Hi Neal, This practice was learned by many others and I, a long time ago, with many species of lizards. For instance, if you are looking for local populations of Chuchwallas, you do not have to find the actual lizards. You look for piles of dung on top rocks. Find the pile, you found the chucks.

Then I noticed that when it rained(we use to have that you know) My tristis that were outside, were compelled to remark their spots. They did a kind of hula, an exaggerated wiggle, while rubbing the rear on their favorite areas. Not their whole range, just individual parts within the range. The books say, they make their range, yet I only see them marking their spots.

Then I learned if you set up their cage right, they did the same indoors. IF you misted or sprayed down the cage, they immediately came out and remarked their favorite spots. I use to show this to visitor, like RSG and JEFE.

Take ackies, in poor indoor cages, they have no fecal dropping pattern. Yet outdoors in large cages they did. They would emerge, bask, walk about a meter, then deficate, doing the oddest of behavoirs. They dropped their pellet, lifted the back legs up in the air, and rubbed their butt like a dog does on grass. And Both sexes did this, everytime.

The nubbedtailed group of monitors, deficate on their favorite basking spot. While some beginers like one biologist think its a bad thing, leaving these piles is natural and promotes continued natural behavior, for "the biologist" this is what these species are. They are their behavior. They are not washed boards. If the biologist, ever really becomes a biologist, you will realized that a species is its behavior, then its followed by physical adaption.

Keepers must understand, these animals do these things, if your don't do these things, then your not providing the conditions to allow your charges to be normal.

In captivity, these reflections of their behavior are tools to make decisions with. For instance, you have V.caudolineatus. They have tiny little babies. When they hatch, they hide all the time. I imagine, they are too little to face the stresses of the outside world. So, how do you tell if they are doing well? do you tear up their cage to see if they are doing well? or do you use signs like these pellet piles. If they do this, you know several things. You know they are feeding, you know how much they are eating, you know they are basking, and you know they are being normal. All without messing with the cage and messing with their natural behavior. Too bad the biologist does not understand this biology.

Which makes me wonder, doesn't the term biologist mean, the person using that label should understand biology?

This subject could be a great topic of conversation and discussion. Most field biologist and scientists, believe and say, wild monitors are "different" then captives. I believe this is a reason they look down on keepers. Of course, I do not believe that. Take Daniel Bennett, I use him, because he is of that belief, yet, made an effort to change those thoughts. His term is, monitors in boxes. Yet, he came here and sat and stared at monitors exhibiting natural unseen behaviors, not known in nature. Behaviors in the social areas, both with opposite sexes, pairing, attending, etc. and with males, pack hunting etc, positioning. Eye contact and body positioning. Whats funny is, some academics know of these, but only understand the yelling. I guess thats why yell here. They only understand two monitors fighting, they do not understand 99% of varanid language that occurs before and around that yelling. Heck, they even misinterpid fighting. They call it unsocial, yet biologist know and teach that social animals fight. How odd.

I hope you(Neal) are starting to understand why I question those biologist that come and talk like their experts, when they do not understand the subject.

By the way, hows the caudos doing. If you have an extra male, I have a female that I have been breeding to a gilleni, only because I do not have a male. We could share pure caudo babies. Thanks

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