Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello
Does anyone how the process for breeding Black Tree Monitors? Any input would be appreciated....Thanks
Robert

Well... although some people might argue with me, I do not believe that it is an easy thing to accomplish, hence the lack of captive bred offspring availabe in the pet trade. While stimulating the pair to breed, may be rather simple, I feel that 90% of breeding black trees has to deal with acquiring/acclimating healthy animals, who feel comfortable enough to reproduce in captivity. It can take years for an individual to acclimate, which can be frustrating to many people.

So, in my experience with black tree monitors, once I have an established, healthy pair, who appear to tolerate one another in the same enclosure, and both feed/drink well, i can then concentrate on stimulating them into copulation mode. I have never manipulated photoperiod with my tree monitors, they have always been on a 12/12 cycle. I feel that the determining factor in inducing reproductive behavior, is an increase in rainfall/humidity. I simply increase the frequency of rain durations on my misting system. I keep this amplified schedule for a couple of months, and then I slowly decrease the frequency. This is when I usually see breeding activity in my tree monitors.

While I have not hatched any tree monitor eggs(yet?), I have had two beccari become gravid, with both dying with developing eggs inside(probably from a respiratory infection), and have recieved eggs from my V. macraei.

I can not lay claim to have bred them, but I have had experience in seeing reproductive behavior and/or egg laying in my animals, which I think is one step ahead towards the end goal..

I hope this helps, this is what I have personally seen in my collection, and in my opinion would probably work for anybody else's, given their animals are healthy and acclimatized enough..

Cheers, have a great day..

The odatriad
The Odatriad

I think it is helpful to start out with a male and female of the same species, and just keep them healthy.
This is a lot harder than you think.

Here is a pic of how NOT to do it...I just don't seem to be getting any results with this pair....

D.