iHerp Australia Issue 1 | Page 14

from natural predators within the enclosure. Alternatively, they could be seeking access to UV rays, which they would not receive if sheltering beneath the iron. Another noted behavioural change in the gravid females concerned their breathing. Both males and non-gravid females took normal, light and relatively quick breaths every second or two. The gravid females, however, took prolonged (6-8 seconds), deep breaths that sometimes resulted in their entire torso being off the substrate. The females were seldom handled whilst gravid, but were extremely docile and easy to approach for observation. They showed no apparent aggression to conspecifics, and in fact the males appeared to defer to them when encountered in the enclosure. By late November the males were no longer aggressive toward each other and tolerated each other’s company. All three females also ceased feeding at least a month before giving birth. were moved to a raised garden bed 2.4m long by 0.9m wide, encircled by corrugated iron. Approximately a third of the floor area was covered by a roof made of plywood. The substrate consisted of pine needles and sugar cane mulch; a shallow water bowl was provided, along with some hides, and there was a spinifex-like plant at the opposite end to the shelter. They shared this enclosure with a colony of White’s Skinks (Egernia whitii) which appeared to completely ignore them. The gravid females took deep breaths that sometimes resulted in their entire torso being off the substrate. 1. Baby blues. On January 24 th , by which time all of the females had stopped eating, it was decided to move them to a smaller enclosure, in order to make it easier to observe the animals, as well as locate newborn neonates. They On February 26 th , 2015, on a cool overcast day, the first of the neonates began to appear. Angela was the first of the females to give birth, having 10 neonates spread across two days. The first day she gave birth, the weather turned 1. Three of the newborns in the smaller outdoor enclosure. Photograph by Blaise Richards. 2. One of the captive-bred juveniles enjoying some fruit salad.