Merten's Water Monitor (Varanus mertensi)

[Spike]

Does any one know any good links to find some info on the Merten's Water Monitor. They aren't that common and i'm having a little trouble finding husbandry information

[crocdoc]

what sort of information are you after? You'll have to be a bit more specific

[Spike]

I was after just basic husbandry information
i.e
feeding, enclosure size, heating etc.

[crocdoc]

I haven't kept them myself, but a couple of friends do.

1. build as large an enclosure for them as you have room for with a large water area - they're great swimmers and you'd miss out on some interesting behaviours otherwise. Make sure the enclosure has a high litter dam so you have room for deep substrate for digging. Use dirt as a substrate (you can put mulch and/or leaf litter on top for esthetics - tea tree mulch from Bunnings for example).
2. put any vents low on the walls or back. High positioned vents let out heat and humidity so you'll constantly be battling that.
3. provide a basking spot with a surface temperature of 45-55C, the rest of the enclosure can be 25-30
4. they can be fed crickets, woodies, mice, chicks, the odd fish and pretty much any small animal that isn't toxic. They love yabbies.

[Spike]

OK thanks for that.
What size enclosure would you reccomend on building, or even what size are your mates enclosures?

I have seen them a fair bit, and they seem the most active monitor to me. What are some if thier 'interesting behaviours', as i have only seen them in pet shops and very few keep a monitor of that size.

Also crocdoc, i see that it says your from australia, what city?
Im in Melbourne:D

[crocdoc]

Hi Spike,

I'm in Sydney. The size of the enclosure is up to you - what have you got room for? I'd probably set a minimum of 2.4m x 1.2m x 1.2m for a pair.

They're no more active than a lot of other monitors, but their most interesting behaviours would take place underwater - that's where they really come into their own and stand apart from other monitors. They're easily the most aquatic monitor. They flick their tongue underwater in search of food (fish, yabbies, freshwater crabs) and swim like an eel. I saw one in clear water in the Kimberley a few weeks ago and it was darting around back and forth as well as any fish.
http://www.pbase.com/crocdoc/image/40080972.jpg

[Jeff_Favelle]

That's an awesome pic!!!!

[bighillreptiles]

wow I wish they were here in Canada that is one SWEET pic and Monator

[mbayless]

Damn good pic = WOW!! Makes me want to get one!
Thanks,
markb

[bistrobob85]

Wow, amazing looking beast!! Crocdoc how come your monitor pics are always so good!?!? You're making everybody want monitors!! :)

phil.

[crocdoc]

Thanks, guys! That shot was taken in the wild at Kununurra, the eastern end of the Kimberley. I have many more (some of which are much better but I'd rather not risk posting them online).

[bistrobob85]

well they don't seem to be very available in canada, from what i've found... I've been looking on the image section of google and i havent seen a mertensi as great looking as the one on your pic, crocdoc!! Can you post a few more, please?!?!

[Jeff_Favelle]

Turkey-necked monitors RULE! Like little Brontosaurus's!! LOL!

[Spike]

That is an awesome pic. Have you been to the Kakadu national park?... i havent personally but i have been told there is heaps of them and many other monitors everywhere.

About the tank, i have been told that a 3 metre x 2metre tank was needed. I was hoping not as that would be very very costly.
I was thinking something with a bit of height.
Also is okay to have the bottom just water and have like plenty of climbing branches coming out of the water? i have only seen one tank that had the 'normal' half water, half land thing

[crocdoc]

Spike, mate, whoever told you about Kakadu probably hasn't been there recently. As far as I know, the cane toads are there now, so your chances of finding a monitor will be negligable. That's part of the reason I went to the Kimberley, as the toads haven't reached there, yet.

As far as the tank goes, it would definitely not be alright to have the bottom entirely water. You'll need a substantial land area with deep substrate for digging.

Building a large enclosure needn't be that costly, by the way.


Getting back to the Kakadu issue, a couple of years ago I went travelling through the gulf country and saw 0 V panoptes (normally the commonest monitor up north) and 1 V mertensi (normally the second commonest monitor up north). The V mertensi was in the Gregory River and the friends with me said that's the first they've seen there in years, whereas they used to be everywhere.

At Nitmaluk (Katherine Gorge - dropped in there on the way back to Darwin from Kununurra on this recent trip) they had a little museum showing what sort of wildlife could be found around the Gorge and there was an image of a V mertensi. We asked a staff member when they last saw one and they shrugged - 'used to be everywhere, haven't seen one in ages'. The campground was chockers with toads at night.

[V.hb]

Thats an AWESOME PIC! it looks like a captive stage or something. Awesome!

[crocdoc]

Here's another, with Pandanus fronds in the background
http://www.pbase.com/crocdoc/image/40080965.jpg

[Spike]

Oh yeah!! sorry about that, i forgot all about the cane toad problem. It was my dad who went there around 2001-2002 that told me.

