Croc Monitor update

aw2x3

Active Member
Been a while since I've been around here...busy with work and taking care of the zoo. lol
Just wanted to post an update on our biggest rescue yet. I'm sure you guys remember the last post, when we got him.
Since we've had him, he's lost about half of his body fat...toned down into a lean mean eating machine. He climbs like a little spider monkey, runs and is doing exceptionally well...and still more than willing to let you interact with him, with no aggressive behavior. We're still working with him on a daily basis and are still happy that we took him in.
He's now on a stead diet of rats, mice, chicks, quail and he absolutely LOVES raw eggs.
And, we're no worse for wear, either. I told you guys I'd be the first to say if we've been injured by him, since there were some of you that were insistant it was gonna happen soon. No injuries to Heather or myself, as of yet and we're still very careful.
All other reptiles are very well, too. Harley, our 14' female Burmese Python, laid eggs a few weeks ago. She bred to Tank, our albino male Burm and laid a total of 21 eggs. Unfortunately, with it being her first clutch, all but 2 were slugs. Then, a week later, the other two eggs went bad.
Here are new pics of the Croc...the horizontal log is aprox. 7.5' above the ground. He measures out at 7' 4" and weighs in right around 18lb.






 

chilwil84

Active Member
beautiful. i miss my reptiles, not my nile monitor (tail whipping bas$%@#) still want to get a water monitor though
 

aw2x3

Active Member
I don't think you can buy them at *****. lol
There are only 3 zoos currently keeping them and there are only a handful of private collectors, in the US, that have them. Only two people, in the US, that have long term captive pairs.
There is one (same size as mine) for sale, on kingsnake, right now tho. $3000 and that's pretty cheap.
 
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tizzo

Guest
So... I didn't see your other post, but how big will this bad boy get and what will you do with him??
Are those the ones I see on animal planet with all that mouth bacteria??
 

aw2x3

Active Member
Thanks for the welcome back. I got back, a little, into the forums and knew I was missing one...but couldn't figure out which one. It just dawned on me, that I was missing SWF.
Tizzo,
You're mainly thinking of Komodo Dragons. Their mouths contain numerous types of bacteria, due to the fact they eat dead and decaying prey. This bacteria is the killer, for the Komodo Dragons. It may take a few days to die, but it's not a pretty way to go. After they bite, they'll follow their prey, until it goes down. I've watched a video of a Komodo bite a 2000lb Water Buffalo and then follow it for two days, before it started to eat it.
In captivity, without a diet of decaying prey, they do not have this certain bacteria.
To my knowledge, there has not been enough research done on Croc Monitors, to verify if they also have this deadly bacteria.
As for size arguement, which you'll see in the first few posts if you read the original post, the largest one ever recorded was 11.2 feet long and that was in excess of 30 years ago. The largest one ever seen in captivity was just a hair over 9 feet long. But, you have to remember that 3/4 of their overall length is in their tail. Mine is 7' 4" long, but aprox. 4 feet of that is his tail.
We will continue to keep him and love to have him. I often catch myself just sitting around, watching him.
 
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tizzo

Guest
No, no, no argument from me, as I know nothing about them... Oh and your right, I was thinking of the Komodo.
I saw where you posted the length in the OP, but wasn't sure if it was a Typo. He looks so small in the pics, like only 6 inches LOL...
So, he's your new pet huh... Sheesh, and I'm wondering if I should keep the DOG we have here in a trial basis, lol.
 
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saltman23

Guest
thats one healthy looking monitor. Do you have a picture of his enclosure?
 

aw2x3

Active Member
Originally Posted by Tizzo
http:///forum/post/3066798
No, no, no argument from me, as I know nothing about them... Oh and your right, I was thinking of the Komodo.
I saw where you posted the length in the OP, but wasn't sure if it was a Typo. He looks so small in the pics, like only 6 inches LOL...
So, he's your new pet huh... Sheesh, and I'm wondering if I should keep the DOG we have here in a trial basis, lol.
Oh, no...I wasn't saying you were argueing. There was some disagreement, on the other thread, about maximum size.
Originally Posted by Saltman23

http:///forum/post/3067295
thats one healthy looking monitor. Do you have a picture of his enclosure?
I have pictures of his enclosure (from start of the build to the final result).
They are on my memory card, in my girlfriends camera and she is currently out of town, doing a photo shoot (professional photographer), for a wedding.
When she gets back into town, I will make sure to get pics up.
 
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