Monitor-lizards in captivity

vogelcommando

vogelcommando

Well-Known Member
10+ year member
From several animal-groups there have been threads created to get a better overview of the captive-status ( several fish-generea and families, birds, mammals and others ) but lizards have been sofar been a little neglected.
Therefor here a thread of one of the most spectaculaire and charasmatic group of lizards, the monitors - genus Varanus.
Goal is to get an overview which species have been kept / are kept in captivity, from which species already photos have been posted in our Gallery and which species have been bred succesfully in captivity.
Also any other intresting news about these species can be posted here.
At the moment 80 different species are recognized by science and from these I've seen sofar at least 26 species and took care myself of ( only :( ) 2 species.
Because the size of the genus I will deal with it again in parts and will start with part I ( sounds logical I guess ) :

- Varanus acanthurus : general info : Varanus acanthurus

One of the most commonly kept ( and bred ) species in captivity and at the moment to be seen at 57 public collections in Europe. For America I found also some collections keeping it, for example the National Aquarium in Baltimore, Brookfield Zoo and the Buenos Aires Zoo.
1983 the Wilhelma Zoo had prop. the world-first breeding and another German zoo, Zoo Wuppertal bred it later also very well and many of Wuppertal-bred animals were send to other zoos. Both these collections have stopped the keeping and breeding of Varanus acanthurus.
Collections still keeping the species which have also bred them are:
Tierpark Berlin ( 2008 )
Hannover
Cologne ( several times )
Allwetterzoo Munster ( 2011 and 2012 )
Articles about the breeding of this species can be found here :
Breeding The Spiny-Tailed (Ackie) Monitor
Varanus acanthurus
At the ZooChat-Gallery there is a good number of photos of this species like for example this one:
Spiny-tailed Monitor (Varanus acanthurus) | ZooChat

- Varanus albigularis : general info : Varanus albigularis

None-subspecifictic animals are currently kept at 21 European zoos and in other regions the species is kept at at leat Cincinnati Zoo, Colombus Zoo and Aquarium, Philadelphia Zoo, Virginia Zoo, Oakland Zoo and Honolulu Zoo.
At the National Zoo of South Africa the species is also kept and these are most prop. of the nominate-form which is not represented anymore in European collections ( previously 3 collections had kept it in Europe ).
Subspecies V. a. microstictus is kept at 9 European collections.
The species has been bred several times for example at Rheinsberg and at Rotterdam Zoo. It was also one of the first species from which a young hatched in captivity : the San Diego Zoo recieved 1962 a gravid female which laid a clutch and from this one young hatched.

Breeding-results can be found here :
http://www.varanidae.org/1_2-Le_Poder.pdf
http://www.varanidae.org/yahoo_site_admin/assets/docs/8_2_Kiraly.4155008.pdf
http://www.reptilesmagazine.com/Reptile-Magazines/Reptiles-Magazine/September-2008/White-Throat/
In the ZooChat-Gallery the species is represented by quite a number of photos, like this one :
https://www.zoochat.com/community/m...ranus-albigularis-ionidesi-march-2015.289100/

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

A rare and only recently discribed species which is currently only kept at 2 public collections : Cologne and Stuttgart.
Untill 2015 the species was also kept at Zoo Plzen were it was bred succesfully in 2007 ( 1 young ).
In the ZooChat-Gallery there are only 2 photos of this species, one of them being this one :
https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/peacock-monitor-varanus-auffenbergi-october-2014.287354/

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

Another very recently discribed species for which I didn't found any captive information and from which there are no photos in our Gallery.

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

Also for this species no information about being kept at any public collection but I found a small video-clip of a small group kept at a ( prop. private ? ) collection :


In the Gallery the species is still un-represented.

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

At the moment this species is kept at 13 European collection and also in the USA it can be found in a number of collections like for example at the San Diego Zoo, Dallas Zoo, Toledo Zoo, Lincoln Park Zoo, Brookfield Zoo, Denver Zoo, Philadelphia Zoo, Milwaukee County Zoo, Reptile Gardens, Wildlife World Zoo and Aquarium and the Oakland Zoo.
It has been bred already several times for example at Plzen ( 5 young in 2007 and 11 young in 2011 ), Prague Zoo ( 2015 ) and Newquay ( 2015 ).
An article about the breeding of this species can be found here :
http://varanidae.org/6_2_Fischer.pdf

There is a number of photos of this species in our Gallery, like this one :

https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/black-tree-monitor-varanus-beccarii.385168/

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

A rare species in public collections and I only found 7 current keepers : Cologne, Thoiry, Kiev, Beijing, Wildlife World Zoo and Aquarium, Sacramento and Santa Barbara.
In the past it was much more common and Zootierliste mention 24 formaly keepers with not mentioning Burgers but I remember seeing this species in the old Mangrove-hall.
The only breeding-result in a public collection I was able to find took place in 1996 at the Moscow Zoo. It seem also to have been bred in at least one privat collection.
There are only a few photos in our Gallery like this one of a wild specimen in Sri Lanka :

https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/bengal-monitor-varanus-bengalensis.366815/

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

From this recently, vegetarian species I was unable to find any information about being kept in captivity and there are also no photos of it in our ZooChat-Gallery.

