Reptile & Amphibian Forums

This cracked me up... How pampered can you get....

www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4Sz6tvIRhE

yeah, that was FR before the sex change operation - transgendered, I think you call it. He does love his, I mean her monitors.

Tell them how we met. We shared a room and both had sex changes, And I got yours and you got mine, tell them, admit it.

Of all the parts I had to get!!!!!!!!!

I can't believe this stuff has a place here (Monitor forum)!
Yet Natural history discusions get deleted. Go figure!

To stick with the TOS, Mike how are your Kimmies doing?
Do you still have them?
Good luck with them if you do Piason!
Mike

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Mike's Monitors!

Ahh, but it is about "natural history."

FR just pointed out that he got short-changed in his transformation from natural self. Hahahahahaha!!!

Ahh, I'm just tryin' to lighten the mood, not ruffle feathers. And I ain't takin' no sides (yet, at least). Ha! Ha!

In every life we have some trouble
When you worry you make it double
Don't worry, be happy.

Ain't got no cash, ain't got no style
Ain't got not girl to make you smile
But don't worry, be happy.

Cause when you worry
Your face will frown
And that will bring everybody down
So don't worry, be happy.

(Don't Worry, Be Happy - Bobby McFerrin; 1988)

Mike, I know you're not "worryin'" about this, something just made me think of this song.

Ya'll have a good one!
HH
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Due to political correctness run amuck,
this ol' hillbilly is now referred to as an:
Appalachian American

Mikie
Thanks for puttin a smile on my face!
You really are HAPPY and it is contagous!
Mike
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Mike's Monitors!

I know this is a "lite" thread, but those natural history discussions you keep speaking of, are not deleted because of their title, they are deleted because of their intent.

You see, those mostly start as an attack on something I said. If others were to say the very same thing, there would be no attack. They are always against me.

With that in mind, when a person is attacked, they have two natural behavioral directions to go, Fight or flight. So I fight, which only seems natural(and its history) and I actually have results to fight with. So the attackers turn to personal attacks. In the past, I was glad to oblidge them. Hopefully I have outgrown that and have learned to let the results speak for themselves.

You must understand this Mike, I may have a poor understanding of monitors, but my applied understanding has resulted in superior results. Which any intelligent person should be able to drawn some simple conclusions. Because my results are repeated to a degree, superior to most. And over long periods with many species, that my understanding of monitors has to be pretty good. If not, I would have failed after "getting lucky" But that did not happen, I continue to break new ground.

The base of this discussion thats not often understood is, as long as we are discussing "natural history" information, in a captive keeping and captive breeding forum, that information must pertain to THIS SUBJECT. My knowledge from nature was taken TO BE APPLIED HERE, within the relm of this forum. And it has been done with great success. Which is the polar opposite of the "others" natural history information. Their information is to be applied in a world of academics. That is, to be discussed and agreed upon, argued and rearranged within the relm of academics. With in mind, that type information is confirmed by general agreement amoung academics. Again the opposite of what we do here. We confirm information thru positive results. Theirs is discussed ors is applied. Theirs is checked and rechecked by mutual agreement, ours is checked and rechecked by positive or negative results.

To put in a way you may understand, If your eggs hatch and you raise up those babies and they breed and produce hatchlings and that happens generation after generation. Then someone, who does not breed peachies, comes to you and tells you how wrong you are. Sir, What would you say to them???????? You most likely would post pics of your successes, in an effort to be nice, then they will argue how wrong you are, in spite of your successes. Then you will ask of their successes, and they will call you names for doing so. They will then say, But Mike, I hope to breed peachies someday(particularly if they would stop dying)

Mike you could ignore them, as I try to do, but they just keep jumping in threads NOT ABOUT THEM IN ANY WAY. They are sit and wait predators, they simply wait until they see spot to jump in and cause havoc. Their goals are not to help in the understanding of monitors, but to prove me wrong. That is why they get deleted. That is a personal attack and not a discussion. of course, its masked as a discussion.

