I had started to type out a detailed response to everything you've said in your post, but then realised I wouldn't be saying anything I haven't already said before in this discussion so there's no sense in me typing it all out again.

I'll reduce my comments to a small handful of things, to keep it simple.

FR:"
The real problem is right here, if you read the above, its about varanids in captivity, this is not a natural history forum. Its about what works in captivity...
I have had hollow logs and deep leaflitter work for me, John had deep heated soil work for him. Theres nothing that indicates "obligate" in captivity. "

No it's not a natural history forum. I presented the information on lace monitors nesting in termite mounds to explain why I used a nest box. If you'd stuck to just methods that worked in captivity rather than tried to tell me that termite mound nesting isn't the 'norm' in the wild, the termite mound part of the discussion would have stopped a long time ago.

Your stance, that termite mound nesting is not the 'done thing' in the areas from which our respective lace monitors originate, comes entirely from what you think works in captivity. I have been questioning just how well that 'works', though, for you keep presenting your results and John's results as successes, yet one thing you both have in common is females dying of reproductive failure. Even if we ignored what did or did not go on in the wild, those results speak volumes.

You say you've tried nest boxes and they've failed, but you've also said this, which suggests you think it's the box rather than what's in it that's important:

FR:"A hollow limb is a VERSION of a wooden nest box and other choices. "

A hollow limb is like a dead termite mound. It's just a box. Useless for a lace monitor in an area where winter cold can kill eggs, which is why they don't use dead termite mounds.

FR:"
What I find puzzling is, why don't you try all the methods, as I have, then I would be more confident in your recomendations. Also, I would be more confident if you tested many females, as we find each female has can make different choices. "

My female has had access to deep substrate and numerous hollow logs her entire life, as do the females of mates of mine that use nest boxes. That's what's funniest about this whole conversation - my stance all along has been to add a nest box as an option, not for it to replace deep substrate (or hollow logs for roosting, for that matter). All of this stubbornness and fighting about an added option that I happen to think is quite important. My reason for suggesting it is reflected in our respective results (which, by the way, I have given in two posts now and in one I have asked you for some details of yours, so I don't understand why you seem to skip over those posts and keep asking for results). Females dying of reproductive failure is not a good result in anyone's books and (mixing metaphors here) to ignore that elephant in the room while discussing nesting results is like rearranging deck chairs on the titanic.

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