introducin monitors

[monitor boy]

can u keep like 2 female monitors together and if you can how do u introduce to monitors to each other properly cuz i tried to introduce my male and female together but they started to fight so i seperated them instantly

[reptiguy123]

Probably can keep 2 females together. What do you guys think?

[Bartman]

some males a females just dont adjust...like on croc hunter they tried to put to crocs together, male and female, and they started to go all out fighting...i dont think you would mate with anyone now would you :)

As for the females, im pretty sure thats fine as long as they get a long and both get adquate amounts of food, but its always better to keep all animals seperate because it makes it easier to follow them...if one poo's something weird how do you know which one it was...if one gets sick, there both sick. Id say seperate if you can

correct me if im wrong :)

[NiagaraReptiles]

Introducing monitors to eachother can be tricky........or it may not be. Monitors are as much individuals as you or I, some people you like, some you don't. It works the same way (regardless of sex) with monitors.
I worked on a method a few years back that worked rather well in the few cases I tried it with, and that is allowing visual contact for several months prior to actually introducing them. This way they get used to eachothers' smell and presence without the risk of physical damage. This can be done simply by putting both enclosures side by side, or by using a glass divider or something of that nature.
I've talked with people that have had surprisingly (to me) good results with just introducing foreign animals at the snap of a finger. I've not had "good" experiences with this method, however.
I guess it all boils down to whatever you decide to do. They are your monitors and you are the one that controls their world.

Best wishes,

JonK

[monitor boy]

yeah right now i have both there cages right next to eachother so they can see eachother and i am going to do that for 2 months then try to put them together again

[V.hb]

Jon hit the nail on the head. You cant assume any monitor will react any certain way.. its completely based on their individual traits and tendancies, but then everything can change when a foreign animal is tossed into the equation.

What ive done in the past is put the animals together outside of their enclosures, and if i didnt see much problem I would put them together. There isnt much reason to house monitors together unless you plan on breeding.. They're solitary animals to begin with other than a select few species.. Ackies do fine together, and ive yet to have any problems introducing new blood to a colony.. But thats the only species i havent seen much aggression with.. You have to be the judge, and let them decide for you. Good luck.

[NiagaraReptiles]

I think most if not all species of monitor are more social than they are given credit for. I've seen too much to discount the possibility...........but that's a whole new can of worms ;)

Yellow Ackies are the "calmer" of the two subspecies we have available to us. They tend to react in different ways than an Albig would, but that doesn't make the cause different. I've had Yellows kill newcomers, and it wasn't a very aggressive procedure at all.

Sorry, I won't drift off any more than that........just wanted to add my "spices" to the mix ;)

JonK

[reptiguy123]

But if you see them "clawing" at each other, don't put them next to each other as to reduce the stress.:)

Gook luck!

[V.hb]

You know Jon, it's funny, I havent seen much aggression with albigs either. My males are bad, but thats it.. The females dont even become the least bit aggressive around eachother. They bask together, sleep together.. This is 3 females ive done it with, that doesnt rule em all out, but so far they seem fine.. I just seperate them to feed.

[SHvar]

If you were a inmate and you were living alone for a few days or months and all of the sudden someone else that you know absolutely nothing about, and they of course the same about you, who may have come from a different area were put together, theres a very big chance you may not get along but you may get along great. Thats the situation they are in.
The best way to introduce them is as hatchlings for their safety, as adults monitors can kill each other or mortally wound each other in a hurry (and they know how by instinct). If allowed to meet and get to know each other as hatchlings they can work out a dominance hierarchy when they are too small to kill each other or do too much harm. Also at a younger age they can learn to get along alot easier, like children do.
Ive helped to introduce several monitors of opposite sex and some the same that got along great and Ive introduced some that didnt get along at all, or that when alone one of the two suddenly attacks the other almost killing it. The latter situation Ive experienced with my current Albigs, my female seemed fine with my male (related yet) but the moment I turned the lights off she quietly creeped up to him while he was asleep and grabbed him by the back of the head and neck almost crushing his head and slammed him against the top and bottom of the cage (looked like a pitbull playing with a rag, if youve ever witnessed that), luckily I opened the cage grabbed her and told her "let him go", by serious luck that she is so friendly and tame to people, Sobek did exactly that, she sat him down and backed away. I removed him, she has the same reaction to seeing him every time, she wants to kill him if hes anywhere near her. Luckily hes a very very tough animal, after a few weeks of refusing food and trying a new food on him he started eating and growing. She is a dominant and very powerful female, but she is so gentle with people and other animals, so far he is the only thing she dislikes.

[monitor boy]

oh see the monitors are hatchling like 14 inches so still very small so i want to introduce them now

[reptiguy123]

Go for it man!

[crocdoc]

Originally posted by NiagaraReptiles
I think most if not all species of monitor are more social than they are given credit for. I've seen too much to discount the possibility...........but that's a whole new can of worms ;)

Jon, I'd agree with you on that statement if you added 'in captivity'. :)

I personally think monitors are far more 'social' in captivity than they are in the wild, if introduced properly (either when young, or slowly), but they certainly don't always get along. Vhb, I know of a few people who haver tried introducing adult albigs, only to have one attack the other (in one case killing the new animal), so albigs getting along isn't always the rule.

When I've introduced my lace monitors, I've kept them separated by a glass partition for a long while before introducing them. Even though they see and smell each other daily, they still go through a pretty intense head twitching, hissing, 'who are you, stranger?' display when introduced. So far I've been lucky and haven't had a mishap. From speaking to others with this and other species, though, it very much seems to be an unpredictable event when introducing two monitors.

[V.hb]

Sorry that I wasnt more clear, i just meant from my own expierience I havent seen much aggression unless its from the males. I wanted to get the point accross that they're all individuals so its very hard to tell, until you try it.. Like Jon said, you're in control of their world.

[reptiguy123]

V. hb, I think they belive you. They just must have different experiances. I personally have had no problems with this. On the other hand, when was the last time I did this?!:)