Help me god Satan is my baby…

[Steeve B]

We love this guy, but he doesn’t like us, I have some very scary photos of him, imagine when fully grown.

http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/502/959test_canon_087-med.jpg

[V.hb]

thats an amazing photo steve

[ReptiZone]

hey steve man what hapen to the eye. or 3was it a photoshop stunt to make ppl like me talk lol.


oh ya i am moving to montreal in jully so we should hook up and shoot the $#!T sond like fun.

[asphyxia]

nice Steve, how big is that puppy?

Brian

[yankeefoxtrot]

Yea im curious about that eye as well. Photoshop or camera flash? How big is the moniter? He looks great!

Lucas

[Steeve B]

NO this isn’t no photo stunt, this guys evil, aim scared of him and aim scared of his father, he’s only 6+ feet but still, he wont hesitate to attack anyone as the door opens.
We treat him with respect, Id hate to make his hit list.


http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/502/959test_canon_081-med.jpg

[reptile gallery]

Be afraid...Be very afraid......

[asphyxia]

So, tell me what kind of damage can this guy do..say to an arm or hand?

Brian

[reptilez]

Is he blind? Is it only that one eye, or both??

[Steeve B]

Slash to the bone cutting every thing in the way, that animal was only 4-5 feet TL
You don’t want to know what an adult can do!

no his not blind, his eyes are normal, he roles them over when Mad
http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/512/959croc_bite_015-med.jpg

[Steeve B]

IL be Damn, I didn’t even know this! They have an opact membrane much like crocodilian have, but it’s white not clear. I never witnessed this in any of my other Salvadorii before.

http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/959test_canon_082-med.jpg

[Tim and Julie B]

Dam that is some serious s**t! It's like the exorsist or something! What a beautiful monitor though. It amazes, as well as makes me happy that even after all the years you have been keeping these monitors that you are continually learning new things. Every day is something new. You are like a proud dad!:D

[Alan311]

wow he looks like a cool lizard but ill take your word on that he is mean ... and ouch that scare is to show for it

[Colonel SB]

Thats freakin awsome, I'd say net to Komodo's Croc monitors are the most dangerous.

[ReptiZone]

the membrain is probebly why they call him the crocodial monitor

[Steeve B]

As I said, I never seen this before, I really tot he was rolling his eyes over, but the photo clearly shows it’s a membrane, I immediately asked my indo friend about this, he was shocked.
I suspect no one knows about this, this is so weird, I work every day with Salvadorii and discovered that membrane only yesterday. Simply fascinating
Rgds
When I say no one knows, I mean H.G.Horn and the peoples who studied Salvadorii in the wild also guys who did extensive autopsies like M.K.Bayless

[ectotherm]

Is this Dad? The resemblance and attitude is scary ...

http://bigg2k.tripod.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/a1-goji.jpg

[Steeve B]

your photo didnt work, but it cant be Dad I still have him, it can be a sibling.

[asphyxia]

Hi Steve,

I was just watching my Albig. eat a rat, I noticed that she has the white membrane aswell. It was momentarily covering the the eye when she was gulping the rat back...Firt time i noticed it lol


Regards
brian

[snakemann87]

DAMN that is so freaky!!! Exorcist came to my mind RITE away.Wow thats freaky but heart stopping. I'm sure he has no problem fending off anyone, or anything! lol

[TK2]

I too have seen this many times during feedings. Not quite as white but the same thing. As many reptiles have them I just took this for granted.

[Steeve B]

Berd Eidenmuller told me yesterday he to have seen nictating membrane in many reptiles but never yet in Varanids, I personally worked with 7 species of Crocodilians, and have seen this membrane countless times, but I cant believe 25 years of Varanids keeping haven’t shown this to me, before last week. Even Wolgang Bohme who’d of tell me this, still I who’d of been sceptical.

[Scales Zoo]

Found this coincidentially while reading about evolution.

In particular, the Varanid family of lizards, which includes the monitors, are very similar to snakes in their skull structure. The most snake- like of the living monitors is the Earless Monitor, a burrowing semi-aquatic lizard found in Borneo. The Earless Monitor has movable eyelids, but the lower lid sports a clear "window" which allows the monitor to see even when its eyes are closed, protecting it from water and dirt. This is very reminiscient of the snake's brille or eyecap, which is formed in embryonic snakes when the transparent upper and lower eyelids fuse together. The Earless Monitor also has a number of snakelike features in its skull architecture and, as the name implies, it lacks any trace of an external ear, just as in snakes. It is probable that the Earless Monitor more closely resembles the saurian ancestor of the snakes than any other living lizard.

