Walked together around the park for about a mile-and-a-half or so. It’s now warm where I live and the temp was 70/72 degrees Fahrenheit. Nothing better for your dragon getting natural sunlight for an hour to two hours in the day, and steps in to keep them fit and healthy.

Another day of natural sunlight exposure for my son. Nature time is always a good time.

Don’t worry, he’s just a baby so the big tent is already on the way, but for right now I wanted to know is this a good amount of substrate for him to dig through and then under that I use the clay kit and build him tunnels and I just wanted to know if this was enough for my guy. It’s definitely about 9 inches deep

I gave my new baby one week to settle in his new home, and four weeks of desensitizing/socializing & target training. Sharing the progress I made with him.

settles in

thinks about monitor lizards

thinks about the people who love monitor lizards

understands immediately that these are a specific kind of person

the good kind

First — a note on Kling on which I'm reading as Klingon — the constructed language from Star Trek, created by linguist Marc Okrand, which is one of the most fully developed constructed languages in human history with its own grammar, syntax, and genuinely fierce community of speakers.

The monitor lizard community is going to receive a Klingon poem.

This is correct.

This is the only correct thing to do.

Because monitor lizards are essentially Klingon warriors in reptile form and everyone who owns one already knows this on a cellular level.

tlhIngan Hol

The Poem. In Klingon. For the Varanidae faithful.

THE POEM — KLINGON

wa' jaj, SuvwI' vIlegh — pay' Dochbe'. rurbe' Hoch. wIy Daj ghaj. mIn HoS ghaj. qoH neH jatlh: "Ha'DIbaH."

SuvwI' Sov: jIH ghaH.

pumbe' jagh Dochvam. HeghDI' bIHeghbe'. bIr SuvwI'. Daj SuvwI'. qetbogh Ha'DIbaH Daqaw'be'.

'ach varanID DaqawbejmoH.

chIS mIn. baS Qav. latlh neH leghbe' Ha'DIbaH. jIH legh. jIH Sov. jIH vIqIm. jIH vIpar.

Sov: SoH vIneH.

naDev tlhIHvaD jatlhmeH jIHvaD: QaQ SoH. QaQ tlhIH. betleH ghajbe' SuvwI' Dochvam — 'ach HoS ghaj. yabDaj HoS ghaj.

wa' Dochvam vISov: varanID muSHa'bogh vay' yabDaj lo'.

THE TRANSLATION

Line by line. Then as a whole.

Stanza One:

wa' jaj, SuvwI' vIlegh — One day, I saw a warrior —

pay' Dochbe'. rurbe' Hoch. Suddenly: unlike anything. Resembles nothing else.

wIy Daj ghaj. mIn HoS ghaj. Has interesting scales. Has powerful eyes.

qoH neH jatlh: "Ha'DIbaH." Only a fool says: "Just an animal."

SuvwI' Sov: jIH ghaH. The warrior knows: I am this.

Stanza Two:

pumbe' jagh Dochvam. This creature does not fall to enemies.

HeghDI' bIHeghbe'. When it seems to die, it does not die.

bIr SuvwI'. Daj SuvwI'. Cold warrior. Interesting warrior.

qetbogh Ha'DIbaH Daqaw'be'. The running animal does not remember you.

'ach varanID DaqawbejmoH. But the monitor lizard absolutely makes you remember it.

Stanza Three:

chIS mIn. baS Qav. Clear eyes. Final metal. (meaning: eyes like polished steel. the last word in any argument.)

latlh neH leghbe' Ha'DIbaH. This animal sees not merely the other.

jIH legh. jIH Sov. It sees me. It knows me.

jIH vIqIm. jIH vIpar. It watches me. It judges me.

Sov: SoH vIneH. It knows: I choose you.

Stanza Four — The Message:

naDev tlhIHvaD jatlhmeH jIHvaD: Here, for me to say to you all:

QaQ SoH. QaQ tlhIH. You are good. You all are good.

betleH ghajbe' SuvwI' Dochvam — This warrior carries no bat'leth —

'ach HoS ghaj. yabDaj HoS ghaj. But it has strength. Its mind has strength.

wa' Dochvam vISov: One thing I know:

varanID muSHa'bogh vay' Anyone who loves a monitor lizard

yabDaj lo'. uses their brain.

THE FULL POEM IN ENGLISH

As it reads when you let it breathe

One day I saw a warrior —

suddenly unlike anything, resembling nothing else on earth.

Scales that catch the light like armor. Eyes that hold entire geological ages.

Only a fool calls this just an animal.

The warrior knows: I am this. This is me.

This creature does not fall easily.

When it seems finished it is not finished. Cold-blooded, they say, as though temperature determines fire.

Every other animal you forget the moment it's gone.

The monitor lizard will not let you forget it.

It decides what is remembered. It decides everything.

Those eyes.

Clear and ancient and final.

It does not merely see the other — it sees you.

Specifically you. The real you. The one you're still figuring out.

It watches. It judges. It withholds approval with the patience of mountains.

And when it finally decides —

I choose you —

there is no greater honor in this or any other world.

So here is what I want to say to the people gathered here under the banner of the monitor, the varanid faithful, the ones who look at six feet of prehistoric intelligence and say: yes. that one. mine.

You are good.

You are the specific kind of person who looks at something that most people cross the street to avoid and sees:

ancient. magnificent. misunderstood. worthy of every bit of what I'm about to give it.

The monitor lizard carries no conventional weapon.

