Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi,

I was thinking about expanding my varanid collection with a few members of the indicus complex, but I don't know which.
I heard melinus are too shy to be any fun(there are allways exceptions, I know)so I don't think I'll go for them.
Is it true Inducus are most bound to water, cause I don't want a very large pool (too much work)

I think I want to go for eather doreanus or jobiensis, but jobies are very hard to get here in Europe, doreanus are a bit easier.
Is doreanus a good choice or should I go/wait for jobies? Is there much difference in behaviour?

Thanks

I loved my Doreanus. She was enjoyable to watch, but ultimately failed under my care. God. Imports.

Most melinus are shy, sure, but they're still my favorites...

Personally, I'd wait on the jobis. :]
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1.1 Ornate Uromastyx [Re and Wadjet]
1.0 Savannah Monitor [Zephyrus]
1.0 Quince Monitor [Poe]
1.2 Eastern Box Turtles [Zoink, Boink, and Abel]
1.0 Green Iguana (Rescue Mission) [Achilles]
0.1 Pink-Toe Tarantula [Athena]

If you have no other reason, ALWAYS get the smaller species.

The true restriction with all varanids is SPACE. So the smaller species, make bigger cages more likely to happen.

Of the indicus group, it just so happens Jobis are my favorite. Cheers

Which one is the smallest of the indicus group? Melinus?
I have seen jobies that were only 3 feet long but I have also seen pictures of animals of about 5 feet. Same for indicus.
The enclosure size is not a very big concern for me, but the weight of the cages is. I've got an attic just for my animals. I just don't dare put a couple of tons of dirt in there. With the tropical species the substrate doesn't weigh as much, so I can use 2 feet deep substrate(leaves/cocospeat mix).

Right now I've got 3 juvie rudicollis and I like their temperament. They are not too shy, but hate being touched. Eat from my tongs, but don't go for my hands or throat if I don't feed them fast enough.

Thanks

Melinus can also get 5 feet, just as rudis do. There is a good picture of an adult on the Pro Exotics website.

Five years ago I had the chance to see adult rudis and melinus side by side and while they appeared to be very similar in length, the rudis were built more heavily, regardless of the fact that those yellows were a bit overweight. Be prepared in the future as black roughnecks can get larger than you might expect.

I had an adult indicus long ago that was well over 5 feet long, but was not bulky.

BTW, none of the black roughnecks I have raised had issues with being held. Sure, they would scratch you up a bit while trying to climb all over you, but all were very docile.

It is hard to say which would be the smallest, as the indicus group are all built similarly and size/temperament is really an individual thing.

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dragonbreeders.com

Thanks for the info,

The rudi in the big picture/on the ground, is that a female?

No, that was a male, about 6 pounds in that photo. He got a lot bigger than that later on. I had that one from a hatchling and he grew quite fast.
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dragonbreeders.com

jobis are my favorite, melinus are shy, so are some doreanus, and some indicus get big. Tyler.

I have a seven week old melinus, he is not shy at all, is always out in the open doing things and is very active. He is not at all skittish, will take a cricket right from my hands and never runs from me.

I have heard similar comments from other quince keepers.

Best regards,
Lou

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dragonbreeders.com