B-Exotic

Hi guys 😊

So, I took a couple of weeks away, unfortunately we had a bereavement in the family and we all got taken out by tonsillitis just to make life easier 🙃

Now the s**t news is out of the way, meet Geoff, Uromastyx aegyptia aegyptia, the Egyptian mastigure or Egyptian spiny-tailed lizard 😍

Geoff (who's name is up for debate) is a dream species of mine, one to be honest, I never thought I'd aquire, mainly due to the size of this species. I've always questioned the ethics and wether or not I could really offer the best for this species.
Well, I've decided I can and I am in the process of kitting this guy out. I like to be prepared when it comes to stuff like this but if you know this species, you'll know coming by them is very far and few between, so I took the opportunity with the view to giving this guy everything he needs and more......

Just look at him......

What a guy......

He arrived with all the sass, charging the door, whipping the tail..... but Geoff didn't know that I know about the magic of Dandelions, now Geoff eats out of my hand like a little puppy, but Geoff is still hard as f**k, don't tell anyone 😉

Well.......

This is interesting 😬🤞🏻

Sometimes you regret letting certain species go, a project that suddenly (after success) came to an abrupt end.....

Uromastyx nigriventris

A species I love! I picked up this little one after a longgggggggg and late night journey into the countryside, but I feel it was worth the miles and lack of sleep 😅

I'm fairly sure this one is female..... (not a hill I'm willing to die on) but, as most know, nigriventris are notoriously difficult to s*x, interestingly this was sold as a "guaranteed" male...... as a hatchling 😅

Anyway..... I'm excited about this one 😁

Phelsuma grandis, also commonly referred to as the Madagascar giant day gecko.

This is our first hatchling of the season and boy is it a stunner! 🤩

Well....... that was eventful 😅

Today we attended the IHS breeders meeting and I don't know about anybody else but I am exhausted!

The stars of the show (for me) are the 1.1 pair of Phrynosoma solare (Regal Horned Lizard) I picked up. I also managed to randomly bag another female Aussie water dragon, which was a nice surprise.

I'd like to say a special thank you to Stu, Graham and Larry for been absolute gents and putting up with me for a day.
This was the first proper show since lock down, or at least it felt like it and it was really good to have a proper catch up with people, I literally spent the full day chatting away.

Until the next one...... 👍🏼

17 little beauties from one of my Pogona henrylawsoni 😁

How can you not love Rankins!

Just need to Pogona minor to sort themselves out now, I've seen a bit of digging going on recently so fingers crossed for this year 🤞🏻

This girl 😍

I have a few very colourful and interesting female frillies but this one is very different and one I'm keen to breed. I'm not sure this picture does her justice but she is almost kind of pink? It's a strange one..... I'm sure I've seen Goldline Reptiles talk about this before? 🤔

Hey guys 😊

Last week was a busy one! Breeding season really is in full swing now. I've had eggs from the Frilled and Bearded Dragons 😁 and also had a couple of beardies hatch out.

This week (Sunday) is also the first IHS show of the year at Doncaster, I'll be there on Sunday dropping a few bits off, so say hello if you see me shooting around at 100mph 😅

For now here's my male Aussie Water Dragon, looking as stunning as ever 😍 I really should give him a name....... what do you think?

We're at the Northern Invertebrate Show today 😊

Invert Shows UK put on a great show and it was good to have a chat with Nick Wadham, who may of reignited some previously shelved plans for the Yorkshire Herpetological Society (YHS).

Thanks to Venomous Visions for been a good sport a posing for the picture too 😉😂

Some of you may know I have (more so developed) a bit of a thing for reptile related coins, especially for the species I keep.
Unfortunately I couldn't find a Timon lepidus coin so I went with it's close relative, Lacerta viridis or the European green lizard (Jaszczurka zielona) represented here on the 2 Złote.

I actually have plans for completing an outdoor enclosure this summer, of which this species may just make an appearance 😉

Link to more info on the coin below:

https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces9736.html

So..... I managed to find a female 😁

Intellagama lesueurii lesueurii

Big thanks to Penfolds Reptiles and Penfolds H2O for their patience with getting this girl here.