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

Currently kept at only 1 European public collection at which it was also already bred succesfully in 2007 : Akva Tera - Plzen.
In the past it was also kept at the Museum Koenig - Bonn in which the name-giver of the species, herpetologist Wolfgang Böhme works.
A small note on the world-first-breeding ( 2005 ) by a private keeper ( with some nice pictures ) can be found here :
http://s592754522.website-start.de/artenteil/varanus-boehmei/

In our Gallery there are still no pictures of this species .

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

Wasn't able to find any captive information of this species and there are also no photos of it at our Gallery.

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

The smallest of all monitor-species is not kept at European public collections and also from the USA I don't have any information but in private collections it has been kept and bred in the past ( world-first-breeding 1973.
Around 1999 the Alice Springs Desert Park also should have bred it succesfully.
At the Australian Reptile Park the species is also being kept ( and bred ? ), see :

http://reptilepark.com.au/animals/reptiles/monitors/short-tailed-pygmy-monitor/

At our Gallery there is just a single picture of this species :

https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/short-tailed-pygmy-monitor-september-2011.162922/

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

A quite recently discribed species for which I didn't find any info regarding captive keeping and also in our Gallery no photos of this species.

To be continued.....
 
Are you sure that you have seen Varanus bengalensis at the old mangrove hall in Arnhem and not Varanus indicus? The later is also listed at zootierliste.de for Burgers while the former is not.
 
Have to check my old note-books but I'm quite sure they were at least labeled as being Varanus bengalensis but thanks for the note and as said, I will try to check it.
 
Nice idea for a thread! You're quite right, I don't remember any of these compilations for reptiles. Thanks for the effort of making this research!

vogelcommando said:
- Varanus boehmi : general info : http://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Varanus&species=boehmei&search_param=((taxon='Varanidae'))

Currently kept at only 1 European public collection at which it was also already bred succesfully in 2007 : Akva Tera - Plzen.
In the past it was also kept at the Museum Koenig - Bonn in which the name-giver of the species, herpetologist Wolfgang Böhme works.
A small note on the world-first-breeding ( 2005 ) by a private keeper ( with some nice pictures ) can be found here :
Manfred Reisinger - Varanus boehmei

In our Gallery there are still no pictures of this species .
Click to expand...

Then I upload the first image for the gallery, but it was took at Plzen zoo, not at AkvaTera (a place where I has not been):

full
 
zoomaniac said:
Are you sure that you have seen Varanus bengalensis at the old mangrove hall in Arnhem and not Varanus indicus? The later is also listed at zootierliste.de for Burgers while the former is not.
Click to expand...

vogelcommando said:
Have to check my old note-books but I'm quite sure they were at least labeled as being Varanus bengalensis but thanks for the note and as said, I will try to check it.
Click to expand...

It was Varanus indicus that was kept in the old Mangrove. The big sign maybe talked about V. bengalensis, but that one also featured long-tailed macaques :p, which have never been kept there, among other species ;).

The Monitor in the old Mangrove however found ways to escape from his open-topped enclosure, so I imagine that is the reason it was sent away...
 
Part II :

- Varanus caerulvirens : general info : Varanus caerulivirens

A single animal is being kept at Zoo Cologne. The species is a relative newly discovered species ( original discription see : http://www.zobodat.at/stable/pdf/HER_12_1_2_0045-0056.pdf ). In privat collections the species seems also to be kept ( and even bred ).
Sofar only 2 photos of this species in our Gallery, both made at Cologne, which can be found here: Turquoise Monitor (Varanus caerulivirens) | ZooChat
Turquoise Monitor (Varanus caerulivirens) | ZooChat

- Varanus caudolineatus : general info : Varanus caudolineatus

A very rare species in captivity with only one public collection keeping it at the moment ( at least in Europe ), again Cologne. Cologne got its animal(s ?) from Aquazoo Düsseldorf, the only other public collection which has kept the species. Didn't find any information about breeding-results in captivity, nor information about the species being kept / bred outside Europe.
Also from this species only 2 photos in the ZooChat-Gallery :
Line-tailed pygmy monitor | ZooChat
Line-tailed Pygmy Monitor (Varanus caudolineatus) | ZooChat

- Varanus cerambonennsis : general info : Varanus cerambonensis

Another very rare species in captivity and I only found a note from 2016 that one zoo world-wide was keeping it but without mentioning which zoo.
No information of it ever being bred in captivity and also no pictures of this species in the Gallery.

