Monitor-lizards in captivity

[vogelcommando]

Lets take a look at the species still not represented in our Gallery ( and what we can do about it ) :
- V. bangonorum
- V. baritji
- V. bitatawa
- V. bogerti
- V. bushi
- V. cerambonensis
- V. dalubhasa
- V. douarrha
- V. eremius
- V. finschi
- V. flavescens *
- V. glebopalma
- V. hamersleyensis
-V. juxtindicus *
- V. keithhornei *
- V. kingorum
- V. lirungensis
- V. mabitang
- V. mitchelli *
- V. nesterovi
- V. obor
- V. palawanensis
- V. rasmusseni
- V. samarensis *
- V. semiremex
- V. semotus
- V. telenestes
- V. togianus
- V. yemenensis
- V. yuwonoi *
- V. zagorum
That makes 31 species still missing in our Gallery ! However.. there is hope because the species marked with an * are still kept / were untill recently kept at collections which have been visited by ZooChatters so maybe they have still photos of these species but didn't upload them :

For Varanus flavescens its already a little longer ago that Rotterdam kept it but still, its possible that somebody has taken pictures of it.
- Varanus juxtindicus was kept untill at least 2018 at the Animal Education Center at Hull
- Varanus keithhornei is / was kept at the Queensland Reptile and Fauna Park
- Varanus mitchelli is / was kept at the Aquazoo Düsseldorf and at Perth Zoo
- Varanus samarensis is kept ( and resently even bred ) at a number of collections in the Philippines
- Varanus yuwonoi is kept at Cologne Zoo
So I guess it would ( should ! ) be possible to fill at least some of the gaps of missing species in our Gallery.....

 

[vogelcommando]

Monitors bred at zoos in the period 1980 - 1989 ( from the International ZooYear books vol. 22 to vol. 30 ) :

1980:
Varanus bengalensis - Honolulu 1
Varanus griseus caspius - Novosibirsk (4)
Varanus salvator - San Antonio 5(2)
Varanus storri - Bochum 1
Varanus timorensis timorensis - Albuquerque - unkown number

1981 :
Varanus bengalensis - Madras SP 12
Varanus salvator - Surabaja 1

1982 :
Vanranus acanthurus - Stuttgart 3
Varanus exanthematicus - Emmen 22(4)

1983:
Varanus exanthematicus - Emmen 32(5)*
Varanus flavescens - Rotterdam 4(3)
Varanus komodoensis - Surabaja 8(1)
Varanus niloticus - Halfway House 2
Varanus storri - Bochum 2
Varanus timorensis similis - Basle 1

1984 :
Varanus acanthurus - Stuttgart 14
Varanus komodoensis - Surabaja 1
Varanus salvator - Philadelphia 1
Varanus storri - Abilene 1

1985 :
Varanus acanthurus - Stuttgart 8
Varanus salvator - Fort Worth 7
Varanus tristis - Stuttgart 1

1986 :
Varanus acanthurus - Cologne 1
Varanus albigularis - Pretoria 2

1987 :
Varanus acanthurus - Frankfurt 16*
Varanus gouldi - Adelaide 8
Varanus gouldi - Dallas 2
Varanus niloticus - Manyeleti 23
Varanus salvator - Madras SP 15(3)
Varanus s. salvator - Brownsville 2
Varanus storri - Abilene 1
Varanus storri - Miami MZ 3
Varanus varius - Sydney 13(2)

1988 :
Varanus acanthurus - Frankfurt 7*
Varanus dumerili - Buffalo 5
Varanus indicus - Philadelphia 2
Varanus kingorum - Gosfort 1
Varanus niloticus - Halfway House 2 ( laid by female which was gravid in the wild )
Varanus rudicollis - Fort Worth 1
Varanus salvator - Brownsville 5-2
Varanus salvator - Madras CB 18(6)

1989 :
Varanus acanthurus - Frankfurt 23*
Varanus exanthermaticus - Tallin 10
Varanus albigularis - Kraaifontijn (4)
Varanus griseus - Tel Aviv unknown number
Varanus niloticus - Halfway House 1 ( laid by female which was gravid in the wild )
Varanus salvator - Brownsville 8-0
Varanus salvator - Madras CB 8(2)
Varanus tristis orientalis - Stuttgart 5

( number in parentheses means : numbers that did not survived )
( * means : second generation )

 

[vogelcommando]

Thanks to @Yoshistar888 we have another new species from which a photo can be found in the Gallery and which can be taken off from the list of species not represented in the Gallery.
Yoshistar uploaded this picture of a Rusty water monitor ( Varanus semiremex ) :
Rusty Water Monitor (Varanus semiremex) - ZooChat

