sorry I don't have the magazine. It may be worth contacting the publisher to see if they have any copies available.
 
My wife and i were at Rotterdam Zoo last September for the Studbook Keepers Conference. Here are some pictures of the Sungazer enclosure at the Zoo.

central-scotland-reptiles-albums-rotterdam-zoo-picture53368-sungazer-enclosure.jpg


central-scotland-reptiles-albums-rotterdam-zoo-picture53360-sungazer.jpg



I have a copy of the article by Bert Langerwerf, if you want to PM me your address i will post it to you? :)


Best Regards,

Fraser Gilchrist
Cordylusgiganteus.com
Exchange information and observations on the Sungazer

Species Coordinator for the Sungazer
European Studbook Foundation
studbooks.eu
 
Thanks for the warm welcome guys.

kbaker116 - yeah, i recognise your user name. As i said, if you want to email me your address i will send you the article?

Any chance of seeing some pictures of the animals you look after and the enclosures.

Best Regards,

Fraser Gilchrist
www.cordylusgiganteus.com
Exchange information and observations on the Sungazer

Species Coordinator for the Sungazer
European Studbook Foundation
www.studbooks.eu
 
Scottish Sungaz said:
I will introduce myself properly via the introductions page.

Best Regards,

Fraser Gilchrist
Cordylusgiganteus.com
Exchange information and observations on the Sungazer

Species Coordinator for the Sungazer
European Studbook Foundation
studbooks.eu
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As far as I know there needs to be a rainy season and cooling period for the sungazers to breed. I am not quite sure whether any zoo within the EAZA region actually applies this regime for breeding or whether breeding is the penultimate goal.

I remain - equally - interested though.
(you can pm us if you so wish)
 
We currently have ours indoors in large 6 foot diameter enclosures and have the colony together in an outdoor habitat that is around 50 by 20 feet in size for the spring and summer months. The problem is recreating the weather patterns the lizards rely on. We may try a burmation period but the rainy season would be hard to recreate.
 
I asked a keeper at the San Diego Zoo and he said that they have had no success and he said the only person he could think of who bred them was that one private breeder mentioned a page ago. Also, the SDZ still has sungazers and lots of them. Maybe this year with the el nino and increase of rain will perhaps get a few born at the SDZ? How much of a rainy season and cooling period are we talking about for Sungazers?
 
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