Reptile & Amphibian Forums

What are some of the ages for monitors to reach sexual maturity? Such as the Water monitors, Blackthroats as well as others, Is it an age maturity or a certain size that can be used as an indicator...and I know it will vary between the species...just curious as to how it could impact wild populations/numbers, if too many of certain species are being exported/imported...and how the reproductive age may not be reached by many of the wild specimens.....niles as well, it seems that there are a million( slight exaggeration) being imported...It must be nearly impossible for the wild population to get to sexual maturity...Thoughts?

These are reptiles and reptiles show more responce to thier conditions. The times and sizes are based on their conditions, to a very large degree.

Small monitors can reproduce as fast as four months from hatching and medium ones, as fast as seven months, and the larger ones as fast as a year. I do not include the maximum time it takes because, if the conditions are poor, they will never produce(which is the most common time in captivity and nature)

About your last concerns, they are collecting babies or eggs, not adults. The two most expendible age groups with most reptiles are the young and the old. The most important age group for continued survival, is young adults. Leave habitat and young adults and the population increases with collecting. Total habitat destuction is the end of them. That is a problem. But even worse are the introduction of feral pests and desease.

FYI, most cases of mass collecting are done in disturbed areas, not totally natural areas, the reason is, in natural areas, the populations are low and hard to get to. In disturbed areas the populations can be extremely high and of course easy to get to.

Please do not think I am condoning mass collecting, I am not. F

Disturbed areas? Like Detroit? I never knew they collected from those areas. I mean I realize that most of the savannahs come Georgia(severely disturbed), and a lot of the ornate niles are collected from Kentucky (also quite disturbed) but what species are being brought in from the Detroit area?

Guy