forum I need an opinion of this creature.

Started December 04, 2018 by @Mojack group

tune

A little bit of description here.

I have a species I’m developing, I only started recently.

I based some of their behaviour from owls, big cats (that take their prey into trees to eat), as well as tigers, bats and some domestic cats. A little bit of parrot, which I’ll explain why.
I don’t have a doodle of em yet but their basic description is a large and long creature, often dark in colouring and feature. Sometimes faintish dark patterns visible. This enables them, alongside their stealthy nature to easily approach prey from behind. They often go after animals about the size of a cow, which can healthily feed them for a week, but they usually go for fish, which they can have a steady supply of.

They have long spikes that are often flattened around their body giving them a sleek look, however the spikes can stand out to give them a larger look. Males have a lot of spikes around neck which they can puff out when threatened, though both genders have spikes that they can shoot out, commonly from the tail but anywhere is fine. The spikes regrow, unless forcefully severed. The male neck spikes are poisonous, kinda like pufferfish.

They have keen vision and are able to rotate their heads, as well as hang upside down. They are nocturnal hunters and while not unheard of they do usually not move around at day time, reserving that for night. Sometimes they dig tunnels and hide out underground.

In my world they live alongside humans though they are not native to Earth, many of them are used to living here. They are wary of humans naturally, but one raised from birth might be easier to deal with. They have easily broken trust however and do not know their own strength. They are reptile like in appearance but do not have any horns. (Maybe spikes to give the illusion, but no)

They are easily provoked, however.

They have somewhat flat faces though their snout sticks out somewhat. Sharp and long talons, on feet and wings. Crocodile like tail.

They lay eggs, up to 10 per batch but eggs hatch within 40 minutes of being laid. Mothers will often raise them for 5 days then leave them to head her own way. Mothers might lay thousands of eggs per their entire lifespan, up to 300 years old.

They do not mate for life, though they remember previous mates. They do grow quickly, within five days after hatching they could be up to your hip (just hatched, they can fit in your palm). This slows down after a bit. On average, they’re 13 ft tall fully grown but this isn’t a strict rule.

I would like an opinion on this creature so far and tips on how to develop it further. Also, name ideas please?

This creature is very realistic. I like that. You said there not from earth so you may want to add some characteristics that are not found on earth but other than that this is really good.

Thanks!
I've added a couple things that are not found on Earth, but on the other planet, it generally is.

The alien planet ones tend to be much larger than their Earth counterparts and behavior is different (Earth Breeds are much trickier and harder to tame, while the other planet ones tend to be more docile.) They're slightly different biologically as well, considering that the Earth breeds tend to eat a strict diet of meats with very little greens, while the others eat a balanced diet. The alien planet breeds also generally live about 100 more years than the ones from Earth.

I forgot to mention before that they are capable of learning speech like a parrot, and most of the time it's limited, though in rare cases they do have a wide variety of words.

Now that is cool! You've done a pretty good job!

Ey I agree with Shadow Knight, these things are awesome! I wanted to ask if they're 13 feet at the shoulder? At the head? Or is that from nose to tail? Also for name ideas, I don't have any specific suggestions, but it seems likely that they'd have a name on their native planet and then also a name that humans gave them when they moved to Earth? (Unless the aliens introduced them deliberately and told the humans what to call them)

They're about that tall at the shoulder, though for the most part, their neck and head is pretty much kept level with their entire body, unless certain cases.
The aliens did have a name for them and introduced them to the humans, although the humans made up their own name for them shortly after their introduction.

That's so cool. What's their natural habitat? Like is it a forest, or a swamp, etc., or is it a habitat that doesn't appear on Earth? Oh, and are they considered an invasive species by humans? Seems like such a large predator could have a pretty big impact on the local ecosystem lol.

These thing grow extraordinarily quickly. I would advise that in those five days they need tending to 24/7 or else they could easily die to make things more realistic.