# Komodo any1 got?



## reck118 (Apr 30, 2009)

Helooooo. Just wondering if any of you hard core reptile keepers has a komodo dragon. They're so awesome, :no1: of all reptiles. Please post pictures if possible. 
 Thx


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## angela__k__84 (Oct 4, 2008)

I doubt it. Komodo's are endangered species and often don't do well in captivity.
I believe London and Bristol zoo have some.


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## SiUK (Feb 15, 2007)

there is a couple floating about in private collections apparently


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## Adambrogan (Mar 8, 2009)

they have a breeding pair at chester zoo and the 1st captive baby (i think) hes a little cutey looks just like a small monitor at the moment!!


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## DRD (Nov 12, 2008)

london zoo bred some 2 years ago and they are huge already.

they have fantastic colouring as well with alot of different pigmentation


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## louodge (Sep 26, 2008)

chester zoo have them i think they have at least 2 unrelated pairs


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## kettykev (May 15, 2009)

The female in Chester zoo produced young without mating.I believe this is called parthogenesis and produces male offspring,these can then breed with the female and produce young of mixed sexes.This is how some lizard species colonise islands.


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## Kev132 (Aug 13, 2006)

at chester zoo they just have the adult male and female, but the female a couple of years ago produce fertile eggs all by herself, then last year i think they introduced the male to her and bred them normally, they have many more than the one baby, not sure exactly how many though...


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## SiUK (Feb 15, 2007)

kettykev said:


> The female in Chester zoo produced young without mating.I believe this is called parthogenesis and produces male offspring,these can then breed with the female and produce young of mixed sexes.This is how some lizard species colonise islands.


I swear they found out that it was retained sperm and not parthogenesis


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## Tehanu (Nov 12, 2006)

Here's the european studbook up to December 2006;
http://www.rotterdamzoo.nl/import/assetmanager/9/2659/Komodo Dragon EEP Studbook.pdf

For those interested in what is where


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## Cat&Dean (Jun 21, 2009)

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!:mf_dribble:


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## The_Real_Moreliaman (Jan 24, 2009)

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.


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## Soulwax (Jan 6, 2009)

Beautiful pair at Colchester Zoo. Well worth a visit.


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## blood and guts (May 30, 2007)

Cat&Dean said:


> 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!:mf_dribble:


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.


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## Ssthisto (Aug 31, 2006)

blood and guts said:


> 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.


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## blood and guts (May 30, 2007)

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.


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## kelboy (Feb 10, 2009)

Ssthisto said:


> 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.


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## SiUK (Feb 15, 2007)

kelboy said:


> 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


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## Ssthisto (Aug 31, 2006)

kelboy said:


> 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


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## blood and guts (May 30, 2007)

kelboy said:


> 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.


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## kelboy (Feb 10, 2009)

Ssthisto said:


> 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


I stand corrected. That'll teach me to listen to the information given in documentaries, and take it as gospel. Thanks for enlightening me.


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## blood and guts (May 30, 2007)

kelboy said:


> I stand corrected. That'll teach me to listen to the information given in documentaries, and take it as gospel. Thanks for enlightening me.


Things move on, theres always new findings going on and old docs being repeated. Personaly i never 100% bought into the bacteria thing anyway, it was all way to quick.


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## SiUK (Feb 15, 2007)

kelboy said:


> I stand corrected. That'll teach me to listen to the information given in documentaries, and take it as gospel. Thanks for enlightening me.


theres a good documentary where Brian Fry talks about his findings, the initial paper was released a couple of years ago where he said what he had discovered.

heres part one all five parts are there.

YouTube - 1of5 -- Evolve - Venom


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## The_Real_Moreliaman (Jan 24, 2009)

blood and guts said:


> 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.


I suggest you email jerry and ask the real reasons why.





Ssthisto said:


> 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.


Not so.....the breeder in europe that was selling them was a private keeper, he infact supplied quite a few zoo's with the stock they have now.
And yes he is very reluctant to sell them to private keepers unless he knows their requirments can be met.
The fact that they are venomus has nothing to do with it, its mainly due to the size they attain, the size of enclosure they need and they show no fear of humans the larger they grow.
1000's of species on the DWA are far more dangerous than komodos.


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## kelboy (Feb 10, 2009)

SiUK said:


> theres a good documentary where Brian Fry talks about his findings, the initial paper was released a couple of years ago where he said what he had discovered.
> 
> heres part one all five parts are there.
> 
> YouTube - 1of5 -- Evolve - Venom


Cheers


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## The_Real_Moreliaman (Jan 24, 2009)

yes i know there are spelling mistakes in that post...(like the word venomous)....frankly i couldnt care.....as someone pointed out in another thread...this is a reptile forum....not a grammer school !

