Monitors are stressed by anything that may be a threat to them. That is their nature. So indeed placing different WC individuals in a cage is highly stressful, no matter what species they are.

Consider if they are acclimated to other individuals and even other species. Conspecfics and other speices "may" not stressful.

Again, this is all about context. I would "NOT" take two wild caught monitors and place them in with other species, or even with members of their own species, until they fully regain their health. Then I would continue to gauge how they are doing. If they are healthy, it gives you time to decide if they are being stressed or not. It gives the keeper time to make adjustments. If they are not healthy, then the result is most likely poor.

Consider, successful keeping is not following a recipe, its addressing a series of adjustments. Remember, a cage limits options for montiors to make. So you as a keeper must keep changing the closed enviornment to allow the captive monitors a outlet for their behaviors.

What bothers me is, this one way or the other, method of understanding, Surely you and others understand by now, it simply does not work that way. There are indeed ways to fail and ways to succeed. Your job as a keeper is to pick the methods that succeed in your area of interest.

As I have clearly shown over the years, I can keep pairs, groups, colonies with great success. I can and have also successfully kept many different species together. As you know I have produced generations of crosses for several different species. With this in mind, obviously there are methods to be successful in this area. Yes, there are ways to avoid this stress. But the keeper has to do it. It does not happen on its own(their in a cage)

What is hard for me to understand. Is no one, not even academics consider the history and behaviors of monitors(ethology). If you took two monitors from the exact same spot, you will recieve different results then if you take individuals from totally different areas. You will also recieve different results with different ages of monitors. Testing neonates will surely offer completely different results then testing haggards(old individuals) Please consider, this is a well known understanding with all sorts of animals.

So yes, your advice in this case would be correct. Why did this keeper place newly acquired WC individuals of different species together?? That is very risky. But to take that information and apply it accross the board is foolish and very limiting.

If you can remember, I offered this bit of advice many many years ago, if your interested in breeding monitors(minimum level of success), the best advice is raising them from as young as possible, TOGETHER. If you fail to do this. You stand a much higher chance of failure. This is truely more important with WC then CH. But still goes for both. ALso consider, if you do not make correct decisions, you will fail, no matter what you start with. Its captivity, and the keeper is responsible for allowing normal behaviors to achieve success.

Lastly, you can indeed successfully keep and breed WC's, but you will also experience far more problems you have to solve. Cheers

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