Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Does anyone have any recommendations where yo find some good info, on the blue tailed monitors? I have already checked the forums, and googled it ect.. not much good info out there..

Thanks,
Ed

Hello Eschmidt,
There is a good amount of info out there(in print)with regards to their wild lives in PNG. As for their captive lives, "varanid husbandry" covers them too... They like humidity, water and branches. All the wild ones that I have kept were very secretive and spent a great deal of time living out of sight. I have only had one captive born import and it was very different- not so shy... They are great lizards that few work with because they are almost 100 percent wild caught but are beautiful and interesting animals. I hope you can change the wild caught status of captives available- Put out a little more $$$ and start with juveniles/babies if you get the opportunity. Best to you- Mike S

By the way Ed,
If you end up with wild caught adults you can place window tint on the front glass of the cage so you can see them but they can't see you as well- They still seem to know you are there but this helps to keep them from bolting and banging noses... Best to you on your search- Mike S

Thanks very much for the post. I have found a good deal of info about them, just like you said there are very few in captivity, and the ones that are are generally imported. I am looking at a cbb at my local pet store believe it or not. he seemed quite docile and is stunning. I have been looking to get into monitors for a while. I think this might be a good match for me. I am not a novice to reptiles and have MANY resources. Just a novice to monitors. I have tons of general knowledge of the species and feel like I am ready. I dont jump into my pets but eveyone has to start somewhere. I will keep you posted on the outcome and progress. Thanks for the post!!!!!

First off,if they are selling you a cbb,they are lying to you as 100% of all Blue tails are wild caught.Second if he seems docile,there might be problem with it.Blue tail are notoriously shy animals and don't take well to handling.Third is if you have o experience with monitors than a V.Doreanus is not a good choice.They are very shy and chances of you seeing it are rare,they don't take well to handling and stress very easy.They like to climb,swim,and dig so you wold need a cage at least 8x6x8 and that is on the small end.All in all they do not do well in captivity that is why there are very few keeper out there,you see them in classified adds all the time,but most of them don't make it 6 months in captivity

greg

LLL had some CBB last year. Kalaback blue tails. (or something like that.)

They wernt cbb

Plenty of places got those gorgeous Kalabeck's in last year. EBV still has 1 or 2 of the babies they purchased.

As far as monitors go,people get misconception that if it's calm and somewhat tolerant of you thats its tamed and cbb.I purchased a cbb water monitor with a picture/paper trail, that thing was still wild as all heck(hid, tailed whipped, lunged to bite), even without force handling used in my husbandry.

For many of the african,asian and indo-asian species of monitor, if you're told its cbb, take it as a straight up lie.Those lizards were imported. Unless you see a picture trail of the parents mating,laying and eggs hatching.

Hello Eschmidt,
I would love to hear about your blue-tail and will be happy to offer any advice that I can as per the experience that I have had with them. I have had the ones with the big white spots and sky blue tails and the other variety with the more speckled pattern and bright turquiose tails. I have also kept the more subtle spotted variety commonly seen(in captivity). I have not had the orange spotted animals. They were all very hardy varanids if you set them up right and feed them well. Keep in mind that wild animals are wild. The younger the animals that you start with the better your experience with interaction will be. So good on you selecting a youngster... Figure in the price of the animal and a fecal exam/vet. On larger animals the vet bill often exceeds the price of the animals but this is the cost of these beautiful animals. If you love them, you will do for them... If you secure this one animal pm me. This is an animal that I would love to see available as cb frequently in the future. Glad to see someone stepping to the plate with promising intentions. Best to You- Mike S

Mike,why would you suggest that someone with no experienced with monitors get a blue tail monitor or any of the indcus complex for that matter.You seem to have a lot of experience with monitors,so it baffles me that someone with your experience would recommend something like this

greg

Thanks everyone for the posts. Big thanks to mike for the support!! I went back to ebv and got a little more info on this blue tail. This specific monitor was farm breed but raised for an egg in captivity. He is very heathy I watched him eat twice on two seperate occasions. He is very alert when a out, flicking his tounge etc.. I made the trade after contacting my vet as well as a good friend of mine who runs the sonoma country reptile rescue. Both gave me a thumbs up and are ready to support me if needed. I have his cage fully equiped with many beaches multiple hides and fake vegitation for cover. His hot spot is 120 directly under the radiant heat 96 on the ground below it and 80 on the cool side. Hides on both sides and hight.

I get the sense that monitors especially Indonesians or specificly of the mangrove family have a similar rap as retics and condas. I keep both and love them. When I got interested I got very little support and they are now the only species I keep. I have "tamed" each snake with great success over great time. All of which I did my share of work and donating for.. However I was able to get the support I needed to learn. I am taking this step as a challenge and am very excited to see what comes.

By the way this BOY is gorgeous and I will be Looking for a female over time. I will try and post some pics when he settles in a bit.

Thanks again! And Mike I will be intouch!!!

Hello Ed,
Looking forward to hearing more... Best to you- Mike S

Hello Greg,
You really ought to say hello to Ed before you tear into him... He seems like a great guy... Best to you- Mike S

Hey Greg there is a term for peoe like you "hater"! I came to this forum seeking information from the people that have it. Mike is right don't jump to conclusion and assumptions are for fools. Good luck to you. If anyone has any further information for me or questions pm me. I'm going to stop posting on this string.

Go light Ed...,
Every forum is a point of communication. What Greg has mentioned is the information that is often circulated and can be true of any wild captured and imported monitor. So, he is right, just not in this particular instance with You... I try to always encourage people to acquire baby animals rather than stressed, tick bitten wc adults. The reasons are obvious and don't require explaination here now. I have also found that some experienced herpers enjoy large reptiles rather than small ones and can and will supply the resources to care for them well. I also believe that modern varanid husbandry (thanks Frank Retes)is the new standard that is expected of our peers here. This is not hard to provide with a bit of instruction and some money(you will pay dearly over the years, hahaha!). PE has a very instructional website... There are others too, but the small gaps of knowledge should be filled in by fellow keepers. I also have found that those that start and raise babies, be it ackies or water monitors will learn the "limits" of the animal from the time it is a harmless baby to the time it has a painfully loaded jaw(ouch.- my response to varanid venom, hahaha!). I happen to have found the entire indicus group to be very hardy and beautiful- many varieties and colorful. They are medium sized varanids unlike waters. Varanids can live long lives with Retes methods of varanid husbandry and you should attempt to select an animal/s that you are captivated by because you will be working hard for 20 years if you do a good job. I wish Ed the best of luck with his "charge" and hope that he does bring true cbb bluetails to life... I hope that you will better understand my angle in this discussion and I do wish Greg(glad you spoke up...)the very best too- Mike S

Understood. I apologize if my response was over the top. I plan to work with this lizard for years.