Anybody who has ever read a description of a V. prasinus has read that it has a prehensile tail.
Yet, all the times I've worked with them, I've never really seen them do anything with it.
In fact, if you do a Google search for V. prasinus and look at the images, not once do you see it using it's tail for its supposedly intended purpose, even when the animals are perched in a way where wrapping the tail around a branch would be beneficial.
So what the hell are they for? I think I now know!
I've never seen a GTM (or any other monitor for that matter) in the wild, so I really have to try and make some deductions based on previous experience, experience of others, and intuition.
So when I was experimenting with ways to set up the temporary enclosure for my cbch prasinus, it made sense to me that while Retes boards are a great way to create tight spaces for the little ones to use, that they might be more comfortable in tree hollows. I couldn't find a good tree hollow, so I had to use PVC.
I know I'm not the first person to stick PVC in a lizard cage and call it a hide spot, but I really tried to put some thought into it.I figure that any fake tree hollow would have to be fairly tight to provide them with a sense of security. I also figured they would not be open on both ends, but would have one or two opening and dead end somewhere.
I tried a number of different shapes and set ups and let them choose what they liked. What both animals ended up choosing is an 'L' shaped tube with one end pushed in the substrate and the other end open.
What I found really interesting is how they use them. I've seen them crawl in normally and back into the tubes. If they crawl in normally they will turn themselves around at the bend, and then back down to the bottom of the tube.
And thats where the tails come in. They use they're tails to support themselves against the walls of the tubes and to push themselves up and down. This is of one of them holding themselves in the tube with it's tail (sorry for the bad pic). I can hold the tube completely vertical and they won't fall out.
After seeing this behavior, I added another 'L' shaped tube, and both of them now use them as homes. They still use the Retes boards during the day when out and about, but when they go to sleep, they use the tubes.
Just thought I would share. = )