- Varanus cumingi : general info : Varanus cumingi

In Europe this species is currently kept at 10 public collections and bred with succes at one of them ( Cologne Zoo ). 2 former keepers also bred it succesfully in the past : Rotterdam and Frankfurt. Don't have any information about this species being kept outside of Europe.
A breeding-report of this species can be found here :
VARANUS CUMINGI breeding at BION Terrarium Center

Note: this is one of the 2 species I've taken care for personaly :).

- Varanus dalubhasa : general info : Varanus dalubhasa

A very recently discovered/discribed species for which I didn't found any captive information and also there are no photos of this species in our Gallery.

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

Zootierliste mentions 7 collections currently keeping this species and I myself saw it 2017 at an 8th collection ( Wildpark Antalya - Turkey ). Outside Europe I don't have any information about this species being kept at public collections.
I also didn't found any information about captive breeding of this species.
There are several photos of this species in the ZooChat-Gallery like for example this one :
https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/blue-tailed-monitor.386544/

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

No information found at all about this species being ever kept in captivity. The species was long thought to be lost but was rediscovered recently ( https://news.mongabay.com/2017/05/scientists-rediscover-lost-monitor-lizard-in-papua-new-guinea/ ). In our Gallery there are no photos of this species.

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

Once a more commonly kept species ( I've seen it in the trade very regulary in the 1970-ties and 1980-ties but currently only 3 collection in Europe display this species. The Boulder Ridge Wild Animal Park ( USA ) and Pata Zoo ( Thailand ) kept the species at least untill 2013 ( pictures in the Gallery )
Zootierliste lists 22 former European collections which kept the species ( with some zoos missing where I've seen the species ) and in 1998 Cologne Zoo bred the species succesfully.
The world-first-breeding was at Buffalo Zoo in 1988 ( Int. Zoo Yearbook vol. 28 pp.153-155 ).
Found also a note that it should have been bred at the Nakhonratchasima Zoo in Thailand.
Only a few photos of this species at the Gallery like this one :
https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/dumerils-monitor-varanus-dumerilii.329965/

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

No information about this species being kept in captivity and also no pictures of the species in the ZooChat-Gallery.

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

One of the most commonly-kept species in captivity and Zootierliste mentions no less then 60 European zoos currently keeping the Savanna monitor and a further 88 which kept it in the past.
Also outside Europe the species is kept in large numbers and from our Gallery I found pictures made at Crococun Zoo ( Mexico ), Meserani Snake Park ( Tanzania ), Out of Africa Wildlife Park, Cincinnati Zoo ( both USA ) and Joburg Zoo ( South Africa ).
It has been bred at a number of occasions ( for example at the old Emmen Zoo - not mentioned on Zootierliste ) and breeding-reports can be found here :
http://www.savannahmonitor.co/breeding/breeding.pdf
http://www.salamandra-journal.com/index.php/home/contents/1994-vol-30/739-bayless-m-k/file ( in German )
https://www.lacerta.nl/sites/default/files/artikelpdfs/Lacerta48-01-002-005.pdf ( in Dutch and most prop. dealing with Varanus albigularis ).
As mentioned above, there is a good number of photos to be found in the Gallery, like this one :
https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/savanna-monitor.284799/

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

No information avaible to me about captive-care and also no photos in the Gallery of this species.

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

At the moment not kept at any zoo in Europe but formerly 15 collections kept it. I'm not aware of any keepers outside Europe.
The only breeding-result I found for a public collection was in 1983 at Rotterdam Zoo.
Found a short video-clip of some captive specimens, don't know however where the clip was made :

At the Gallery I didn't found any photos of this rare species.

To be continued....
 
