28 August 2012
Rotorua conservation park Rainbow Springs has welcomed eight baby bearded dragons to the reptile house.
The native Australian lizards hatched at Auckland Zoo and travelled by car to their new home. Rainbow Springs houses a range of New Zealand native and exotic wildlife and has a strong tuatara breeding programme and brown kiwi hatchery.
Wildlife manager Mark Paterson says, "I was on the lookout for bearded dragons and when Auckland Zoo's latest clutch hatched I took the opportunity to bring some down to the park."
The four-month-old lizards are on public display. They will grow from 70 millimetres to a posible 610mm and at mature weight will be between 2kg or 3kg.
The lizards eat a protein rich diet to sustain their growth. As omnivores, adult bearded dragons eat mostly leafy greens, vegetables and non citrus fruits, supplemented with insects.
The lizards have the ability to change colour during rivalry between males and in response to temperature change.
Eventually the bearded dragons will feature in the free-flight bird and exotic wildlife show at Rainbow Springs, along with stars of the show Ritchie the macaw - one of the world's largest parrots - Charlie the cockatoo, and Qantas the galah.
Fellow reptiles include a blue tongue lizard and a water dragon and all feature in a daily show at the park's new auditorium.