The above was taken from
http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/2421/evolve.htm

I did not know, and have never heard or read that some monitors may have a nictating membraneas it seems your croc monitor does.

Crocodillians and Tuataras were the only reptile that I was aware had this membrane.

Where is Darwin when you need him.

Maybe other aquatic lizards (water monitors, marine iguanas - especially because of the salt water) have this membrane, but no one has ever seen it. Birds and sharks have it, and I think amphibians do as well. Wait a minute, Sarge, our dog has one - and I think the cats do as well.

Steve - I will ask a few people if they have ever read anything about the subject. I can't find anything on the internet - i think it would be great if your observation sparks a study and a research paper.

Our water monitor that I had reffered to as Satan, has calmed down a lot, and got really yellow in the last few months (It is 5 years old). I had been thinking, that if it was going to remain vicious, I'd try to get a crocodile monitor to keep at the zoo rather than the water.

They are my holy grail, someday I will keep an adult pair. I would take them over perentie or lace monitors.

That picture is of an awesome looking animal, but those white eyes do make it look absolutely evil and scary - great pictures, and great observation.

Ryan

[Scales Zoo]

The Monitor Family:
Monitor lizards are distinguishable from other lizards by having an elongated neck and tail, a triangular skull, and a long forked tongue. Like snakes, monitors use their tongues to smell/taste the air, and are capable of detecting minute chemical traces. Unlike most lizards, the tongue is not used to aid in swallowing food. Monitors are carnivorous (save one species that will also eat fruit) and have sharp conical teeth, powerful limbs and five strong claws on each limb. Some species, like the Komodo and mangrove monitors, have serated teeth for slicing through flesh, while others have long piercing teeth for grabbing fast moving prey. All monitors are egg layers (oviparous), have eyelids and external ears. They also have a third eyelid, called the nictitating membrane, to moisten and protect their eyes. Because of the speed at which it is moved across the eye, this membrane is difficult to see, but it is sometimes picked up in pictures.

from
http://aquasyst.rockin.net/nile/biology.htm

[Scales Zoo]

For some reason I can't delete this post that I accidentally made.

[enso]

All reptiles and amphibians excluding snakes have a nictitating membrane along with birds and mammals. =p

[pandorasBox]

why type of camera are you using and if it has manual settings i would increase the shutter speed (try various lengths) the faster the shutter speed the less motion blur and it makes for a better picture if the animal wont stay still. however you might have to play around with the aperature as well depending on how well the lighting is.

[Steeve B]

I only have a canon power shot A70 (numeric) and a samsung slim zoom 145S(35mm), aim not very good at photography and any tipe is welcomed, unfortunatly I cant aford to buy any other camera for now.

[Steeve B]

scales zoo thanks for the info, this is faust right?

[Scales Zoo]

I beleive it is Faust, I posted the webpage that the information came from because I wasn't too sure.

This morning we were at the zoo, and as an experiment I misted the water monitor and nile monitor in the face. I think I saw the membrane close on both of them, but it was too fast to be sure.

Going back to the zoo after dinner, I will video tape them, and then play it back still by still. If I can figure out how to transfer the stills to the computer, I will post pictures.

Ryan

[alex_33]

Thats an awesome pic! I was at my local pet store today and the big savannah monitor made that white thing go around his eye, but to me it looked like he flipped his eye back into his head.

[Emily-Fisher]

lord, that's scary!! Why do you own that guy if he tries to attack you?

[Steeve B]

I keep more then 100 varanids, some are nice others not so, it doesn’t bother me, none are pet’s anyway. This particular animal is second generation captive bred and born Merauke Salvadorii no other Merauke has ever been bred in the world, I guess this makes him special to me, I like him just they way he is.

[John A]

heres a pic of my sulfur and the nictating membrane
http://www.cybersalvator.com/gallery/image.asp?ImageID=135
pic too big to put up here, so copy link into browser. so, yes,its true! 3rd eyelids are present. -john a

[Steeve B]

hey thanks john! just what I wanted to see, its kinda transparant on Cody.
rgds

[snake_goth]

i can flik my eyes bak so it lookes like that but wen i do it it realy hurts

[Steeve B]

aim so facinated by this membrane I guess Il have to see it in all my Varanids now.
http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/502/959croc_bite_345-med.jpg