Reptile & Amphibian Forums

How are you gentlemen?
I woke up this morning to find my solitary female water monitor with this in her cage.

One solitary large egg

She has no mate was only house briefly with my male bosc a few months ago during my females third breeding. I am assuming this is infertile but will leave it be until it turns, but do water monitors lay eggs like chickens? Is this just a sign that she is ready to be bred?
I really can't imagine there being enough temperature fluctuation or anything to stimulate her to turn follicles into eggs I'm very stumped.
Regards,
JC

NP

As Frank said, female monitors can and will lay eggs with or without a male. No special ingredients needed just add good care and food.

Your water should lay more eggs and will do so again soon. Seems 3 of my female waters are in sync as they all just laid recently as well.

Keep up the good work and get a male for her. I'd offer one but I only have a bunch of females right now.

Thank you all mystery solved. I guess I was never really sure about that whole laying eggs as long as they are healthy and fed well thing. So many different opinions are out there on it all. Now here is a really silly question, Anyone have a loaner male they wouldn't mind me borrowing? Finding a male of age at this time of year is going to be well, difficult. I see ton's of babies but I don't want to be guessing at neonate sexes

!

I think finding an adult male salvator is about as easy as it gets. There are many many adults that are not wanted. I bet, all you have to do is post an add "wanted adult male" for my egg laying female, and you will be flooded with offers. As always, best of luck(which you don't seem to need) and keep up the good work, FR

Should have been a little less solitary about a month ago. hahahahahahahahahahaha, get a male.

While the egg appears infertile, I would incubate it. Most other types of reptiles have had parthnogenic reproductive events. Its rumored with varanids, not I have not seen it. So Incubate those bad boys.

Now, a little rant. You are seeing exactly what I have seen. Healthy females lay eggs, period. You do not have to do anything special, like brumate, hibernate, photoperiod, etc. Simply health and food allows eggs to occur.

I say that because so many of the experts(so-called) say all this and that is needed. And they never recieve eggs from their females. I just find it odd, that expert methods of husbandry does not allow for eggs. And, non-expert husbandry does.

They so often use the excuse, but I do not put the male in with the female. Well, as you have seen, that is only a small detail and it surely does not prevent eggs from occuring. It may prevent hatching, but does not prevent the laying of eggs.

Now your starting to understand, why so many years ago I said, monitors are not seasonally induced breeders, but instead food induced breeders. As soon as females have enough energy to produce, they do, period. Thanks FR

As always sir you have my gratitude for your answers. Now to find a male

I think I need to keep this up considering none of my efforts were intended to lead to breeding but I am doing something correct, so I will run with it.

Thanks again,
JC

Your solitary female will probably lay 10-14 more of those over time. You will probably find them in the water container and all over the place. Sometimes she may even hold on to them for two weeks and you will find a blackened, twisted, deflated object that makes YOU cringe when you imagine that thing coming out that end!

If your conditions remain decent, you will probably find her cycling ever 3-5 months. She will do this with or without a male. For my female, it seemed easier to breed her than not breed her. When she bred, the cycles were closer to 3 months and all eggs were deposited quickly. When she was not bred, she would hold on to them , swell up, and dump them over a long period of time. It was a very nervous time for me.

Congrats on the cycling female.
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^x^ Bloodbat ^x^
Monitors, monitors everywhere
and all the food they ate.
Monitors, monitors everywhere,
their parents loved to mate.