( still 30 species to go )

 

[Enzo]

Belo Horizonte zoo has a nile monitor and the São Paulo aquarium has an Asian water monitor

 

[vogelcommando]

Newest issue of the monitor-magazine BIAWAK ( vol. 14, no. 1 and 2 ) :

http://varanidae.org/14_1-2.pdf?fbclid=IwAR0PiFBUxxn2byaEQ2uLujwoSvlLZRMH0lSGADUAw9HOLtPdBEWJt3k-4H0

 

[vogelcommando]

- Varanus panoptes - general info : http://reptile-database.reptarium.c...s=panoptes&search_param=((taxon='Varanidae'))

In European public collection the Argus monitor is kept in small numbers. Animal of none subspecific Argus monitors are kept at 9 collections, nominate V. p. panoptes at one collection and Horn's argus monitor ( V. p. horni ) at 8 collections. Subspecies V. p. rubidus is not kept as far as I could find-out. Also in the USA the species is kept - at least the Brookfield Zoo and the Bronx Zoo are keeping it. Also in Australia the species should be kept at a number of public collections.
In Europe the species has been bred in 2010 at the Vivarium of Sainte Eulatie de Cemon and also in the privat sector the species has been bred. Breeding reports can be found here :
Captive Breeding Of The Argus Monitor - Reptiles Magazine
http://varanidae.org/6_1_Wiechmann.pdf
in the Gallery there are several photos of the species like this one made by Dorminator :
Argus monitor (Varanus panoptes) - ZooChat

Found some more information about the zoo-breeding of this species :
the first zoo-breeding of this species in the Netherlands was at 'De Oliemeulen' in 2006. From 2 till 4 March 4 young hatched :


( copyright ANP )

 

[vogelcommando]

- Varanus spenceri - general info : Varanus spenceri

In European collections a very rare species and at the moment only kept at 2 collections ( Zagreb - Croatia and Kristiansand Dyreparken - Norway ). Don't know if it's kept at other regions but in Australia it is kept at least at the Wild Life Sydney.
In European privat collections the species should be kept but any further information is lacking to me.
Didn't find any information about captive breeding.
At our Gallery there are a few photos of the species like this one :
Spencer's Monitor (Varanus spenceri ) - ZooChat

Jan. 2021 the Billabong Zoo in Australia announced the arrival of 2 Spencer's monitors .

 

[vogelcommando]

- Varanus mertensi : general info : Varanus mertensi

One of the better known species which can be found in 15 European public collections and on ZooChat one of the few Monitor-species with its owm thread ( Mertens breeding/ hatchling care ).
In the USA its kept also at several zoos ( Bronx , Zoo Atlanta, Columbus Zoo ) and in Australia - the homeland of this species - a good number of public collections have the species on display.
It has been bred already several times and in fact it was after the Komodo dragon the second Monitor-species to be bred in captivity and the first species bred outside its natural range.
This first breeding was archieved at the Wilhelma - Stuttgart in 1965 but this zoo no longer keeps the species. Other breeding-results :
Berlin Zoo ( 2010 )
Oliemeulen - Tilburg
Dvur Kralove ( 2007, 2009 and 2011 ) - seems they don't keep this species anymore
Bochum ( 2016 )
Frankfurt ( 1993 ) - not keeping them anymore
In our Gallery the Merten's water monitor is very well-represented, for example this photo made at De Oliemeulen - the Netherlands :
Merten's water-monitor - ZooChat

@ZooBinh has uploaded a photo of this species which is kept at the Boonhoft Museum of Discovery - a collection not mentioned before of keepers of the species :

Discovery Zoo - Merten's Water Monitor - Sep. 2020

• ZooBinh
• 19 Jun 2021

 

[TinoPup]

A few I've seen at less common places in the last two years.

Philly also has Merten's, as does Staten Island.


Claws N Paws has Argus.


Electric City Aquarium and Rainforest Adventures both have Asian.


Rainforest Adventures and Roer's Zoofari both have Nile.


Rainforest Adventures and Pocono Snake & Animal Farm have Savannah. The one at Poconos is a rescue, found digging through trash nearby (in NE Pennsylvania).

 

[vogelcommando]

- Varanus kingorum : general info : http://reptile-database.reptarium.c...s=kingorum&search_param=((taxon='Varanidae'))

At the moment not kept anymore in European public collection but formerly it was kept at 2 collections ( Touroparc and Walter Zoo ).
It has been bred in private hands, see article :
King's Dwarf Monitor Care And Breeding - Reptiles Magazine

Also for this species I wasn't able to find any photos in our ZooChat Gallery.

