Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I caught my pair copulating in their water bowl again this morning (they were doin' it back in June too). They are both still young at about a year old and relatively small at around 3.5-4 feet, but I do not feel this is a dominance issue, although I could be totally wrong. They have been kept together since they were both small juvies (14" and have never had a squabble. They often are holed up together, but just as often are on opposite ends of their enclosure. Who knows...I believe it's a good sign for the future.

Anyone else keeping pairs (of any varanids) together that copulate? If so, how old are they, at what age did it start, was there anything that indicated it was a dominance issue (a subordinate that didn't do as well, etc.), were/are they kept together on a continual basis, or any other information at all. This is all new to me since I have only kept singles in the past and am just trying to fill out the whole pair picture thing. Thanks in advance for any information at all! Billy

Hi Billy, it looks to me like your salvators are nearing sexual maturity. At that time, things change a bit. Soon you will find out if its dominance or not.

A key point, if the female is not swollen with eggs, then its most likely not a reproductive breeding, which only means dominance(or just plain fun, cause we really don't know why they do that). With monitors, the females develope enlarged ovum or swollen internal fat bodies(which appears like eggs from causal viewing) They do this before they become receptive. And if a female is not receptive, then breeding is for nothing.

Good Luck FR

>>Hi Billy, it looks to me like your salvators are nearing sexual maturity. At that time, things change a bit. Soon you will find out if its dominance or not.
>>
>> A key point, if the female is not swollen with eggs, then its most likely not a reproductive breeding, which only means dominance(or just plain fun, cause we really don't know why they do that). With monitors, the females develope enlarged ovum or swollen internal fat bodies(which appears like eggs from causal viewing) They do this before they become receptive. And if a female is not receptive, then breeding is for nothing.
>>
>> Good Luck FR