Part III :

- Varanus giganteus : general info : Varanus giganteus

One of the most charismatic monitor-species ( together with the Komodo dragon ) but in European zoos at the moment only kept at one zoo ( Zurich ) and formaly also only 2 zoos kept it ( London and Moscow ).
In the USA I found 2 zoos which are keeping the species - Los Angeles and Dallas Zoo.
A zoo for which you wouldn't expect such a rare species is the Zoologico de Cali in Colombia.
In Australia - the homeland of the perentie - a larger number of collections is keeping this species and in the Gallery I found photos from the following zoos :
Australian Reptile Park
Australia Zoo ( on their web-site mention they bred it in at least 2002 )
Perth Zoo
Wildlife Sydney
Caversham Wildlife Park
Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary
Armadale Reptile and Wildlife Centre
Currambin Wildlife Sanctuary
Halls Gap Zoo
Alice Springs Reptile Centre
Oakvale Farm and Fauna World
Bredl's Reptile Park - at this park the world-first breeding was archieved in 1986 and an article ( in German with ( very ) short English summary ) can be found here :
http://www.salamandra-journal.com/index.php/home/contents/1987-vol-23/1011-bredl-j-h-g-horn/file
A good number of photos can be found in our Gallery, like for example this one :
Perentie | ZooChat

- Varanus gilleni : general info : Varanus gilleni

A rare species in European collection with 4 zoos currently keeping it and in the past 3 more have kept it. From other regios I didn't find any information about it being kept at public collections.
2 European collections have succesfully bred it: Rotterdam Zoo had the European Zoo-first breeding in 2003 ( this zoo still seems to keep them but behind the scenes ) and the Wilhelma, Stuttgart had the German first Zoo-breeding in 2006.
In privat collections it was already bred succesfully around 1978.
An article about the breeding of this species can be found here ( in German, with short English summary ) :
http://www.salamandra-journal.com/index.php/home/contents/1978-vol-14/1328-horn-h-g-4/file

In the Gallery there are only 3 photos to be found of this species :
Varanus gilleni | ZooChat
Pygmy Mulga Monitor (Varanus gilleni) at Wilhelma - April 10th 2015 | ZooChat
Pygmy mulga monitor - Varanus gillenus | ZooChat

- Varanus glauerti : general info : Varanus glauerti

A species kept in a somewhat larger amount of public collections - at least in Europe. At the moment 14 collections are keeping it and in the past a further 11 public collections kept it. From outside Europe I don't have any information.
2004 Frankfurt Zoo had the world-first breeding and also the Reptilium - Landau have bred it.
2 collections not keeping the species anymore had also breeding-results with it: Vivarium Karlsruhe and the now closed reptile-collection at Regensburg ( in 2006 ).
A breeding-report can be found here :
http://www.varanidae.org/4_3_de_Zeeuw.pdf

There are several photos of this species to be found in our Gallery, like this one :

https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/varanus-glauerti.230284/

- Varanus glebopalma : general info : http://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?
genus=Varanus&species=glebopalma&search_param=%28%28taxon%3D%27Varanidae%27%29%29

From this species I wasn't able to find any information about it being kept in captivity and also in our ZooChat-Gallery there are no photos of this species.

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

At the moment kept at 9 European collection and formaly a further 14 collections in Europe had this species. In North America I found-out that at least 3 collections are keeping this species:
Lake Superior Zoo
Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo
Riverbank Zoo
Also in New Zealand the species is kept at the Wellington Zoo.
In Australian zoos the species should also be kept but I found only a note of it being kept at Armadale Reptile and Wildlife Centre.
Found only one reference of a breeding-result in a public collection, at the Alligator Bay - Beauvoir.
An article about the captive incubating of wild-collected eggs from this species can be found here :
http://www.smuggled.com/BriBar15.htm

In the Gallery there are several photos of the species, like this one :
https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/goulds-sand-monitor.334851/

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

Non-subspecific Desert monitors have been kept at 13 European collection but at the moment only one collection is keeping them - Moscow Zoo.
The Indian subspecies V. g. koniecznyi is even rarer and the only European collection which has kept this subspecies was Chester Zoo which had it untill 2003.
The Central Asian subspecies V. g. caspius is currently kept at only one ( European ) collection : Grodno ) but has been kept in the past at at least 16 other collections.
The African subspecies V. g. griseus can't be seen anymore in European public collections but has been kept in the past at 19 collection.
For Africa and Asia I found 2 notes of keeping this species :
Mashhad Zoo in Iran
Africa Safari Park in Egypt
Found just one short note about the captive breeding of the African subspecies ( Perry et al. 1993 ) at the Research Zoo of Tel Aviv University :
Their animals were kept in hibernation at temperatures as low as 6oC from November to March. For the rest of the year two females and a male were kept in a 20m2 outside enclosure. Seven eggs, weighing about 25.5g each, were incubated at 29-31oC and hatched after 120 days into 10cm SVL (25cm TL) lizards. They were not fed immediately but kept in the dark at 15-20oC for the next five months. After two years they had increased in size to 24cm SVL (59cm TL) and weighed 117-269g. In captivity they will accept a wide range of vertebrate and invertebrate prey. This species does not usually tolerate being handled and does not become docile, even after long periods in captivity.
In our GallerI found just 4 photos of this species of which this is one ( made in the wild ) :

https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/varanus-griseus-desert-monitor-male.153335/

to be continued....
 