Also a special thanks to D&A Reptiles for the tip off 👌🏼

Let's see what this year brings 👀🤞🏻

One of my little weirdos is now Instagram famous 🤦🏻‍♂️😂

With thanks to The Reptile Report and Blake for the tip off.

He's a little bit photogenic isn't he 🤩

Intellagama lesueurii lesueurii and the apple of my eye.

Now for more new additions.....

Timon lepidus, ocellated lizard, jewelled lizard or the European eyed lizard.

A personal favourite of mine and one I've waited a while for, not through scarcity but more due to a s**tty experience.

A couple of years ago I built up a 1.3 group of unrelated hatchlings, right from being tiny babies to a fully formed breeding group ready to go, then...... one day, all hell broke loose. I (more so we D&A Reptiles) heard all sorts of noises coming from their viv, only to find that the whole social dynamic and hierarchy had been destroyed, unfortunately the male had passed under extremely frustrating circumstances, he kept the girls in check and didn't allow any kind of nonsense, so the theory was that when he died, the girls just lost their s**t and didn't know what to do, which unfortunately resulted in the now dominant female killing one and dismembering another.

I was gutted, really gutted..... I'd put a lot of time and effort into them and within minutes it was gone.

BUT I'm having another crack at it.

Generally speaking, but especially when attempting breeding, the understanding of social dynamics and hierarchies etc is not only important, but quite literally the difference between life and death. I've studied the s**t out of this topic and it can be likened what is now well known and understood within what we see with species such as Gecko gekko (Tokays), which again, has been discussed in MUCH detail with the likes of Danny and Julian (Tree monitor life). Although I'd argue they're a whole new level of coordination and communication, which is something I'd like to touch on at some point, it really is mind blowing.

So yeah, basically I got some (more) new lizards 😂

So...... now for (some of 😅) the new additions.

Stellagama stellio vulgaris, or the roughtail rock agama. These little guys reside in the North/Northwest of Egypt and are very different to the more commonly seen brachydactyla.

I picked up 7 (4.2) of these from Petwise Reptiles. Huge thanks to those guys for sorting me a great deal and sending them with great care, quite possibly the best packing I've seen 😂

I'd also like to say a special thanks to James Hicks for chewing the fat with me on this genus, your help is always appreciated.

Fingers crossed for this year 🤞🏻

"You done" 😂

Love this little fella. Absolute nutter, just how I like it.

Sceloporus malachiticus, the emerald swift or green spiny lizard.

This girl is unreal 😍

I have lots of updates to follow with new arrivals, eggs due to hatch etc. Things have been crazy 😅

Back soon 🏃‍♂️

So last week was full of long journeys, new additions, babies, eggs, live births and a load of randy males banging on the glass 😅 breeding season is officially underway, albeit a tad earlier than usual, good old English weather eh!

I've got plenty of updates and pictures to follow but I just had to share this beauty!

Australian Water Dragon (Intellagama lesueurii lesueurii)

This species has always fascinated me and has always been on this never ending "list" but I just couldn't justify keeping them with their added requirements for water, it's quite hard to accommodate for when 90%+ of what you keep is set up for searing hot desert conditions 😅
But...... I've decided to go for it and have a large custom built enclosure on order.

This handsome fella is also looking for a lady friend so give me a shout if you hear/know of any.

Meet Flame 😍

A good friend of mine asked me to take on this handsome fella and I mean..... how could I say no!
I've taken on many reptiles over the years but this one was a little different.

I've always tried to do my bit with rehoming but over the past few years I have just had to say no, space is forever at a premium with breeding projects and you just end up with more food and vet bills for animals you didn't really want. It can be difficult to turn people away when they just want the best for their animal, but usually if I can't help, I'll do my best to find a good home or recommend places such as the National Centre for Reptile Welfare or Midland Giant Species Snake Rescue.

The majority of the time you'll find people that just want the best for their animal, their circumstances have changed and they're actively seeking a solution. Other times they've been given duff information and didn't realise their Chinese Water Dragon shouldn't actually be kept "just like a beardie" 🙄 then you also get cases nothing short of neglect..... which if you're a bit of a soft touch, throws the added food and vet bills out of the window.

