So is my new addition a Merauke ?

[teddibee]

He might be a little overweight but i intend to help him loose some of the excess. He was housed with an Irian Jaya who is suspected to be female, she is also overweight or pregnant although they might have been just good friends.

[Kurt]

Yup! Cool colors on him too!

[xxmonitorlizardxx]

That's a Merauke.

[Susann]

Is it possible to see a full-body shot taken from straight up above?
Most likely a Merauke, but I'm seeing some Indo influence...

[donkeybuff]

I'd say Merauke, although it does look like it may have a little indonesian in there. Those are some great colors!

[teddibee]

I have had some mixed responses, one person has said he is indonesian because of the amount of black on his front legs and the black marks on his head, but does the mix mean is is a Hybrid mix between the two ?

He is lovely either way....if i did breed with him would it be best to go Merauke or Indi or would it make no difference now, of course he needs to get fit first.

[Susann]

If you are looking to breed, I would suggest you do your best to keep the lines pure. This animal does look like it might be a hybrid between Indo and Merauke, but since there's no way to tell for sure, I might pass on breeding this animal. I would either keep him as a pet, or sell him as a pet and look for a pure IJ to go with your suspected female.
Just my 5 cents though.
But in my opinion, if you are lucky enough to produce BTS on a regular basis, you'd be taken more seriously as a breeder if you produce animals that you can guarantee are a certain species/subspecies.

[teddibee]

Thank you for your advice Susann, shame we have so few options here in the uk. Very few pure lines especially local to me.
Reps stores seem to sell without any history.

There is one good Rep store breeding there own, they are Northerns but i believe they have a waiting list. So the breeding option might be a while off yet.

But i still have two very friendly skinks and i will have fun getting them back to normal weights.

[Susann]

I admire and appreciate your attitude, wish more had that maturity/patience.

We've seen so many hybrids, integrades, "mutts" popping up in Europe lately, which is why I think the best way to make a name for yourself in the future over there is by being one of the few that are concerned and serious about keeping species/subspecies clean.
In Indonesia it seems a BTS is more valuable among breeders if it's an integrade, which is why I tend to be suspicious of "farmed" imports coming in, and why I think it's more important for breeders everywhere to make an effort to keep the lines as clean as possible.
Not everyone shares my opinion about that though. To each their own I guess, I just happen to feel pretty strongly about it.

[xxmonitorlizardxx]

The animal does look like a pure Merauke. Only a couple of subtle traits that say otherwise. Breed it too a similar looking Merauke if you want to breed.

[Fatal_S]

That is an extremely short tail for a merauke.

[btskinktom]

He has some awesome color on him either way.

[DianaBlueTongue]

Teddibee,

That's a gorgeous skink! The folks who have responded already are faaaaaar more experienced then me, especially Sue and Mel, so my two cents I guess can be taken with a grain of salt. I think it's either a merauke with just a little more then usual black on the tops of the leg OR a merauke with slight indo influence. In either case its probably an animal from the natural intergrade area, "the grey area". Since it's most dominant sub species is definitely merauke if you did decide to breed him I would just search out a similar looking merauke. BUT normally whenever theres any doubt in the purity of an animal and ones focus is to keep lines pure then best to err on the side of caution

[Richard.C]

A halmheruake,lol

Its bellu patterning is quite distinctive,like it can roll over on its back and still look normal,lol

Whilst it is quite possible gigas clans do have intergrade zones,its my understanding that is not fact as of yet,with the mass holding of animals prior to export,theres always every chance of any old bluey breeding another if timings right,when in doubt err on the side of caution

People can guess all they like,but with out knowing an animals history who really knows,im leaning merauke/indo,possably a halm type indo

[Fatal_S]

I've split the Discussion on Hybridization from this thread. Please keep this thread on topic now, and use the discussion thread to discuss.

[KayHerp]

Awee love the colours!

[teddibee]

Thanks to all for the advice, and comments. As i agree in parts with everyone i will keep this merauke/Indo seperate for the time being.
Who knows the suspected female might already be pregnant without my intervention. She, i will continue until i know otherwise, has just started a shed and that log tube i gave her is been well used LOL.
She has a tiny amount of food yesterday but is totally ignoring the live food and sleepin in her hide a lot. Her colours are looking really nice so after the shed i will get some more pics.