Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi all,

Is there anybody here that keeps or breeds Tricolor monitors - Varanus yuwonoi?
Or do you know where I could find these beauties?

Thanks // Tom

I don't know of anyone in the states that has this species. I have heard that they make extremely poor captives though.

jon

Tom
Stunning Monitors!
Your best bet is to check out "CaptiveBred Reptile Forums",
There is a poster on there that started a thread a few weeks ago.
Mike
Mike's Monitors!

Hi Tom. I had the third ever imported. It died when I was overseas. It died, because my family was afraid to open the door of the cage.

Please understand, I had hundred of other monitors of many species. But this one got to them.

I also raised a few up a few years later. I did not enjoy them. Yes, they are very pretty as youngsters, but adults are basically blackish. Oh they get big. That first individual was a five foot FEMALE.

They combine the empty cage syndrome, with very nasty aggressive attitudes. So I went with animals that are fun to keep, which I believe is the reason you should keep animals.

All monitors are work, but when its no fun and work. I have to wonder.

Please keep in mind, I kept them early on, those may not be the best examples of monitors to keep. They were wild caught and all that entails. I would be interested to see if captive bred or even captive hatched from wild adults, would be different. Cheers

Hi Frank,
Thanks for your reply...

I have a good friend that owns a 4-4.5 ft female yuwonoi. She is an awesome lizard! As far as I know she is about 20 years old and originated as a WC adult import as well. I personally think that she is an extremely beautiful lizard. She is still rather colorful and surprisingly enough quite tolerant of handling. She does however hide a lot.

The reason why I really posted this message is because I wanted to see if anybody else keeps this species. And maybe find a mate for this neat creature before they disappear from captivity.

Thanks // Tom

My vet tells me that one of his clients has a yuwonoi. Says its's a big sucker too. The guy apparently lives in your area.

Cheers

Hi Neal,

The reason why I really posted this message is because one of my best friends actually has one yuwonoi. It is a female that is about 4-4.5ft. And if your vet is Dr. Jay D. Johnson we might know of the same monitor because my friend is his client to.

I personally think that it is an extremely beautiful lizard and it should be bred but mates are scarce... This individual lizard is supposedly a WC import from the eighties.

Thanks // Tom

Yup, that is my vet, and that is the same yuwonoi I was thinking of. I'm pretty sure that's the only one in AZ (unless Frank has some in his freezer). Your friend also keeps crocs, right?

I have a male melinus that doesn't treat the female very nice, maybe we could pair the big jerk up with your friend's female yuwonoi and create the ultimate lousy captive monitors- hahaha

Cheers

Hi Neal, I would recheck the sexes of your melinus. Not that your wrong, but I have never had melinus of opposite sexes fight or harass eachother in any way. I have never had problems with females messing with eachother either. It did not matter if they were wildcaught or not. Cheers

Hi Frank, thanks for your insight. The one is a definite male, the other I'm not so certain about...

Cheers

Hi Neal,
yep, it looks like we are talking about the same guy...

I must say though that I don’t think that the tricolor monitor is a lousy captive, at least not this one. Granted she hides allot but it comes out at times and it is a beautiful looking animal. Her temperament isn't bad either. The is a little bit flighty but not aggressive in the slightest bit.

Thanks // Tom

Hi Tom,

That's interesting to hear, I really have no idea what yuwonoi are like as captives.

Cheers

..

I have a Tricolor Monitor that I adopted. Her age is unknown but they (OMSI) had her for 3-4yrs, and they don't know how old she is and if she was WC/CB/CH but likely WC. I find her to be more skiddish than aggressive as she runs and hide if she's let go in the house (in her cage she's quite active). She's great monitor but can be aggressive sometimes especially when surprised on accident (she whipped around and bit my finger with the side of her mouth). She likes bathing a lot, she has this water dish, that she amazingly fits in, and stays there for long periods of times. Anyways, just found this while searching the web for more info on her species, which I do on occassion for any new info.
http://moreliapythons.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=1664&cat=500&ppuser=2061
She has been seeing a vet for somatitis (OMSI didn't know how to take care of her, though the guy who gave her to OMSI and said he'd take care of her husbandry [after about a week he disappeared] is the one to blame), she's doing much better now with a good diet and better husbandry all around.
Sincerely,
Mark Leppin
Arboreal Boids