Reptile Forum, Reptile Classifieds - CaptiveBred

[Sean]

In the previous topic you make a comment on why I don't offer more regarding husbandry and other related things. Well I will tell you why as I have nothing to hide.

I don't like to give advise on how to do things because if someone follows your advise and it goes wrong then it come back to you. I don't comment on any ones enclosures or ways of doing things, if I don't like what I hear or see it's just not my place to do so.

Anyway here goes one thing I do to introduce animals when trying to breed is first use visual aids and scent. When the animal as been housed alone and not seen another or come across another individual of its species one thing I do is first to move handful of substrate or feces into another animal's domain. I do this for several days or weeks. When this is applied the monitor will check out the area by tongue flicking over the spot. I had been doing this for many years when Daniel Bennet one night told me of griseus doing exactly the same thing coming to recognise each others scents and territories by droppings laid on the soil. With visual aids I use replica monitors or toy varanus of about the same size as the animal concerned. When the replica is introduced the animal will immediately start to display to the silhouette of the replica by the usual monitor defensive behavior, Eventually after the replica as been in the cage for sometime then the animal will check it out. I will move the replica around the cage so that it is not in just one place. Eventually the animal comes to recognise it as no threat. Also with the replica you can get the scent on it from the other animal you wish to introduce by rubbing shed skin or droppings on the replica. One must remember that care and caution is up most when finally introducing the animals concerned, at this time and you should watch for signs of aggression as it only takes a second for one to inflict damage on the other.

This I guess is not going to work for everyone it is a method I use and works for me within the parameters I apply. You could use pieces of decor from other enclosures as well. All it is doing is getting one animal familiar with the other this way it is not a shock to the system when you finally put them together.

Another way of stimulating copulation is to move animals around into different enclosures or environments with slightly different settings. One classic example of this is when I let the male and the female panoptes out they would copulate in my hallway or living space, they had been housed together and sometimes would not show this interest until I let them out or separated them.

With the pilbarensis I simply moved them into a neutral setting and slightly changed the conditions they were used to. I increased the humidity by spraying the enclosure so that it condensed on the glass a little.

I hope you find this of help like I say it works for me but it is by no means a bible that will work for others.

[Sean]

One thing I fogot to mention is that I have not needed or used the replica with odatria species. Monitors are indeed clever but not that clever.

It just comes down to appling common sense techniques.

[Sean]

A couple of pics I certainly hope people do not find them offensive.

[johne.ev]

Hi Sean.
Great pic's as usual. i appreciate others views, but i could look at pic's all day long. i agree Sean, pic's do sometimes show info as well as words.

[Sean]

Cheers Johne

[pachyderm]

Very nice Sean beautiful monitors. Very interesting about the introduction technique for some of the monitor species. Keep the pictures coming you are a great source for pictures of monitor species that i have never seen.

Ray

[Sean]

Cheers Ray ok here's another pic.

[pachyderm]

OK now you are p......g me off.

[Sean]

Ok Ray here's a couple more.

[pachyderm]

Cheap nasty common things. Would you like me to do you a favour and take them off your hands. hehehe