I'd like to add to this: he is very reluctant to sell them to private keepers unless he knows their requirments can be met

He also takes into account the level of experince of the intended keeper, something which i applaude, as i too have refused sales due to this reason.

When i had my shop there was a sign in the reptile section: We do not condone impulse buying, we reccomend that you research your intended purchase as much as possible BEFORE you buy it & you may be asked questions to prove you can provide the correct level of care needed! Books are available at the counter for every specie we sell !


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## Ssthisto (Aug 31, 2006)

The_Real_Moreliaman said:


> Not so.....the breeder in europe that was selling them was a private keeper, he infact supplied quite a few zoo's with the stock they have now.
> And yes he is very reluctant to sell them to private keepers unless he knows their requirments can be met.
> The fact that they are venomus has nothing to do with it, its mainly due to the size they attain, the size of enclosure they need and they show no fear of humans the larger they grow.
> 1000's of species on the DWA are far more dangerous than komodos.


Note the following words I used:

Komodos *tend *to be in zoos, not private collections (That means that MOST of them are in zoos - I am not denying that there are privately held Komodos, but I would assume that there are fewer of these than there are zoo-owned ones).

Komodos are *impractical to keep* compared to *some *DWA species. (That means that yes, they're not as easy to keep as certain species that are on the DWA - but not that they are harder to keep than all DWA species are. The venom is one aspect, and the size/potential aggression is another. I would assume it is easier to keep a hand-reared Dingo than it is to keep a Komodo ... but it is probably safer to keep a Komodo than to keep an elephant.)


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## The_Real_Moreliaman (Jan 24, 2009)

Blimey ok....no need to go all defensive on me...i was only clarifying a few points !

(i'd say its safer to keep an elephant than a komodo....elephants can be trained) :whistling2:


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## Ssthisto (Aug 31, 2006)

But more elephants kill zookeepers than *any* other species...


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## The_Real_Moreliaman (Jan 24, 2009)

Very true.....but look how many elephants are in captivity compared to komodos...perhaps when they equal each other we can check the results again:lol2:


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## teiryklav (Mar 20, 2009)

The_Real_Moreliaman said:


> 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.


you sure it was 1000pounds each? that's too cheap for such illegal action, anyway, komodo's are not usually aggresive, perhaps they attack small children, or any person with blood scent on them (menstruatial, wounded, etc etc)

why is hard to keep them because they're big, well known as rare animals, and how can you import them really?


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## Ssthisto (Aug 31, 2006)

The_Real_Moreliaman said:


> (i'd say its safer to keep an elephant than a komodo....elephants can be trained) :whistling2:


Incidentally... sharks can be trained, as can tegus - so I would assume that a monitor - even an uncommonly big one - could too.


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## Tehanu (Nov 12, 2006)

Funnily enough we were visited by someone from another collection who was kind enough to show us photos of their training methods.

Operant conditioning methods and "target training" have proven very successful with this species and are used by the majority of institutions working with this species


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## wildlifewarrior (Jun 26, 2008)

Ssthisto said:


> Incidentally... sharks can be trained, as can tegus - so I would assume that a monitor - even an uncommonly big one - could too.


If i remember correctly i believe in a crocodile hunter episode wes and steve were in there own komoda dragon enclosure with 2 subadults walking around them and they were extremely tame and had been trained


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## strictly_scales (Sep 10, 2008)

Back-tracking a little, on the venom issue, I was under the impression that all monitors were classed as Venemous these days, as indeed are most Colubrids. The only difference between say a Timor Monitor in captivity and a Komodo is the drastic size issue. Which is admittedly quite substantial.

I did hear of a guy in Scotland who had a pair of Komodos, but I don't know any more than that. If I had the space for a 50 foot by 30 foot walk in Vivarium, and the money to run such a thing, I would happily have a trio of Komodos for a mere £3k, especially when you consider that a Gila Monitor costs about the same as a Komodo, and has the added hassle of DWA without the risk of being seriously mauled and eaten.


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## The_Real_Moreliaman (Jan 24, 2009)

teiryklav said:


> you sure it was 1000pounds each? that's too cheap for such illegal action, anyway, komodo's are not usually aggresive, perhaps they attack small children, or any person with blood scent on them (menstruatial, wounded, etc etc)
> 
> why is hard to keep them because they're big, well known as rare animals, and how can you import them really?


