Reptile & Amphibian Forums

In follow up to one of the threads below - wondering what the experts say about monitors, keeping, and personalities.  

Monitor size and enclosure needs aside, which species make the most rewarding captives?  Assuming they are kept in optimum conditions and keeper interactions are proper. (to be clear - kindly refrain from input biased toward animal size, enclosure size, or the manner in which the animal is kept). Assuming the animal is kept only for personal interests (not in attempt to profit from breeding) by the likes of FR, Crocdoc, Murrindindi, Robyn, etc - with unlimited space and knowledge - which species is most rewarding?

Rewarding in terms of:
 a) interesting in behavior and/or interaction, 
 b) 'show animal' potential, and
 c) captive breeding aptitude

Curious to hear the experts' take - and I'll bet many of the forum readers would as well.

Many Thanks --

Hi, first, I think most all of use who have bred varanids, did it for the same reasons your asking about. behavior, fun etc. Money from offspring is simply a product of good husbandry.

Monitors are not like many reptiles. You do not need to hibernate, photoperiod, rain cycle, etc to get reproduction. You just need a healthy socialized pair. And lots of food.

Its also a very hard question as each species has their strong points.

So I will with the gould group, Flavirufus, gouldi, and panoptes.

With Panoptes being a bit of an aquired taste. hahahahahaha as in, they can be super active and super interesting, to a point you super can not take it. hahahahahahahahahaha

Flavis come in great colors, as do some of the crosses.

Yup that group is just plain fun. Cheers

Their was an old man who owned The Serpentarium who bred ARgus cross... It was very tempting for me to get one, but I refrain myself because of the cheer size...but other than that they look very pretty and have great personalities. The old man would let it out and I pet it with his supervision and it can be very active.

I'm a big fan of lace monitors, obviously. They're energetic, intelligent, curious, cheeky and (males in particular) have a take-no-prisoners attitude. They learn really quickly, so it's easy to teach them routines to make keeping and handling easier. You'd have to try pretty hard to get a defensive bite out of one but always be mindful of the feeding response. As display animals they are spectacular as adults, hopeless as babies (pretty, yes, but painfully shy). Hatchlings and juveniles will try the patience of people unfamiliar with the behaviour of shy animals, so it's not uncommon for people to move them on in frustration before they are two years old.

They're really variable but, in my opinion, they can be one of the nicest looking large monitors when it comes to colouration and conformation.
The hatchlings are like living jewelry.

My vote is for Water's. They seem intelligent, are very powerful and love to relandscape their enclosure daily. They demand respect and will decide when they will put up with the keeper and remind you from time to time by whapping you with a tail shot that will leave a mark for days! Throw in some long sharp talons, bloody forearms and a water bin that is used for a toilet that requires constant maintaince and you got yourself the perfect monitor. And who says salvators arent for everyone,,,hahaha.

Hi bsartin,
my personal favourite species due to being stunningly beautiful, CLEARLY intelligent, personality wise, responsiveness etc, etc, is V. salvator.....
Then again, it`s also V. varius, V. bengalensis, V. niloticus, V. ornatus, etc...
I cannot choose between them, because ALL the species I`ve kept have those characteristics, and I`ve been fortunate to have (over time) very tractable individuals, which makes the whole experience so much more rewarding, in my opinion!

Silly me, how could I forget my V. gouldii, just as impressive behaviourally etc, as all the other species I`ve kept!

As I see the list, I wonder about a couple of things.

Shouldn't we consider the danger of the species as well? I keep croc monitors and Lacies, and I love lacies, but they can bite the holy dogbeans out of you. Either on purpose or accidently. But to the part bitten, its the same.

Also housing. The larger monitors are very difficult to house for most people.

I have kept and bred many many species of varanids. And without question, the more cage you have, the more fun it is for the keeper.

A simple thought, a monitor like a salvator, large with normal body proportions, gets seven foot, keeing it in a 12 foot cage is like keeping a 18 ackie in a 24 inch cage. And no ackie keeper would do that. I think that should be a huge consideration when talking about species. Which is why I picked the gouldi complex. Big enough to not fall in a crack and small enough to be able to house properly.

My last question is this, I cannot understand how people would let a large Salvator loose in their house.

I hear that all the time. But simply cannot entertain that type of thinking.

A healthy large monitor with a normal body temp, would simply level your house. hahahahahahahahahaha mine would.

its not about being mean or agressive, its simply varanids are active and curious. They are also versitle, that is, they dig and climb. So everything up, will be down in short order.

Thanks and best wishes

Great point on cage size thats why i'm alyays pounding on giant cages if you want a giant species. i'm always amazed at how many people think their gods gift to herping because they have 8 foot cages. Our croc monitors here at the zoo are in a cage 40 foot by 20 ft by 15 foot and i still think its too small for them
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"We don't inherate the earth from our parents, we borrow it from our children"

by comparison, that 40 foot cage is about like a 6 ft trough to an ackie.(V.acanthurus) Thanks

"Shouldn't we consider the danger of the species as well? I keep croc monitors and Lacies, and I love lacies, but they can bite the holy dogbeans out of you. Either on purpose or accidently."

I certainly agree with you there, but was simply responding to the original poster's request:
"Monitor size and enclosure needs aside, which species make the most rewarding captives?"
I think lacies are the most rewarding captives, but I'd never recommend one as a first monitor. My adult male, Alex, is easily the most dangerous animal I've ever kept because he's probably one of the seemingly 'tamest' reptiles I've ever owned, but has a hair-trigger feeding response that's nothing short of scary.

Well, since we're all putting our two mice in.... i've kept a fair number of species and while they all share that which is monitor, there are distinctions.... I had a really nice salvator years ago. Lived loose in my bedroom, And yes he did wreak havoc, swimming in my six foot fish tank,eventually eating every last fish as well as other creatures caged in the room. But a great lizard. Of course l really have a thing for roughnecks, they're just so cool, And once thy get used to you, you get to watch too! Then again, I gotta say the pilbaras were mighty awesome as well! Talk about mini komodos! They are really something else. Never kept a lacie, though I wouldn't say no, nor a croc monitor, but having seen the dentition.......
Guy

Thanks a ton to everyone for the quality input. The expert perspectives offered are unquestionably valuable for us in the 'lesser experienced' bucket.

Dav46's input was interesting. Makes me think v. salvator may be a lot like boxers (dogs) - in that they all have similar personalities. His description could have easily been about my water monitor.