Reptile Awareness Displays of Australia - RADOA

‚Splinter‘ just woke up from brumation and is already demanding cockroaches… 🤣
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Eastern Pilbara Spiny-tailed Skink
Egernia epsisolus

Hahaha… 😝
Caravanning Queensland disguised our croc Rango as a dog to promote their pet friendly Let's Go Caravan and Camping Expo in Nambour… 🤪

THE PYTHON IN THE TOILET BLOCK
UPDATE:
Our lovely python is still having a great time in the toilet block.
It stretched out a bit and moved roughly 30-40cm since yesterday.
I was wrong assuming it would move on during the day.
But I was right by saying it wouldn’t be posing any danger.
Education instead of relocation… 😃

THE PYTHON IN THE TOILET BLOCK
Yesterday, while on my break between two venomous snake shows at the Let's Go Caravan and Camping Expo 2026 in Nambour, I was approached by a representative of the Sunshine Coast Council about a snake that caused some commotion in a toilet block at the showgrounds.
I walked over with the gentleman and found a harmless Coasta Carpet Python (Morelia spilota variegata) that was coiled up in the rafters above the door to the showers while being fast asleep.
The “commotion” was actually, that a few people have reported the python to the grounds crew.
I discussed the perceived danger vs. the real danger posed by this python.
The main concern was the unwarranted fear of people entering the toilet block.
With multiple toilet blocks on the ground I advised to just leave it there as it didn’t pose any danger to the general public.
The gentleman then got in touch with the safety team of Caravanning Queensland to discuss this further and the decision was made to leave the lovely sleeping creature alone.
Thank you very much to everyone involved for this reasonable decision.
It’s great to see that a bit of education goes a long way.

Even though I believe the python might have moved during the night, I will check in a bit if it’s still there.

❤️ 🐍 I love our old banner 🐍❤️
It’s hand painted in the style of the 50s or 60s.
It probably has been with the business since it started.

Come see us at the Let's Go Caravan and Camping Expo in Nambour/QLD this weekend.
Our educational venomous snake shows will be running for around 50 minutes, each day at 11:00, 13:00 and 15:00.
Caravanning Queensland

UPDATE on Kevin Budden’s grave.

Yesterday, I visited Kevin’s grave for the first time.
It was very emotionally for me but this visit also gave me a lot of insight.
Now I know what we are dealing with in regards to the restoration and I took heaps of measurements.

I couldn’t leave the grave in the state it was so I did some digging, realigned the fallen/collapsed kerbs and cleaned up a bit.
The grave looks now reasonably rectangular again.

Don’t worry…
This is just a temporary fix and the full restoration will happen throughout the next year.

We have set up a gofundme to rebuild the deteriorating last resting place of Kevin Budden.

Please consider donating a few dollars to honour an Australian hero who lost his young life while trying to help saving countless others. The restoration of the grave site has been quoted with $8,000 - $10,000. The original plaque and the one added in 1992 by his friend Neville Goddard will be reused as it is the goal to honour the old spirit of the grave and not to change its original character.

You can find the fundraiser here:
https://gofund.me/8ebba8759

The original post in regard to this fundraiser is the fixed/featured post on the top of this page.

If you are interested in the whole stories of Kevin Budden and Bruce Stringer, I highly recommend the following book:
VENOM - The heroic search for Australia's deadliest snake
by Brendan James Murray - author

🦎 It’s World Lizard Day 🦎

Today I arrived in Cairns and I went to the Night Markets (as I was told by my wife)… 😉
Well…
I couldn’t walk past this beautiful Shingleback Lizard, carved out of stone with the front side of the base even being from opal…
It feels so good in my hands as it is polished to perfection.
A little piece of art and I’m absolutely in love with it… ❤️

HAPPY WORLD LIZARD DAY

They better keep their promise… 😃