Yep....99.9% sure...i know i was amazed at the price too!
And they are quite agressive.....esp when hungry....theres loads of reports of people being attacked....even the islanders have been asking for them to be controlled in some way.
they will attack large cattle....so im guessing a human would be like a Mcdonalds snack !



strictly_scales said:


> Back-tracking a little, on the venom issue, I was under the impression that all monitors were classed as Venemous these days, as indeed are most Colubrids. The only difference between say a Timor Monitor in captivity and a Komodo is the drastic size issue. Which is admittedly quite substantial.
> .


I think your right there....although the info on them being venomous is quite a few years old now i seem to remember reading something about it on fry's own venoum doc forums.
I also remember something about bites from the wild ones being slightly more hazardous due to the carrion they regularly feed on.


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## Azemiops (May 1, 2008)

The_Real_Moreliaman said:


> Yep....99.9% sure...i know i was amazed at the price too!
> And they are quite agressive.....esp when hungry....theres loads of reports of people being attacked....even the islanders have been asking for them to be controlled in some way.
> they will attack large cattle....so im guessing a human would be like a Mcdonalds snack !


Are you sure you didnt mistake £1000 for £10,000? I have found adds on a german classifieds dating back to august 2008 for 08 komodo dragons for 10,000 euros and 6000 euros.

Also, we spent some time on komodo island in 2007, and did not find the wild dragons to be particularly agressive. We actually managed to get very close to get the photos we were after without any problems. This is not to say they cant be, but from what the rangers were telling us the main problems arise when a rogue older male gets booted out of good territory by a younger male, and decides to stake out new territory close to kampung komodo, the village on the island, and these are normally very isolated incidents.


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## The_Real_Moreliaman (Jan 24, 2009)

Azemiops said:


> Are you sure you didnt mistake £1000 for £10,000? I have found adds on a german classifieds dating back to august 2008 for 08 komodo dragons for 10,000 euros and 6000 euros.
> 
> Also, we spent some time on komodo island in 2007, and did not find the wild dragons to be particularly agressive. We actually managed to get very close to get the photos we were after without any problems. This is not to say they cant be, but from what the rangers were telling us the main problems arise when a rogue older male gets booted out of good territory by a younger male, and decides to stake out new territory close to kampung komodo, the village on the island, and these are normally very isolated incidents.


Im not going to say its not a possiblity that the person that told me they were £1000 each could have been slightly wrong no.....like i said..at the time the cheap price surprised me.

komodo attacks on the increase

im sure of you google something like.....komodo attacks humans or villagers youll get alot more back


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## Ssthisto (Aug 31, 2006)

The increase in attacks on villagers COULD have something to do with the fact that the island's population is increasing.

In 1928 there were only about 30 people in Komodo Village.
In 1999 there were 1,169 people.
Now there's at least 1600 people - and that's just in Kampung Komodo.

More people = more encroachment on territory = fewer good territories for male Ora to claim = More older males being pushed out to try to find food elsewhere = more attacks.


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## The_Real_Moreliaman (Jan 24, 2009)

Very true, and youd be in quite close contact of you kept them in captivity too.

are you sure youre not just here to argue ssthisto ?...like the matt thread ?
Have i said something to upset you ?


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## strictly_scales (Sep 10, 2008)

Ah, but a captive Komodo isn't going to be nearly as hungry, and given the intelligence of monitors, I would imagine they would quickly learn that keeper supplys food, rather than keeper equals food.


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## The_Real_Moreliaman (Jan 24, 2009)

Yeah some of them do....lacies get really tame....and my mate had a 7ft salvator which was dog tame too, and the male komodo at london zoo is quite tame according to the head keeper we were speaking to, but he also said he'd never trust them fully due to their size & what they are capable of, im sure the risks of keeping a komodo would be similar to keeping venomous, if you get complacent you’ll get hurt.


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## strictly_scales (Sep 10, 2008)

Sames true of any giant- I certainly don't get complacent around the Burm, and he's "dog-tame".


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## Hopeinthedark (Aug 16, 2008)

> i'd say its safer to keep an elephant than a komodo....elephants can be trained


I watched one of the keepers at London zoo working their komodo - he's target trained, was impressive to watch. You can train pretty much anything ;-)


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## Jake201 (Mar 26, 2008)

this is the one from london zoo i went to about 1 week agoo =] HuuGE!!!!!!!!!!!!! :O:O !!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## Dextersdad (Mar 28, 2008)

angela__k__84 said:


> I doubt it. Komodo's are endangered species and often don't do well in captivity.
> I believe London and Bristol zoo have some.