vogelcommando said:
- Varanus gilleni : general info : Varanus gilleni

A rare species in European collection with 4 zoos currently keeping it and in the past 3 more have kept it. From other regios I didn't find any information about it being kept at public collections.
2 European collections have succesfully bred it: Rotterdam Zoo had the European Zoo-first breeding in 2003 ( this zoo still seems to keep them but behind the scenes ) and the Wilhelma, Stuttgart had the German first Zoo-breeding in 2006.
In privat collections it was already bred succesfully around 1978.
An article about the breeding of this species can be found here ( in German, with short English summary ) :
http://www.salamandra-journal.com/index.php/home/contents/1978-vol-14/1328-horn-h-g-4/file

In the Gallery there are only 3 photos to be found of this species :
Varanus gilleni | ZooChat
Pygmy Mulga Monitor (Varanus gilleni) at Wilhelma - April 10th 2015 | ZooChat
Pygmy mulga monitor - Varanus gillenus | ZooChat
Click to expand...


Just found a note that Dallas Zoo had the World First Zoo-breeding in 1978 - 3 young were bred.
 
Part IV :

- Varanus hamersleyensis : general info : Varanus hamersleyensis

This species is a recent split of northern and southern populations of Varanus pilbarensis. Didn't found any information about the captive keeping or breeding of this species.
In the Gallery this species is still not represented.

- Varanus indicus : general info : Varanus indicus

At the moment this species is kept at 20 European collections and I guess also in North America and Asia the species is kept at a good number of collections.In Europe Rotterdam Zoo bred it 1999 and 2002 and at Prague Zoo 25 young hatched 2007 !
At Warszawa 8 young hatched 2013 but it's not complete sure if these belonged to this species or to the closely-releated Varanus rainerguenther.
Found a note about the first captive breeding which took place at Philadelphia Zoo :

In captivity the mangrove monitor can be a very timid and nervous animal. They need to be provided with a spacious enclosure that allows them to climb, and provided with plenty of hiding places. Mangrove monitors will bask at temperatures up to 50oC. A large pool of water is essential for these animals' wellbeing. Because males tend to be much larger than females courtship and mating can be violent (Polleck 1979; McCoid & Hensley 1991). The first report of captive breeding comes from the Philadelphia Zoo, where a pair were housed in a 1.5m2 enclosure. Many clutches of eggs were produced and finally two hatched after 198-199 days at 28-29oC (Groves, pers.comm.). Wesiak (1993a&b) housed three adults together in a 3.4m2 enclosure with a large pool of water and records an incubation period of 174 days at 26.5oC. Kok (1995) records eggs hatching after 152-182 days at an unspecified temperature. Hatchlings weigh about 25g, measure 27cm TL and will immediately accept baby mice and insects. Because females produce huge amounts of eggs particular attention needs to be given to their nutritional needs. Suitable diet should include large insects, fish, birds, eggs and mammals. It seems likely that many of the animals sold under the name V.indicus are actually V.doreanus.

In the Gallery there is a good number of photos of this species like for example this one :
Varanus indicus | ZooChat

- Varanus jobiensis : general info : Varanus jobiensis

A rare species in public collections and in Europe only 4 zoos are keeping them at the moment (
Leipzig, Pairi Daiza, Cotswold and Moscaw. In earlier days 8 more European zoos had the species.
The World-first-breeding was archieved by Leipzig Zoo in 2001. In the USA the species has been bred at least in the private sector and a breeding-report can be found here :
http://www.varanidae.org/Vol2_No3_Stefani.pdf

In the ZooChat Gallery there are several photos of the species like this one :
Varanus jobiensis | ZooChat

- Varanus juxtindicus : general info : Varanus juxtindicus

A very rare species - at least in European collections. At the moment it's kept only at one public collection : Animal Education Centre Hull
It has however already bred in captivity and a breeding-result can be found here :
(PDF) Successful husbandry and first breeding of Varanus juxtindicus Böhme et al., 2002, with remarks on the development of juveniles of this “rarely-kept” endemic Solomon monitor species ( funny is the fact that the species was already bred succesfully before it was discribed as being a new species to science ! )

I wasn't able to find any photo of this species in the Gallery.

