Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Im about to switch from using cypress mulch to dirt in my monitor cage.Do i still need a nesting box or nesting area?If so,should the nesting site be on the warm side or the cool side?Im not breeding I just want my monitor to be able to lay eggs if it ends up being a female.(I was told it was a male when I got him but I dont want to kill him if I was told wrong)

Any help would be appreciated

Eric

Hi Eric,
the bigger the area you use for a deep substrate, the better the
chances the monitor will find a suitable nest site (in other words, if possible, use the whole floor, cooler and warmer sides)....
Can I ask how old the monitor is, how long you`ve had her/him, and can you put a few close up pics, especially of the tail base, from the side and from underneath? Thanks!

Im not sure of the age,but I got the monitor in june and the person I got him from said she got the monitor at a reptile show in September of 2010.he was 18 inches long when I got him and now hes 34 inches.

They were only feeding him a 10 cent gold fish every 3 days but I got him on crickets and mice right away,fre feeding the crickets and offering mice daily.

If hell let me pick him up Ill get some pics up.hes not out in the open right now though so ill have to wait.

At almost 3 ft total length, it should be possible to sex the monitor if the photos are clear, and the monitor sits still long enough. If not, and even if he/she doesn`t want to be picked up, it might help you get a better pic, and no lasting harm will come to him/her. You`ll probably get a scratch and bite (but I hope not)!

hes caught on to me trying to pick him up and he gets in his burrow.Ill keep trying daily though.I have only held him 2 times since ive had him and that was the day I got him and then a few weeks later to move him to a new cage.

I finally was able to pic him up today,but he wouldnt stay still enough to get a good pic.Ill were smaller gloves so I have more control over him tomorrow.

Are most female monitors like this, laying unfertile eggs?

Hi, I`m not sure what exactly you`re asking? If females are kept alone, then they usually lay infertile eggs, although parthenogenesis has been shown to occur in several varanid species (but not V. salvator), so it`s quite possible lone female Water monitors could lay fertile eggs, it just hasn`t been recorded at this time. (I hope that answers your question)!?

If you own a female Monitor, they almost all will lay infertile eggs. You have to have the same large nesting requirements that you would need if there was a male and mating took place or not as she'll need to nest. She will still go through all the motions and need to nest and deposit eggs and it's a big killer (improper nesting) in captive female Monitors. Generally deep soil throughout the cage and a few large tubs with a lid and small hole on top for her to dig into, with the ground being low to mid 80's (F) is adequate. Monitors can be fussy nesters.

Nice to know as I have a ornate female nile. Learn something new everyday I guess. Although mines only 3 months old at the moment.

Hi, you either have a Varanus niloticus or a V. ornatus, they`ve been a separate species for the last 14 years.

How can you tell it`s female if it`s only 3 months old?