Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Well, it turns out that my husbandry was most certainly not responsible for my lizard's demise (though it can and will always be improved). It turns out that Cortes had ovaries (he/she/it also had hemipenes) which were about the size of sausages, and cancerous. The vet said that they had probably been growing that way for at least 6 months, and probably closer to a year. I'll miss him, but I guess there was nothing to be done.

just in case you aren't aware of this, female monitors have clitoral structures very similar to the males' hemipenes. The only differences are usually size (they are smaller) and shape of the tips (they are simpler, lacking the frills, flourishes and cartilaginous or bony parts of hemipenes). It's likely that Cortes was a 'she' not a 'he'.

This is from a male blackthroat monitor...

You would think they were males. Some species the hemipenes are alot different from the hemiclitori, some they arent. Usually the males are noticeably larger on some species. The ovaries are the best way to tell, eggs= female.

Hi,
Very interesting....there are 3 known reports of hermaphoroditism (both sexes) in varanus: 2 V. bengalensis and 1 V. exanthematicus I know of...could you send me an email? I would very much like to get a copy of the necropsy report for my files and related info on this - further circumstantial evidence for this trend...how many other Varanus are like this? Who knows??

Sorry for your loss, but at least you know nothing could be done; I also had a V. albigularis die of ovarian cancer years ago. But not hermaphrodite!
Many Thanks,
mark bayless

Not always black n white. Well... you know what I mean.

I'll get a copy of the necroscopy when I get back into town. There very well could have been an error in sexing (although Cortes was sexed by a very knowledgable vet familiar with monitors). I also have a definite female savannah, and Cortes's "equipment" was different than hers. Of course, I think they were also different subspecies, since they barely looked like the same kind of lizard. If it does turn out to be a case of ambiguous sex, I'll send it on to you.
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Another question: does anyone know of a Bosc breeding project in the works? I know it's generally not done because of economic factors, but are they otherwise difficult to breed? Since I have quite a bit of space left from Cortes's residency, I thought about getting a pair of (unambiguously sexed) savannahs, or a definite adult male for my female. I really enjoy these guys, and it migh be worth purchasing one more pet-trade sav if I could try my hand at breeding. Otherwise, I think I might investigate tegus. Are there any other realistic (i.e. neither ultra-demanding nor ultra-mean) that are comparable in size with Boscs? Ackies seem a little bit on the small side for my taste, and I'm not entirely sure about my ability to make a six-foot albig or ionides happy.

Thank you all for your responses.