The forgotten Lizard

[Reptile4life]

The "Tuatara" is a native lizard to New Zealand. It has been forgotten in my eyes. The Tuataras have babies every 4 years and with that the birth rate is very low because they need the conditions to be just. With the global warming happening I dont know how long we will have these guys around. I want to know more if anyone has any literature let me know.

Thanks

[cml3.0]

I do know that the St. Lewis, Missouri Zoo has a pair and they are trying to get them to breed. They haven't had any luck so far, from what I have heard.

[joey]

Tuatara is not a lizard... they are a completely different group. i have tried to find some better info on these guys but have been unsuccsesfull in the attempt. so i to would encourage the more seasoned herp keepers to share some of what they know.

joey

[Eriks Reptiles]

They truely are amazing reptiles! We are trying to get a pair at the Denver Zoo.... The only down side is the 10-20 years to reach sexual maturity. Also there eggs take about a year of incubation...

There are actually two kinds of Tuatara's. The most common Tuatara is the "Cook Strait tuatara" or Sphenodon punctatus. With about 40,000-50,000 alive. Then there is the rarer Tuatara that is the "Brother's Island tuatara" or Sphenodon guntheri with only about 400-600 alive.

Here is some ifo that I have found:

http://members.tripod.com/NZPhoto/animal/tuatara.htm

http://www.aotearoa.co.nz/tuatara/about.htm

http://www.sandiegozoo.org/animalbytes/t-tuatara.html

Thanks Erik

[Reptile4life]

Yes last night I finally found out the information I was looking for about these guys. I hope to maybe get involved in the breeding of them as well as keeping them.

[DDReptiles]

There is a great book that just came out on them, it is in this or last months reptile magazine. Already bought be a copy but hasn't arrived yet. It is like the most comprehensive bookon them yet.

[Reptile4life]

I wonder if they will ever be on the market but by certified breeders? I really want to know more about them....they are a very cool looking animal. The fact that they are the last remaining of their kind and that they have never changed their appearence is very cool.

[Eriks Reptiles]

I wonder if they will ever be on the market but by certified breeders? I really want to know more about them....they are a very cool looking animal. The fact that they are the last remaining of their kind and that they have never changed their appearence is very cool.

Nope... If they ever get to the "market" it wont be in our life time...They just take so long to breed that they wont have any extra to put a few in the market. The only way that you can work with them is to get involved with a zoo that has them (there are very few zoo's that have them though..)

Also I have never heard exactly how much they cost but I would imagine that each animal is $10,000+! They arent cheap for zoo's to buy!

Thanks Erik

[ReptileChick]

In the future I want to own a zoo...actually BUILD a zoo here in Tennessee, for just reptiles. It would be awesome to get a few for breeding. Those are definitely very cool reptiles. Thanks for sharing!

[Reptile4life]

I like Katies plan it sounds very good. I cant wait to get my life on track...I am 16 and cant wait to help save the world.

[ReptileChick]

lol SAME HERE! I'm just a 16 year old country girl...and I just want to make a difference.

[MiNuRvA]

I got to hold some at the Dallas zoo when I had a friend that worked there- they are amazing! They look hard and scaly but feel very soft to the touch, very similar to the feel of crestie skin. The main problem with them is that they will not breed until they are something like 20 years old. They are very very slow maturing, and then on top of that slow to reproduce. The dallas zoo has several of breeding age and a few sub adults and are working on trying to breed them.

[ReptileChick]

That's awesome. They look amazing. I hope everything goes well in their breeding programs