Birth and Breeding

Breeding - Misconception and Truth

So many people have asked about breeding blue tongues. I also find it ironic how so many people seem to have so much information about breeding them when they themselves have little to no experience. Check all the forums. You'll find "experts" so ready to tell you what to do.

Misconceptions:

I have a pair of blue tongues. I bred them and now I am a breeder.

Breeding is for the elite.

Truth:

You might be a breeder but you might also be lucky. If you have a good pair of animals they might breed regardless of the techniques you think you are utilizing to initiate breeding.

Consistency is the great indicator of ones skill as a breeder. If you can replicate this feat for many years then I would consider you a valid breeder of a given species.

If you breed multiple males and females of the same species with consistency you are the strongest breeder who can cycle different animals and match them up accordingly.

There is nothing elitist about breeding. If you have time, money and dedication you can do it. I just hope you're doing it for good reasons.

Main point:

In my opinion, breeding should not be about egos or solely about money. Breeding should be done after careful consideration of the animals and the effects you will cause from this breeding. Why breed? Do you have the proper housing? Do you have pure animals? Are you helping or hurting the animals you are producing in the smaller and/or larger scheme of things? Lastly, do you LOVE and I mean LOVE the animals you are breeding? So many dog breeders out there do not care a lick about the dogs they are breeding. Although they may have started with great intentions, it becomes a job; a job that provides them money. You can tell when you meet a real breeder that they ADORE the animals they breed and care about their purity, history and future. I would (and have) paid huge for an animal from such a breeder.

Where to obtain information on breeding

Breeding a few animals is quite simple but once you get into breeding multiple species of blue tongues with different requirements, a lot of alteration to environment and feeding schedule must be done. Indonesian skinks are quite different from Australian skinks in their cycling as are the males from females. If you wish to learn about breeding, do your research with diligence, experience and dedication. Longevity of your interest reflects equally in many ways in your knowledge.

So what do you do? Ask a breeder? Send them emails?

I am very open about my information but only to those who have references and (as I mentioned before) longevity in this hobby. If you truly care about your skinks, you won't necessarily need to know about breeding them the first day you get them. Why not grow them up slowly (as nature intended them to be) and by their third year start the process of cycling them? Why don't you contact me when you get your skink and then create a dialogue with me instead of shooting me an email saying: "Hey I need to know how to cycle my Irian Jayas. They are really different from Northerns. So can you help me right now?"

Not to be rude, but who the hell are you and do you even CARE about blue tongues? Why are you breeding them and to what end? Do you even have pure species or know their history? How long have you been into blue-tongues and have owned them?

Think about how many people have actually bred the Kei Island, Merauke or Tanimbar blue tongue. Cant? I can't either.

I know of only a handful of people including myself who has actually bred the Tanimbar and only one who has bred the Kei Island (for only one year) and none for the Merauke. I don't even know anyone who has bred the common Indonesian (T.G.G.) due to the constant influx of imports.

Do not be fooled - there shouldn't be anyone having blue tongue babies in the WINTER in the Northern Hemisphere. You'll notice right now in December and January a flood of supposed blue tongue babies. They are imports. They are NOT captive bred. Although it is conceivable to cycle animals backward and have babies in Christmas it is easier said than done. Your animals are in tune with their surroundings and will give you cues when they are ready to hibernate. Fighting those instincts requires a completely controlled environment and possibly a few years of cycling but who has such a facility to make a room cold when it's blazing hot outside in a mid summer's day? Who can afford to block out an entire room just for a few skinks and run the electric bill to the max when you need to then heat the room sufficiently during winter? Oh, so they claim they had a few "late" litters in December, January or February. Right...

So where can you obtain truly accurate information on breeding blue tongues? Take your time, introduce yourself and stay around. If you're a "flash in a pan" or "I'm here only a month" then you'll need to go someplace else. If you're willing to stick around, learn about blue tongues extensively then I'll be glad to share my knowledge and experiences with you directly. But please don't just email me with out credentials and reputation. Obviously if you have bought animals from me, we'll be keeping in touch with one another so hearing from you wouldn't be a surprise. But ultimately it doesn't matter if you buy from me or not. I just care if you have the best interest of the animals in mind. Is this just a fleeting fancy or a true passion? Are you trying to propagate pure species and not dilute what little purity we have left in the USA?

Also be sure that any information you receive you take with a grain of salt. If they have given this information to you so freely, how true can it be? Is it TOO general? How helpful is this information? Is the source reliable?

Lastly if you do obtain information on breeding or otherwise be sure to thank them. Give them credit where credit is due.

Recent breeding

This breeding year (2006 / 2007) started out awful. Cycling and husbandry was a nightmare so I am quite skeptical to the efficacy of all the breeding taking place. However you never know. I might still be able to pull this year out successfully. I have my fingers crossed.