Gilleni, Naultinus, and O. cataphractus!

[smy_749]

Hey Guys,

Sorry I haven't been posting much. Working 60 hours a week and trying to keep up with my collection / human family has kept me busy lately.

Finally got those pics of the Naultinus and cataphractus up (very, very rare and pricey). They are not mine, a buddy of mine has 6 naultinus and a pair of the cataphractus. The cataphractus are very quick and skittish, and thrash violently but I managed one good pic. Haha.

https://scontent-a-iad.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc1/t1.0-9/10176235_239773872880710_586305558704482990_n.jpg

https://scontent-b-iad.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/t1.0-9/10172826_239773869547377_6040517078496124491_n.jpg

https://scontent-b-iad.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/t1.0-9/10274246_239773866214044_2695895007190681925_n.jpg

Here are a few pics I just snapped after feeding 2 of the 3 gillens. The big male never shows his face when I open the doors.


Small girl was like that when I got here, she gets special treatment and is catching up fast. She ate half a small fuzzy for dinner. haha.

https://scontent-b-iad.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/t1.0-9/10303738_240542952803802_4905305359527902284_n.jpg

https://scontent-b-iad.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/t1.0-9/10177450_240542946137136_4737019513824201062_n.jpg

https://scontent-b-iad.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/t1.0-9/10322834_240542956137135_3905718324976329163_n.jpg

[Mikoh4792]

Really digging those geckos.

[jpsteele80]

What kind of monitors are those?

[sharthun]

Cool lizards!

[smy_749]

The monitors are Varanus gillleni, still pretty rare and up there in price. I have either 1.2 or 2.1, still unsure on one of them. Became my favorite varanid in the odatria family (Gregg madden also said on here that they were his favorites) almost over night.

The geckos are Naultinus grayii, live bearing new zealand species that cost around 10k or something crazy for a pair. I don't know many people in the US with them..My buddy has 3 pairs lol

And the one with the superworm in its mouth is Ouroboros cataphractus, previously Cordylus. These are the endangered south african armadillo girdled that bite their tails and form a circle and pics circulate on facebook calling them baby dragons and what not.

[wareagleA5]

Amazing animals! What is it about the gilleni that made them become your favorite?

[smy_749]

In my opinion, all of the dwarfs have a negative side to them.

Kimberlys are very skittish until adulthood, and people have problem hatching kims for some reason. They are also on the larger side. (I love kims and will be getting some in august, just saying)

Ackies are the monitor of choice obviously, and I'll probably get some too but they are larger than many of the dwarfs, I don't like the 'sausage' look they have, and they require alot of dirt.

Storri are aggressive to cage mates and mine were tearing eachother apart. Enough said...

Tristis - skittish

Gilleni - IMO the only negative thing I can think of for these guys is they are tan/bronze and no pretty colors (but I love the look anyways so it doesnt matter)

They are super bold, husbandry is easy, they like it drier and hotter, they don't burrow other than for nesting which typically is not deep for these guys, they breed readily, and they are one of the smallest dwarfs. They also have a really unique shape, lanky yet muscular build.
....And they are very quirky. They sleep in the same tube like the pic I posted, they sleep on their backs which is very comical to see them reclining in a tube or on a rock.

[Indyvai]

Holy cow! I thought the gecko pics were a joke... It actually looks like a stuffed animal! Very very cool! Love the dwarfs... like Snow White!

[smy_749]

Holy cow! I thought the gecko pics were a joke... It actually looks like a stuffed animal! Very very cool! Love the dwarfs... like Snow White!

Thanks mate, the naultinus from what I've heard are actually slightly boring. Friend of mine likes to call them arboreal green leopard geckos haha.

[mdfmonitor]

thank you for posting pics! :)

[smy_749]

here is a pretty cool one I took today haha

https://scontent-b-iad.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/t1.0-9/10364125_243157592542338_8834210678441588535_n.jpg

[SnoopySnake]

here is a pretty cool one I took today haha

https://scontent-b-iad.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/t1.0-9/10364125_243157592542338_8834210678441588535_n.jpg

These are awesome pics, that last one especially. I'd love to see more pics of that armadillo girdled lizard too! :p

[smy_749]

These are awesome pics, that last one especially. I'd love to see more pics of that armadillo girdled lizard too! :p


wish I could help you. He has 2 of them, but they were too skittish to catch any good pics of them. We managed to coax them out with superworms, but if you've ever seen one eat, you will realize why its almost impossible to get a pic of them while feeding.