Reptile Forum, Reptile Classifieds - CaptiveBred

[mattie]

How did you guys go about putting your breeding groups together?
is it possible to start a group with sub/adult animals or is raising hatchlings together the only way to go, what about inbreeding siblings is this a big no no as with other lizards ? experiances wanted good or bad

been looking into getting a trio of hatchlings for some time now, but ive just been offered a single male, if i went for it id like to know i have the possibility to introduce a few females somewhere down the line

[Siebren]

Hello Matti,

I know raising hatchlings together is often said to be the only way to get a breeding group started, this however is not true. I myself have raised females to the age of about 2 years after which I introduced them to a male. No problems whatsoever (I did this twice, I have 4 females and 2 males). Both groups are breeding groups now (even swopped the males last year without problems).

You could buy the lone male now, the only (big) pratical problem is obtaining seperately sold females! They are hard to come by for decent prices since everybody wants more females then males...

If I were you I'd raise some young, keep the females from that group and buy an unrelated male. No matter what people say, inbreeding is always a bad thing.

Siebren

[johne.ev]

Hi mattie.
iv'e also introduced unrelated adult ackies. just watch carefully for the first couple of days for any aggression.

[uk goannas]

Raising hatching's together is simply the easiest way to get best results, any social problems are sorted out at young age where the chance of injury is small, introducing an adult from somewhere and another from somewhere else just doesn't seem to work they already have there social status induced. Unlike other lizards monitors in order to breed have to be a compatible sexual pair this doesn't just mean a male and a female it means a pair that will breed when the female is ready to breed, Taking the easy option of just getting a pair from wherever isn't really breeding the bigger male often rapes the female when shes not even cycling and then we wounder why we get no or bad eggs. raise up some unrelated young which are not to hard to come by I will have some soon and i think Scott even has some now, raise them up and you will get more entertainment and sense of achievement once they breed and to be honest it only takes about 2 years to reach sexual maturity and you will be far more successful, and of course inbreeding is bad it is in all animals especially monitors as they are already inbred in captivity and need no more.

hope this helps
cheers
_________________
Keeper various varanus inc gillini,tristis,glauerti,acanthrus,ornatus,
timorensis.

[mattie]

cheers guys thats a big help , ill hold out for a trio of hatchlings, this way ill know their history and can be certain they ll get the best possible start, it will also give me a better insight into reading monitor behavior, making things easier for me and the ackies when i do decide to breed them

what about sex ratios is this determined in the group as the hatchlings develop or is it pre defined as in other animals, did any of you end up with male or female only groups?

dont really know why I asked about inbreeding obviously its going to cause problems for all of us down the line when generation after generation are inbred, although with Australia's importation laws the way they are, I reckon most if not all ackies will be related somewhere down the line, but that's another topic

thanks for the great advice guys