So Mike, the discussions are also never "in context", They are taken from their academic veiw which is clearly right to them. And I go by applied techniques, which has shown wonderful successful results.

Truthfully, I could careless about what they think as I have this and more

This happens every week or more, for almost two decades. So why are they questioning my understanding of monitors????? more so, why are they doing that in THIS ARENA of captive keeping and captive breeding of monitors??????????? You see Mike, once you show me you have the experience of doing what your doing now for several generations, I will call you Brother(in doing this) aside from that, we have always been brothers in keeping monitors. Cheers Brother

Frank
Since I have started posting again you have been in my opinion pretty civil with me, maybe your the same and I have changed?
I'm not talking about "ranting" so be it we all need to blow off steam from time to time.

We have had our beefs in the past, but like you said when in certain postitions it's fight or flight, guess what Brother I have two bad legs and no wings!
This type of "communicating" aint for me!

I could never hold a candle to your sucess and I could never keep the numbers you do (how do you find the time?)!
For this and your sucess with breeding Monitors my hat has always been off to you!
I totatlly understand you have no need to change a thing, your husbandry is tried and true!

Another poster said it perfectly as do you, this is supposed to be fun!
Some folks find FUN in building and creating "naturalistic" setups, even if it means 0 to minimal sucsess.
When I had my Flavirufus in standard trough setups with the basics, I had no FUN, Fake Sun, fake rock shelfs.
I need more fake to have FUN!
I am no longer under these pressures I used to feel, losing lots of eggs, I could care a less how many hatchlings I can produce.

You do your fair share of attacking as well.
Then there is this fence thing, it sucks for a guy like me!
I don't want to get caught up in the fence.

I actually started the mixing of species post elsewhere just to see where it would go. The discusion that followed was full of personal experiences, opinions and facts...It was great!!

I would love to see great discusions like that here, with you!
They always seem to start and end bad here.

Wait a minute...DEJA VUE...I said this stuff 12 years ago...or was it 10?

I wrote you an email aplogy to you a few days ago and I meant it! I do not like the feeling I get cross forum posting.
If the subject can't be discussed civily here, I go there and versa veesa? LOL
So from now on I'm not going to be on any fence I actually never was, I'll just keep being me! Thanks RSG!

I will no longer involve myself in any beefs...not even for the sake of good discusion.

In my perfect world WE would ALL get along Brother!
Mike
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Mike's Monitors!

Hi Mike, a couple of things. If you sent the email thru here I did not get it. my email addy is, frankretes@gmail.com.

Also please try to understand the difference beween attack and counterattack.

In most cases, I was attacked first. All you have to do is look at the posts. I only post here and on our forum. I do not travel the world wide web talking about those fellas. Yet, wellmeaning people are always emailing me and telling me so and so and who and who who is saying this and that about me, on another forums. It appears I am on their minds. This should tell you something.

They are never on my mind, I never think about them with my day to day work with monitors, or when I am in the field. Other then, I do not understand how they do not see, what I have seen.

Also, its most likely more about whos having success. I am, so they have to attack me. I believe its about that simple.

ALso, I normally post to help someone on KS. I share updates and progress on our forum. Most of those do not come here to help others. They come to fight or so it seems.

Which is pretty normal on these type forums. I have not posted here for weeks at a time. Normally someone else tries to help, and whomever that is, gets attacked as well. I think it goes with the position.

Many of those that fight, never devulge what they would do thats better or as good, or even not as good but works, then simply want to prove me wrong. If they provided something that showed some success, I could not argue against that in any way, it may simply become several right ways, which as far as I know is better then one right way.

Again, to post what has shown success, no matter who states is, IS GOOD. But to try to confuse what has worked, is not productive at all. Why would this folks do that. As far as I can tell, many of those natural history academics, did not try to improve the captive condition. Did they? They tell me I am wrong then leave. Whats that about?

