Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Black trees are my favorite monitor and I have a long term goal of starting a breeding program with them. I am new to reseaching BTs and there's not a whole lot of liturature available on them. Soooo...I have some questions!

I have been told there are "no" breeders with successful captive bred BT's. True or false?

If there are captive bred BTs, why aren't there may advertized on line or at conventions, and how were the breeders successful?

Is there a need to propigate the Captive bred species of BTs due to so many breeder?

Also, if anyone has tips on getting a tempermental monitor to successfully breed, let me know!

(don't worry, I'm not going to take over anyone's herp-breeding livelyhood - I don't even OWN a BT yet! but when I move to Cali in a year, I want to have a huge "all natural" BT enclusure!)
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Melissa and Corny

Hi there...

Prepare yourself, this is going to be long....hahahaha

To answer your question about if there is any Black Tree Monitor breeders out there, well, there are very few people in the states who have had/are having some success with breeding Black Trees. There are many reasons for this that I will get into a little bit later...

Therefore, due to the lack of people breeding them, there are virtually no true captive bred animals offered for sale. All of the animals that you frequently see offered are all wild caught animals. Unlike prasinus and macraei, beccari is a species that is still frequently imported in decent numbers..

So, yes there is a need for captive bred animals, as wild caught adults are difficult animals to acclimate and establish in captivity. It is unfortunate, but I would have to say at least 50% of the wild caught tree monitors imported into this country die, and perhaps of all the tree monitors imported, .001% actually get to pass on their genes to a new generation of monitors...

The reason for this, is like i said before, establishing and acclimating individuals to life in captivity. Tree Monitors, as well most other WC monitors, are very high strung and flighty, and stress out very easily. Combine stress with the terrible condition(severely dehydrated) that most tree monitors arrive in, and you have an animal destined for death... Acclimating these animals usually takes many months, sometimes years, to where the animals are healthy and adjusted enough to even contemplate breeding..

If it is instant gratification through breeding, that you want with Black Tree Monitors, i would suggest going with a captive bred species, such as Ackies, or Freckled Monitors, as you will see success with them much sooner than, black trees, if ever.. Too often people buy a group of animals, with intentions to breed them. They do not give the animals enought time to adjust, and they usually get frustrated due to the lack of success they are seeing, and give up on them.... Most times, people just throw oppostie sexed animals together in an enclosure right from the start, which I think is a bad thing, as I feel that animals should be separated and quarantined by themselves until they have regained weight through hydration, as well as other steps vital to their survival..I, for example, average a 6-7 month quarantine period for all tree monitors that I get in...some have remained in quarantine for over a year, until I feel that they are ready to be introduced to another animal..

If you get them healthy, and the animals are compatible with one another, they should breed for you, and give you eggs.. While I feel that they may need certain environmental cues along with a steady daily feeding regiment, others feel that environmental changes aren't necessary. So basically, the breeding aspect is not the difficult part, it's all the steps and time leading up to it..

I wish you the best of luck, V. beccari are truly one of my favorite species, and once established and accustomed to your presence, they can be very rewarding in their behaviors and personalities.... Cheers, have a great day!!!

bob



The Odatriad

Melissa, Black Trees are awesome! I've owned a few for about 3 months. They are truly unique. There are successful breeders of Black Trees. Not me though. Arizona Reptile Center (probably the most exceptional pet store in America!) did breed Black Trees in captivity, and hatch eggs. They also managed to raise babies. But I think all of them were stolen during a robbery a few years back.

Breeeding Black Trees is one thing, and hatching eggs is another huge obstacle. Often you will get infertile eggs. Or you will not find the eggs in time. The young are also hard to raise. Az. Reptile Center's Black Trees were very well established (several years). I believe they had one male and two female adults. Their cage was surprisingly small. It was about four feet high by two by two. But they bred. So something was right. I think Mike of Mikes monitors also bred Black Trees. So captive breedings do happen. But not by accident. I would consider Black Trees to be a pretty difficult monitor to breed.

There is a huge need to produce captive young. One day imports will dissappear, and captive prices will go way up. So more people will try. But imports are so cheap now, that people really do not try as hard as they should. I plan to buy several colonies, and try. I am not expecting much. But I think I will learn a lot from them. I would recommend that you buy some ackies first to get your skills down. They are much easier to breed, and will not come in stressed. Black Trees are cheap to buy (a few hundred dollars), but will need to see a vet and require several months to years before becoming established. If you set up a huge naturalistic vivarium, you will have the best results.

Good luck,

Howard

does AZ Reptile Center have a website, or email address by any chance? I'd love to chat with them about their experiences... maybe share some pics, etc.... Thanks for the info, I've never heard of them...

Take care,

bob

The Odatriad

Here is AZ. Reptile Center's web-site. They are very good at just about everything. I really enjoy your pictures.

http://www.arizonareptilecenter.com/

Thanks,

Howard.

Thank you so much for your wonderful information on Black trees...I have already printed out your posts for my "Black Tree Monitor" info folder.

I think one good point you both brought up was to make sure the animals are in stable condition in isolation before throwing a bunch in together.

I appreciate the info so much, and I can't wait to begin my black tree project! I want to move permanently from CT to California before starting this so I can provide them with nicely built permanent shelters as well and not stressing them bringing them cross-country.

I was wondering, where did you guys get your BTs? did you have them shipped or get them at a store/convention? Bob-the ones in your pictures are SOOO adorable! i love them!
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Melissa and Corny

Melissa, I purchased my Black Trees from Ben Seigel. They showed up in good shape, and are only getting better.

Thanks,

Howard.

Hi there Melissa,

No problem, I enjoy sharing my experiences with other monitor enthusiasts, as ig gives them another 'opinion' that they can look at and either apply some of it to their own husbandry, or not, but I think that sharing info and experiences with one another is a great way for us to learn more about out captives... It is unfortunate that some people are bad apples and refuse to share with others...

As far as where to get some black trees from, you can keep your eyes peeled on the monitor classifieds here on this site..That would probably be your best bet, however you must be careful about who you buy from, as I have been burned in the past from both unknowledgeable people improperly sexing the animals(supposed to be 1.1, ended up 2.0), and there are also the ambiguous animals that can fool you into thinking what sex it is(it's happened a couple of times with me- looked female, ended up being a subordinate male). So getting a legitimate pair can be troublesome sometimes... Perhaps if you post some pics of the animals you may be interested getting here, we forum-ites may be able to give our opinions in to what sexes we think they are, but keep in mind, there's no way that we can be 100% sure just by pics....

Being a Long Islander, I usually try to go up to the White Plains shows every other month, there are sometimes some offered for sale there... You said you're from Connecticut, so that's not too far of a trip to attend the show... However, most, if not all the tree monitors I've ever seen at the show were in pretty rough condition, as well as improperly sexed pairs.... which really pissed me off.... To be honest, it's very rare that I've ever gotten in a nice and already healthy/acclimated animal. All of my animals took a lot of time and effort to acclimate, but it has been well worth it...

Anywho, I hope I've been of some help to you, and like I said, I am one person here that shares my experiences openly, so if you should have any questions or need opinions, just shoot... It's great to see another tree monitor enthusiast around here....

Take care, have a great day,

Bob

The Odatriad

I have posted a lot of info on how I acclimate my animals and set them up in quarantine cages here over the past few weeks. If you scroll through the pages you should find some more of my experiences, as well as the people who responded to my posts... Cheers Melissa, best of luck to you, and happy hunting.... take care,

bob
The ODatriad