# Keelbacks feeding and monitors fighting



## naivepom (Jan 7, 2010)

Hi all,

I have been fortunate over the last week to see two things I have been hoping to photograph for ages - reptiles feeding and fighting. I was pretty excited when I saw these so thought I'd share them....


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## grizz (Jan 7, 2010)

Fighting? Really that's how the wife said goodbye this morning, maybe she doesn't love me

Cool pics mate appears you had a good day!

And it's definately a Keelback!


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## Snake Catcher Victoria (Jan 7, 2010)

Good shots, you have been lucky.
Watching monitor combat is a buzz.


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## Kitah (Jan 7, 2010)

awesome, nice finds! Great shots too


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## reptilerob (Jan 7, 2010)

Awesome photos, well done. I have seen millions of lace monitors this spring/summer, and it was ony 2 days ago that for the 1st time that i found two together. Ive never seen 2 fighting. The two i saw looked like they might have been hubby and wife!!!


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## cris (Jan 7, 2010)

Very nice, how could anyone not like _V.panoptes_


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## naivepom (Jan 7, 2010)

cris said:


> Very nice, how could anyone not like _V.panoptes_




I may be entirely wrong but I think they're V. gouldii. Either way they are amazing animals.


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## cris (Jan 7, 2010)

naivepom said:


> I may be entirely wrong but I think they're V. gouldii. Either way they are amazing animals.



Well possibly, they are yellow spotted goannas/river goannas/floodplains goannas, either _V.gouldi panoptes_ or _V.p.panoptes_. Taxonomy with these criters is very confusing, but basically one is real tanky and stands up while the other is skinny and hugs the ground and often are found in differant habitat.

Its a really strange part of herpetology, an extremely obvious critter seemingly ignored, although they live all over the top half of australia its often thought they are restricted to the pilbara and tropical areas as suggested in old books.


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## fishboy (Jan 7, 2010)

Nice I love the keel back


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## gus11 (Jan 8, 2010)

very nice pics, good to see some color back in the common as well


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## TWENTY B (Jan 8, 2010)

cris said:


> , either _V.gouldi panoptes_ or _V.p.panoptes_. .


 
that doesn't make sense to me.
varanus gouldii come in gouldii or Flav.
varanus panoptes are a completly diferent monitor.
there is no such thing as varanus gouldii panoptes...

correct???


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## absinthe_616 (Jan 8, 2010)

i love that last one of them standing up, its great!

poor little froggy but haha.

does cane toad poison have any affect on snakes?


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## bluey66 (Jan 8, 2010)

They sure are Yellow Spotted Monitor's-Varanus Penoptes Penoptes, you tell by their size and markings on their back, l have never ever seen a Sand Monitor as big as those 2, Yellow Spotted Monitor's can grow to 5 foot long and a very solid all over compared to a Sand Monitor.


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## Chris1 (Jan 8, 2010)

well im gonna call them large lizards cos i really wouldnt have a clue! 

great pix, that would have been awesome to see!!!


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## bluey66 (Jan 8, 2010)

Chris1 said:


> well im gonna call them large lizards cos i really wouldnt have a clue!
> 
> great pix, that would have been awesome to see!!!


 
Chris, lf you and anyone else really wants to know what these 2 large Monitor's are, l would advice you to look them up in either ( Reptiles & Amphibians Of Australia Author Harold G. Gogger or A Complete Guide To Reptiles Of Australia Authors Steve Wilson and Gerry Swan ), you will see photos and information about Varanus Penoptes Penoptes & Varanus Penoptes Rubidus and Varanus Gouldii Gouldii & Varanus Gouldii Flavirufus.
These 2 books are the ones for indentification of Australian Reptiles, and a the most upto date books that l can recommend to any series reptile keeper.


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## townsvillepython (Jan 9, 2010)

nice pics mate i havent been out the common for awhile if it ever stops raining might head out


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## Tsubakai (Jan 9, 2010)

absinthe_616 said:


> i love that last one of them standing up, its great!
> 
> poor little froggy but haha.
> 
> does cane toad poison have any affect on snakes?



Keelbacks can eat canetoads without dying. Those pics don't show a canetoad though.


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## cris (Jan 9, 2010)

TWENTY B said:


> that doesn't make sense to me.
> varanus gouldii come in gouldii or Flav.
> varanus panoptes are a completly diferent monitor.
> there is no such thing as varanus gouldii panoptes...
> ...



Its all a bit confusing, but basically the specimen originally called V.gouldi is a yellow spotted monitor. Im not really sure what names are correct, but this link explains the situation.
Mampam Conservation - Varanus flavirufus

Bluey66, those books are excellent, but they cant keep up to date with taxonomy.


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## rett82 (Jan 9, 2010)

Oh Wow Excellent shots. Well done.


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## whcasual79 (Jan 9, 2010)

nice shots mate .....


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## redbellybite (Jan 9, 2010)

great pics how lucky you were .....just one thing I want to say "how could you stand back and watch those poor helpless frogs being eaten by those horid snakes now ?"" 

BAHHHHHHH HA HA HA  couldnt help myself ...


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## wizz (Jan 9, 2010)

great pics


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## eamonn (Jan 9, 2010)

Love the pics very nice, especially the first one of the monitors. Thanks for sharing!!


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## naivepom (Jan 9, 2010)

redbellybite said:


> great pics how lucky you were .....just one thing I want to say "how could you stand back and watch those poor helpless frogs being eaten by those horid snakes now ?""
> 
> BAHHHHHHH HA HA HA  couldnt help myself ...



haha. yeah if the press got hold of it I would probably be described as callous.

I know nothing about monitors (or snakes really for that matter) but a very well informed person told me they were pretty much all V.gouldii at the common. Those monitors certainly didnt strike me as being particularly robust or particularly skinny so I dont think that is a useful ID'ing character. I really have no idea, but if Mr. Gould (or Mr. Panoptes?) gets on the forum and tells me its one of his then i'll go with that!

Yeah keelbacks can ingest cane toads but it doesnt actually do them any good - if they are fed a diet of nothing but cane toads they will die. Its kind of like eating celery, the energy you expend from eating it is more than it gives you in return. But as one poster already mentioned, the pics do not show a keelback eating a cane toad.


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## naivepom (Jan 9, 2010)

cris said:


> Its all a bit confusing, but basically the specimen originally called V.gouldi is a yellow spotted monitor. Im not really sure what names are correct, but this link explains the situation.
> Mampam Conservation - Varanus flavirufus
> 
> Bluey66, those books are excellent, but they cant keep up to date with taxonomy.



Awesome link cris - its rare to see a site go in to so much detail. Doesnt clear anything up about who was fighting but I guess thats the point - varanid taxonomy is a mess.


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## TWENTY B (Jan 9, 2010)

cris said:


> Its all a bit confusing, but basically the specimen originally called V.gouldi is a yellow spotted monitor. Im not really sure what names are correct, but this link explains the situation.
> Mampam Conservation - Varanus flavirufus
> 
> Bluey66, those books are excellent, but they cant keep up to date with taxonomy.


 
that hurt my brain,. i'll just stick to calling them what we have been calling them. and ignore that paper for now..


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## gus11 (Jan 11, 2010)

its predominantly panoptes in the common, goulds are much harder to find


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## Palex134 (Jan 11, 2010)

^^I was under that impression as well...that most were V. panoptes.


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