Reptile & Amphibian Forums

...Oh my!

So, our reptile middle-man type guy just came back from a show, and brought along a TON of Varanids.

Out of a batch of about three Quince, four Mangroves, two Timors, and a Blue Tail, we come out with...

One good sized Mangrove, both Timors, and a Blue Tail that is on hold as a maybe for my personal collection. If I change my mind by tomorrow, despite me fearing for its health in the long run, we're sending reptile middle-man on his way with Blue Tail in tow...

The Mangrove is about a foot and a half long, a nice, thick monitor with excellent colors. I'm going to have to play around with temps in his enclosure tomorrow to get it up where it needs to be, but he's already eating well.

The Timors are TINY, just a pair of little hatchlings. They're settling in well, and I'm treating them same as any other small monitor.

Now, the main reason behind this post--

The Blue Tail.

Middle Man wants 175 dollars for him. Cheaper than I see them most places. He's a little over a foot long, good condition overall, if a little displeased by his shipping arangements. I've found myself already moving things around in the herp room to accomodate a good sized enclosure for him, but here's the thing--I really don't have any experience with Blue Tails. I already KNOW my boss doesn't want him on the floor, because we have a hard time moving monitors due to my intense screening process when it comes to selling Varanids, and turning over a Blue Tail seems out of the question. The Mangrove was one of those "Harm, I paid fifty for it, if you end up buying it for your collection ANYHOW, you're gonna' owe me more than that fifty..." because it's an iffier sale with most people around here... And the Timors we got because I prefer selling dwarf monitors to most people.

BUT, if the aforementioned Blue Tail leaves with Middle Man, I know it's going to end up dying. Which is super lame, but how things tend to go. I tried not to look at the poor Quinces and Mangroves we sent on their way...

So, general public of the Monitors Forum--

Should I or Shouldn't I on the Blue Tail?

And... Husbandry advice. I have a roundabout idea on them, but more detailed input would be appreciated. [EXACT temps, EXACT humidity, ideas for naturalistic setups, etc...]

Thanks all!

~Harm
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1.1 Ornate Uromastyx [Re and Wadjet]
1.0 Eastern Kingsnake [Duke]
1.0 Savannah Monitor [Zephyrus]
1.0 Quince Monitor [Poe]
0.1 Eastern Box Turtle [Abel]
0.2 Leopard Geckos [Ghost and Ankh]
1.0 Green Iguana (Rescue Mission) [Spikeless]

Buy captive bred animals! Reward those who contribute to our hobby/obsession with your business. A trip from state to state is a allot less stressful then the hell those poor imports have been through. Spread the word!

Most indo species are not being bred. If you decide to ask the ones that have bred species like dumerils ask them why they are no longer doing so even though they love their animals.
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John Light
JL Exotics
Contact Me

Jesus, you think I wouldn't if I could?

The whole reason I keep the reptiles I do is with the intention of one day attempting to breed them. Especially the monitors.

Funfact: Just because I have the room to house just about any species of monitor out here on 25 acres of nothing doesn't instantly mean I have the cash to shuck out on CB juvies of whatever species catches my interest and wins my heart.

That said--I bought the little Doreanus and she's absolutely wonderful. Eating well and inspecting her new home.
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1.1 Ornate Uromastyx [Re and Wadjet]
1.0 Eastern Kingsnake [Duke]
1.0 Savannah Monitor [Zephyrus]
1.0 Quince Monitor [Poe]
0.1 Eastern Box Turtle [Abel]
0.2 Leopard Geckos [Ghost and Ankh]
1.0 Green Iguana (Rescue Mission) [Spikeless]

Sorry if I ruffled your feathers. Its great that you intend to breed your monitors. I wish you all the luck in the world. At one time money was a bigger issue with me. I to did not want to spend the extra money on a captive bred animal. So I bought a "farm raised" salvator . Funny thing is after 2 visits to the vet to remove 2 large parasites I spent well over the extra $300 I would have spent on a captive bred animal that more then likely would not have had those problems. Also, Indo monitors get big. Feeding them and housing them happens to be a big expense. I am sure you are aware of that. It is no easy task to find those who have had even marginal success breeding monitors. Its even harder finding people that have hatchlings or Juvies at the same time you are ready to make a purchase. The good thing is they do exist. They are all over this forum and others like it. Many of the dwarf monitor species that are established in the US, Canada and Europe are affordable and attainable. I find them to be just as interesting and many can one day reward you with reproduction. Best of luck with your Doreanus. I had one years ago that loved crayfish.

Ah, I'm sorry if I came across a tad harsh in my response, too.

Thing of it is, one has to look at it this way--Even the commonly captive-bred Varanids we have NOW [like Ackies] started off in the pet trade as WC imports until someone figured out how to successfully breed them.

I spend hours daily making sure my monitors and other reptiles are in optimal health and as content as can be in a captive situation; the eventual size and final enclosure isn't the problem. Finding CB babies, unfortunately, is.

I should have a trio of ackies within a few months, and I plan on making them into my first real monitor breeding project. For now, it's a matter of getting my others to grow into healthy, happy adults and eventually finding mates for them.

I don't claim to know all, Gods know I've made a few mistakes along the way. I'm just a college kid, after all, still a baby compared to most on this forum. But my goal in life is to do what I can for the captive breeding efforts with monitors, especially the Indo species. Even if I'M not successful in the long run, hopefully others can learn what NOT to do from my mistakes.

That's why I'm glad these forums are here.

:]
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1.1 Ornate Uromastyx [Re and Wadjet]
1.0 Eastern Kingsnake [Duke]
1.0 Savannah Monitor [Zephyrus]
1.0 Quince Monitor [Poe]
0.1 Eastern Box Turtle [Abel]
0.2 Leopard Geckos [Ghost and Ankh]
1.0 Green Iguana (Rescue Mission) [Spikeless]

I presently keep 4 bluetailed monitors(batanta Island locality)and they are active,beautiful ,very interesting monitors.The blue on their tails and limbs is stunning and their head and body shape kind of remind me of little V.salvadorii .they have settled down quite a bit since I first recieved them.They were very skittish and would run for cover at the slightest site of me.I would very rarely see them feed at first,but food left for them would soon dissapear ,now ,apx 6 months latter I manage to approach them (slowly) and even have 2 that will eat from forceps..They readily take mice of all sizes,but will also accept shrimp,smelts,roaches,chicken hearts and gizzards.They seem to prefer sleeping in their water container ,which I keep at a depth of about 4 inches and cleaned daily.Their cage has a number of branches of different diameter along with large pieces of bark used for hiding behind.

Thanks for the input.

I've set my little blue up on an organic, fertilizer-free peat moss/leaf litter mix, which holds humidity quite well. She's been hiding under one of the hides I set in there since I brought her home, except to bask, though today when I went to check on her she was out and swimming in the water dish, which is one of the good-sized cat litter pans I bought to use for water containers. She's not too shy about eating, though larger food items that might take her a few moments to get down she pulls into the hide to eat.

I'm going to start construction on a fairly elaborate final enclosure that can dominate this one empty wall in a low-traffic area of the house... What would your recommendations for a final enclosure [as in, dimensions for an adult animal] be?
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1.1 Ornate Uromastyx [Re and Wadjet]
1.0 Eastern Kingsnake [Duke]
1.0 Savannah Monitor [Zephyrus]
1.0 Quince Monitor [Poe]
0.1 Eastern Box Turtle [Abel]
0.2 Leopard Geckos [Ghost and Ankh]
1.0 Green Iguana (Rescue Mission) [Achilles]
0.1 Blue-Tailed Monitor [Aamesa]