black tree monitors

[rullom]

Anyone know if a female is harder to care for...(can they go egg bound like chameleons??)

Also is it ok to feed them insects instead of mice sometimes....(dusted with vits and calcium of course)

Mike

[treevaranus]

Hi there mike.

If you are looking for a single black tree monitor to keep, i highly recommend getting a male, as in my experience, males come around and acclimate much faster than females. Females have always been more problematic with adjusting to captivity/my presence.

Females are also of lesser body mass, and are smaller, and are more sensitive to abrupt changes, and stress out more. Females dehydrate quicker than males.

As far as females becoming egg bound, I have not seen this as a problem, nor have I heard of this being a problem in females kept singly.. Once you throw a male up in there, you may experience problems..

So, if you are looking to try your hand at tree monitors, get a male, as they are easier to care for, and can tolerate a bit more neglect(unintentional of course) or mistakes than females.. Turn your back on a female for a minute, and you've got problems... This is just what I've seen with my own animals, does anybody have anything to add/debate? Just curious..

I hope this helps a bit.. best of luck to you.

Oh yeah, and males are usually much more plentiful(for sale) for two reasons. One reason, is that females are more difficult to locate/capture in the wild, as they seem to spend the majority of their time hiding, whereas males are out and about more often. The other reason why the majority of black tree monitors, or tree monitors in general, available to the trade are males, is because most people have a tendency of killing off their females, leaving lone males behind...

Take care, have a good one...

bob

[rullom]

Hi, what are good signs to look for when buying one...If I see it eat in front of me is it good to go, or could there still be feeding problems...Also is it ok to feed them worms(super worms) or should it be mostly mice?

How do I tell which is the male? The store said they go by the base of the tale.

[treevaranus]

Yes, eating in front of you can be a good sign, however, an animal that feeds isn't necessarily a healthy animal.. While feeding is important, I think it is very important/necessary to look for a properly hydrated animal, ie. no hipbones, skinny tail, skinny body, etc. It is also a plus to have an animal that you can visibly see drinking(when misted; mine rarely ever drink from a bowl).
A healthy animal should be alert, and wary, of good weight(most of which is due to proper humidity), and feeds.

As for the superworms, sure, you can feed them superworms, as they are for the most part insectivorous in the wild, according to reports. As for my animals, they never cared for superworms, so I discontinued feeding them. I just find that feeding rodents is much more convenient for me, as I buy several hundred at a time, keep them in my freezer, and simply thaw them out when it's feeding time(everyday). With insects, if you don't want to be making trips to the store, you have to keep them alive in between feedings, which is a separate job in itself..especially crickets...sheesh.. It is also my opinion that mice provide a much more balanced diet than insects do, and I have found that my animals that were fed on a rodent diet grew faster, and put on weight quicker than animals who were fed insects, or a combination of both. But then again, this is just what i've seen with my animals, and by no means represents the whole......

As for sexing, this can be rather difficult in tree monitors, and has proven to be extra confusing for me with V. beccari..oh, how many times i've been fooled.....hahaha.. I guess the most accurate way of distinguishing between the sexes is if it lays eggs, then you'll know that it is not a male..hahaha.. Some secondary sex characteristics that is sometimes exhibited in males, is a larger, broader head, larger overall size, and the shape of the tailbase in cross section is triangular, as opposed to a female's tailbase being circular in cross section...However, like i said, this is not set in stone, and I have seen plenty of individuals that disprove this theory to some degree.. Although even more inconclusive, males will possess hemipenes which is sometimes everted..this is misleading because females will 'pop' an appendage out as well. Males will also only sometimes evert the whole thing, where most times the hemipenis is not completely everted, which can confuse it with a female's hemiclitoris. You can see a pic of a fully everted black tree monitor hemipenis if you scroll down in the forum a bit...i posted a pic of one of my male's a few weeks ago...I would not go by this method however to sex your animal, as it is probably one of the most confusing ways....

Cheers, I hope this helps, have a good one...

take care,

bob


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