Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was wondering, since most of you have monitors, do you guys ever try to teach them any tricks or do any of your monitors have odd habbits that seperate them from the rest?

This question idea came to me when I visited my cousin in San Jose this morning. He keeps a couple of monitors and while watching them get fed by my cousin, I noticed some things. There was a nile monitor that attacked a mouse with its tail, a water monitor which grabbed the mouse and ran into the water with it. I saw a really cute timor monitor that kept running in and out of his rocky burrow when he saw us looking at him. I would say my most favorite monitor was his v. g. flavirufus, or gould monitor, which was the tamest, and the croc monitor which had awesome patterns and color.

JamesDarec

is by far my most favorite monitor. They never bite, and are very calm for the most part!!!
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Greg Holland
G&M HERPS
www.imageevent.com/gmherps
gmherps@sbcglobal.net

Whats the maximum size of a Dumeril's by the way. One source says 125cm while another says they can grow past 150cm?

Everything I have read and been told seems to indicate 90-125cm is most common. I think the 150cm may be the record. I got mine a month ago at Underground Reptiles (GREAT shop) in S FL and the Manager there Greg has I think 4-6 breading pair and he also confirmed the 90-125cm. There is a good article in the March issue of Reptile mag and it refers to the Dumerilli as a 3ft lizard.

I haven't seen the reptiles article so I can't comment on the accuracy of it, but I cancelled my suscription to reptiles because of the crap articles (not all, just some).

I have kept a few dumeril's and currently keep 4. I would plan on a 4' to 5' lizard regardless of the animals sex.

Hey, are they socially? Like, I hear some people that can interact with their monitors, would a dumeril do that? In the article in reptiles, it said around the lines of 60" long, 36" wide and 30" high. I also want it to free roam the house when I am home. But, I want to know if it will just dart away like some of the other nervous monitors.

I have been researching and researching and they seem like the perfect monitor for me. The question now is where to find a CB one.
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Starkey
2.2 Colombian Boa Constrictors
1.1 Amazon Tree Boas
1.1 Taiwan Beauty Snakes
1.0 Jungle Carpet Python
0.0.1 White's Tree Frog
Mystic Eye

I would try the classified section here. Pro exotics can get some, but there are other people occasionally selling some CB specimens.
Just to touch a bit on how social they are. When I was 17 I got my 1st dumerili straight out of the wild. He (joebu) was so tame it was awesome. I would let him run around while I was home with my moms poodle, and he never even tried any funny stuff with it. He loved shrimp, prawns, can dog food, stew meat and yes the occasional mouse. Social: they are one of the best in my book.
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Greg Holland
G&M HERPS
www.imageevent.com/gmherps
gmherps@sbcglobal.net

Another quick question.

How do you actually feel about getting them out of the wild? I do not want to go that way... But I work at a pet store, and my boss said he could get me any monitor I really wanted at a bit above wholesale price. I know it would be WC though. So, I am at a moral delemma. I would hate to encourage importation of an animal and I really do not want to risk losing it by disease. What do you think? Dums are by far my favorite monitor.
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Starkey
2.2 Colombian Boa Constrictors
1.1 Amazon Tree Boas
1.1 Taiwan Beauty Snakes
1.0 Jungle Carpet Python
0.0.1 White's Tree Frog
Mystic Eye

I'm not restraining that animal because I like to, it's because it would bite me without hesitation.
Dumeril's are typically very calm animals, but I have two that are scary.

Now that is one awesome dumerili!!!
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Greg Holland
G&M HERPS
www.imageevent.com/gmherps
gmherps@sbcglobal.net