Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey there since youre in OZ and have the privelage of seeing gouldii complex in their natural state(im just assuming) can you tell me about their substrate I know that they use countless amounts traveling from area to area, but in generalities is the substrate sifty soft rough etc.... Im looking to find something similar and have tried posting about it to no such luck of getting a responce.

thanks for any reply

G'day,

Im an aussie, so maybe i qualify...ive seen gouldii complex in basically every habitat type we have in WA, which although may not answer your question, just shows that they can make do with a wide range of soils. I suppose anything that holds a burrow will suffice, and a loamy type soil is what i see their burrows in most frequently. Gouldii are amazing generalists when it comes to habitat in which they roam, so hopefully your chosen substrate will suffice.

Good Luck!

Dean

Reptiles Of Western AUstralia

Hey Dean thanks alot for the reply excellent photograph ....loamy then ok this is for my flavirufus pair I will try and find something similar to that.

once again thanks

Hi Harely,

Dean would be better qualified to answer your question as he will see more gouldii where he is than I would, for I get V rosenbergi in my area (very different habitat). The burrows of gouldii and flavirufus that I have seen in my travels, though, have been in sandy soil similar to that in Dean's photo.

Ditto to Dean's observations. In the top half of the Northern Territory, V. gouldii is called "sand goanna", vs. "floodplain goanna" for V. panoptes, based on where individuals of the two species are most abundant. V. panoptes occurs on both sandy and hard-packing (clayey) soils, whereas V. gouldii distinctly favors sandy stuff. Neither species will make burrows in heavy gravelly soil if anything else is available. Generally speaking, there is almost no organic material (humus or mulch) in most Australian soils.

Australian outback sand is a lot finer than beach sand, and the only stuff that matches it very well in the western US is either the finest of windblown desert sand, or the higher flood deposits along rivers. In either case you need to watch the clay content -- too much clay, and there is a tendency for balls of it to form on the claws, which can lead to their loss.

I think I have found the right source right down in the river by my house very fine soil from a riverbed ill take a photo of it and see what you guys think.... I wish I had the time to drive down to so cal and get some real good desert sand. Ill try and see if there is desert type terrain in northern near bay area ca or central ca.
thanks

It's pretty easy to see what the clay content of a soil sample is. Dump a cupfull in a jar of water and swirl it around, then let it stand for 10-15 minutes -- if the water's still muddy (like cafe latte), it's maybe got too much clay. Take another cupfull, wet it and form it into a ball with your hands -- if it doesn't fall apart when it dries out (or especially if it dries hard as a rock), it's got too much clay.

There are some nice windblown fine sand deposits along the S side of the straits around Antioch and Pittsburg -- if you run out of options closer to home, consider those.

thats near by too thanks sam im in the sacramento area so it wouldnt be a bad drive at all.

any exact location freeway etc...?

thanks

Sorry, harely, I haven't been out that way in 25 years, it could be nothing but WalMarts now. The dune areas were right along the S bank (quarter mile or less) between Antioch and Pittsburg off a bunch of small dead-end streets. I think the largest intact dune deposit is now a reserve, but there used to be small roadcuts throughout the industrial area there where anybody who needed a few buckets or mortar sand could scoop it up.