This species can be seen again in a European zoo, Tiergarten Delitzsch ( Germany ) is now keeping 2 specimens. Hopefully a ZooChatter will soon visit this collection and make the first photo for our Gallery !

 

[MRJ]

Lets take a look at the species still not represented in our Gallery ( and what we can do about it ) :
- V. bangonorum
- V. baritji
- V. bitatawa
- V. bogerti
- V. bushi
- V. cerambonensis
- V. dalubhasa
- V. douarrha
- V. eremius
- V. finschi
- V. flavescens *
- V. glebopalma
- V. hamersleyensis
-V. juxtindicus *
- V. keithhornei *
- V. kingorum
- V. lirungensis
- V. mabitang
- V. mitchelli *
- V. nesterovi
- V. obor
- V. palawanensis
- V. rasmusseni
- V. samarensis *
- V. semiremex
- V. semotus
- V. telenestes
- V. togianus
- V. yemenensis
- V. yuwonoi *
- V. zagorum
That makes 31 species still missing in our Gallery ! However.. there is hope because the species marked with an * are still kept / were untill recently kept at collections which have been visited by ZooChatters so maybe they have still photos of these species but didn't upload them :

For Varanus flavescens its already a little longer ago that Rotterdam kept it but still, its possible that somebody has taken pictures of it.
- Varanus juxtindicus was kept untill at least 2018 at the Animal Education Center at Hull
- Varanus keithhornei is / was kept at the Queensland Reptile and Fauna Park
- Varanus mitchelli is / was kept at the Aquazoo Düsseldorf and at Perth Zoo
- Varanus samarensis is kept ( and resently even bred ) at a number of collections in the Philippines
- Varanus yuwonoi is kept at Cologne Zoo
So I guess it would ( should ! ) be possible to fill at least some of the gaps of missing species in our Gallery.....

Have just added a wild shot of V. glebopalma to the Australia - wildlife gallery

 

[MRJ]

- Varanus keithhornei is / was kept at the Queensland Reptile and Fauna Park

Just a note Queensland Reptile and Fauna Park is the previous name of Australia Zoo. The name change was in the early '90's so any record under that name is likely to be 30 or more years old.

 

[vogelcommando]

- Varanus yuwonoi - general info : Varanus yuwonoi

A rarely kept species which is been kept at only 2 European collections at the moment ( Cologne and Moscow ) but has been kept at 3 more in the past.
It seem to be also ( very rarely ) avaible in the pet-trade.
I wasn't able to find any information about captive breeding of the species and also in our Gallery the species is still not to find ( which is strange because quite a number of ZooChatters went regulary to Cologne ).

Just got a message from a fellow ZooChatter that there is a photo of this species in our Gallery. It was taken at Taman Mini Indonesia by @devilfish in 2016 so one species less to go !

Tri-coloured monitor, June 2016

• devilfish
• 25 Mar 2018

 

[vogelcommando]

Thanks to @devilfish we can add again a species to the list of species from which photos are in the Gallery. A photo of the Rennell Island monitor - Varanus juxindicus has been uploaded by him in the UK Other Gallery :

Rennell Island monitor, Varanus juxtindicus

• devilfish
• 9 Sep 2021
• 2

Photographed in 2017 in a (now closed, but excellent) exotics retail facility in Scotland...

 

[vogelcommando]

A 3 day trip to the Czech Republic resulted in 2 Lifers among the Monitor-lizards . Both are already represented in our Gallery but evenso I was happy to see both species for the first time ( at least as far as I can remember ) :

Quince monitor - Varanus melinus

• vogelcommando
• 20 Oct 2021

Oct. 17 2021

Gray's monitor / Butaan - Varanus olivaceus

• vogelcommando
• 20 Oct 2021

Oct. 16 2021

 

[DaLilFishie]

- Varanus pilbarensis - general information : Varanus pilbarensis

A rare species in European collections and currently only kept at 3 zoos. In the USA I only found that it is kept at the San Diego Zoo and althrough I didn't found any evidence I'm quite sure its also kept at Australian collections - Australia being the home-country of this species.

Can confirm this species is kept in Australia, I saw the species at Hartley's Crocodile Adventures. I have a picture, I'll post it later.

 

[DaLilFishie]

Can confirm this species is kept in Australia, I saw the species at Hartley's Crocodile Adventures. I have a picture, I'll post it later.

