Perentie Renovations

27 June 2008

If you travel to the Zoo in the future you may like to check out our famous Perenties; Pete, Penny and Two Spots. They are feeling great this winter with some new furnishings in their home.

Our talented ‘Mock Rockers’ have just finished building them some great heated basking rocks. There is one on the western side of the enclosure that helps shield them from the weather as it is a flat rock with an over hang, and this is Penny’s favorite spot. There is also one at the very front of the viewing area. In the winter they would usually bury themselves under rocks to maintain a steady body temperature but these heated rocks allow them to be visible and stay in the preferred spots even on colder days. Pete is lucky enough to have two girls in his enclosure so the addition of more areas to bask allows the ladies a little more space from each other if they need it.

Perenties are the largest lizard in Australia. They are part of the ‘Monitor’ or ‘Varanid’ family also colloquially called ‘goannas’. These champs are found in the centre of Australia from the Southern Queensland – Northern Territory border, right through to the Western Australian coast. They prefer warm, dry terrain and chase down just about anything that moves in the desert. A fully grown male perentie can reach lengths over two meters, making them a very formidable predator.

Like other large monitor lizards they also eat carrion, which means they scavenge. They have learnt that roads are a good place to find food. Unfortunately many of these guys are killed every day on our roads as they come down to grab an easy feed. If you are travelling in central Australia, help perenties out by slowing down around animals and wildlife road victims giving them enough time to reach the other side safely. 

Fatty the water monitor

13 June 2008

This is ‘Fatty’ or ‘Fats’ one of our adult male Merten’s Water Monitors. He has been with us here at the Zoo for a long time and at the moment enjoys hot sunny days with our Cunningham Skinks in an off display lizard pit. He has been living with skinks for quite a long time now and some would say he thinks he is one.

Monitors or goannas belong to a family called ‘Varanids’. These guys are predominantly carnivores meaning they catch and eat other animals or scavenge on carrion. Skinks are actually part of a wild monitor’s diet but these little guys have nothing to worry about. Our mate Fatty here is often seen eating the mix of greens, vegetables and fruit offered to our skinks. I think it is a case of ‘monkey see, monkey do’.

The Cunningham skinks and blue-tongues love it so why shouldn’t a water monitor? The vegetable mix does Fatty no harm and he still goes crazy for a tasty rat or mouse, so this makes him a very well rounded, healthy monitor. The skinks love Fatty too, using him as a basking rock on warm days.

Fatty’s mate Mr. Mert, is on display in our Kimberly pit enclosure but be sure to look out for Fatty and his skink mates!