Two little but dangerous Gila Monster hatchlings have come out from behind the scenes in Melbourne Zoo’s Reptile House.

The hatchlings are the offspring of a breeding pair that arrived from Dallas Zoo in 1994.  They have only bred once before, with two young born in 2002.

Two 7cm eggs laid on November 28th hatched out in the Reptile House incubator on March 30th.  Adults of this species do not provide parental care.

The hatchlings are black and creamy white, unlike their parents, which are black and a shade of red resembling desert sand.

At birth the hatchlings were estimated to be about 14cm long.  They take 4 to 5 years to mature, and adults grow to about 40cm in length.

The hatchlings may be small, but they are venomous from birth.  Gila Monsters are one of the world’s two venomous lizard species: the other species is the Beaded Lizard.

Their venom is produced in a gland in the lower jaw, and it oozes up through their gums when they bite their prey, to paralyze it and also to start the digestive process.

Although the Gila Monster venom is not channeled through fangs as is the case when a snake bites its prey, researchers are finding that the venom has very similar properties to the venom produced by rattlesnakes, which are found in the same south-western U.S. habitat.

Gila Monsters have forked tongues, like snakes, which they use to scent their prey.  They are carnivorous, and their wild diet includes the eggs and chicks of ground-laying birds such as quail plus young rabbits or other small mammals.

Photos courtesy of Damien Goodall