- Varanus keithhornei : Varanus keithhornei

As for as I could find-out, this species is not kept in captivity outside of Australia. In Australia it is / was kept at the Queensland Reptile and Fauna Park were also the World-first-breeding took place in 1997. A report about this breeding can be found here :
https://www.australiazoo.com.au/con...s/breeding behaviour of the canopy goanna.pdf

There seem to be no photos of this species in our Gallery.

- 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 :
http://www.reptilesmagazine.com/Kings-Dwarf-Monitor-Care-And-Breeding/

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

To be continued....
 
I have a question for monitor lizard lovers.

Which island in the region of New Guinea-Philippines does not have an endemic tree monitor? In the recent years, a number of monitors was discovered on varous small isnads there.
 
Part V :

- Varanus komodoensis : general info : Varanus komodoensis

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. In several of the regions some kind of breeding-programms are active to keep a healthy population.
It was the first Varanus-species bred succesfully in captivity, at the Batavia Zoo ( now Jakarta Zoo ) already in 1937 a clutch of 25 eggs was laid and one opened egg contained a living embryo. The other eggs didn't hatch. 4 years later ( 1941 ) the real world first breeding took place at the same zoo and at least one young hatched.
In the western world a good number of the larger zoos recieved now and then members of this species as relation-presents from the Indonesian gouverment but it was only in 1992 that the first breeding outside Indonesia was archieved at the National Zoo - Washington.
In Europe it was the little known Parque Reptilandia on Gran Canaria - Spain which was succesfull in 2004 ( video about this breeding see :
.
Numberous articles about breeding the species have been publiced since then, for example this one about the first 3th generation-breeding at Rotterdam Zoo : http://varanidae.org/Vol3_No2_Visser_et_al.pdf
In our ZooChat-Gallery the Komodo dragon is the best represented species of all monitor-species ( literally hundreds of pictures ) like this one : Komodo Dragon (Varanus komodoensis) | ZooChat

- Varanus kordensis : general info : Varanus kordensis

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 regios of the world.
It seemed to have been bred in privat collections but I was unable to find any proof about this.
In the ZooChat Gallery there are a few photos of the species like this one made by Maguari :
Biak Tree Monitor at Prague Terrarium, 26/08/12 | ZooChat

- Varanus lirungensis : general info : Varanus lirungensis

A quite recently ( 2009 ) discribed species from which I didn't find any information of it being kept in captivity.
There are no photos of this species to be found in our Gallery.

- Varanus mabitang : general info : Varanus mabitang

An endangered species which was quite recently discribed and one of only 2 monitor-species which mainly feeds on fruit. Didn't found information on captive keeping of this species but it's well possible that it is kept at Philippine collections.
In the Gallery I didn't found any photos of this species.

- Varanus macraei : general info : Varanus macraei

Another species which is only known to science recently ( discribed 2001 ) but this species became quite populair and at the moment no less than 43 collections in Europe are keeping it and I guess also in North America the species is kept ( and bred ? ) at several collections.
The world-first-breeding was archieved at Plzen Zoo in 2006 and in the meantime several other zoos bred it also :
Halle ( 2013)
Vivarium Karlsruhe (2013 )
Cologne ( German Zoo-first breeding 2008 )
Ostrava ( ? )
Zürich ( 2011 )
An article about the breeding can be found here : http://varanidae.org/Vol3_No4_Ziegler_et_al.pdf
The species is well-represented in the Gallery, like this nice photo made at the Melaka Butterfly Park : blue tree monitor (Varanus macraei) | ZooChat

- Varanus marmoratus : general info : Varanus marmoratus

A rare and rarely-kept species and at the moment only one European zoo has this species in its collection ( Halle ). In the Philippines - its home-range - it is also kept by several collections.
I didn't found any information about the caprive breeding of this species.
In our Gallery there are 2 photos of this species, both in Philippine zoos form which this is one : Marbled water monitor/ Varanus marmoratus | ZooChat

To be continued....
 
Part VI :

- Varanus melinus : general info : Varanus melinus

A rare and relative newly discribed species ( 1997 - discription see : http://library.mampam.com/MELINUS-translation.pdf ) which is rare in zoos and public reptile-collection. Zootierliste lists at the moment 9 European public collections keeping the species.
Also in the USA it seems to be kept ( and bred ) in low numbers. From other regions I don't have information.
The species already has been bred several times. The World-first-breeding was archieved in 2000 in a privat collection in Germany and in the Zoo-world it was bred at the following collections :
- Bronx Zoo
- Fort Worth Zoo
- Cologne ( 2009 )
- Prague ( 2014 )
A breeding-report from the Cologne Zoo can be found her :
http://www.varanidae.org/4_3_Ziegler_et_al.pdf
A good number of photos can be found in our ZooChat Gallery like this one :
Varanus melinus - ZooChat

- 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

To be continued....
 
