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RE: Varanus prasinus breeding failure report

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Posted by: SlidellReptileRescue at Tue Mar 27 18:18:59 2012  [ Report Abuse ] [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by SlidellReptileRescue ]  
   

One question....Is the primary diet rodents? If so, you're experiencing the same thing I did for the first four years I kept tree monitors. The calcium intake by the females translates to very thick eggs and the hatchlings in my experience have not been able to pip and ultimately end up drowning in the egg.

I solved this problem by switching over to 90% insect diet and rodents once every other month and when offered I only gave them crawlers or fuzzies (never adults). After approximately one year on that diet I continued to get viable eggs that ended up hatching. Albeit the hatching rate wasnt 100% (more like 50%) it was certainly better than the results of feeding rodents. Also, I wouldnt recommend using any calcium supplements either.

I also offered multiple nesting sites and ultimately settled on one at ground level using a thermostat and heat-tape to maintain temps. The Green Tree monitors used them regularly but one main difference I observed was my Black Tree females would display severe nest-aggression for approximately 1-2 days just prior to laying. If you witness this behavior I'd separate them and allow the female the peace and quiet to lay her eggs. That, along with decreasing calcium intake may prove helpful for you as it did for me....

Mike Steffani put out an article what seems like forever ago and it was very helpful for me and I chose to use some of what he noted and disregarded other comments. He had some success as well so I'm guessing that a little adjustment and you'll have a good bit of success. You've already learned that getting eggs is easy and hatching them is an entirely different story.

I'll dig up some archived photos and post them....


   

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<< Previous Message:  Varanus prasinus breeding failure report - basinboa, Mon Mar 12 17:16:05 2012