Year to Year - warning long

[Scotts1au]

I was musing this morning after seeing my gravid female blotchies shedding yet again how differently things pan out from year to year. There are so many variables about animal keeping that I suppose you only ever know the general rules. There are still so many variables from keeping a number of animals in an outdoor enclosure and different responses to climate and population dynamics. It has also been a very hot and dry summer, probably resulting in the animals being "on" metabolically more of the time than in their natural habitat (upland areas of the Blue Mountains West of Sydney).

I suppose this is why I've concentrated on blotchies as my way of limiting my variables and sutbleties in management that otherwise might slip through to the keeper and result in poor animal welfare outcomes.

Some animals with certain traits are older, their environment has changed (Central Victoria, moved from Northern Victoria), younger males have moved up to adulthood (fighting for dominance). There is virtually no natural food in their enclosure, which is slightly smaller (more animals in closer proximity), has a hotter aspect.

Some observations from this year and previous years.
-My females (nearly 2ft long and 1kg) have shed at least 4 times this summer as opposed to 2 times in previous ones. All of them have done this.
-Some animals diet preferences have changed with age - smaller amounts more regularly, greater preference for fruits.
-Gravid females in this climate ate more early in pregnancy and gained weight quicker (but more constantly in a slightly warmer climate), leading to a tapering off in eating in later pregnancy.
- Males fought for longer this year than previous years, probably due to greater stimulation from more mature males.
- One male died (possibly as a result of stresses from other males - was a poor specimen sourced from a different breeder and displayed traits of being inbred).

I think what I'm trying to say is that there are environmental factors that alter behaviour, intrinsic features associated with the makeup of the animals themselves and associated issues included stage of life, relative stresses, that are all relevant considerations in the given or taking of advice in relation to husbandry.

I'm interested in the consequences of animals being constantly "on" as opposed to being allowed to have rest periods as would occur in nature, particularly for blotchies during periods of cold weather.

I'll be interested to see whether these changes result in differences in the babies this year which are expected in the next fortnight.

Anyway I'd be interested in other people's observations.

[Richard.C]

It is interesting to watch,ive noticed alot more aggression woth males last 2 seasons as more are getting of size,need to sort that by next mating period as it could get messy,so smaller groups in smaller cages im thinking

Scott,do u keep track of days to birthing after female sheds,mine have consistently dropped by 7 yo yen fays after,mostly closer to a week,your girls are going quicker than mine,i think they mated around same time,well mine started start of november,ones quite bright,but not sure its recently shed,another looks quite dull so maybe about to shed,but im not sure it will be pre birth shed yet,mine usually hold out to march,early march for bluemountains,mid to late march for vic alpines,and the lowlands usually into april,sometimes in march though

This year is supposed to be record hottness so far,so maybe earlier,though they mated a month earlier last season and still held out till march,year before they started in december but still dropped in march,thats a 2 month difference in mating times for babies being born at same time

Maybe just melbs inconsistancy weather wise,lol

[Jeff]

I would expect there to be fewer year to year differences for animals kept inside in controlled environments. My situation would seem to support that. The vast majority of my skinks are housed individually inside. I have not seen time differences in any of the mating related categories such as when they mate, gestation time, etc.

I do see differences in the mating behaviors from individual skinks as they mature though. They all generally seem to get more bold and confident with age. I can only assume that this would manifest as some sort of changing hierarchy if they were living together in groups. That has definitely been the case with my shinglebacks that do live together. I got my first 3 all very young, and the group dynamics have changed each year. My 4th is the off-spring of 2 of the first 3.

There seems to be an obvious size related hierarchy that becomes more obvious as the largest gains confidence in himself. Females seem to be pretty much safe from shows of dominance, but during the breeding season it is easy to rank the males from highest to lowest in the pecking order (I have had 2 visiting males in with my group).

I hope some day to be able to build outdoor pens to house a group or two of skinks so that I can witness the yearly variations caused by weather and other changing factors, but I can definitely agree with you about how group dynamics change as animals are added or subtracted, and as they age.

[Scotts1au]

Thanks for the responses, mating was earlier this year here, by about two weeks. The fems have she'd so I'm expecting babies in the next week. A lot of heavy breathing going on, and eating has diminished.

Some of the males have actually grown quite large too, relative to my dominant male, so I think he is in trouble next season.