Your remark about breeding or babies, is and never was a point of contention. The point I make is, a healthy pair of monitors lay eggs like pez despensers. Ok, that is not a nice comparison. A healthy pair will lay many clutches per year and do so for many years. That is what all wild reptiles do, THEY RECRUIT to the limits of their support. And we are suppose to support them. in fact, we are not suppose to offer minimum support, are WE?

As I mentioned in my "natural history" comments, we really cannot provide the conditions that make "Peachies" peachies. That is, we do not provide predators and the exact habitat they live in. That would be impossible in a cage. What that means is, we limit most of what makes them interesting.

We can allow them to recruit. That is to pair, breed, nest, and do that many times. What I find interesting is, monitors will give their life to achieve this. Which means its something they strive to do, both in captivity and in nature. In simple terms, they love to be envolved in the process. They want to be envolved in the process. ITs what they do.

So that is the least I can do is allow them to do what they are designed and strive with their lifes to do. Surely you do not have to hatch all the eggs, I know I don't.

Then all of a sudden, this process makes these monitors so darn interesting. They form pairs, then groups, they nest is such amazing ways, the group will build the nests. They protect eachother. Guard nests. Man, they DO lots of very interesting behaviors.

As an example, I bred ackies for many years, hundreds of them. Then all of a sudden I learned something very important, ackies start the nesting process BEFORE they copulate. I only had to slow down and open my eyes. Then of course, I had to see if other species did that.

Anyway, its all of that that makes it interesting to me. And what it takes to do that is not making the cage pretty, its making the cage useful to the monitor.

For instance, lets include both natural history and captive flavis. In nature, flavis live mostly in a very featureless landscape. Nothing but sand for miles and miles upon miles of scrubby short bushes. No rocks, not trees and in some cases no nothing. Yet, their life is full and enriched. Their life is in the ground. All thats above ground is a burrow. Wait, no, they cover that from the inside. Not even a hole.

So we provide them that life. And instead of being nice to our eyes, I make it nice to their eyes. Then they entertain me with their actions.

THis winter I will be breaking out some natualistic cages I build many years ago. I will post them when I put them in service. Cheers

Frank
There is more than one way to skin a cat. Some folks are having great sucsess as well, only difference I can see is a more appealing enclosure.
Like RSG he used a "naturalistic" setup for his Jobiensis, and had some sucsess.
Perhaps we can have nice looking setups that allow life events.
That is what I'm hoping for!
Mike
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Mike's Monitors!

I had limited "success" with peachies, so I'd say the jury is stil out on that enclosure.
I guess the point I'm trying (unsuccessfully) to make is that the lowest common denominator for any cage should be, thermal gradient, humidity gradient, food, and security.
I really don't think it matters much if you use a "natural" setup, pvc pipes and polymer mesh, or stacks of plywood.

Richard
I agree that is why I chose my way!
It's more FUN to me!
Mike
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Mike's Monitors!

No problem Mike. Remember, the group mentality pendulum swings both ways.

Richard
With my bad legs and one finger typing style, dodging that pendulum would suck!
Thanks again Brother!
I had my right knee reconstructed, ACL snapped with lots of miniscus damage, and then the right.
How many of your inventions have crossed paths with me?
Very interesting to me!
Mike
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Mike's Monitors!

Here ya go.
Link

Richard
In my first post I said right knee and right knee, of course the second was supposed to read, left knee.

When my Dr. told me of my surgery I came home and looked it up on the net, should not have done that...I HAD NIGHTMARES for 3 days!

When I got home we rented the movie SAW.
I fell asleep while watching it in the darkness of our living room.
I woke up screeming turn it off, turn it off I figured it out(the movie)...my Wife clicked the remote and then ALL 10 of us were now SCREEMING in the pitch black room!
LOL!!

In my dream(nightmare)a lady had to use a drill to get out of her situation and my knee was in the box she had to drill! LOL!

Some folks just can't handle Vicodin!

Even your instruments looks scarry!
I will be having both knees replaced soon.
Mike
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Mike's Monitors!