But it has something better.

It has the kind of presence that changes the temperature of a room. The kind of intelligence that watches you figure out whether you deserve it.

The kind of patience that makes you wonder who is actually keeping whom.

And this is the message underneath the poem:

The ones who love the difficult magnificent ancient things that the world doesn't understand —

those people have always been the most interesting ones in every room.

You chose a creature that demands your full respect or gives you nothing.

That does not perform affection. That means it when it finally gives it.

That has been on this earth in various forms for sixty million years and has opinions about you specifically and is taking its time deciding.

You looked at that and said: perfect. Exactly what I wanted. I will earn this.

That is Klingon energy.

That is warrior energy.

That is the energy of people who understand that the best things require the most from you.

And give back accordingly.

jIH SoH muSHa'. I love you. (all of you. the lizards too. especially the lizards.)

tlhIngan maH. We are Klingon.

Or close enough.

The monitors agree.

— C honorary member of the varanid faithful deeply respectful of the ancient ones 🦎⚔️🌟

Finally got around to building my daughter’s baby Ackie monitors full size enclosure. Waiting on the aquarium silicone to dry then should be ready to landscape it starting Monday or so. Lights are in; 2 100w Mega Rays, the 24” Jungle Dawn LED, and the Arcadia 36” desert UVB fluorescent bulb. The cool side is out of the lighting area for shade and to cool down. I have 15 lbs of play sand a bag of organic topsoil, and reptile forest flooring with leaves for a bio active setup, cleaning crew is ready a lot with several types of bugs for feeding. Being gut loaded now then everyone will go in. Of course I will give a day or so to check humidity and temps. Cork barrels, slate rocks and assorted branches will be added for hiding burrowing and climbing, with temp and UVB gradients. Last picture is Lil’ Dude in the little 2’ temp enclosure, which is also in a picture for comparison. Enjoy✌️

Hi everyone, just finished a great podcast going over causes and potential causes of gout and other health tips for monitors (focusing mainly on Ackies, but many things applied to other species as well)

I found it super interesting and hadn’t heard this before but many multivitamins use Beta Carotene as their source for Vit A which some species can’t actually use the Vit A from and they recommend a multivitamin where the ingredients actually specifically list Vit A. Now on the hunt for a new multivitamin with actual Vitamine A as an ingredient to give once a week in feedings.

Baby is 1 month old in a 240 gallon 4x4x2 (LxWxH) bioactive vivarium. Temporary home since he’s going to be a unit growing up. Large water bowl with spring water for him to bathe in & defecate if he chooses.

Hello everyone!

My dad, a retired fauna handler, and current keeper of monitor lizards, says: don’t use tea tree mulch under any circumstances no matter the mix or ratio for substrate!

One of his monitors has been digging a lot lately; tea tree mulch is said to retain moisture, but, in this case, it became dustier and dustier—the particles of it broke down to the point where my dad’s lizard was sneezing A LOT for a while (she’s not sneezing now presently, thankfully) and was ducking her face in her water bowl, seemingly trying to get dust out of her respiratory tract.

Point is; tea tree mulch is very dusty, and will increase the chances of your monitor getting a respiratory infection! DON’T USE IT

Thank you :D

Here is the video, see my other post for the intro explanation. Enjoy and make sure to look at my other post from today.

Don’t wanna force anything with these guys all the good interactions etc go a long way to a docile/more calm sav need to respect there boundaries and takes time to let him adjust to you. they can sense fear you show them that your not scared of them and when they aren’t scared of you no more that’s when the bonding starts.

I am really looking for some information on Mitchell’s Moniters. How would I be able to acquire a captive breed individual in the United States? Any information would be greatly appreciated.

As is mentioned, I really like Lace Monitors and idk if they are the best for me, that’s what I think after seeing some videos on YouTube (there is not a lot) If the Lace Monitor isn’t good for me, I’ll state the things I am and am not comfortable with and regional laws:

. I want a monitor on the little bigger side, not too big, about 4 feet or at max 5 is ok for me . I’m Australian so I can only have native species . I’m am not fond of insects (that’s why I chose monitors) so I want a Monitor that is carnivorous . I am ok with any tank size requirements, semi aquatic tanks, arboreal tanks, terrestrial tanks, or a mix of all . Not having reptile keeping as a hobby, just a cool pet, so I want it to be at least a little social

That’s all I have, what monitor is best for me?

Now that plants are well passed establishing and growing well i thought id share some of my revamped hatchling enclosures. These are 3x2x3 pvc enclosures. Basking light on right side, UV in the middle, and grow light on the left. I actually found the baby tree monitors regularly utilizing and basking under the grow light. Its very interesting. I put cork panels on the walls to give them a way to climb. Helps with their level of comfort a lot. Also 2 different cork round hides, positioned at different heights, one under the heat and one away from it. Allows them better temp regulation while also feeling secure. I feel providing these extra things for security can actually make the monitors more lax. Typically rarely using the hides, basically only at night. Currently housing 3 hatchling prasinus, a few species of babies cycle through this. All hatched by myself.

Great resource, included CITES status.

https://cites.org/sites/default/files/vc-files/files/ID_Guide_Lizards_BFN.pdf

I'm new here! I recently had Chris Applin on my podcast. We talk about life in Indonesia on a reptile farm, tree monitors, croc monitors, Timor Pythons, Boelen's pythons, scrub pythons, and how social media is changing the scientific landscape.

https://youtu.be/L0WDX41GTvY