Not-so-common Monitors being kept?

[Dannyboi]

Why aren't they common in captivity? A smaller water monitor would be awesome!

Not to say that I don't like the bigger monitors but it would be a great space saver.

 

[Pike01]

Good news Jannico

 

[Snakeluvver2]

Yer it's great news Pike!, pretty stoked as you can tell!
I'm making him a proper tank hood so this dosent happen again.

I have no idea why they arn't common captivity, I always thought that V.mitchelli and V.semiremex would be a hit with Monitor breeders.
Small Water Monitor, I mean I don't have to say anymore than that.

 

[Dannyboi]

Still Perentie on the list of animals that I will and I mean deffs will keep one day. For the time being all my pets have to be more space saving thats why I got the Storri anyway. Of course my parents say no to the more *Cuddly* larger monitors.

 

[trader]

They used to be often up for sale on herpshop.com about 6 years ago.

I think you mean: herptrader.com.au

 

[dihsmaj]

I love the Water Monitors and was hoping we had some smaller ones down here, but only Mertensi.
I'd need about a 6-7 foot tank for one...

 

[Snakeluvver2]

Good luck keeping them in that mate.

Back on track.
Anyone know breeders of any Rock Monitors?
Or the status of Rusty Monitor's in captivity?

 

[zulu]

Not as common as they once were, no. At least not in NSW. They used to be often up for sale on herpshop.com about 6 years ago.

All the monitors are on class 2 in NSW doesnt help and there was a period some years back where quite a few spotted tree monitors ,acks,storrs etc were getting sold off cheap. I just couldnt see the use in continuing to breed them.
Apparently some of the species are allowed to be wild caught on application to the NT NPWS and that kills the incentive to captive breeders because the prices drop like a stone.

 

[sesa-sayin]

i thaught in NT , a licence to capture 4 specimens from the wild might be grantrd, but only to start a breeding programme. maybe this is not so

 

[-Peter]

Nice to see you and your family are comfortable enough to let you get back to the hobby Simon. I look forward to your observations and comments.

 

[Dannyboi]

Good luck keeping them in that mate.

Back on track.
Anyone know breeders of any Rock Monitors?Reptile City.
Or the status of Rusty Monitor's in captivity?

They have them but from what I can gather don't have to much success each season. Get in contact with them and maybe they will be able to organise something.

 

[longirostris]

Yeah but I mean they aren't as common as dragons or geckoes. They are in pretty much constant supply whereas monitors only come up every now and then in the for sale section

What makes you think dragons are common? Maybe a couple of species of beardies, CND's, Jackies, the 2 forest dragons and water dragons are common. There are probably another 6-8 species that come up very occassionally, but outside of these most species are not common and some are almost impossible to get. If I was going to start an arguement I would say it is actually easier to get monitor species then it is to get dragon species.

I have seen just about every species of Australian monitor advertised for sale on either this forum or other forums. The few that I have not seen include V. prasinus, V. keithhornei and V. semerimex. This means that I believe I have seen every other species of Australian Monitor for sale on a public website forum like this one at least once in the last 5 years. I cannot say the same thing for dragons species.

Granted there are nearly three times as many dragon species as there monitor species and I know that seeing them for sale once or twice does not mean "common in captivity or commonly available". I have no doubt however, that there are more people in the herp hobby/profession working seriously and not so seriously with monitors than there are with dragons and that most monitor species are easier to obtain than enthusiast dragon species.

Other then needing less space then monitors, dragons require more effort to keep then any other group. For most species, particularly the smaller ones, they have short life spans in comparison to monitors and do not have the same commercial value that most monitors have. These are the main reasons most people do not bother with dragons as a serious interest. Most people have a few species but there a very few who are serious enthusiasts and as a result captive bred dragon species outside the ones I have already identified are not common, rare or not available at all.

 

[saximus]

Ok I guess I spoke too soon or am just unlucky then. I just meant that I see the typical dragons (by my definition animals on class 1) all the time whereas the only monitors I see all the time are ackies. I put a wanted ad last week for tristis or gouldii and have only just now got a response from one breeder of each. Anyway thanks for clearing that up and sorry to going off topic

 

[Simon_Archibald]

So my big question today would be does anyone know if any of Gavin Bedford's Varanus glebopalma are still in private hands and being bred? I was kicking myself when I couldn't afford these at the time.

 

[Bushfire]

The short answer is yes there is some glebos floating around in private hands. Being bred though? I dont know I know some that are working more seriously with them than others.

 

[sesa-sayin]

So my big question today would be does anyone know if any of Gavin Bedford's Varanus glebopalma are still in private hands and being bred? I was kicking myself when I couldn't afford these at the time.

not having known that they were ever available. Simon, can you remember the price they were selling for ? were there many available ? You could not afford them at that time. many of us could not afford them at any time. i feel sure.

 

[antmisk]

http://www.aussiepythons.com/forum/general-discussion-42/twilight-goanna-varanus-glebopalma-25245/

 

[sesa-sayin]

_ANTMISK very kind of you to offer that info, and that link.....much appreciated. $1,600.00 each..at that price, if offered to-day, i think they would be all sold in 1 hour

 

[Bushfire]

At the time Gavin was only selling them as a group and not splitting them up. So $1,600 wasn't going to get you one. Not many at the time were willing or able to spend $10K for wild caught animals that are by their nature very timid, and nervous. The potential for them to stress out and die can be high, that was enough to make the potential buyers hold back, hoping Gavin would split the group up among a few keepers.

 

[Simon_Archibald]

At the time Gavin was only selling them as a group and not splitting them up. So $1,600 wasn't going to get you one. Not many at the time were willing or able to spend $10K for wild caught animals that are by their nature very timid, and nervous. The potential for them to stress out and die can be high, that was enough to make the potential buyers hold back, hoping Gavin would split the group up among a few keepers.

Gavin was happy to split the group at the time - I spoke to him on the phone about it. He did say though that he wouldn't sell single animals only. The group was 2 adult pairs and 2 juveniles. Adult pairs were available for $4,000 each and the juvie pair for $2,000. All up that made the $10,000.

I hope there are some being bred, or the original animals became available sometime down the track. With a bit of persuasion the boss may just let me...