# Varanus Brevicauda



## Kratos (Apr 25, 2007)

Finally got my trio of Short Tailed Pygmy Monitors today. I gave them some crickets and they eat just like my sand monitor, so funny to watch. Anyways here are some pics

Cheers,

Jason


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## dragons75 (Apr 25, 2007)

Very nice thanks for making me jealous


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## Bigweem (Apr 25, 2007)

how much were they???


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## hornet (Apr 25, 2007)

around $700-$800 as hatchling so for a trio of adults would be probably $3000


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## Magpie (Apr 25, 2007)

Lucky bugger 
Are they captive bred?


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## Rocket (Apr 25, 2007)

Kratos, great looking Brevicauda! Very rare species!

Who did you get them from?


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## OzRocks (Apr 25, 2007)

bueatifull lookin lizards....so cute aswell


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## jimbo (Apr 25, 2007)

They look great. Thanks for showing us, not many pictures out there of these monitors.
Good luck with them.


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## Tristis (Apr 25, 2007)

put me on the list for some babies, dont feed them to many pinkies or they will become very fat and lazy


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## Kratos (Apr 25, 2007)

Thanks for your replies, I got them of a private breeder who was down sizing his monitor collection. Im not going to say exactly how much i paid but i got a good deal. I'll let you know Tristis when i get some hatchies.

Cheers,

Jason


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## liasis (Apr 25, 2007)

has this trio bred before or will this be their first time very cool by the way ill get some eventualy


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## richardsc (Apr 25, 2007)

nice pick up jason,brevies r something we in vic cant have ): glad they r becoming established though,good luck with them and keep us posted


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## Kratos (Apr 26, 2007)

liasis said:


> has this trio bred before or will this be their first time very cool by the way ill get some eventualy



The guy that i purchased them off was going to breed them this year but has decided to focus on his snakes and business. He kept the male seperate from the females, So hopefully they will breed for me this year.

Cheers,

Jason


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## hornet (Apr 26, 2007)

let me know when they breed, might be interested in a couple


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## Kratos (Apr 30, 2007)

does anyone have a pic showing the difference between the sexes?

Cheers,

Jason


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## Kratos (Apr 30, 2007)

bump


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## Tristis (Apr 30, 2007)

head shape,
take close up pics of there heads and post them


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## Kratos (May 1, 2007)

*Sexes*

Are these close enough?


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## Tristis (May 1, 2007)

and some pics of them from the top.
the first pic looks male, are the pics of the same animal?


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## Kratos (May 2, 2007)

its hard to get close up shots they just keep wriggling


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## Tristis (May 2, 2007)

i put them in a tube with some water it makes it real easy.


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## MannyM (May 2, 2007)

So they're that small at full size?


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## grimbeny (May 2, 2007)

They really are tiny.


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## Kratos (May 2, 2007)

Tthey dont call them the smallest monitors for nothing


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## Kratos (May 2, 2007)

*Any better?*

Are these any better?


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## cris (May 2, 2007)

At a rough guess i would say 2 males and 1 female, maybe 2 females but they could be anything really.


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## Tristis (May 2, 2007)

the lizard on the right looks male with the other two look female.


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## OzGecko (May 2, 2007)

I'd probably go with 2 males and a female. In the second shot the animal in the middle looks to have a narrower head, but this may be due to the angle. If that is the case, they may all be males.


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## Kratos (May 2, 2007)

Is there any way that you can tell for sure? I hope your right tristis, ill be giving the guy a call if its a trio of males


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## richardsc (May 8, 2007)

id say male on the right and females on the left,but from my understanding they r hard to sex,but males apparently will be bigger headed,there r a couple of good breeding articles in herpetofauna and monitor magazine,herpetofauna volume 29 number 2 and monitor vol 15 number 1,hope that helps,if they r ok together im sure they will show u what sex they r if the breed for u,good luck with those little beasties,keep us posted on there progress


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## fishead (May 8, 2007)

Hey Kratos, you lucky bugger! 
I loved those brevi's on display at the expo. 
Do you want to swap some bubs for some amyae?


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## Kratos (May 9, 2007)

Hey mate, there awsome ay. For sure id swap a bub for some Amyae, but i got to get them breeding 1st. Anyways ill keep you posted and hopefully we can do some business. By the way what did you have in mind as a swap Im still after some girls.


