Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Last year I decide to work with some of the V. prasinus complex and aquired several species and subspecies with a heavy interest in V. maccreai. As an update all are doing well and the maccreai are all going thru courtship with some copulations and these V. p. kordensis were caught in the act.Taking the pic disturbed them a little but this is NOT the first time just the first time I had a camera.. Anyway happy my Varanid projects are working out so far..Thanks for looking

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Tom Crutchfield
www.tomcrutchfield.com

Sounds good,

How many groups do you have set up currently?

I love the dark green on those two animals as well, some little reproductions of them would be fantastic.

Goodluck,
Mike.

I have 4 groups now...1.1 V. p. prasinus...1.1 V. p. kordensis...1.2 V. maccreai....2.4 V. maccreai...We'll see. All but the V. p. prasinus are courting and copulating and that's because their too young and small....thanks

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Tom Crutchfield
www.tomcrutchfield.com

Beautiful pair!

I have a question about your cages. Isn't the mesh dangerous for the toes for the monitors? I have to make a dividing wall in a doreanus cage and wanted to do it with mesh so they can keep contact and not isolate too much.
Have you had any problems so far? Do they climb the mesh?

Thanks, Jasper

They climb the wire constantly and no it's not harmful. Check out our website on the facilities part and you can see the cages....thanks
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Tom Crutchfield
www.tomcrutchfield.com

One time when my green iguana was climbing the mesh on his cage, he pulled out a lot of his nails, but so far they grew back and it hasn't happened again since then.

That doesn't mean the mesh was directly at fault...although it could have been. Just something to keep in mind as other factors play a role in that.

Takecare,
Mike.

Congratulations Tom!!!
Everything seems to be working out great.
I have been following your posts with my fingers crossed for your success.
there is much to be learned from this species.
I have always loved V. prasinus and knew eventually better success with them in captivity would come. Like with other seemingly difficult species in captivity has proven just the opposite once hardier animals being acquired and worked with. This and the proper husbandry needs shed a whole new light on once a very difficult species. Considering the shape in which previous V. prasinus were imported in possibly the worst conditions. and most of those animals were adults some past their prime. The amount of dehydration and parasite infestation was beyond rehabilitation once they finally reached the US.

I have examples of other species that once bared the same fate as Varanus prasinus and have had a 180 degree shift and proved to be very hardy captives with the most incredible personalities. This was never observed before until healthy animals that were acclimated properly and given the proper husbandry needs to thrive and reproduce. I will make another thread on my experience with Komodo Dragons at the National Zoo that some might be interested in.

Tom I wish you the best of luck but it seems you don't need it everything seems to be working out beautifully.
V. maccreai are my favorite and I find your success to be nothing more than exciting. Looking forward to your progress.
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Charles Koutris

THANKS CHARLES AND EVERYONE FOR THEIR KIND WORDS. I BELIEVE THE KEY ON BREEDING EVERYTHING IS UNDERSTANDING WHAT YOU HAVE AND BEING ABLE TO PROVIDE THE PROPER FACILITIES NEEDED FOR HAPPINESS. THE REST IS EASY IF YOU CAN DO THAT.....THANKS
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Tom Crutchfield
www.tomcrutchfield.com

Your welcome Tom.
I agree with you 100%
thanks for the updates and I hope you continue to do so.

Take care
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Charles Koutris

Tom, nice pic, happy monitors do fun things like us humans do, looks like they are waiting for the bucket of KFC on a picnic bench in a screened pen? Im surprised they are not more shy and appear out in the open like they are and dont seem to concerned about anything but siezing the moment:} Hope to see some
eggs& babies soon.
Good luck with them, Bob

Actually I think most folks try to have too complicated a cage setup, so much so that they don't have a clue how their lizards are actually doing. Also it's hard to habituate a wild monitor unless it stops thinking of you as a potential predator. I started to aquire these monitors except for one pair of V. maccreai only about 3-5 months ago. These kordensis have been with me since the middle of Jan. and are already settled in to te point they will take food off forceps and almost allow me to touch them without fear. You don't need complicated cages to produce happy lizards.

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Tom Crutchfield
www.tomcrutchfield.com

Tom, its not the fact of complicating a cage but produceing an area where they like to squeeze in and feel safe, yes my kordensis were very docile but knowing you keep yours outdoors opens up a whole different chapter, in the wild Im sure their are birds of prey and other predators that attack them from above and not to mention kingsnakes which you probably have on your property that will smell them and perhaps come near the cages? I know the late Bert Langerwers use to tell me about the kingsnakes coming around some of his enclosures looking to make lunch out of one of his lizards. Perhaps because monitors eat snakes in the wild they have no fear of them or their scent? But that does not rule out the birds of prey that Im sure would relish one of these guys for lunch. Hey it seems to be working for you so as they say if it works dont fix it. I did something a bit out of the norm last week, I fed one of my male glauerti a live snake, I had heard stories of how glauerti really like snakes and they all seemed to be true, he attacked that little decay snake like a white throat attacking a cobra killing it with such presision and eating like a spaghetti noodle. I dont really like feeding herps to herps but it was just a one time thing I had to witness for myself.
Good luck, Bob

My theory, and so far has proven correct every time I've done it, has been to take a wc Monitor you want to acclimate and NOT provide it with numerous hiding places and in most cases NO hiding places when you first get it. Then LEAVE IT ALONE EXCEPT FOR CLEANING AND FEEDING. Soon it will get the idea that you are NOT a predator and asscoitate you with providing food. From there the rest is easy once it starts to eat in front of you. It's only after it settles in do I provide simple hiding requirements. There is an exception to every rule and the important thing is understanding by behaviours how the lizard feels. Back in the late 70's was the last time I bred any Varanids and I bred 3 species for several years. In fact I put them for the first month or so in smaller cages because of something called flight distances that is a bit complicated to explain here. Here's a pic of some of my acclimation cages...

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Tom Crutchfield
www.tomcrutchfield.com