Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i just got a really good deal on a cb baby timor and i cant seem to find very much information anywhere on them. does anyone know of any good care sheet sites or can give me any general information on the humidity level and such. it would be greatly appreciated.

Here's what I found when I was searching yesterday. Timor monitors
V. timorensis
By Evan Gray

Timor monitors native to several islands in the archipelago of Indonesia. They have a dark brown ground color and a pattern of yellow, blue, red, and white rosettes. They reach an average size of 16-19" TL(total length). The maximum size for this species is about 24".

This species of monitor can be adequately housed singly in a 60gal terrarium, but a pair must be housed in at least a 4x2x2(LxWxH) enclosure. I temperature gradient of about 120* under the basking light to about 80* on the cooler side of the enclosure should be provided. Climbing space should be provided, but a decent burrowing substrate should be provided as well. However, newspaper will do fine. If a birdhouse type hide-box is included in the enclosure it will be used frequently along with hiding places on the ground. For substrate, a dirt/sand mix this is misted regularly will keep the humidity of the cage up to a timor monitor's liking. Also, a substrate of cypress mulch could be used as well. Some breeders and keepers of this species say that hot is more important than humid, so the cheap and easy way out, newspaper, will probably be best.

The diet of captive timors, as well as all monitors, should contain a wide variety of food. Supplemented crickets would make an ideal staple diet for this species. Pinky mice, superworms, fuzzy mice, canned cat food, ground turkey, cooked chicken, turkey diet, and just about anything else that is healthy for them, they will eat. Crickets and other food sources can be supplemented with Rep-Cal supplement, which contains no phosphorous.

When acquiring one of these monitors, make sure you can see the animal before you buy. Check the eyes, make sure they're clear, check to see if it flicks its tongue at every thing that moves, check the vent to make sure no dried feces is present, and check the tail base and back legs to make sure
they around and well muscled. Also when at all possible, buy captive bred monitors, they will be parasite free and are much more active and calm down much more easily. However if you must purchase an imported animal, get it vetted and wormed first thing. This will insure the health of the monitor, and most importantly, you.

In breeding these animals it is hard to distinguish sexes, as males have no spines around the vent as in other timor-like species such as V. scalaris. Breeding activity seems to be stimulated by a 24-hour photoperiod, or a reduction in light time, and temperature. Both have been documented.
Captive timor monitors will breed between December and March each year. A clutch of 8-11 eggs is laid. The eggs should be incubated on a moist medium at about 80*. The eggs will hatch in between 93-180 days.

This species is all in all a very good species to work with. Being rather hardy and somewhat reluctant to bite, they make excellent captives.

Hope it helps....Eric

2 issues:

A. I think these animals would rather not be on newspaper. Mine seems to really appreciate having dug a burrow under his cork bark.

B. You'd better hope they're reluctant to bite because it REALLY hurts when they do. Fortunately, they're more likely to scratch your arm up and then go hide under the couch.
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