With the tank i was thinking about building one myself, or with the help of a relative etc.
Here is what i have planned
Use White Melamine (as when all edges/corners are sealed it is waterproof)

Make it 3metres (wide) x 1.2 metres (high) x 1.8 metres (deep)

Have the divider between water and land at the halfway point.

As for the Heat lights i would run that off a thermostat and with the UVB lights, how close would they need to be from the monitor, as being 1.2 metres high, you would need some big climbing branches to get them up close (for the heat also)
So how many, what wattage and where should they be placed?
I was thinking having two 4ft fluros and having 3 heat lights, 2 up one end and one in the middle


BTW, where all these photos taken in the Kimberly's?
Are the Kimberly's in Northern WA?, and what other monitors/lizards are up there?

[bistrobob85]

What is happenning with the cane toads? Whats the story?!? Can't the monitors eat the toads or something, even if the toads are big?!?

phil.

[kap10cavy]

Cane toads secrete a poison. Yes monitors eat them, snakes eat them, birds eat them, then they die. It's a bad situation, they breed fast and lay a ton of eggs without anything to slow them down.
They were imported to eat some kind of sugarcane beetle.
Humans do the dumbest things.

ZScott

[bistrobob85]

Ok, then. Sorry for Cane Toads lovers but may i ask every Australian to kill every cane toad they see for the next 12 months?? That might help out some other predators we love...

phil.

[treevaranus]

Hahahahaha!!...

Unfortunately combatting/eliminating this problem is going to take a lot more than that..

It truly is a shame, in that as protective of their native wildlife the Australian government is, they have actually cut/decreased funding on these bufotoxin studies.

If nothing is done, all of the varanid species which occur in northern australia, and along the east coast are doomed. I have been told that there was at one time a point where they could have been stopped/isolated, unfortunately that time has passed a long time ago, and their spread is uncontrollable..

It's very sad to think that in a few years there will be no such thing as a wild V. mertensi, V. spenceri, V. semiremix, V. mitchelli, among others....

Oh well, enough venting...

bob
treemonitors.com (http://www.treemonitors.com)

[bistrobob85]

please just get rid of the ones you see... get some campaign done, raison funds, do something!! Its a bad thing i'm not in australia because those toads would come back right from where they're from...

[Spike]

It would be a huge shame to see such great reptiles to become extinct. There surely has to be something that can be done to at least save the wildlife if we can't eliminate the cane toads
http://www.reptilesdownunder.com/news/index.php?recordID=338

With the Merten's husbandry info i was after...
how often and how much should they be feed?
Where can you buy yabbies.. or should catch them from dams etc.
and what foods can they eat other than live food.. i.e chicken necks

[crocdoc]

Spike,

Ditch the melamine idea. Don't even think about it. Don't even dream you'll be able to waterproof it in any way that will last more than half a year. Get some plywood, treat it with epoxy.

As far as the heat lamps go, you will not need a thermostat as the basking light will need to be on most of the day. If you use a thermostat, set it as a kill switch. You will need to set up a basking spot so the monitors can get close enough to the lights to keep warm, and will probably need some way of heating the water.

You can buy yabbies from yabbie farms, but you can also feed them mice most of the time. I'd make chicken necks a very occasional meal at most. As far as how often you feed them, that will change with age, season, gender, breeding condition etc. You'll need to feed young ones daily, adults less often, unless you have a gravid female. I can't give you a recipe of how often/how much that will work for your monitors, only you will be able to see if they need more/less food more/less frequently.

[oliver]

Hey this ma be a dumb thing to ask are they freindly? Becuse i was in a pet shop in my area and i was holding something like that!Its probly of topic but w/e LO
Oliver Thanks

[crocdoc]

are what friendly, cane toads or mertens monitors?

[oliver]

O ya the Mertens Monitor?Is it freindly?

[crocdoc]

All monitors vary in how they react to people. I'm not sure if I'd describe even the calmest of monitors as 'friendly', but some tolerate people better than others and I have seen some tolerant mertens. I've also seen skittish ones.

[oliver]

OK thanks

[Tim and Julie B]

What on earth is a yabbie? :D I work with an Aussie and it is so fun he teaches me Aussie terms and I teach him slang. It is the best way to get though a day! :D

That is a beautiful monitor! I have never seen one of those before. Your pics are always awsome. You know how hard it is to find a good monior pic? I go into print places and they say you want a picture of what? lol

[crocdoc]

Thanks for the compliments on the photo!

A yabbie is a freshwater crayfish. It's usually used as a generic term for all freshwater crayfish in Australia, but is more specifically applied to the smooth yabby, Cherax destructor.