That's really cool, so tiny. Whatever you do don't start feeding him though, I imagine he could become a real pest if you do. A lot of people here have the same trouble when they find a goanna in their yard.
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Post something Weird or Random
- Thread starter IContainMultitudes
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No I don’t feed them ever. At some point I’ll have to chase him out, but not for a couple of years.
Forest Cat, why Cornelius? I’ve never thought of naming them.
I was just thinking, since he lives outside your door he should have a name.
And Cornelius is a good name.
No, it comes from one of the aboriginal languages spoken over on the east coast and became a popular name for them, people from other parts of the country have lots of different names for them depending on what languages they grew up speaking.
They're officially called Monitor Lizards and we have a few different species of them, but Goanna is just easier to say.
When frightened their instinct is to climb the nearest tree. My grandfather showed me the scars up his chest one day and said he had the same scars on his legs as well. When he was a young man he was walking across a freshly plowed field and he startled a goanna, and he was the nearest "tree". It ran straight up him and launched itself off the top of his head and kept running.
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Ah! Innersting, I hadn't heard that. But yeah, Monitor Lizard doesn't quite trip off the tongue exactly!
I do like reptiles. I always liked snakes especially as a kid, but the idea of having one in a glass tank never really appealed. Nowadays I can't even visit a zoo without just feeling depressed about the animals locked up in there.
And those claws! Hmmm, not the sort of creature to pop on your lap!
I do like reptiles. I always liked snakes especially as a kid, but the idea of having one in a glass tank never really appealed. Nowadays I can't even visit a zoo without just feeling depressed about the animals locked up in there.
And those claws! Hmmm, not the sort of creature to pop on your lap!
Here we've got snakes and lizards crawling around the countryside everywhere. It's very common for kids to keep a lizard as a back yard pet, it's still free to roam as it pleases but if they feed it it will hang around and be friendly.
I suspect that's how the story started in that news article I posted, the kids thought he was cool and started feeding him, then if Mum does something stupid like trying to shoo him out with the broom he'll go nuts.
A lot of parents don't mind a big lizard hanging around, it reduces the chance of you having a snake in the yard. Not because they bother each other but simply because they prey on the same food sources. Goannas are considerably bigger than what most people would want hanging around though, much more common are Blue Tongues, smaller and not as capable of as much damage.
I think a lot of retiles have gained an unfairly unwholesome reputation. The Gila Monster in the US has a really bad rep, but apparently you have to work really hard at getting bitten, they're very slow and not aggressive, you just don't shove your hand into unknown holes in the ground! 
We're fairly comfortable with them here, a lesson of limited choice, but at the same time they do need to be respected. The big lizards won't attack a human but they'll certainly defend themselves and they're incredibly strong. You mentioned the claws on one in a picture I posted, they rip the bark off of trees, break up fallen logs and dig through termite mounds to get at food.
I found this interesting news story from a few years back. A French girl here on a working holiday had to wrangle one out of the restaurant she was working in. She did a good job.
'Goanna girl' evicts huge reptile from winery restaurant
No to mention yer grandad's legs and back!
I think some of us townies have lost respect for wildlife through lack of interaction. My ruddy cat can make mincemeat of me if he's so disposed to do so (you don't go within two metre's of him if another cat's nearby, or he attacks anything moving, and boy, has he got some weight, strength and claws behind him. And yet normally he's the most polite, genteel and sweet creature, for a cat!
We're fairly comfortable with them here, a lesson of limited choice, but at the same time they do need to be respected. The big lizards won't attack a human but they'll certainly defend themselves and they're incredibly strong. You mentioned the claws on one in a picture I posted, they rip the bark off of trees, break up fallen logs and dig through termite mounds to get at food.
I found this interesting news story from a few years back. A French girl here on a working holiday had to wrangle one out of the restaurant she was working in. She did a good job.
'Goanna girl' evicts huge reptile from winery restaurant
We have some of those here too, just with a few minor differences. Look at this beast:
If that guy is not careful, it'll rip his hand clean off.
That's the difference between Australia and Norway, our wildlife is much smaller and less venomous.
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Yeah, this is sort of the level in Britain for natural reptiles. We've managed to kill off everything larger, and are working our way down the scale until Britain is nothing but humans, and I can finally take my leave without regrets!We have some of those here too, just with a few minor differences. Look at this beast:
View attachment 137868
If that guy is not careful, it'll rip his hand clean off.
The venomous species in the UK all evolved into politicians and billionaires! (and all the more toxic for it!)
Yeah, this is sort of the level in Britain for natural reptiles. We've managed to kill off everything larger, and are working our way down the scale until Britain is nothing but humans, and I can finally take my leave without regrets!
The venomous species in the UK all evolved into politicians and billionaires! (and all the more toxic for it!)
We do have a lot of these here, not a reptile but when 500 kilos of pure moose walks by you, you feel in awe.
The king of the forest. Magnificent animals. They are not venomous though, as they would be if they lived in Australia. 
We have larger mammals such as deer, though I don't think quite that size.
As for poison, we have UPF foods from supermarkets and our sewers now lead directly into our reservoirs, so we are used to imbibing extremely toxic substances on a daily basis - they say what doesn't kill you makes you stronger?
(Tip: They lied!)
As for poison, we have UPF foods from supermarkets and our sewers now lead directly into our reservoirs, so we are used to imbibing extremely toxic substances on a daily basis - they say what doesn't kill you makes you stronger?
(Tip: They lied!)
We've only got one venomous mammal. Venomous everything else up the wazoo but only one mammal - the Platypus.They are not venomous though, as they would be if they lived in Australia.