So, that been said, you can imagine it was rather refreshing to pick this little guy up. Flame come from a 5* home, no expenses spared, this boy got what he needed and then some! Full credit to Michaela and Stuart for rolling out the red carpet for this very spoiled little fella.

Thank you for trusting me to take him on.

Love these guys 😍

So, a while back I read a study on Pogona minor, cutting a very long read, very short, the study describes how versatile this species is and how they managed to colonise a restored forest area after mining in south-west Western Australia (that was a mouthful) 😅.

After reading about the ground that these little guys can cover, I decided to move them into an "arboreal" 3x2x4 (WxDxH). This vivarium has a fake rock back and sides, and honestly they're never on the floor other than to eat and drink!
They're ridiculously active and have no trouble traversing vertical and even inverted sections of rock, not forgetting their favourite sleeping twigs that they've completely outgrown and refuse to give up 🙄.

I have all my fingers and toes crossed for some eggs from these guys this year, although I highly doubt I'll be letting any of them go anytime soon 😬 soz!

Have you ever seen a more "please just shut the f**k up" picture in your life? 😅

So I'm considering jumping back on YouTube, in a more personal way this time, offering updates, maybe some care and Q&A type stuff, probably shouldn't given the lack of time I already have but hey ho...... 😂
I won't name and shame but I've seen some shocking info/advice recently and I'd like to clear up some misconceptions, especially surrounding Frilled Dragons. We'll see..... I can't really be arsed dealing with the RUB, no UV and general s**t care brigade 🙄 but I suppose someone's gotta do it!

Hi guys 😊

COVID hit our household over Xmas and the new year, it completely wiped us out 🥵.
So this time, I promise I'm back, I'm going to make a conscious effort to keep up with things. I've got a terrible habit of letting things build up 😅.

I'll hopefully be restarting NOT Just Another Box next week and I'll get back to everyone on WhatsApp, RSUK etc ASAP. I can only apologise for the lengthy hiatus and lack of replies but just when you think you're back on track, life hits you with another curve ball 😂

Anyway, enough of this...... enjoy what you're here for, a picture this majestic beast, a male Sceloporus malachiticus, the emerald swift or green spiny lizard. This little fella has 3 female very special friends that are all looking like they're ready to POP anyday 🤞🏻

Suppose I'll see you next year then...... 🤷🏻‍♂️😂

That's it for the majority of my females now, they've all dug their burrows and got themselves ready for a long sleep.

In all honesty I'm a bit of a scrooge, I hate winter for many reasons, but one thing I do enjoy is saving a small fortune on livefood, maintaining a small exotic zoo is rather expensive 😅

Cnemidophorus lemniscatus, also known as the rainbow whiptail.

An absolutely stunning species, not rare by any means but certainly not seen very often, a big thanks to Rothwell Pets and Reptiles for sorting me out with these little guys.

Tympanocryptis centralis

A stunning little species that are very interesting to observe going about their daily business. Such a shame that these guys are so hard to get hold of.

I'll be over the moon if I can get these guys breeding, obviously I would prefer new blood over holdbacks but given the current availability, I doubt I'll be parting with any offspring for the next couple of years.

Following on from yesterday's post regarding the breeding this year.....

Well, I wasn't going to share this, for many reasons but I think it's important to show the rough with the smooth.
This is a stillborn Chlamydosaurus kingii, as you can see, it has gone full term and is fully formed, ready to hatch but unfortunately didn't make it. This does happen from time to time and can be for a variety or reasons, or sometimes it's just one of those things..... this time I'm fairly sure it's down to the mother. It was her first time, a typically small and problematic clutch, something not uncommon amongst kingii, although non specific to this species.

I get just as much of a buzz from seeing anything hatch as I did the first time, equally just as down when things like this happen. Breeding really isn't for the faint of heart. It's rewarding but equally stressful 😅

Quite possibly the final hatchling of 2021 😍

Pogona henrylawsoni

All in all, it's been a good year for breeding, and we've only got a few months before it all starts again 😅

3 teeny tiny baby Xenagama taylori 😍

These little guys will be available when I'm happy with their weight and progress.

Sooooooooooo happy with this one 😁

Tiny baby Xenagama taylori 😍