Oops, it was actually Southern Pilbara Rock Monitor, V. hamersleyensis. I believe this is the first in the gallery.

 

[vogelcommando]

- Varanus salvadorii - general info : Varanus salvadorii

At the moment one of the more commonly-kept species in Europe and currently 21 collections are taking care for it. In the past a further 38 collections kept the species ( in Europe ).
Also in the USA the species seems to be quite widespread among zoos and I found photos taken of it from the following zoos : Cincinnati, Dallas Zoo, Memphis, The Reptile Zoo, Virginia,
Houston and Honolulu,Also In Mexico ( Africam Safari ) and Singapore Zoo the species is kept.
Also in the privat sector the species is kept in some numbers.
The species has been bred already several times and the first report I found was by a privat keeper in 1997. The European Zoo-first breeding was at the Madrid Zoo in 2010 and 2013 also Faunia in Madrid bred it. Also the Ostrava Zoo has had succes with breeding the species ( 2012 ).
I know the species has also bred succesfully at several US-collections but I'll failed to find my notes about this ( maybe another ZooChatter can make a list of US-breedings of this species ? )
A breeding-report about the breeding at the both Madrid-collections can be found here :
[PDF] International Varanid Interest Group Husbandry and Breeding of the Crocodile Monitor Varanus salvadorii Peters & Doria , 1878 in Captivity | Semantic Scholar

A large number of photos have already been uploaded in our Gallery, for example this one :
Crocodile Monitor at Miami, 12/10/13 - ZooChat

Best Practice Guidelines for the Crocodile monitor published by EAZA :

https://www.researchgate.net/public..._for_the_Crocodile_Monitor_Varanus_salvadorii

 

[Coelacanth18]

A few American notes:

- Varanus glauerti

From outside Europe I don't have any information.

Around in the US in low numbers; Omaha and Rosamond Gifford both keep this species.

Varanus gouldii

In North America I found-out that at least 3 collections are keeping this species:
Lake Superior Zoo
Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo
Riverbank Zoo

All 3 of these listings are 8 years old or more. None have been reported from any of these zoos in recent years, nor from any others I'm aware of.

In the USA I found 2 zoos which are keeping the species - Los Angeles and Dallas Zoo.

To my knowledge, neither of these still exhibit Perentie; Dallas's haven't been seen for a long time, while the enclosure that held LA's animals for a while became a second Komodo enclosure. However, two other facilities - Omaha and Reptile Gardens - were both documented as keeping and displaying the species in 2021 so it's still around.

The most famous member of the family and kept at a good number of zoos in Europe ( ZTL lists 34 collections currently keeping this species ), North America, Asia and even Australia.

Indeed; the United States actually has more holders than Europe (we have over 40 collections with the species).

The Biak tree monitor is a rarely kept species and at the moment only 3 European collections are keeping this species. Don't know nothing about the situation in other regions of the world.

In recent years it's been photographed in at least 2 American facilities (Tennessee Aquarium and Fort Worth).

Varanus pilbarensis

In the USA I only found that it is kept at the San Diego Zoo

Also been reported from Toledo and Blank Park in recent years.

Varanus tristis

In the USA I only found Binder Park Zoo keeping the species

Bronx also does.

Varanus varius

Also In the USA it seem to be very uncommon and the only holders I was able to find are the Bronx and Cincinnati Zoo.

Omaha also holds them, no reports of them at Bronx recently.

 

[ThylacineAlive]

A few American notes:

Around in the US in low numbers; Omaha and Rosamond Gifford both keep this species.

To my knowledge, neither of these still exhibit Perentie; Dallas's haven't been seen for a long time, while the enclosure that held LA's animals for a while became a second Komodo enclosure. However, two other facilities - Omaha and Reptile Gardens - were both documented as keeping and displaying the species in 2021 so it's still around.

Bronx also does.

Omaha also holds them, no reports of them at Bronx recently.

Are the Omaha and Rosamond Gifford holdings new? I never encountered the species at either but my visits are a few years old now.

At least some of Dallas' Perentie went to Iguanaland in Florida. I don't know if they still have any off-exhibit.

Bronx no longer has Freckled Monitor.

Bronx has not held Lace Monitor for a number of years now.

To my knowledge, Bronx's monitor holdings are as follows: Spiny-Tailed Monitor (ssp brachyurus), Black Tree Monitor, Komodo Dragon, Blue-Spotted Tree Monitor, Merten's Water Monitor, Nile Monitor, Gray's Monitor, and Solomon Islands Spiny Monitor (Prospect Park also keeps this species).

~Thylo