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## fishead (May 9, 2007)

hey mate, I don't have any spare amyae girls sorry. I was thinking some of this coming season's hatchies to swap. I guess we can sort that when the time comes. 
Did you end up getting that girl Sarah auctioned?
I don't have any experience with brevicauda but if they are anything like my accies I'd say you have a male and two females. Purely by head size and overall size. Have you had a close look for any spurs? Run your finger over the spurs too.


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## Kratos (May 9, 2007)

Nah Saz found another way to get the money and withdrew the sale. Do both males and females have spurs? I'll have to wait till tomorrow but ill check them out


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## BIGBLUE (May 18, 2007)

*Brevis*

Hi Jason,

I got a trio yesterday myself they are Stunning, the male has a larger head than the two females i have.


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## grimbeny (May 18, 2007)

Got any pics Bigblue?


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## BIGBLUE (May 18, 2007)

Not yet as I work 12 hour days, BUT when i can i will take a few pics


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## Southside Morelia (May 18, 2007)

It looks like you have 1 Male & 2 Female.
Awesome little guys, are you going to have them on display?
I'd be interested in hatchies if they go next season.


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## BIGBLUE (May 18, 2007)

Not sure what you mean about having them on Display?, if they breed i will sell some


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## Kratos (May 18, 2007)

What do you mean have them on display?


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## gillsy (May 19, 2007)

Pity you weren't at mac herps tonight,

big talk on gneral pygmy monitors including V B.


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## Kratos (May 19, 2007)

Damn, Did they say much about them?


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## Aslan (May 19, 2007)

Troy has a great selection of Monitors - gave good overall for all pygmys.

Said that Brevicauda usually live over 1m below ground and don't eve start waking up until it hits about 35'c but prefer somewhere around 45'c as ambient...also reckons they have the attitude and personality of the larger monitors just in a much smaller package.

What really surprised me was that he said he feeds his Brevis adult woodies and they eat them no problem, said they just smash them apart...


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## geckodan (May 19, 2007)

Kratos said:


> Is there any way that you can tell for sure? I hope your right tristis, ill be giving the guy a call if its a trio of males



Get them xray sexed. Save all the stuffing around.


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## Kratos (May 19, 2007)

Good idea geckodan, Anyone know a good vet in the liverpool/Sydney area?


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## Aslan (May 19, 2007)

You could always head over to the new Avian & Exotic Pet Hospital at Camden - apparently the facilities are fantastic...

...what sort of price is an xray?


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## Kratos (May 19, 2007)

Have you got a Phone No. Aslan?


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## beesagtig (May 19, 2007)

aww they soo cool
JEALOUS


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## geckodan (May 19, 2007)

For those that don't know what you are looking for on xray its the small bones about 10-20% of tail length down from the cloaca. These are only in males. ANY CLINIC CAN DO THIS TYPE OF XRAY (its not particularly challenging)


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## fleshmetal88 (May 19, 2007)

these guys are fantastic. coolest little monitors around and they're the funniest little buggers to feed. love them!!!


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## Aslan (May 19, 2007)

*Kratos* - Let me dig around, I had a few brochures but not sure where they've gone...

...4655 0777 - I think that should be the correct number. It is the University of Sydney Avian and Small Animal Hospital...


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## NCHERPS (May 19, 2007)

Kratos said:


> Good idea geckodan, Anyone know a good vet in the liverpool/Sydney area?



Take them to David Vella at the Nothshore animal Hospital, Crows Nest. Tel :9572 6854

I am sure he will be able to help you.

Neil


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## Aslan (May 19, 2007)

*Geckodan* - Thanks for that pic too, don't think I have ever actually seen an x-ray of the bones before...very interesting...


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## BIGBLUE (May 20, 2007)

Yes that was good of Danny to post that x-ray pic, your right very interesting


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## Kratos (May 20, 2007)

Thanks Dan, that could come in handy. Ive found a vet that will do it but does $25 per animal sound right? Also thanks for all your help

Cheers,

Jason


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## geckodan (May 20, 2007)

Kratos said:


> Thanks Dan, that could come in handy. Ive found a vet that will do it but does $25 per animal sound right? Also thanks for all your help
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> Jason


dirt cheap. If you have a scanner, put your xrays on with the lid up and a light shining above . Send them by email if you have any queries otherwise post them anyway


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## Aslan (May 21, 2007)

$25 per animal sounds like a great price...particularly for something such as Brevi's which are hardly getting around in abundance...