Part VII :

- Varanus mitchelli : general info : Varanus mitchelli

A very rare species and the only European zoo keeping the species is the Aquazoo Düsseldorf which should have 4 specimens behind the scenes.
In Australia - the home-country of the species - it was ( is ? ) kept at the Perth Zoo which also had the world-first breeding with this species in 2001. An article about this breeding can be found here : file:///C:/Users/PC/Downloads/GaikhorstetalZooBio2009.pdf
In the ZooChat Gallery I wasn't able to find any photos of the Mitchell's monitor.


- Varanus nebulosus - general info : Varanus nebulosus

At the moment this species is not kept at all in European zoos and in the past only 6 public collections are reported to have kept it.
Outside of Europe I only found it to be kept at Saigon Zoo.
The species - which is sometimes regarded as being a subspecies of Varanus bengalensis - seemed to have bred in 2009 but I was unable to find any further information about this breeding.
In our Gallery there are a few photos of this species from both captivity and the wild, for example this one, made by Chlidonias at the Saigon Zoo : Clouded Monitors in the Reptile House - ZooChat

- Varanus nesterovi - general info : Varanus nesterovi

A very recently discribed species (*) which is not kept at any zoo and also with no photos in our Gallery.
(*) Althrough only discribed in 2015 it was already recognized as being a new species by the russian zoologist Petr Vladimirovich Nesterov (1883 – 1941) but because his discription was never published ( due to the World Wars ) it wasn't recognized.


- Varanus niloticus - general info : Varanus niloticus

A commonly kept species which at the moment can be seen at 44 European collections and also in other regios ( North America - Africa ) the species is kept at several collections.
The Nile monitor is one of the few ( the only ? ) monitor-species which was able to establish a feral population in the southern part of the USA ( Florida ).
Strange however is the fact that captive breeding seems to be very rare and I was not able to find a captive breeding-report of the species !
In the ZooChat Gallery there is a very good number of photos of this species, like this one made by nikola : Varanus niloticus - - ZooChat


To be continued.....
 
Part VIII :

- Varanus nuchalis - general info : Varanus nuchalis

A very rare species for which Zootierliste mentions - under the wrong name Negos water monitor ( should be Negros water monitor or even beter Large-scaled water monitor ) - only 2 holdings - one in the past ( Berlin Zoo ) and one current ( Zoo Halle ). On the Philippines it is at least kept at Avilon Zoo but its well possible its also kept at other collections in this country ( home-land of the species ).
The only note I found about breeding was from a commercial breeding farm but no further info.
In our Gallery I found only one photo, made by devilfish at Avilon Zoo : Large-scaled (Visayan) water monitor, July 2016 - ZooChat

- Varanus obor - general info : Varanus obor

A rare species for which I didn't found any keepers at public collections. It was only discribed in 2010 ( abstract of discription see : https://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/2010/f/z02434p032f.pdf ) and in the privat sector it already has been kept and bred as I found out by this video-clip :


In our Gallery this species is still not to be found...

- Varanus olivaceus - general info : Varanus olivaceus
Another very rare fruit-eating monitor-species from the Philippines which is only kept at 2 European collections ( Krokozoo - Protivin and Wingham Wildlife Park but in America they seem to be a little more common : Dallas Zoo ( don't know if they still have them ? ), Henry Doorly Zoo and Los Angeles. Also on the Philippines its kept at several collections.
First breeding should have been at Dallas Zoo but the single young which hatched 1994 only lived for a short time. Los Angeles Zoo was more succesfull and bred the species at least in 2015 ( 3 young ) and 2018 ( 6 young ). Also on the Philippines it seemed to have being bred at the Paradise Reprtile Zoo. Breeding reports can be found here :
file:///C:/Users/PC/Downloads/Reproduction_of_the_Rare_Frugivorous_Mon.pdf
http://www.varanidae.org/8-1_Bennett_A-dubious-account-of-breeding.pdf
http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.474.6728&rep=rep1&type=pdf
https://www.earthtouchnews.com/cute...ays-monitor-lizards-hatch-at-los-angeles-zoo/
In the ZooChat Gallery there is a good number of phots of this species like this one made by ThylacineAlive at the Los Angeles Zoo :
https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/grays-monitor.400767/

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

A rare monitor-species for which I wasn't able to find any keeping at public collections. Also there are no photos of this species in our Gallery.

