Anubis the Argus Monitor

[chams1]

Just thought I'd share some cute pics I got the other day of Anubis, my Argus Monitor that I have had since she was 6 weeks old. She is just turning 1 yr. old, is already a whopping 30 inches long and is a powerful little s.o.b. She loves getting her weekly baths (she has a large water container in her cage but she is too big now to put her entire body in it) and she loves to soak and swim for as long as I will let her. Enjoy the pics.

This first pic is when she was just 12 weeks old.
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Pics at 1 yr. old:
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She is so spoiled!!
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[codiwatkins]

WOW she is BIG!!! very cool!

 

[Julirs]

How is her temperament?

 

[chams1]

How is her temperament?

Well, let's just say that she's not as docile as the last pics make her out to be. I have to be extremely tough with her and not give her any wiggle room (no punn intended) b/c she is incredibly strong. I purposely got her when she was young so I could work with her. I tried to handle her as often as I could (although when you're working a full-time job, trying to run a business and also taking care of a bunch of chams and geckos (oh, and have a family, too).... you get the idea) but this species is naturally that way. Argus' are a very curious and a very busy species, they love to burrow....and they LOVE to eat. This is a species that has a relatively high metabolism so they will most likely not get as fat as some that you may see, such as savannahs that can get fat if you let them. Of course, these guys need lots of room b/c they are very active (her "cage" is a custom-built wall-sized enclosure that's about 6.5 feet tall). They are the only monitor (there are a couple lesser known species that are pretty rare and not in the pet trade that do this, too) that will use its powerful tail as a 3rd hind leg and will "tripod" to check things out, to see over tall grasses, etc. It's awesome watching her do this.

In the mornings, when she comes out of her den, she lays by the plexi-glass doors of her cage and presses her chest on the door with her head facing up and just looks at you like "aaahhhh, this is the life!".

 

[jojackson]

Very nice looking goanna. should get quite a bit larger yet?

 

[chams1]

Very nice looking goanna. should get quite a bit larger yet?

Goanna, indeed!! Oh, yes - she will get much bigger. It is usually about 3 years before they are sexually mature. Boys get to be about 5 feet and girls get to be about 3-4 feet long. Yikes.....

 

[jojackson]

Goanna/Monitor Same lizard type, varanidae

Goanna is the name used to refer to any number of Australian monitor lizards of the genus Varanus, as well as to certain species from Southeast Asia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argus_monitor

Good example of the 'stand up'

 

[chams1]

Goanna/Monitor Same lizard type, varanidae

Goanna is the name used to refer to any number of Australian monitor lizards of the genus Varanus, as well as to certain species from Southeast Asia.

Yep, you got it! The breeder I got her from (in the U.S.) has a breeding facility in Southeast Asia, and that's where Anubis was born. I got to see her remaining siblings at Daytona last summer and Anubis was already twice their size! (obviously, it helps that she is getting all the food to herself...)

 

[jojackson]

Yes captive growth almost always exceeds the natural rate. Monitors Rock!