There's a goanna in my tent!

dragonblade71

Arachnobaron
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Jul 1, 2007
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For some time now, we've been camping on a rural property on Kangaroo island. I was just about to walk through the entrance of the tent when I saw a goanna in the front room! It was not the longest goanna I have seen but it was fairly bulky and powerful looking, especially seeing it up close. It looked a little tense which is not surprising since I was standing there. After about 10 - 15 seconds, it walked into the middle room (we've got a faily large tent with three rooms.) I went and stood to the side of the tent and before long, it walked outside. Amazing experience! A few minutes later, another goanna was spotted nearby.
 

LasidoraGT

Arachnobaron
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I believe its a lizard and I think kangaroo island is in Australia
 

rustym3talh3ad

Arachnoangel
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yes a goanna is a large almost monitor looking lizard, not anything i would want to come home to find chilling in my living room. very cool that there was one hanging out to greet u tho lol.
 

DrAce

Arachnodemon
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I just about died when I read that!

You can only ever really string sentences like that together in Australia... Bless down under.

"There's a goanna in my tent"
"A dingo ate my baby"

I don't mean this all in a sarcastic or nasty kinda way - I mean it in a nice way. It makes me smile cos it reminds me of my part of the world.
 

Widowman10

Arachno WIDOW
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You can only ever really string sentences like that together in Australia... Bless down under.

"There's a goanna in my tent"
"A dingo ate my baby"
awesome! :clap: new phrase added to vocabulary... :D
 

LasidoraGT

Arachnobaron
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yes a goanna is a large almost monitor looking lizard, not anything i would want to come home to find chilling in my living room. very cool that there was one hanging out to greet u tho lol.
Yeah, very cool. if I found one in my tent the first think that would come to mind is SAY CHEESE!! "click" I love taking pictures{D
Australia IS my fave place in the world btw lol
 

Red Eyes

Arachnoknight
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Very interesting! Did you see any other reptiles during your camping trip?
 

Tim Benzedrine

Prankster Possum
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Every time I read the title, the phrase "Is that a goanna in your tent or are you just glad to see me?" runs thru my mind.
 

J_dUbz88

Arachnoknight
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Mar 5, 2008
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"There's a goanna in my tent"
"A dingo ate my baby"

after reading all of these and thinking hard on the story at hand im surprised no one said "Quick call the Ranger"
 

dragonblade71

Arachnobaron
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DrAce: " "There's a goanna in my tent"
"A dingo ate my baby" "

Oh my gosh, I can see the connection!

I couldn't believe my eyes when I first saw it in there. It had it's legs sprawled out and neck and head up high. Actually, upon first seeing the reptile, I should have said to it: "Umm...sorry, I must have the wrong tent."

Yes, J.everson, a goanna is a large lizard that is native to Australia. This is some footage that I recorded of a goanna a few weeks ago around the same area.

[YOUTUBE]<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/lwmPq6voFek&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/lwmPq6voFek&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>[/YOUTUBE]

Red Eyes, the only reptiles that I have seen over here are goannas but not many of them. There may be more during summer. I believe there are some small lizards too..probably skinks. There are lots of mammals though - kangaroos, possums and echidnas.

Oh yes, Mike, that would have been a great photo opportunity. However, my cameras were inside the tent at the time and grabbing one would have been a bit risky - being in a confined space with a big reptile. They certainly know how to use their claws!
 

ShellsandScales

Arachnobaron
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Jun 20, 2008
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A goanna is not like a mointor, it is a type of australian monitor. My favorite is the lace monitor though. Unfortunately they are way out of my price range right now.
 
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