Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey bob a while back you said that you would help me in my "hunt" for an arborealish monitor. And I need you advice on an "arborealish" monitor. Which ones are there that are available in the pet trade? Don't mention v. salvadorri LOL because there is no way I can house one of those monsters (I mean monsters in a good way).

So please help me LOL!

thanks,
franz_ferdinand_
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"Dark of the matinee"

find me and follow me
through corridors, refacteries, and files
you must follow, leave
this academic factory
you will find me in the matinee
the dark of the matinee
its better in the matinee

Oh and I have looked a lot into V. jobiensis and I haven't found a very detailed care sheet on the web yet, if you have any info on them that would be great. I know that you are a odatria guy but thought I would ask.
-----
"Dark of the matinee"

find me and follow me
through corridors, refacteries, and files
you must follow, leave
this academic factory
you will find me in the matinee
the dark of the matinee
its better in the matinee

Hey Franz, there are many monitors that would utilize branches if given to them... I would think all monitors would do a fair bit of climbing if offered to them...

As far as peachthroats, I have not kept them personally, nor do I know a whole lot about them... I believe Robert Brushner(who sometimes posts on here) has/still keeps them.. Mike Stefani, who's site is at the top of the forum, has hatched out jobiensis, perhaps he could share some of his experiences with you..

As for now, I primarily just keep THE arboreal monitors: several members of the prasinus complex..a.k.a. Tree Monitors... If you search the archived forum here, I'm sure you will find a lot of useful information on peachthroats, as I remember there use to be quite a fair amount of common postings concerning V. jobiensis..

But like I said, I imagine that any monitor species would use branches/a vertically oriented enclosure.. 7feet off the ground is nothing, compared to the trees that they may climb in the wild, which may reach 80 ' in height... I would go with the species that you are most fascinated with, and have the proper conditions/facilities to properly care for them... Anyways, good luck, and I highly recommend checking the archived forums here on KS, as there's a lot of interesting experiences/info posted back then, that not many "newer" people know about, or even think to check out... Take care, have a great day!

bob

Thank you, and I am very interested in peachies so I will be checking the archives.
-----
"Dark of the matinee"

find me and follow me
through corridors, refacteries, and files
you must follow, leave
this academic factory
you will find me in the matinee
the dark of the matinee
its better in the matinee

Bob, at least you could spell my name right. hahahahaha

Franz, I do keep jobiensis and have for a little while now, I don't think there is much special about them in care requirements, just slight adjustments to standard monitor husbandry. They are very active, almost hyperactive (like argus). I do think they are a bit easier (but not much) to dehydrate than some other monitors. The real challenge (as with alot of indo species), is getting a good quality monitor to begin with.

They will climb, and are very good at it, They will use a large water basin, they will dig/burrow in both leaf litter and dirt. They are a jack of all trades (like alot of monitors).

I would start with the captive FAQ on varanus . net

--Robert

Thanks and what is the best size cage? I was told at the National Breeders Expo a 39"x39"x72" (LWH) would work.Is that true?

Thanks
-----
"Dark of the matinee"

find me and follow me
through corridors, refacteries, and files
you must follow, leave
this academic factory
you will find me in the matinee
the dark of the matinee
its better in the matinee

I think it would work better for an adult on it's side.

To be very clear, I think taller cages are good, and give us alot more flexibility in giving them options. But for jobiensis at least, I don't think height should come at the expense of floor area. There are ways using shelves, branches, etc. to better utilize the height, which also create visual barriers (which can be useful for multiple monitors in an enclosure), but it is very difficult to make that space work well. I am not very happy with the boxes taller than they are wide that I have used, then again I'm not all that happy with 3' high cages either.

What I suggest...

1) Understand just how big a peachie is as an adult (I can give you some pics (if you want) of adults, I have seen pics of other adults that were substantially larger than mine though)

2) Start with that cage with a very young small pair. I say small meaning 12" or so 18" at the most. I say pair meaning at least two (they will be too small to reliably know the sexes, there is some gamble in this). I also say pair, in that if you are going to keep this species, you owe it to the monitors (not yours the future w.c.s) to at least try to let them breed.

3) After a couple months, you will have a better idea on how to build out the next enclosure, and will be asking better questions on how it should be built. Then build the next enclosure, make it larger than 3x3, 4x6 (build it as high as you want/can) always seemed a nice minimum for a moderate sized pair to me.

4) Do your homework, don't expect anything overnight

5) Have fun, otherwise you will eventually give up, both you and the monitors lose out.

If all this seems too much work, go get a nice c.b. species, I find peachies are very similiar to some gouldii complex types (engaging, bold, agressive feeder). Don't take that as a failure, it's not, if your not up for the long haul, peachies can be a real pain. You can always get some in the future. I do love all my jobiensis dearly, but they can be very frustrating and heartbreaking at times. If you feel this is only a challenge, and peachies really flip your skirt up (hehehehe I stole that from someone), go for it, they need someone to breed them, and they can be wonderful captives.

Good Luck, any more questions, just ask!

--Robert