4 Heath or Rosenberg's Monitor at Wamboin, NSW
Identification history
| Varanus rosenbergi | 29 Dec 2018 | GeoffRobertson | ||
| Varanus rosenbergi | 29 Dec 2018 | Varanus |
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User's notes
Taken up residence under a suspended patio, and have been present for a week. Entered for neighbour. Photo: Hans & Connie Bachor.
3 comments
DonFletcher
wrote:
30 Dec 2018
I am green with envy and very curious. They appear large and of similar size. Have there been signs of mating (prone) or of ritual combat (upright)? The presence of the still brightly coloured juvenile last October on the deck suggests there may be a Nasutitermes termite mound close by, which would be unusual close to a house. Or much less likely, have they adapted to housing to the extent of digging the nest under the house instead of in a termite mound???
Varanus
wrote:
1 Jan 2019
Don - They went AWOL for a short time but are back again under the patio. They have been seen chasing near the house, but no signs of aggressive behaviour. We will continue to monitor (pun intended) the animals. There are many termite mounds in our district, some located near houses. They are obviously breeding locally as animals of all age classes are noted reasonably frequently. I do have some longer term concerns for the animals. Some are killed on roads, but I have heard on a few occasions that some residents are poisoning mounds, even at some distance from residences. They appear to be paranoid about termites. Mounds on my place and the neighbours are often found disturbed, primarily by echidnas, but given the young animals being sighted, Some of the excavations over summer may be the Rosenberg's, as the excavations are deep and wide.
DonFletcher
wrote:
1 Jan 2019
Thanks Varanus. So far we have learned that monitors leave four types of marks, all distinct from echidna digs. 1 Hatchling exit holes in spring are steep, deep, narrow 'boreholes' 1-3 cm dia. 2 Egg laying excavations around February start high on the side of the mound. They may be partly backfilled and blocked by termites so appearance varies but think of a tunnel 8-10cm square that gets steeper with depth (until it reaches the nest chamber but that will hopefully be too deep for you to see, unless something goes wrong). 3 Squidge marks are 'sine curves' made in soft dirt with the tail and cloacal region, and often are made beside or on termite mounds. 4 Light scratching over the mound surface which may be subtly different from scratching by kangaroos.
Location information
- Places Wamboin, NSW
Sighting information
- At least 1 Abundance
- Varanus Recorded by
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Collections
Illilanga flagged sightings Featured Varanus Canberra & Southern Tablelands NatureMapr Varanus rosenbergi Monitors & Geckos Reptiles and Frogs
Additional information
- Breeding behaviour Breeding behaviour
- Mixed Gender
Species information
- Varanus rosenbergi Scientific name
- Heath or Rosenberg's Monitor Common name
- Sensitive
- Very rare / threatened
- Non-invasive or negligible
- Up to 1432.1m Recorded at altitude
- External link More information
Record quality
- Images or audio
- More than one media file
- Verified by an expert moderator
- Nearby sighting(s) of same species
- GPS evidence of location
- Description
- Additional attributes