Are monitors social? I offer the following observations. Do what you will with them.
My monitors do things that appear social. I suspect it is because I keep them in a box. Even my room enclosure salvators are in a box, it just happens to be 10 x 10.
My female argus HATES the male. She tries to kill him. I have tossed in Stevie (5'4" male salvator) into her enclosure multiple times. She does not usually like that. After a few days she does not respond defensively to his movements and will even bask with him. Stevie checks her out (he's blind but he still wanders about tongue flicking), but eventually is less inquisitive about her. Do these behaviors make either of them social? I doubt it. She tolerates him because she has to do so. Regardless of how large or small her enclosure is, she must deal with a giant salvator in her enclosure. However, she learns that he does not attack her and he does not threaten (with postures) her. So, she learns he is not quite an immediate threat and deals with his presence. Her needs (basking, water, food) take precedence and she goes about those activities with the knowledge he is not likely to kill her. By all appearances, they get along great. I've seen her sit on him (which is funny looking). I have seen her rest her head on his neck. I have seen him rest his head on her back. I know, however, if I left the lid to her enclosure off she'd take off. So is she social or adapting?
Dragon (female salvator) and Stevie are brother and sister and have been raised together since hatching (except for the times when I toss Stevie in with the argus). Dragon lives up to her name and hates me (and I doubt she'd take kindly to my argus, but we will never know because I am not going to put them together). She lives peacefully with Stevie. Does this behavior make her social? Again, if I left the lid off the enclosure, she'd leave her brother (as soon as I left and she could come out of her hide). Again, social or adapting to the conditions I provide? Even if she attacked all other monitors but Stevie, does this mean she has a bond with him or does it mean she learned through lots of exposure that Stevie, as an individual, is not such a bad guy and attacking him is unnecessary? Does her ability to recognize individuals and act differently toward (I assume) them suggest socialness or intelligence and learning? I could test this by tossing her in with another salvator. Afterall, she was raised with another monitor, so she should know how it works.
Does the following picture suggest socialness among monitors and other animals?
Some context. This is the closet of my room enclosure. There are 3 basking spots at roughly the same height in this room. In addition, there is a basking spot much lower to the ground and a radiant heater in the room. However, Labyrinth (salvator) and Chubbs (iguana) were basking peacefully together here (even more peacefully before I interrupted). Further, this event was not a one-time occurrence. It occurred at least 10 times (that I know of) over the course of a year. Chubbs certainly could have chosen two other basking spots at the same height and Labryinth had the same choices. They chose to sit here together. Social preference or did they just learn to get along because they had to do so? I concede Labyrinth did not need to get along. He could have killed Chubbs without even putting forth any effort. He never did. Mushu has not killed any iguanas either and she has lived with iguanas for almost 3 years now. Does she have a social fondness for them?
In fact, there are two male iguanas in this room. They do not kill each other or fight. Social preference or did they just learn to tolerate each other and share some resources without killing each other?
In the end, we can speculate all we want but they are still in cages. I make many of the important decisions for them. I put them in boxes and provide the conditions in which they live. I force them to either adapt or die (sooner). I doubt very much that what I see in my enclosures is grounds on which to conclude much about what they do in the wild.
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^x^ Bloodbat ^x^
Monitors, monitors everywhere
and all the food they ate.
Monitors, monitors everywhere,
their parents loved to mate.
