Reptile & Amphibian Forums

We are on the eastern side of Afghanistan and we have a pair of neighbors livng under our one tent. These pics were taken by our one sergeant who live sin the tent. I'll take some close ups this week. They will tolerate people within about 15 feet.

Way cooler then seeing Uromastyx aegypticus in Kuwait!

>>We are on the eastern side of Afghanistan and we have a pair of neighbors livng under our one tent. These pics were taken by our one sergeant who live sin the tent. I'll take some close ups this week. They will tolerate people within about 15 feet.
>>
>>Way cooler then seeing Uromastyx aegypticus in Kuwait!
>>
Yes, it is defintely Varanus griseus caspius, evident from the laterally compressed tail. Very nice pictures. Thank you for sharing them.
Cheers,
Michael

Those are very cool pictures. Normally that lizard will nots tay around people. I was sure they would be bengalensis but it does look like a very fat caspius. Are you feeding them or are they just fattening up for the winter?
-----
Mampam Conservation

Nice photos!

Question? When they flee do they run a short distance then turn around and slowly come back, or do they run like headless chickens never to be seen again?

Some species only sprint a few meters while keeping an eye on the observer, others will disappear and hide.

Just curious

Great pictures!

Keep safe and thanks for all you are doing over there.

The Bengal should be several hundred miles from my location as I've read where they are in the Kabul River Valley area only. From what we ahve seen they stay failry close to their under tent lair where they scratch alot at night.

They will creep toards their lair when appraoched too clsoe but with over a thousand people here I think they are used to a decent amount of traffic.

No one here is feeding them but their are tons of birds and rodents around.

Other then these guys its mostly high altitude skinks and toad headed agamas and various small lizards I have seen. And a common krait and saw scaled viper.

Well I am off to go see if they are out. They sun themselves for several hours in the morning.

Very interesting observations! I see they are no different in behaviour then others species like varius, bengalensis, salvator and niloticus with live near human settlements, according to our friend (mampam) who described them as being a specie that has a profound dislike for humans, I guess we can say this population seems very tolerant of humans.

You say your at altitude? If its possible id like to know the NTL and DTH temperatures in your area, also if your lucky enough to see them feed, it be interesting to know if they feed more on lizards and snakes then rodent or birds.

Many thanks and be safe

Keep shooting!! The camera that is!

It would be very interesting to know if the tent was put on top of the lizards' burrow or if they burrow under the tent. It would be really great if you could collect the feces (stored in any alcohol) I don't think there is anything known about the ecology of caspius outside the former ussr. Are you expecting very cold weather in the next couple of months?
-----
Mampam Conservation

you need better pics in order to achieve a positive ID, as it appears to be a bengal, to me. Cheers

If the whole animal had shed the way the tail has it would look a lot more like griseus. The head does look like bengalensis now you mention it....
-----
Mampam Conservation

This is not bengalensis, this is a female caspius no dough.

I bet my shorts on this.

It sits like a bengal, its nose is shaped like a bengal, and it did not run off, much like a bengal. I know its only a few of many conditions that need to be meant for a positive ID. But you know the old saying, looks like, feels like, smells like, hmmmmmm tastes like, it must be __________(you can fill in the blanks.

Besides, I am not sure I would like to see you lose your shorts, hahahahahahahaha Cheers

Ok sexy!
I may not have those muscular legs of yours but my wife keeps bragging on how my but feels rock solid. Ups too much information for you? Lol

It’s true it has the posture looks and behaviour of bengalensis, but when I photoshoped those pics it looks caspius, this make it very interesting. Hopefully our new friend will be able to show us more photos.

rgds

I agree with FR it looks like bengalensis but a close up pic would be useful.

I am working on more shots. I have only been around lately when its head was out only.

To answer some questions:

You can't even mail out rocks or anything so fecal samples is a no-go.

There are several other pairs on the FOB. Under buildings etc. my thoughtsis we actually added habitat for them and also with people comes more rodents and birds so more food for them.

Elevation is 3,500'. Currently highs are in the eighties with night temps still up around 60 plus. It rarely snows in this part as we are surrunded by mountains on all sides. Humidity is fairly high, for this country in general, as well.

The smaller is more bold and you can get a bit closer to him or her. I havent seen many lizards here, mostly small mammals. I am thinkingthe human traffic scares the rodents etc off less. Plus evryone here is paranoid of venemous snakes.

What type of soil do they have access to? Mostly rocky, mixed sand lime stone, gravel, mostly sand. Do they live near a water source? Lake, river, stream, man made canal?

A photo of habitat and burrow would be nice if possible.

Thanks!

Or atleast the pictures look nothing like the ones I have or have seen. By pattern and body structure I would lean to the pictures appearing more bengalensis.

Look forward to seeing more pictures. Thanks for sharing your observations and keep us posted.

