blue, green, black, yellow tree monitors

[rullom]

Anyone selling or know where I can get a blue, green, black, or yellow tree monitor.(especially the green or blue) Also how hard are they to breed.

Thanks
Mike

[thunder]

where are you located? i know where to get tree monitors in my area, maybe i can help.

[beanersmysav]

I'd check out a reptile show if theres one near. I saw a blue one in White Plains yesterday and I swear ive never seen a more beautiful specimen of monitor of course there probably is nicer.

[treevaranus]

As far as breeding tree monitors, I do not believe that breeding itself is a difficult task to accomplish... However, it is everything that leads up to breeding that is what 's so damn difficult for most people to achieve...

Due to the lack of captive bred tree monitors in the pet trade, all of the ones that you see for sale-regardless of color, are wild caught individuals. Wild caught tree monitors are imported to this country in already terrible shape.. The animals are always skinny, dehydrated, lethargic, and problematic... The reason for this, is the exporter, and importer/distributor, does not have the time/facilities to acclimate/properly care for these animals... In captivity, these animals deydrate very easily, and is the leading cause of deaths in captive specimens... People simply do not understand the true needs of these animals, prior to buying them(many times on impulse).

Unfortunately, most people do not spend the time, effort, and money, into providing proper caging/conditions for them... The typical setup in these cases, are aquaria with screen lids....A BIG NO-NO with monitors...screen lids do not hold any moisture/humidity in...and the animals quickly whither away... Many times, people see a skinny animal, hip bones protruding, etc... and think, oh no! this animal must be starving.... the truth of the matter is, that this animal is not starving, as they can go long periods without food, and that they are severely dehydrated.... Feeding a severely dehydrated animal is a death sentence in itself...

So, back to breeding..... Without healthy, well acclimated animals, you will not see any breeding between your animals... Acclimation of these guys can take many months/years, until the animals themselves feel healthy enough to breed... Many people fail, when they slap two tree monitors together, expecting them to bing bang boom.... I do not introduce my pairs together, until each animal(usually takes longer with females) is feeding off tongs.. Without having the female eat in front of you, there's no way of knowing whether or not she is eating, or if the male's eating her share.... I really do not see any other way around this obstacle....

There are other factors that affect breeding, such as caloric intake, and, in my experiences, alterations of rainfall...but these are secondary, when compared to having healthy, well acclimated animals....

Having opposite sexes helps too....hahaha.. It is all too often that uneducated/inexperienced dealers/keepers sell "females", which in reality are males.... Sexing them can prove to be somewhat difficult, as I have been fooled several times in the past... I now know what to look for, and am pretty good at sexing them now... Speaking of which, at the white plains show yesterday, there was a dealer selling a "Sexed Pair" of black trees got $450..... Both of the animals in the 10gallon aquarium were males, and quite noticeably males at that...at least to me.... I asked the guy about them, he said they were "proven breeders"...hahahaha... I made a scene in front of prosepective buyers.... and pretty much put him in his place... It's amazing at what dealer's would do to make a buck or two....

I unfortunately got there too late to see the blue trees; I heard that they were healthy and nice looking, which is rare for a reptile expo.... But then again, I don't need any more blue tree monitors; I've got my pair, and some eggs cooking from them, so hopefully come Christmas, I'll have some baby blues running around.... I also have another clutch due to be laid any day now...maybe even tonight..my female's been acting different, as she did just prior to oviposition last time....

As for aquiring some tree monitors.... I must warn you that these are not a "first-time" monitor, if you are in fact rather new to varanids.... Tree monitors, in my opinion, are the most difficult group of monitors to keep alive and healthy... They require a lot of time/effort/money to keep up with their needs; moreso than most people are willing to commit...As buying a beautiful animal such as a tree monitor on impulse can be hard to resist, I recommend you make sure you understand everything that they need to succeed in captivity before purchasing...unfortunately, most people do not do that....

Look in the various online classifieds for tree monitors for sale, as they frequently pop up here and there... but be cautious of what people try to tell you to make a sale...

I wish you the best of luck with whatever you decide on, take care, have a great day!!!

Cheers mate, sorry for the long post...had to speak my mind.....

Bob
The Odatriad

[rullom]

Bob, are you going to sell the baby blues?? How much...

To the rest of the replies, I live in Hamilton (close to toronto ONTARIO)

Thanks

[reptiguy123]

Nicely put Bob!

[treevaranus]

Hi Rullum,

About selling any baby blues...

Well, if I do happen to hatch any blues out, I do not plan on selling any of them... If it should come to it, I plan on raising up the F1's and breeding them to produce F2's...If that happens, well, I'll worry about that if it happens... for now, I am just concentrated on trying to hatch these darn things out so that I can start all over with captive bred individuals... we'll see; maybe I'll be having an extra merry christmas/new years, with any luck.........

Cheers...

bob