The Perentie

[crocdoc]

see i live where they have things called trees grass, forests,scrub , the bush . no concrete jungle here .

The Bush? I looked for this place called 'the bush' in my atlas and on Google Earth, but nothing came up. Tell us more! We city folk are dying to hear more about this place called 'the bush'! Are there, like, flies and stuff there, too? ewwww.

(don't take offence, I'm just joking around)

Just to put things into perspective, how long would you reckon this monitor is?

 

[Mudimans]

I reckon that monitor would be around ....................................HUGE

 

[serpenttongue]

Just to put things into perspective, how long would you reckon this monitor is?

I'll take a guess and say 2.5m.

 

[kupper]

that monitor is capable of taking little asians out of trees .........woops too late

 

[Daryl_H]

wow is all i can say

 

[crocdoc]

It was 2.25 metres.

 

[Boney]

the komodo pictured looks like it is about 1.5 metres and about 10 kgs so smaller then my lacies :lol:

serious at a guess i would say more like 2.6 metres and about 91 kgs ? am i close? also i dont think they will take people out of trees at that size ... say they stop climbing trees at about 20 kgs is there any truth to that ?

 

[Boney]

o.k i was a bit off on length what about weight? and yeh bush is out of a job you will have to talk to obamah

 

[crocdoc]

around 40-45kg

The dragon in the news didn't take anyone out of a tree - the guy fell out. They come running whenever something drops to the ground, much like a lace monitor in a picnic ground. Not surprised the guy got bitten.

 

[Boney]

40-45 KG that all ? thought a 2.25 animal that was female would weigh 60kg+ . at 2.5 females are about 75 kgs.. a males average adult weight is about 90 kg . and it makes it easier to guess lengths if you put the whole animal in the pic . maybe i just read to much of the wrong info .... you been there so you would know thanks for all the pics learn alot from you crocdoc...

 

[crocdoc]

At 2.5 metres it'd be a male. Females rarely get over 2m, apparently.

I may have overestimated the weight of the animal in the photo. When Auffenberg did his study on the dragons, he found the average weight of dragons in the 2.25-2.6m range was 47kg. As the animal in the photo is at the lower end of the range and a bit underweight (it was a bit on the bony side), it was probably less than 45kg.

Here are two more shots of the same animal

The absolute largest one we saw was this big boy, who was 2.75m. If any animal we saw was 95kg it would have been him.

 

[bulletproofkid]

Nephew

My nephew is 16 and still doing his research. I have made him work to earn the money himself to prvoe that he truly can look after it and provide the food for it. The enclosure size is not a problem as i am quite handy with the welder and we have plenty of backyard space. How big do you recomend i build the enclosure? I have heard that 3x2x2 is the minimum you can go.

Thanks

 

[crocdoc]

3x2x2 would be small for an adult male perentie.

What area do you live in? You may find that you can't keep perenties outdoors in your area.

Either way, I wouldn't be getting a perentie for a 16 year old, research or no research.

 

[bulletproofkid]

Just to clear the air im not considering buying it for him and leaving him to his own devices. It is going to be a shared reponsibility which is the reason for me joining this website. crocdoc how big do you suggest we build the enclosure? Given space isnt a problem

 

[Dragon1]

What class licence would you need to keep one?
What would you feed it, and how often?

 

[bulletproofkid]

License

In SA it requires the holder of the animal to hold a specialist permit for that particular animal. Suprisingly there is no age restriction until it comes to venomous snakes.

 

[Dragon1]

What about NSW?
Where would you buy one?

(sorry 'bout all the questions)

 

[cheeky_monkey_so]

Wow

God they were huge ive never seen one that size before... Um i have some queations for CROCDOC im doind vet nusring and we have a lace monitor in for care n im struggling to find info on common health issues and particulary curious about wat kind of mites they can contract. I will be full time careing for one so it would be greatly apperciated if you could help me out
Thanks
Sian

 

[cheeky_monkey_so]

That Kamodo is amazing, i was always facinated by them

 

[crocdoc]

Hi Sian,

Monitors don't often get mites. It's rarely an issue in the same way it is with captive snakes.

Have you asked permission to use that photo as your avatar?