You're definitely right, hatchlings are touchy lil' buggers.

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Posted by loren on July 11, 2002 at 22:02:30:

In Reply to: Re: How to Breed P. Platyrhinos posted by Lester G. Milroy III on July 11, 2002 at 19:09:57:

Breeding HLs, or actually getting them to copulate, is easy. As long as they're fat on ants and brumate, they're normally ready to go.

I have outdoor and indoor breeding groups. This year i decided to experiment and see how much temperature had to do with sperm production and viability in males. One male i kept so warm this winter he barely went down at all. Of course, all the wintertime ants helped too, LOL. I don't recommend doing this to HLs as they usually appreciate their long-winters-nap! But, being that the guy is nice and healthy, i think one season wasn't so bad. This male brumated for a month (at best) at 60 degree temperatures, and he still copulated with the female i gave him; who produced viable eggs.

No, the actual breeding isn't the difficult part. Neither is stuffing the gravid females with as many ants as they'll take. Neither is providing a good laysite and delicately, patiently searching for and unearthing the eggs. Neither is incubating the eggs at a constant temperature for 50 days.
The thing that is hard about the breeding process for platyrhinos(& HLs in general) is caring for the super-delicate hatchlings. They require everything to be just right and the ants offered correctly and frequently (1-3 ants for every 1-2 HLs every 30 minutes for 14 hrs, everyday). Herein lies the difficulty of breeding and raising HLs. You basically have to be around them (at home or wherever) for most of the daytime hours, everyday, for the first couple of months. That is, if you want a 100% success rate!
starting to ramble....
loren

: : Does anyone know how to breed a pair of Platyrhinos horned lizards. Do you have to put them through a "winter" or just put them together. If I can I'd like to breed my 2 and release the some hatchlings back into the wild to help save them (this species is found where I live). I also need to know how to care for hatchlings. I was surprized to fing about 8 eggs in the enclosure and am currently trying to incubate them.

: :Dillon, your thoughts are in the right place about trying to help restore populations but there are serious drawbacks; possible introduction of microbes from captive environments. There is a possibility of introducing bacteria or viral factors into wild populations that there are no defenses against. The other issue is that repatriation/reintroductions are major failures (95% and higher). That goes for many different genus/species of animals. It is best to hibernate the HLs for optimal success in breeding. Raising hatchling HLs is a major undertaking. They require ants, just like the adults, but some of the ants are smaller that the ones the adults eat. Lester G. Milroy III

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: Breeding HLs, or actually getting them to copulate, is easy. As long as they're fat on ants and brumate, they're normally ready to go. : I have outdoor and indoor breeding groups. This year i decided to experiment and see how much temperature had to do with sperm production and viability in males. One male i kept so warm this winter he barely went down at all. Of course, all the wintertime ants helped too, LOL. I don't recommend doing this to HLs as they usually appreciate their long-winters-nap! But, being that the guy is nice and healthy, i think one season wasn't so bad. This male brumated for a month (at best) at 60 degree temperatures, and he still copulated with the female i gave him; who produced viable eggs. : No, the actual breeding isn't the difficult part. Neither is stuffing the gravid females with as many ants as they'll take. Neither is providing a good laysite and delicately, patiently searching for and unearthing the eggs. Neither is incubating the eggs at a constant temperature for 50 days. : The thing that is hard about the breeding process for platyrhinos(& HLs in general) is caring for the super-delicate hatchlings. They require everything to be just right and the ants offered correctly and frequently (1-3 ants for every 1-2 HLs every 30 minutes for 14 hrs, everyday). Herein lies the difficulty of breeding and raising HLs. You basically have to be around them (at home or wherever) for most of the daytime hours, everyday, for the first couple of months. That is, if you want a 100% success rate! : starting to ramble.... : loren : : : : Does anyone know how to breed a pair of Platyrhinos horned lizards. Do you have to put them through a "winter" or just put them together. If I can I'd like to breed my 2 and release the some hatchlings back into the wild to help save them (this species is found where I live). I also need to know how to care for hatchlings. I was surprized to fing about 8 eggs in the enclosure and am currently trying to incubate them. : : :Dillon, your thoughts are in the right place about trying to help restore populations but there are serious drawbacks; possible introduction of microbes from captive environments. There is a possibility of introducing bacteria or viral factors into wild populations that there are no defenses against. The other issue is that repatriation/reintroductions are major failures (95% and higher). That goes for many different genus/species of animals. It is best to hibernate the HLs for optimal success in breeding. Raising hatchling HLs is a major undertaking. They require ants, just like the adults, but some of the ants are smaller that the ones the adults eat. Lester G. Milroy III

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