Can this be kept as a pet?

[STReptiles]

No they eat thousands of ants per day and this is hard to do in captivity, the have grooves which direct any water on the body to the mouth, thats why these arnt available to the hobbiest.

[a1dzcannon]

Originally Posted by STReptiles

No they eat thousands of ants per day and this is hard to do in captivity, the have grooves which direct any water on the body to the mouth, thats why these arnt available to the hobbiest.

Would have to supply some rain every day let alone 3000 ants. I'll pass

[rick01]

To answer the original question - in a word 'NO'. Even at the Alice Springs Desert Park where they can get a supply of the correct ants etc. they have found it impossible to maintain any as captives for any length of time. IF anyone has actually seen any outside Aus. they would have to have been smuggled and would have a very short life span. See also this thread http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/lizar...australia.html

Sorry to put a damper on your ideas of getting one.

Rick

[Cheeky-x]

I thought i saw one of these in seapets like a few years ago.....?? x

[a1dzcannon]

Originally Posted by rick01

To answer the original question - in a word 'NO'. Even at the Alice Springs Desert Park where they can get a supply of the correct ants etc. they have found it impossible to maintain any as captives for any length of time. IF anyone has actually seen any outside Aus. they would have to have been smuggled and would have a very short life span. See also this thread http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/lizar...australia.html

Sorry to put a damper on your ideas of getting one.

Rick

np mate i prefer your answer straight forward and the reason why. I understand now that i have read these comments my view of owning one has completely changed rofl

[jamestheball]

Fo those who keep saying they saw them in their local petshop it will definately not be a thorny devil (Moloch Horridis). It will be an american horned lizard.Please don't confuse them, Neither of them can be maintaned on crickets for any lenth of time. Their digestive systems are built to taken and crush masses of very low nutrition ants . Crickets don't work. Only the hardy honed lizards can survive more than a few months on cricket diets.

[Praying_Mantis24]

a pet shop i go to have a Moloch Horridis at the mo, there tryin to get rid of it cos they cant get the ants to feed it,

[TWGarland]

Originally Posted by rick01

To answer the original question - in a word 'NO'. Even at the Alice Springs Desert Park where they can get a supply of the correct ants etc. they have found it impossible to maintain any as captives for any length of time. IF anyone has actually seen any outside Aus. they would have to have been smuggled and would have a very short life span. See also this thread http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/lizar...australia.html

Sorry to put a damper on your ideas of getting one.

Rick

Not sure thats entirely true. I worked in the Alice Springs Reptile Centre for a couple of weeks and they had several Thorny Devils they'd successfully kept for years.

But yeah as previously said they eat only a few species of australian ant. I would have no idea how you'd manage to source thousands of these on a permanent basis!

Also someone stated that they can be handled? Well they can, but find it incredibly stressful. Anything but essential handling should be avoided.

All in all, does not make for a good pet.

[evilchild]

they can however they need a specail deit of ants. not your garden veriaty either. need folic acid in there deit. from what i herd they don't do to well in captivety.

[Ron Magpie]

Yeah- pretty impossible in this country, I should think. I don't really approve of American horned lizards as pets either- they might last a bit longer, but slow, drawn out death is still death.