The eggs in the first container began to hatch at 84 days,
and after three days, all six eggs had hatched. The second
container showed no response, so after four days, I
decided to slit several eggs; this resulted in a hatch rate of
11 out of 12.
All hatchlings were left in their containers in the incuba-
tor for a minimum of three days after birth to allow the
remainder of yolk to be absorbed in a clean and humid
environment before being transferred to their enclosure.
This was furnished with a five-layer Retes stack, with
fine washed sand as
substrate and a 50W
halogen globe to
provide heat.
After two weeks it
became apparent that
several of the hatch-
lings would still not exhibit a food response. Various
attempts were made to feed them, but although initial
results appeared promising, these were ultimately unsuc-
cessful. I have since come to the conclusion that slitting
monitor eggs is not beneficial to the hatchlings and may
result in higher mortality rates.
All following clutches have been incubated in specific
reptile incubation tubs using the ‘over water’ method,
however hydrated water crystals are used in the base of
the incubation tray instead of simply water alone. The
hatch rate using this method has been near 100% with
none of the previous issues experienced using perlite.
This is now the only incubation technique I use for V.
glauerti.The next generation.
As the first hatchlings matured it was evident that there
was a variation in colour that has since proven to hold
true for subsequent clutches. A higher proportion of the
progeny tend to exhibit the rusty red bands and black and
grey colouration of the adult female. However, a small
number display the same
lime green across the lower
body as the original male.
These animals have been
held back to determine if it
is possible to refine this
trait. Unfortunately, the
locality of the original pair
is unknown, making it impossible to back track and
confirm whether the colour variation is evident in a
single local population. This is possibly something that
could be researched in the future.At around two months old, juveniles were separated into
smaller groups in enclosures measuring 90cm in length
and 65cm wide. Again, these were fitted with the UVME
metal halide kit as a primary source of heat and light.
Slate tiles were used to create the Retes stacks; loose
bark sheets were stacked for vertical perches, and the
substrate consisted of a mixture of fine coir peat, sand‘A colour variation was evident in progeny, with asmall number displaying the same LIME GREENMARKINGS as the original male.’and leaf litter. This new arrangement also coincided
with a move to our new reptile room. It was starting
to cool down for winter at the time and the new
room, while being well insulated, did not have
enough enclosures running to build up ambient
temperature sufficiently, so I chose to run the lights
on a 24-hour cycle for the next few months.During this time the young Kimberley Rock
Monitors grew rapidly, and at one year of age they
were transferred in their respective groups to much
larger enclosures. These contain multiple hollow
logs, with bark covering three walls to permit
additional use of vertical space and large Retes
stacks built in an offset fashion. This is something I
have been experimenting with; the levels are
stacked with only a single spacer or riser on one
side, in such a way that the tiles lay on an angle.
The animals therefore have the opportunity to find a
tight spot at any height. Substrate is a mix of sand
and coir peat, lighting and heating is once again2 x qtr page adsBelow left and right: Purpose-designed enclosures
for Kimberley Rock Monitors. Note the bark and
fake rock covering walls, and the angled branches
to facilitate optimum use of vertical space. The Re-
tes stack is built by an offset method to provide tight
crawl spaces at any height. Images by Rob
Grabowski.