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## Kratos (Jun 4, 2007)

Got the x-rays done today and they all turned out to be girls. Dont have pics yet they said they will send them next week. So does anyone know someone with a spare male they wouldnt mind selling?

cheers,

Jason


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## BIGBLUE (Jun 4, 2007)

Jason you can always send your three females up to me, I am sure my boy can take care of five ladies, LOL


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## Kratos (Jun 4, 2007)

I knew you would say somethin like that lol, but i dont think so


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## BIGBLUE (Jun 4, 2007)

just joking mate, hehe


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## fishead (Jun 6, 2007)

Thanks for that pic Danny. The bones are pretty hard to see hey. I wonder if they would be very visible in something as small as a brevi?
I got the five little brevis from your mate up there last weekend. Thanks for putting me onto that one. I love the little guys. They strut around with their back arched up like a knobby when they grab a cricket!


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## Aslan (Jun 7, 2007)

*Fishead *- That is a great looking setup - what sort of temps do those small globes put out?


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## fishead (Jun 7, 2007)

Hey Aslan, the beauty of that light setup is that you can lower the globes until you get your prefered basking spot temp. I've got it 50 degrees on the hot spot. They are only 20 watt 12 volt dichroics and the tranformer is exterior to the enclosure so they don't bump up the ambient too much.
I thought having the smaller compartments inside the 4x2x2 enclosure would give a better gradient, be more stable and hold the humidity in the substrate better. Seems to be working well.


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## BIGBLUE (Jun 8, 2007)

That does look like a good setup


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## Tristis (Jun 19, 2007)

anyone expecting babys soon, pm me if you are.


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## varanophile (Jun 28, 2007)

Hi all,

Here a few pics of my little guys. with out a doubt my favorite reptiles. the first is of male of the central australian from. the next is a female central australian. finally a hatchling from last season- the egg is aout as big as a five cent piece. i also have some western australian brevis- will post the pics when i have time to resize them- they are more red than the central australian form. as far as sexing goes i dont think there is any reliable method other than educated guesswork. males do seem to have larger heads and much thicker necks. would be very interested to hear if xraying works but i think they might be too small.


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## Toad (Jun 28, 2007)

Great Set up Fishead.

Here is a few pics of my guys. First 4 pics are of some juvies and the other is the br pr.


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## Kratos (Jun 28, 2007)

Nice animals everyone, Wouldnt have a spare male would you Toad?
I Like your enclosures Fishhead, do you house them all seperately?


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## BIGBLUE (Jun 28, 2007)

I will go along with that, my male does have a bigger head and thicker neck than his two females, nice pics.


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## fishead (Jun 28, 2007)

Hey Varanophile and Toad, thanks for posting those pics guys. Very nice. There's just something about these little critters isn't there. Looking forward to seeing the WAs Varanophile.
Yes Kratos mine are in separate 1' x 2' compartments. Except for the two smallest which are only about a month old now. They're in together - they're a few months younger than the other three. Can't believe how fast these things grow!!!! 
There's a pic of a brevi in a thread in Pilbara's forum that looks very similar to yours varanophile. ie red strip down the middle of the back. Is that typical of the central NT form or do the WAs have it too?


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## Toad (Jun 29, 2007)

Fishead you are correct they do have something about them.

Very nice Varanophile, nice to see a different colour form. 

My guys are WA sandfires if this answers your question Fishead with regards to the strip.

Kratos I may have. Why do you need one?


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## geckodan (Jun 29, 2007)

fishead said:


> Thanks for that pic Danny. The bones are pretty hard to see hey. I wonder if they would be very visible in something as small as a brevi?
> I got the five little brevis from your mate up there last weekend. Thanks for putting me onto that one. I love the little guys. They strut around with their back arched up like a knobby when they grab a cricket!



They are easily visible in small gillens so I can't see why they won't be visible. POst me the xrays if you want a second opinion.


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## varanophile (Jun 29, 2007)

hi fishhead,

the pics on the pilbara forum are ones i posted earlier the westerns have a fairly similar pattern, although mine are a little larger and as i said a bit more red than orange. 

will post pics soon.


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## Kratos (Jun 29, 2007)

Toad said:


> Fishead you are correct they do have something about them.
> 
> Very nice Varanophile, nice to see a different colour form.
> 
> ...



Yes it seems i ended up with 3 girls


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