gillen's monitor (pygmy mulga monitor)

[Kaaza]

Hi all just been out to snakes down under today which is a reptile park in childers its great anyway they had some pygmy mulga monitors there and there awsome just wanted to know if any one on the site has any and can tell me a bit about them......... and if anyone on the site breeds them or know of any one that would be great and just any info on them would be great ect.


thanks heaps in advance

 

[Aslan]

Kaaza - What information are you looking for?

They are a great little monitor, one of my favourite captives. They are full of energy and are extremely agile, swinging and jumping around their enclosure.

You keep them the same as any other small Monitor, very hot with plenty of space to run around. They love to climb and make use of every available piece of space in an enclosure. Keeping them in groups works well and they seem to interact to some degree.

I feed mine primarily on Woodies, with the occasional pink mouse thrown in.

Whilst they remain skittish like most small Monitors I have not known mine to bite. I have recently placed my remaining two within a (roughly) 3x2x2 vertical enclosure with a rock background, whilst I am not 100% happy with the temperature setup yet I am tweaking it and it seems to be working quite well...

I find them to be a great display animal as they are active and quite bold.

Any specific questions, let us know..

 

[Kaaza]

Thanks Aslan....what temps do they like and how big do they grow do you handle yours alot? and do you know of any breeders?

 

[cris]

The basking site should be over 50C, they get a bit over a foot long.

 

[southwazza]

does anyone have any pics of them and possibly set ups?

 

[Kaaza]

any breeders on this site

 

[Kaaza]

or know of any..........................????????????????

 

[gex_gecko]

gillens monitor

hi im shaun here is some info on the pygmy mulga monitor (gillens monitor)

Pygmy Mulga Monitors are goannas that live in central and central-western Australia. They are found in under bark, in cracks and hollows in trees like mulga in desert areas.
Pygmy Mulga Monitors are goannas that live in central and central-western Australia. They are found in under bark, in cracks and hollows in trees like mulga in desert areas.
Pygmy Mulga Monitors eat insects and small lizards.
Pygmy Mulga Monitors flick their tongue to taste the air to find their food. They also use their senses of smell and sight.
To catch and eat their food Pygmy Mulga Monitors chase prey and catch it in their toothed jaws. Small prey is swallowed whole. They use their front teeth and claws to break apart large prey. The food is then swallowed.
Other monitors and birds of prey, such as eagles, eat Pygmy Mulga Monitors.
Pygmy Mulga Monitors walk and climb on all four legs.
They lay about three to seven eggs each breeding season. Young Pygmy Mulga Monitors look after themselves.
Pygmy Mulga Monitors like all other goannas and monitor lizards have a forked tongue that they flick in and out to 'taste' the air when searching for food.

they can cost anywhere between $100-$400 you need a basic liscense and somewhere between a 2-3 foot tank

 

[richardsc]

theres a few breeders of them,i have 3 eggs due to hatch any day now,but will be holding on to this clutch me thinks,kazza try gecko dan off this site,he breeds them and is in your area,and for cage ideas look at his website and his cages,he uses arboreal type set ups i believe,i prefer using 4 foot aquariums,easier to set up the temp gradients and hot basking area for me here in melb,also they can grow to 45 cm in length,they dont like being held,they actually are one of the hardest monitors to restrain,they wiggle and twist to get out of your grip,and being so small you cant hold them to tight for fear of hurting them,there cool little monitors though

 

[stitches]

Pygmy Mulga Monitors

I have not had Pygmy Mulga Monitors before so I need a few questions answered.
I have an enclosure 4 by 2 by 2 feet. I would like to know how many Pygmy Mulga Monitors it would comfortably house?. If I bred them is there a decent market for them, or can I have more than 1 female together?.
Thanks

 

[TWENTY B]

more than 1 female is fine... you could probably keep 3-4 in a 4x2x2

monitors are awsom, you will hard struck finding a more interesting pet.
although they aren't real keen on handeling, just watching them "do what they do" is mesmerising.
they never fail to put a smile on my face..
do yourself a favoure, get some..............

 

[zeppelin]

Hey I have had a bit of luck breeding these little guys over the last 2 years, I was also like you after the first time I seen them up close and personal, I just had to have some, I have found that with mine that they don't mind being together (all bar 1 female she hate other females)and some times do look like they are chasing each other, but that is probably a dominance thing, and a couple of last years males that I held back always fight over woodies.
I keep some in a 4ft fish tank and some in a 1200mm x 600 x 600 malimine and glass front enclosure, with a 75 watt spott light over a multi level slate tower for basking, the top level gets over 50 degrees and they love laying directly on that, I also have a heat matt under a peace of slate on the floor, all my heating is at one end of the enclosure so there is a cooler area for them to retreat to if wanted.
I have a couple of eggs that are due in a week or so and they dont have homes to go to at present

 

[stitches]

stitches

just to let you know I'm interested and have sent a private message