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Ive been told that dumeril montiors are easy to tame and are quite friendly and nice. Before I purchase one, I'd like to find out a little more. Anyone have these before?
Thanks,
Leanne
Thanks,
Leanne
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Anyone have experience with Dumerils Monitors?
- Thread starter dragonqueen4
- Start date
yes they can get very tame get the smallest one u can find and work with him often. they are a pretty mellow monitor. full grown adult male id use at least 8ft x 4ft x4ft cage minimum. eat normal monitor foods mice, small rats , meat, occ. egg and small shellfish. what they lack in color the make up for in personality.babies are stunning looking but in a yr or 18 months they lose the yellow.
- Messages
- 92
I've owned one for just over four years. I got it as a cbb hatchling from Ben Aller at roughneckmonitors.com. Don'tknow if he's still breeding, but he knows his stuff. I think he even had an article about Dumeril's published in Reptiles a few years back.
Anyway, they are very reluctant to bite. Very reluctant. Mine has never even attempted it. I wouldn't say it likes being handled, though. They are like any Indonesian monitor, very shy and reclusive. It spends most of the day hiding out. They also absolutely love crawfish and shrimp, and I was told to avoid rodents by the breeder. He said they live longer on shellfish and insects. Their teeth are specialized to crack crabshells in the wild. If you do feed the occaisional mouse, the lizard will likey rip it apart until it's a mess of blood and guts before eating.
Claws are super-sharp. They will get you pretty good if you don't use gloves. Not as bad as a PTS, but nothing really is in my experience.
Humidity is IMO the most important thing with these guys. Forget misting and just dump water into the soil. They will also soak quite a bit, sometimes for hours, so you need a big water receptacle. That's what they do. They hide and they soak. If you cant's keep it humid enough you will need a hide for moisture. You should really have one anyway. Fill it with 1/3 sand and 2/3 non-organic topsoil and top it off with some spaghnum moss or leaf litter. They will use it. And keep the hide nice and wet.
Anyway, they are very reluctant to bite. Very reluctant. Mine has never even attempted it. I wouldn't say it likes being handled, though. They are like any Indonesian monitor, very shy and reclusive. It spends most of the day hiding out. They also absolutely love crawfish and shrimp, and I was told to avoid rodents by the breeder. He said they live longer on shellfish and insects. Their teeth are specialized to crack crabshells in the wild. If you do feed the occaisional mouse, the lizard will likey rip it apart until it's a mess of blood and guts before eating.
Claws are super-sharp. They will get you pretty good if you don't use gloves. Not as bad as a PTS, but nothing really is in my experience.
Humidity is IMO the most important thing with these guys. Forget misting and just dump water into the soil. They will also soak quite a bit, sometimes for hours, so you need a big water receptacle. That's what they do. They hide and they soak. If you cant's keep it humid enough you will need a hide for moisture. You should really have one anyway. Fill it with 1/3 sand and 2/3 non-organic topsoil and top it off with some spaghnum moss or leaf litter. They will use it. And keep the hide nice and wet.
