Komodo any1 got?

[Cat&Dean]

Colchester zoo have a young pair, i beleive they are gonna breed them 2. it wud b so cool to have one, lol, till u get bit!

[The_Real_Moreliaman]

I dont know of any private keepers in the UK....as siUK said theres some but i think they are in europe...Ive heard of someone selling them in europe a couple of years ago for £1000 each, but the guys a bit picky on whom he sells them too (cant blame him)
I thought the female at chester had never been with a male & she wasnt sexually mature when they first had her.....could be wrong...havent heard any news on them for a while....where did you hear that siUK ?? would be interesting to find out.

[Soulwax]

Beautiful pair at Colchester Zoo. Well worth a visit.

[blood and guts]

Originally Posted by Cat&Dean

Colchester zoo have a young pair, i beleive they are gonna breed them 2. it wud b so cool to have one, lol, till u get bit!

There both females in there, they were ment to get a pair to join them somtime back but fell through. The females came from gran canaria. They have now opened up the next part of the enclosure for them (the other side has cuban crocs).

Also there not dwa, no monitor is. The prob is there app 1 animals so resrictions can be placed on ownership.

[Ssthisto]

Originally Posted by blood and guts

The prob is there app 1 animals so resrictions can be placed on ownership.

I'm not quite sure what being Appendix I of CITES has to do with it - there are plenty of Annex A / Appendix I animals in the pet trade, including quite a few species of tortoise and Dumerils boas.

The problem with getting hold of Komodos is more that they're a "national treasure" of sorts, and the only ones available outside of Indonesia tend to be in zoo collections; zoos are often reluctant to sell surplus offspring into the private hobby. Hence the MASSIVE price.

That, and the fact that Komodos ARE venomous and are known to have killed quite a few people in their native country (Robert Bakker's "Dinosaur Heresies" lists the Komodo's diet as something like "Goats, pigs and German tourists") makes them rather impractical to keep compared to some DWA species.

[blood and guts]

No diffrent to croc monitors really and the app 1 thing can and has resrictions applied on some spieces in the past so is a possibility. Jerry cole for one had a total nightmare when he bought in cb rhino iggys and wasent aloud to sell or pass any on.

The national tressure thing is more for them giving away ones to other countrys, theres enough being bred now that they have no control in that mannor and yes there in the private sector to.

[kelboy]

Originally Posted by Ssthisto

I'm not quite sure what being Appendix I of CITES has to do with it - there are plenty of Annex A / Appendix I animals in the pet trade, including quite a few species of tortoise and Dumerils boas.

The problem with getting hold of Komodos is more that they're a "national treasure" of sorts, and the only ones available outside of Indonesia tend to be in zoo collections; zoos are often reluctant to sell surplus offspring into the private hobby. Hence the MASSIVE price.

That, and the fact that Komodos ARE venomous and are known to have killed quite a few people in their native country (Robert Bakker's "Dinosaur Heresies" lists the Komodo's diet as something like "Goats, pigs and German tourists") makes them rather impractical to keep compared to some DWA species.

I don't believe they are venomous, rather that their saliva is full of multiple types of bacteria which causes extreme blood poisoning and proves fatal, maybe days after attacking their prey. They then follow scent cues to the body of their prey.

[SiUK]

Originally Posted by kelboy

I don't believe they are venomous, rather that their saliva is full of multiple types of bacteria which causes extreme blood poisoning and proves fatal, maybe days after attacking their prey. They then follow scent cues to the body of their prey.

no they are definately venomous

[Ssthisto]

Originally Posted by kelboy

I don't believe they are venomous, rather that their saliva is full of multiple types of bacteria which causes extreme blood poisoning and proves fatal, maybe days after attacking their prey. They then follow scent cues to the body of their prey.

According to Dr. Bryan Fry, they've found very well-developed venom glands in the lower jaw of certain monitor species - including Komodos. The research was started because animals bitten by Komodos were dying *too fast* for it to be septicaemia.

Venom is Komodo dragon's lethal weapon - Times Online

[blood and guts]

Originally Posted by kelboy

I don't believe they are venomous, rather that their saliva is full of multiple types of bacteria which causes extreme blood poisoning and proves fatal, maybe days after attacking their prey. They then follow scent cues to the body of their prey.

As the others have posted above, all the stuff in print you may have read is old thinking. They are indeed venomus, a lot of lizards have the glands but no delivery system.