Mostly Monitor Mad

10/06/2024

Absolutely delighted to have my first ever hatchling of what is generally considered a tricky species to breed :D

09/06/2024

Hit a little milestone today... 200th video uploaded to my YT; and not a bad one if I do say so myself, although as always, the animals are the star of the show... And what a star Percy the Peach Throat is! :)

Here is the link if you would like to check if out -

https://youtu.be/gjnVeWbtTAs?si=yKaWg6RqCfxY-Vnz

08/06/2024

Finito!

Nest box is getting up to temperature, but may need a heat mat taping to the outside for a boost in colder weather. Nice temperature gradient inside the vivarium, from low 20s at floor level, to mid 30s near the roof.

This will do for temporary quarantine housing for

07/06/2024

Time is ticking on... Have until Saturday night to finish this quarantine ; not too much more to do though :)

03/06/2024

Necessity is the mother of invention, so the saying goes....

New arrival will be here on the weekend, which during quarantine will be housed in a 4x2x4... Space is at a premium and not wanting to lose floor space to deep substrate or a big nest box inside I'm hoping this 18 inch wide, 28 high dustbin, set up outside the vivarium will solve that problem.

First time trying this, so may need a bit of trial and error - possibly an additional heat mat stuck to the outside of the bin, if it's not getting up to temperature, but maybe the 7m of heat cable inside will do the job!

02/06/2024

Not an instant hit, but a hit all the same... He's finally started using the tunnel I made for him out of drain pipe, to sleep in :)

27/05/2024

Pose of the day

17/05/2024

Sitting pretty

16/05/2024

Project Lap-Lizard is GO! 😍

Peach throat monitors (Varanus jobiensis) tend to be quite a nervous and easily spooked species, which can frequently mean they can bite if they are startled...

15/05/2024

Throwback... Just found this little cutie I hatched in my camera roll :)

15/05/2024

Operation Lap-Lizard in full swing!

Making great progress taming the Dino 😍

15 minutes of footage from this session to go on my YT later :)

12/05/2024

Relaxing Sunday

12/05/2024

This kept Percy the peach throat monitor's (Varanus jobiensis) mind and senses stimulated for well over an hour, encouraging natural behaviours digging for hidden food in crevices above and below ground.

This kept Percy the peach throat monitor (Varanus jobiensis) mind and senses stimulated for well over an hour, encouraging natural behaviours digging for foo...

10/05/2024

Curious peach throat monitor lizard (Varanus jobiensis) having some time outside for good behaviour.This will be a regular occurrence as I build trust with h...

03/05/2024

First time trying crabs for my male peach throat monitor. He was a bit unsure about eating them at first and needed some help from me, to break the shells. T...

02/05/2024

Good job they don't have scopophobia, eh?

01/05/2024

Varanus jobiensis

30/04/2024

Today's tinkering: shelf added at the front of the middle pane of glass, next to water dish.

As well as providing extra surface area to navigate through or rest on, the main reason is, this will stop him descending straight down from the top levels as that usually ends with him flopping on the substrate barriers, which has a slim, but not non-existent risk of injury.

This should further reduce that risk.

29/04/2024

Lizards don't have television, so they find entertainment in other ways....

27/04/2024

A couple of weeks ago I tried using a 1 meter pipe to excavate a tunnel. I took the pipe out as it was too big to stay in place and within a couple of days, it has collapsed from him moving about on the surface.

It's now cut in to 2 and 1 foot lengths, so the the tubes can stay in place. He likes to rest lying on the substrate where there is now a tunnel entrance and the past couple of days he's been digging a lot in the left side corner, where the other pipe is.... Let's see if he will use them for hides. At the least, it should make for some good enrichment when I hide food down them.

26/04/2024

Locust Shack MK1 - video link below

https://youtube.com/shorts/tixI1i4gVOk?si=Ci_cvUoDhIOvt85c

22/04/2024

Worn out after a hard day of monitoring; he was sound asleep until I accidentally interrupted his slumber.

17/04/2024

A big-ass pole, for a big-ass hole

Lets see if he'll make like Jamiroquai and goes Deeper Underground

17/04/2024

The man... the myth... the legend, that is Percy peach throat!

17/04/2024

Good morning world, or I should say, good afternoon... Lazy life for turtles.

16/04/2024

Varanus jobiensis

16/04/2024

Morning Toad 😀

16/04/2024

Mostly Monitor Munch... Turtle Tukka Too!

50 hen chicks

150 quail chicks

1kg shore crab

1kg signal crayfish

1lb duvauceli (extra small squid)

They will be feasting on this for a while!...

How long do you think it will take them to eat it all?

14/04/2024

Delighted to have found this female, who hopefully will pair with my male when she has grown. For now she they are living separately, either side of a divide...

14/04/2024

She's here and I adore her already 😍

Such a stunning animal and so docile :D

She's been exploringher new home non-stop - lots of footage to edit and upload.