Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi.

I noticed the couple of posts about mounting behaviors and wondering whether or not they were signs of mating. Also; specifically in the posts it was mentioned that the male was mounting the female.

Monitors are tricky suckers. For you to know or think its mating, at the very least, you need to know if you have a male and female. The terms are used often; but the actual state of the animals usually differs. Just becuase one is smaller than the other doesn't mean or even suggest it is a female.

After seeing the posts regarding this I happened to walk by my holding cages, where I have several males; some to be sold, some to be paired up.

I managed to snap these two pictures to show just how confusing things can look. These are both males, the one on the bottom would seem to be the typical female; smaller, submissive. That is not the case though, as both are fully mature males.

Ultimately, I think this post is about getting a basis to go by as far as what a female is and what a male is. I spent years getting that basis and is ONLY KINDA coming around now; a few on here know that. So KNOW your sexes; then ask if it is mating or not, but be ready with nesting no matter what if your goal is breeding.

Cheers,
Mike.

and #2,

Can mounting be done by two females?I have a confirmed female and a unconfirmed male,and they are showing signs of mating.The male I raised from a 6 inch baby,and the female I recently acquired because she was producing infertile eggs for the last couple years.The male I posted pictures of him on another site and was told by some pretty respected people he was male.
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1.1 Varanus Rudicollis(Black roughneck monitor)
1.2 Tokay gecko
0.0.1 Ornate box turtle

It does; often. Though it doesn't look as much like mating as the pictures posted, it is mounting nonetheless; this is my experiance with Ackies. If you have a confirmed female and a pretty well confirmed male, I would say focus as much as you can on nesting and be ready for eggs fertile or not. In that scenerio at least your female has secure suitable nesting with no male; best case you have a very good clutch.

Goodluck - post some pictures.
Mike.

Here are some pictures of what I saw almost two weeks ago.

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1.1 Varanus Rudicollis(Black roughneck monitor)
1.2 Tokay gecko
0.0.1 Ornate box turtle

Its hard to see but the way the top one is positioned says male.

Cheers,
Mike.