just a photo

[Steeve B]

http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/502/959tr_051-med.jpg

[JeffT]

Thats really cool. nice monitor.

[Bryce Masuk]

A beauty as always

[Steeve B]

This could have been an amazing shot, as this croc was ambushing a butterfly, unfortunately the butterfly isn’t on photo, and the next photo is flu.
Any way you can see this animal totally at home in the canopy.
Rgds

http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/502/959tr_050-med.jpg

[Steeve B]

This photo shows the dexterity they have with there hands, they can grab and hold something much like a monkey, I haven’t seen this in other varanids.
This is my female Jayapura.
Rgds

http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/502/959tr_034-med.jpg

[burmer]

Awesome monitor and great pics.

[V.hb]

Steve those are amazing photos.. Do you have a sectioned off yard where you do this??? I'd love to take my monitors outdoors, but theres nowhere safe to do it where I live.. To busy. Don't want to scare any people.

[markb]

Now this IS RESPONSIBLE Keeping of a salvadorii's monitor, not hand feeding it birds or holding it to your face free handling in a parking lot! Beautiful animals Steve....and Thank you for sharing...
Cheers,
markb

[Bryce Masuk]

Dont they dive off the tree's into the water to get food?
(What do they naturally eat?) then fly up the tree before a croc grab's them and makes em lunch?

[Steeve B]

These are 2 of the rarest varanids that ever came out of PNG, on these photos they are in there outside pen, impossible to escape. I have only one such pen, so I rotate my animals to give them a chance to explore a little.

Young Salvadorii don’t take to water often, they prefer the safety of trees. They feed on anything they can over power, they have such large teeth I guess this who’d enlarge there menu.

[Bryce Masuk]

What does PNG stand for?

[Steeve B]

Papua New Guinea, but they actually came from Jayapura! That’s the only known pair in the world (to date) a single adult male was also trapped on this expedition.
It’s very unlikely they will ever be trapped again in lowland Jayapura.
Making theme the rarest varanids, ever exported out of indo or anywhere else for that matter. Definitely not the kind of animal you want to escape in your back yard.
Rgds

[Bryce Masuk]

Doh! I forget the most obvious thing sometimes.....

Wow that must have been a significant investment in those 2 Which will surely come back to you if you produce offspring
You must have some amazing hookupz in the importing bussines
you definately are a true varnus connisure (sp?)

[markb]

As we know Steve, there are only a few Varanus, the archaeo-varanus with over-larged heads, V. komodoensis, V. varius, V. salvadorii, V. giganteus and Megalania prisca (and maybe V. doreanus??) which have jaws/head proportionaltely larger than their body ratios. This of course allows them to capture/kill/ingest prey much large than other Varanus of similar size, grow quicker and out-compete conspecific males and females when breeding season comes around....what an amazing animal. To see this animal 6000 miles from its native home in trees very similar to native NG lowlands chasing lepidoptera - amazing.

I will be working on rewritting soon, and will share them with you Steve before I submit them to publisher...sound good? Thanks for sharing. Your photos inspire my thoughts and make me think more of these animals - the pics tells me alot, as they do you about these animals....

Many Thanks Steve,
markb

[Steeve B]

Mark I bet you when these plums are ripe they will eat them! What do you think?
http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/502/959tr_057-med.jpg

[markb]

HI Steve,

You have a bet!! :) I think they will, especially when they are covered with ants, licking all the nectar/sygar off of them - the salvadorii will not be able to resist a sugar treat such as this!

Does their aggressiveness increase with outdoor exposure? Or are they perfectly calm, being above you in the enclosure, secure in their thoughts that they can pounce on you any time they feel free to do so?

This is the female in the plum tree, yes?

Regards,
markb

[Steeve B]

Hello Mark; I haven’t noticed any behavioural change from indoor or out, the male as with all males Salvadorii is quite a number, not aggressive but he like to be the boss and won’t hesitate to bite. They notice every birds flying over them, and at first use to go under branches to avoid being seen, it was interesting to watch them. as for them being above me, its ok when young, but I never allow adult to be in that position, last week I hade an adult pair in this enclosure, I entered with a bucket full of young rats, Jesus the male lunched right at me from the highest branch, he never tried to bite me but jumped on me on the bucket in a frantic manner, it scared the **** out of me, everything settled when he got his first rat, then I could walk him all over the enclosure. But you don’t want to run out of rats before he’s appetite slows down.
I can’t help it; these guys are becoming my favourite beast.
Rgds

[markb]

WOW Steve,

They are amazing animals. In Florida '93 I was in an outdoor enclusre w/1.1 salvadorii (8'0"/6'4" respectively), and had my eyes on the male as he was huge - the female very discreetly and quietly walked around my leg in a very non-threatening posturing, and took a "bite" of my pants to (apparently) see if I was good enough to eat! Luckily it got only the fabric, a little skin and maybe a few hairs, a few teeth scrapes nothing more but it gave an insight into their behaviors I had not considered before this: we're merely something to eat to them when necessary. The keeper told me, who was standing outside the enclosure nobody had ever gone into their enclosure before, including him! (this was before the St. Pierre incident, with the same animals!).

I am GLAD to learn you were/are OK, and only startled - I too would have s$$t myself if this hapened to me too....

Cheers Steve,
mark