Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello Greg.

In the post down below you stated many other people have had success in breeding varanids using other methods of keeping. Would you care to tell us how they are kept and how there nesting was?

And Gregg for the record finding 20 garters under one board is super social.

About the garders, I once found in SoCal, 23 two striped garders, loosely laying around in shallow water in a 2 foot by 3 foot section of slow moving stream. In july?????? Odd I tell you.

ALso about Gregg, It was John A's animals, and ask about their overall husbandry? as in where did it come from. Thanks

Do you think John A is the only varanid person I know? LOL. Frank, you know about monitors but nohing about me or what I actually own, keep, or breed. You ASSume a lot.

To answer the OPs question.
I have seen successful breeding, egg laying, and longevity in varanids kept in simple cages with shallow substrates, and the use of nest boxes. Species were all in the gouldi and odatria groups.

I have personally had varanids live for far longer than average in simple caging. I have had female that I never bred of various species lay eggs in nest boxes that Frank says they do not use.

What is your stinking problem, don't you have a brain.

Sir, if you want to argue methods, you better put up results first. Not I know this person or that person, you are the one posting, not them. You GREGG. I offer MY experience and my methods, and ITS YOU THAT ARE OPPOSING THEM. Not them, and I wonder why?

So sir, put up or shut up. You attack me, not everyone I know. So do it with what you have done, vs. what I have done.

Also your too naive or ignorant to understand what I say. Let me ask you this, If you know 6 methods of doing something, Two do not work at all, two work marginally, and two work extemely well, Which ones would you recomend to others?????

About assuming, your assuming I did not use next boxes, how naive of you. I started like everyone else, only I learned more successful methods. I recomend what I think has the best chance for success for the person I am responding too.

If you want to compare, then throw down buddy. Tell us of what success you have had with V.tristis, using nest boxes? or any of your gouldi types, what were they by the way, gouldi, flavi, panoptes, crosses. I ask, because I bred them all and established the non imported types. So yes, report your results and we will see.

Oh yes, and tell the truth because John is reading this.

So far, all you do is babble about this or that or you know this person or that person. What have YOU DONE with nest boxes, not what John has done. Hes not here attacking me.

Oh, if you do not have any results of your own, then use Johns, if he will allow you to.

If I was going to assume anything, it would be your age, what 10. Thanks

Hey Gregg.

Can you post pics up of your cages or something? especially the nesting boxes.

I live in FL and I don't know if I could use a wooden box for egg laying outdoors...I was thinking it would kinda be like a tree hollow if it was out in the sun and large enough for the monitor to lay in.

I, for one, would like to see photographs of baby monitors you have hatched out, Gregg.
Thanks in advance!

Hi Alejandro, how will you control the temps etc in a box left out in the sun (as in it will surely "bake" quite quickly)?

Hi there. I am not sure.

Iwas thinking a long box withhalf of it buried in the ground in a leaning position would have the same principles a hollow log in the forest would have.

I would have it kinda like a coffin, so when I open it up it would be a little easier to find the eggs.

PS I don't have any personale experience with breeding monitors.

its just a thought I had since I found lizard eggs in a wooden chest outside in the yard.

Personally, I would recommend simply using hollow logs. I was using a wooden box as the primary hide spot for my pair of roughnecks when FR took me out to gather logs and leaves one day. Crazy I thought. Leaves off the ground and dirty logs instead of nice wooden boxes to hide in? Well, they loved the leaves, a foot deep, and NEVER used tthe wooden box again. You tell me what they would prefer for nesting. by the way, they never used the logs for that either.
Guy

It would be odd to use leaves as nesting, unless you mean the 'humus' type stuff from deep leaflitter where it packs down and is partially decomposing and is really really compact and deep to hold a tunnel. But a fluffy layer of leaves raked up from outside is not going to support eggs that need to cook for 6 months or longer and keep conditions consistent plus hide the eggs from predation. It would be an odd choice for a Monitor to use it. But as a hide, leaf litter works excellent and most any Monitor lizard will make use of it. Looks nice on the cage floor, smells nice and it's free if you go rake it up. The tannins will darken your lizard's pretty skin, but they don't care about that at all.

How else do you think you make roughnecks black? The leaves were a bit composty at first, and became more so over time, which seems to suit that species just fine. Steamier the better. The female laid numerous times on the cool side of the 8' enclosure.
guy

Our lacies seem to like pure leafs that are not decomposed. We have about a 75/25 split for pure undecomposed leaflitter.

Other species may be different. Cheers