- 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 :
http://www.reptilesmagazine.com/Breeding-Lizards/Breeding-Argus-Monitor/
http://varanidae.org/6_1_Wiechmann.pdf
in the Gallery there are several photos of the species like this one made by Dorminator :
https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/argus-monitor-varanus-panoptes.388506/

To be continued....
 
Part IX :

- 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.
Also in the private sector the species is rarely kept and I was only able to find one breeding-report of this species from a private Spanish collection :
http://varanidae.org/11_1_Camina-Vega_and_Koch.pdf
In the Gallery there is sofar only one single photo of this species, made by jayids2 at the San Diego Zoo : Pilbara rock monitor - ZooChat

- Varanus prasinus - general information : Varanus prasinus

One of the more commonly kept Monitor-species with 41 European public collections keeping it.
Also in the USA its kept at a good number of collections ( San Diego Zoo, Bronx, Milwaukee County Zoo, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, Zoo Atlanta, Brookfield Zoo, Fresno Chaffee Zoo, Lethigh Valley Zoo, Fort Worth Zoo, Detroit Zoo, Smithsonian National Zoo and Dallas Zoo and prop. also others ). In Asia at least the Singapore Zoo keeps it and in Australia it at least is kept at the Cairns Aquarium.
It already has been bred at a good number of zoos:
Aquazoo Düsseldorf - German first-breeding 1998
Bristol Zoo - 2005
Wroclaw - 2016
Prague Zoo - European Zoo-first breeding 1996
Durrell - at the end of the 1990s
Cologne Zoo
San Diego Zoo - around the beginning of the 2000s
Bronx Zoo - 2011
Fort Worth Zoo - 1993
Dallas Zoo - 1994
Dispite this good number of breeding-results - and an even larger number of succesfull privat breeders, on the internet no real breeding-reports were found by me.. :(.
In the ZooChat Gallery the species is very well represented , for example by this photo :
Varanus prasinus - ZooChat

- Varanus primordius - general info : Varanus primordius

An Australian species which is at this moment not kept at all in European public collection. A few years ago the WalterZoo in Switserland has kept it. Also in America I'm not aware of any public holdings and from Australia I only found a note about it being kept at theTerritory Wildlife Park at the end of the 1990s.
In the privat sector the species is kept by a few breeders, both in North America and Europe.
The prop. World-first-breeding took place at the Territory Wildlife Park in 1999.
In our Gallery there are sofar only 2 photos of this species, made at a Reptile-fair :
Varanus primordius - ZooChat

- Varanus rainerguenteri - general info : http://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Varanus&species=rainerguentheri&search_param=((taxon='Varanidae'))

A relative recent discribed species which is very rarely kept in captivity. I know of only 2 public collections which have / had the species :
Cologne - currently keeping the species
Warsaw - having kept the species in the past
Also in the private reptile-keeping-scene the species has been kept and even already bred succesfully. A breeding-report can be found here :
file:///C:/Users/PC/Downloads/GrabbeetKoch2014ParthenogeneticVrainerguentheri.pdf
In our ZooChat Gallery there is only one single photo of this species, made by Tomek at the Warsaw Zoo ( this holding is not reported on Zootierliste ) :
Rainer G?nther?s Monitor (Varanus rainerguentheri) January 2012 - ZooChat

- Varanus rasmusseni - general info : http://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Varanus&species=rasmusseni&search_param=((taxon='Varanidae'))

A recent discribed Philippine species ( abstract of the original discription see : https://mapress.com/zootaxa/2010/f/z02446p054f.pdf )for which I didn't find any information of it being kept in captivity and also in our Gallery there are no photos of this species.

To be continued .....
 
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The Barcelona zoo currently has:
2 male and 1 female Komodo dragons
1.1 Emerald tree monitors
1.0 Lace monitor
0.1 White-throated monitor
 
Monitor husbandry is often debated, but it seems to be more consistent in zoos than it does when they're kept as people's pets. Some species of monitor simply don't do well in captivity - the Savannah Monitor is a great example - but I don't think I've ever even seen one in a zoo.
 
EsserWarrior said:
Monitor husbandry is often debated, but it seems to be more consistent in zoos than it does when they're kept as people's pets. Some species of monitor simply don't do well in captivity - the Savannah Monitor is a great example - but I don't think I've ever even seen one in a zoo.
Click to expand...
I saw one in Faunia, Madrid, myself
 
EsserWarrior said:
the Savannah Monitor is a great example - but I don't think I've ever even seen one in a zoo.
Click to expand...

Why? In my experience this is precisely the most frequently kept monitor of all, and I supposed that it must be the easiest... I saw them not only in zoos, but in pet shops and in private hands and they apparently do well. So I'm curious, what's the issue with Savannah monitors?
 
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