Would those with personal experience with Mangroves please let me know how they view the general disposition of this type of monitor. Thanks in advance, I'll be doing other research on them and just wanted to get a consensus of thought through actual experience.
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Mangrove Monitor Disposition
Guyver
Feb 08, 2003 08:39 PM
Replies (3)
stu_r
Feb 09, 2003 08:18 AM
well i think it is very variable but i think generaly they are very nice monitors it just requires time and persistance.
bengalensis
May 14, 2003 03:18 AM
They are pretty cool monitors. My male is very active while the female tends to be in hiding a lot more. They LOVE to dig and spend much time soaking. I change their water twice a day. I dont handle them because it seems to stress them out more than its worth, however I can reach into the tank and touch them without them fleeing most of the time. I dont get tail whips, but the male has nipped me occasionally when I shoo him out of the water bowl. Im not sure if its a territorial type behavior, but I sometimes wonder. Perhaps he just feels he can get his point accross better with teeth. I dont think of them as being very handelable type monitors, but more for visual appeal. As far as diet and maint., I reccomend a good hearty mixed diet of rodents and crustaceans(crawfish, shrimp, etc.), a good burrowable substrate and HIGH humidity. I also feed beef heart, but simply because its good AND cheap. If I was rich I would feed mostly crustaceans.
I dont reccomend this monitor for most simply because they are not very handelable(at least with all the ones ive seen). However, if you want something that is pretty active, and you can sit and just watch do its own thing, I think a mangrove could be a good choice.-Or a timor for that matter.
Hope this helps...
Michelle
dragonbreeder
May 15, 2003 12:04 PM
While a current Mangrove keeper such as Michelle can provide you the most information on these guys, I thought I would add some information from my past experiences with these guys.
I once had a large adult mangrove that was extremely docile. I have held ones owned by others that were also very nice, and seemed to have the same disposition, but remember that each one might be different. I owned mine for a long time and experienced no incidents, and handled him frequently. He never became disturbed when I did frequent cage maintenance, never tried to run from me, and did not find humans upsetting as well. I would compare his disposition to a Rudicollis.
My recommendation would be to get one as a baby and go from there. They are really great varanids.
