Tuatara's in captivity?

[basslogic4003]

Howdy everybody I was just wondering if anyone knows anything about captive Tuatara care? I'm not looking to somehow acquire one, but I find them to be fascinating little dinosaurs Any info??

[morti]

I am not aware of any of them being in captivity at all.

[VoodooChile]

They are endangered and only found in NZ, so I dont see anyone keeping them. Very neat animals however
sure you've read this..but interesting nonetheless:
Tuataras

[basslogic4003]

I knew that they were basically unavailable in the pet trade, I was just wondering if there was anyone with any experience, even in the zoo field, with these little guys. Such cool animals!!

[crocdoc]

Hi,

Yes there are tuataras in captivity in a few zoos. There are a couple locally that I know of.

A couple of facts about tuataras:

1. They aren't actually that closely related to dinosaurs. Birds are more closely related and crocodilians would come second. Tuataras are members of a group that was around at the time of the dinosaurs, but when extinct with the exception of the two living tuataras.

2. One of the issues with keeping tuataras in captivity in zoos is their temperature requirements. They have a much lower lethal temperature than most reptiles - around 30C if I recall correctly - so their enclosures usually have to be cooled. Their preferred or optimal temperature is pretty low, too - around 20C I believe. Possibly as a result of this, their life moves at a different pace than most other reptiles - slower growth and a longer time to reach reproductive age being the important ones - but they do seem to live a long time.

[owen.richards]

20 degrees celsius isnt that cold, its about 70 degrees...

[crocdoc]

Yes I am well aware that 20C is 70F, but thanks anyway.

You're thinking like a mammal. We're endothermic (warm blooded) so 20C isn't very cool for us mammals, but as a preferred temperature for a reptile it is low.

Try this: If your house is centrally heated and/or airconditioned, set the thermostat for 20C (room temperature is usually around this, anyway). Turn off all heat supply to all of your reptiles, whether they be pythons, geckos, monitors or whatever, so that they're at 20C, too.

In a year or two, tell me how they are faring. How many are still alive, whether or not any have fed at all, whether or not any have bred and how many babies have hatched. I'm willing to bet that they aren't going to be doing all that well.

[mpgt]

Hey crocdoc, welcome to the site