PardalisGirl
Avid Member
There is a special "All-Lizard" issue of Reptiles Magazine out right now. I got it in the mail last week. If you have access to one, check out the cover article on the Hydrosuarus (Sailfin Dragon) species. It is a great comprehensive article with a "centerfold" picture written by my great friend Scott Corning. He is the only person successfully breeding all three species of the Hydrosaurus genus in the USA.
I also collect these and own all three species. I sent ten of mine off to Scott earlier this year for a breeding vacation at his place in Florida. I had been getting dud eggs out of my females so I wanted to see how they did in Florida with real sun. This will also help Scott expand his own bloodlines. My Amboinensis and Weberi dragons are unrelated to his. Scott always amazes people at the Daytona show with a big male Pustulatus dragon (like the one on the magazine cover). It has been illegal to import/export that species for over a decade. Scott is the only one with a captive breeding program here in the USA.
The Pustulatus species is a real eye catcher with it's vivid blue highlighting. My favorite is still the Amboinensis though. My first Hydrosuraus was an Amboinensis named George (taken at about two years old) shown below with our cat Chloe:
This is George on a big grapevine log in his cage. He is under a red heat bulb which caused the reddish tinge to his tail. The cage is six feet tall. It takes a piece of grapevine about a foot thick to support him.
George is the only one of my lizards that has been allowed to roam around the house to some degree. Here he is sitting on the back of a chair in my home office when he was about four years old. You can see how big he really is when you look at the chair. They continue to grow in size for years.
This is a picture of Kelsey, a female Amboinensis. She is in Florida with Scott now. She was just reaching breeding age and size when I shipped her off. With a life expectancy of twelve to fifteen years, I don't feel bad about sending her off to Scott for a couple of years.
And this is a picture of Sidra, another female Amboinensis. She is also in Florida. She was spitting out dud eggs for me here (two or three at a time). I'm hoping Scott has better luck with her and one of his males. I had four Amboinensis females in a large cage with three shelves. Each shelf has two 48" ZooMed 10.0 lights and two heat bulbs. This gave them room to spread out and have equal basking opportunities.
All three of the Hydrosaurus species are omnivorous. They like nice calcium rich salads topped with fruit and will eat any insect, small rodent or bird they can catch. The Pustulatus and Amboinensis species get very large. They need very large enclosures with lots of climbing room. They are pretty relaxed and friendly though. The Weberi species is much smaller but it can be very flighty and hard to handle. All three species love water and are good swimmers. They hang out in their native home on tree branches over rivers and streams. They drop into the water for a quick get away. Hope you enjoy seeing something different. I'm really proud of my friend Scott. He's been working intensively with this genus for years. It's hard work. He is finally getting the recognition he deserves for his dedication to this magnificant creatures
I also collect these and own all three species. I sent ten of mine off to Scott earlier this year for a breeding vacation at his place in Florida. I had been getting dud eggs out of my females so I wanted to see how they did in Florida with real sun. This will also help Scott expand his own bloodlines. My Amboinensis and Weberi dragons are unrelated to his. Scott always amazes people at the Daytona show with a big male Pustulatus dragon (like the one on the magazine cover). It has been illegal to import/export that species for over a decade. Scott is the only one with a captive breeding program here in the USA.
The Pustulatus species is a real eye catcher with it's vivid blue highlighting. My favorite is still the Amboinensis though. My first Hydrosuraus was an Amboinensis named George (taken at about two years old) shown below with our cat Chloe:
This is George on a big grapevine log in his cage. He is under a red heat bulb which caused the reddish tinge to his tail. The cage is six feet tall. It takes a piece of grapevine about a foot thick to support him.
George is the only one of my lizards that has been allowed to roam around the house to some degree. Here he is sitting on the back of a chair in my home office when he was about four years old. You can see how big he really is when you look at the chair. They continue to grow in size for years.
This is a picture of Kelsey, a female Amboinensis. She is in Florida with Scott now. She was just reaching breeding age and size when I shipped her off. With a life expectancy of twelve to fifteen years, I don't feel bad about sending her off to Scott for a couple of years.
And this is a picture of Sidra, another female Amboinensis. She is also in Florida. She was spitting out dud eggs for me here (two or three at a time). I'm hoping Scott has better luck with her and one of his males. I had four Amboinensis females in a large cage with three shelves. Each shelf has two 48" ZooMed 10.0 lights and two heat bulbs. This gave them room to spread out and have equal basking opportunities.
All three of the Hydrosaurus species are omnivorous. They like nice calcium rich salads topped with fruit and will eat any insect, small rodent or bird they can catch. The Pustulatus and Amboinensis species get very large. They need very large enclosures with lots of climbing room. They are pretty relaxed and friendly though. The Weberi species is much smaller but it can be very flighty and hard to handle. All three species love water and are good swimmers. They hang out in their native home on tree branches over rivers and streams. They drop into the water for a quick get away. Hope you enjoy seeing something different. I'm really proud of my friend Scott. He's been working intensively with this genus for years. It's hard work. He is finally getting the recognition he deserves for his dedication to this magnificant creatures