It is living under the plywood flooring of the tent. No bodies of water nearby. There are numerous decidious trees and alot of leaf litter in the area. The soil is mostly dirt with occasional gravel - very hard and stable when dry. They also like to shelter in the concrete bunkers and some live under the wooden structures here.

Your observations are significant as nothing is known about this specie, a few close up photos would be nice. If you can send higher resolution photo privately to Mampam and alow him copy rights, I am sure these will not go to waste.

Good documentation on this specie is hard to obtain, Thanks for sharing.

rgds

I have some questions. How big do the largest specimens of bengalensis get? In Dr. Sprackland's book, he says they can get up to 6' and weigh 30 lbs. In Daniel Bennett's book, it sounds like they don't get quite that big. Does anybody know of any zoos in the U.S that might have some nice bengalensis subspecies on display? Hopefully someday I'll get to see one. The number of monitor species that I have never seen before is embarassingly (Sp?) large. To complicate matters, with more zoos getting Komodos, I suspect that other large species of monitors will become less frequent in zoos.

Many sources state that Varanus bengalensis attains a length of 2m., which I believe is based on Mertens' description that states 'probably to 2m.' Mertens was not certain about it, but since he wrote the accepted and definitive description of all Varanus species (1942), it is widely published without 'probably' (misinterpretation of the German text?).

Many other sources based on measurement state 175cm TL. This is closer to its real maximum length, but would be a huge bengalensis (record length?).

Cheers,
Michael

I'm sure they can reach 30 lbs if you keep them badly enough! They can store massive amounts of fat and I once say one that was almost as wide as it was long There are reports of very large Bengal monitors in Bangladesh and Burma but I doubt they ever get much more than 2m long and in most places they all always much smaller
-----
Mampam Conservation

Hi Daniel Bennett. I very much enjoyed your show on the Gray's Monitor. Is there any positive news to report on the Butaan's conservation in the Philippines? I'm almost afraid to ask knowing how the environmental situation in that country is. Thanks.

Here are some pics that I took today. I emailed mampam higher resolution pics.

2 more.

>>2 more.
>>
Rather uncharacteristic tail banding, but the close ups show it is Varanus bengalensis bengalensis, 100% sure this time. My first call on the far away shot was wrong.
Cheers,
Michael

There is also an 18" fella running around from what others have witnessed as well as one adult. Alot of the older buildings (2-4 years old) are wooden and off of the ground 6-24". Newer ones are on the ground with a concrete foundation (less shelter, etc.).

I have taken pics of their burrows plus holes dug by a 24" one looking for food as descibed to me by the guy living inthe tnet who witnessed it. This 2 footer lives under a different tent about 20 meters from the adult pair. So far about 6 different individuals are known.

With no feral dogs or cats on the base, these guys are the top of the food chain here.

Very cool,and taking the time!
seems like a social colony living together...

Yes I would say bengalensis and I thought so from the first pics as well although now these are confirmation. So does this mean there a more sub-species to be added to the complex, my assumption is possibly yes.

I wouldn't say social colony since none are ever seen together except for the pair but I'd say that the buildings and biomass density allow far closer coexistence then the natural habitat therefore higher densities are able to coexist? In other words, the grass is greener on this side of the concertina.

I might check certain orchards more though landmines are still found in some. Also if I hear of any corpses found, I'll try to take good pics and on items that might make this species more identifiable.

I haven'theard any accounts of any in trees but the smaller ones especially climb the varying baricades, etc alot. Some might raid birds nests?

There are a bunch of birds to include small passerines, house crows, common mynas and various doves and pigeon species.

Bird highlight so far over here:

various raptors up close and a ..... hoopoe!

I think I'll put my observations together in a paper of some type or at least in a form different then just forum entries.

Under the tent floor noises would dictate a roughly 10' deep by 20' wide living area.

pics of habitat/burrow

Here is a pic of the diggings of a 24" monitor about 20 meters from the adult pair. I'm taken suggestions to name the pair.

Hi Romad119. Since you've seen some interesting birds where you are have you seen any of the Ground-choughs of the genus Podoces? If any of the species are there it would be either the Pander's or the Pleske's. I'm a big fan of the "true" corvids and I'm just curious. These birds are far more likely to skittle quickly away to the next bush as opposed to flying away, much like a Greater Roadrunner. Stay safe first though!!! Thanks.

No ground choughs yet. I'm having trouble looking for an appropriate bird book. Seems the 'stan is between the middle east books and the asia books.

If anyone else wnats a copy of the climate survey for this exact area let me know. I can email it. It contains all the temp and humidity data for an entire calendar year.

Alos, I am compiling information on my observatitions and am open to suggestions of format and information that would prove most useful to reserachers. I am pondering setting up video.

Also I will be talking to local contacts to try to find out relevant info for the rest of the Khowst 'bowl' outside the wire.