Asian Water Monitor - Varanus salvator

Caught this guy a while back. Found him/her sprawling up the driveway at my office building. Chased it up a water pipe. Waited for it to come out, and grabbed it as it ran under some stage fittings.

Practically still a baby, I give it crickets doused with calcium powder, alternatively chicken liver every couple of days.

Made a custom hide for it with two plywood boards cornered with short wooden-legs. A basking bark and a water tub with some substrate mix of bark-chips, smooth gravel and sand. The side-panel is removable in the event I wanna have a peak into it's hide.

Really loves the water, still skittish and flighty but hopefully with time, it'll will get over it.

cheers and best regards

wow id be willing to work loads if those was crawling about mt work place lol well done for catching it and congrats its gorgeous

awesome critter and set up.but i will mention i hate when people take from the wild aside from helping a wounded animal.its not fair to them as they had freedom and now they are confined to a humans visual pleasure box. yes everything comes from the wild at one point but captive bred have never known the outside world.im sure everyone gets the picture.
arachnids and insects are fine but herps and mammals in my eyes is just wrong.i failed to mention this in that guys rattlesnake post.

im not telling you what to do or judging just sharing my opinion on the matter take it how you want.
call me a hippie if you want cause i probably am.i avoid stepping on critters,even ants outside and apologize to grass and trees i step on,climb on,or break limbs or take bark from.i also apologize to the insects i feed my scorpions and give them the best lives they could have before sacrifice.
good day sir

What animals do you keep shining? All captive bred??

i care for a ball python,convict cichlid,ghost cats,glass fish,skirt tetra,goldfish,guppies(all definitely not in the same tank)chihuahuas,cats,pitbull all captive bred.
my emps i doubt were captive bred as they were from petco and my c.sculpts i caught in the backyard of my grandparents.arachnids and insects dont apply to the same rule to me.

i plan on more herps but definitely will be captive bred.

shining wrote:

awesome critter and set up.but i will mention i hate when people take from the wild aside from helping a wounded animal.its not fair to them as they had freedom and now they are confined to a humans visual pleasure box. yes everything comes from the wild at one point but captive bred have never known the outside world.im sure everyone gets the picture.
arachnids and insects are fine but herps and mammals in my eyes is just wrong.i failed to mention this in that guys rattlesnake post.

im not telling you what to do or judging just sharing my opinion on the matter take it how you want.
call me a hippie if you want cause i probably am.i avoid stepping on critters,even ants outside and apologize to grass and trees i step on,climb on,or break limbs or take bark from.i also apologize to the insects i feed my scorpions and give them the best lives they could have before sacrifice.
good day sir

Thank you for speaking your heart and mind. And to acknowledge your views I'll take the opportunity to share mine. I feel that herps are somewhat ok... compared to say birds or mammals. Here in Borneo, such animals usually end up in the cooking pot when found by humans. As far as reptiles go in places like where I'm form, the human notion that they exist purely for our exploitation is common place. I feel that I'm doing my part to represent an alternative mindset within my circle to enlighten them with the appreciation many of you have for these creatures, which most people here take for granted.

Furthermore, this particular specimen was found in an area right smack in the city centre, meaning that it ran the risk of being run over or culled as a pest/delicacy. I know I'm not one to wave the wand of fate... but taking just this one under my wing is rather fair I feel.

But in the best of regards, I do respect your point of view. Similarly, it would be ideal if there was local motivation to captive breed such creatures; an ambition I myself hope to achieve in the coming years...

Cheers

oh yeah i forget to look at where people are from.that is true people do eat rare items(to us americans anyway)where you are from.
growing civilization and modernization do kill natural habitat and alot of creatures die crossing roads.
i agree totally with the birds and mammals being the extreme and people taking certain animals for granted.
having you said that i thank you for your efforts and saving him from a possible far worse fate and i also thank you for replying with respect and non condescendingly like others have ( ) or would.

What a SHINING model of a modern gentleman. LOL.

Awesome lizard though. Shining, I'm with you on the wild animals in captivity thing. The zoo is the most depressing place on earth.

Alex, I'm also with you on saving wild animals from untimely fates at the hands of man. I brought in a toad I found. I live in the city and see smashed animals all the time.

Glad we find middle ground Gents!!

omg zoos and pet stores make me cry.

Man oh man. There is a shop out here that is sooo brutal. They should be shut down.

you should train them in the art of the habitats and husbandry.

i hate how pet shops dont offer hiding spots and little to no substrate for viewing purposes and cost efficiency.

im questioning if my chihuhuas are captive bred even though i helped deliver the litter from the mom.the most lil vicious creatures ever!!!

Do not like them. My dad has one. It gets in my lap but if I touch it, it goes mega psycho.

seriously.bi polar natured.we have one just like that one looks like "yo quero taco bell".

Gross.

Awesome pic's , awesome enclosure and awesome monitor.
Thank god you got to it before he/she ended up on some ones dinner table or hit by a car or something.

Good Luck Bro

what does the numbers mean?
0.2.0
0.0.1
2.2.2
please explain

1.1.1
1 male, 1 female, 1 unsexed

thanks lycanlord!
ehkkk.i just realized i kinda hijacked this thread.

so everybody.

that monitor is pretty dang schexy!!!!!!!
how big do they grow?

shining wrote:

what does the numbers mean?
0.2.0
0.0.1
2.2.2
please explain

just in case theres anything else you was wondering about most of the info is here including the numbers at the end

https://scorpionforum.darkbb.com/t831-word-to-know-in-the-hobby

About the zoo. I think you all know that they breed endangered species apart from imprisoning them

i know they do that for that purpose and to preserve endangered species as well. im all in favor of that but when you see a monkey reach his hand out at you and he looks sad because im not giving him my apple.

thanks for the link as well.

i think out of all the monitors i seen that one sure is the prettiest

The primary purpose of zoos and most breeding facilities, is to safeguard a sustainable number of the species in the event that wild populations dissipate through habitat loss. Once the habitat is gone, it signifies a point of no return. Human development is inevitably causing these environments to shrink. It is a very possible reality that at some point, maybe within our own lifetimes, they will be gone forever. Loss of habitat represents the greatest threat to our planet's biodiversity. This calamity is one that is all but impossible to resolve, considering that it comes into conflict with human expansion.

A selected number of zoos and facilities around the world can be commended for doing a good job in maintaining captive habitats most conducive to the well being of their animals. Unfortunately the larger portion of them could do a lot better.

Conservation of wildlife in general tends to focus on more prominent species like elephants and tigers, despite the fact that habitat destruction eliminates everything down to the smallest of creatures which represent 98% of the original biodiversity. And it is indeed the smallest of animals that are crucial to the ecology of any natural environment. While bigger bodies like the WWF and the WCS tend to the conservation big game species - birds and mammals. Creatures like reptiles and invertebrates are ultimately overlooked.

We can't save them all. But we can choose our favorites. It is only through independent hobbyist and enthusiast that smaller creatures carry some measure of human value. Therefore by propagating what we do, we help to ensure that they will stay with us.... well at least a little longer.

Cheers and best regards

thats why they say homo sapiens are the most dangerous animals alive.