 
Nahhh they do well in captivity. If you get a zoo licence there's a couple of place in Spain that are literally giving them away at the moment.


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## reck118 (Apr 30, 2009)

I can't see how komodos can be one of the most venomous creatures on the planet. They wait, literally weeks, for their pray to die. The amount of venom that they would have to inject would be miniscule and would be completely impractical. This study that everyone is talking about. Does the scientist who made the descovery actually say which other monitors have 'well developed venom glands' ? How does he know that they do? Has he dissected them and found the glands?

As for those who say their pray die too quickly for it to be bacteria in saliva. Bacteria that act in similar ways to the nurotoxins in many snake venoms can kill humans, in the most extreme cases, in under a day. Easily within a week. As I have previously stated, komodos can wait for their pray to die for weeks.

I am not saying it is impossible or unlikely that komodos have venom. I just want proof before I conform to the new theories.

Will


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## SiUK (Feb 15, 2007)

reck118 said:


> I can't see how komodos can be one of the most venomous creatures on the planet. They wait, literally weeks, for their pray to die. The amount of venom that they would have to inject would be miniscule and would be completely impractical. This study that everyone is talking about. Does the scientist who made the descovery actually say which other monitors have 'well developed venom glands' ? How does he know that they do? Has he dissected them and found the glands?
> 
> As for those who say their pray die too quickly for it to be bacteria in saliva. Bacteria that act in similar ways to the nurotoxins in many snake venoms can kill humans, in the most extreme cases, in under a day. Easily within a week. As I have previously stated, komodos can wait for their pray to die for weeks.
> I am not saying it is impossible or unlikely that komodos have venom. I just want proof before I conform to the new theories.
> ...


 
Dr Bryan Fry is the scientist that did the research, hes one of the (if not the) leading experts in the world right now on venom evolution. His research was very in depth, and took a long time, theres a brief overview of the paper posted here, but the full publication is on the net somewhere, but its very long and alot of it goes way over my head but then im not an expert on venom phylogenetics :lol2:


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## Tehanu (Nov 12, 2006)

reck118 said:


> Has he dissected them and found the glands?


Funnily enough, that's exactly what they did amongst other things...

Venomdoc Homepage


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## ex0tics (Jun 9, 2009)

kelboy said:


> 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.


They have bottom jaw venom glands I believe the same as the gilla monster.


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## reck118 (Apr 30, 2009)

Bump. I don't want this thread to die:lol2:


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## teiryklav (Mar 20, 2009)

Azemiops said:


> Are you sure you didnt mistake £1000 for £10,000? I have found adds on a german classifieds dating back to august 2008 for 08 komodo dragons for 10,000 euros and 6000 euros.
> 
> Also, we spent some time on komodo island in 2007, and did not find the wild dragons to be particularly agressive. We actually managed to get very close to get the photos we were after without any problems. This is not to say they cant be, but from what the rangers were telling us the main problems arise when a rogue older male gets booted out of good territory by a younger male, and decides to stake out new territory close to kampung komodo, the village on the island, and these are normally very isolated incidents.


i think its not because of that. i live in indonesia and we sometimes have those tv program about them. why they're unaggresive is perhaps they know people. many people came there, get them food. they become unaggresive. where'd you go at that time, near the kampung, komodo will be even tamer. but if you go far from there, wild komodos are dangerous. :gasp:


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## Jack W (Feb 9, 2009)

teiryklav said:


> i think its not because of that. i live in indonesia and we sometimes have those tv program about them. why they're unaggresive is perhaps they know people. many people came there, get them food. they become unaggresive. where'd you go at that time, near the kampung, komodo will be even tamer. but if you go far from there, wild komodos are dangerous. :gasp:


 
I see your point and it is certainly possible, but the encroachment of people onto what is really komodo dragon land will eventually lead to the komodos not having enough territory and land and as such they will start to attack people. Look at Namibia, there the population increases in the last century has led to people taking over the lions land and killing their prey, which is resulting in whole prides stalking and hunting humans as though they were deer.

The solution to the problem is simple, people need to stop taking over the dragons land, otherwise they can hardly complain about being attacked.

EDIT: a pic of Raja from London Zoo.


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## sean k (Dec 20, 2007)

*komoda dragon*

hear is my komoda dragon in my garden:

http://www.dosomethinggreat.net/Our BLOG/April 2005_files/Komoda%20Dragon-fullbody-small.JPG

lol lol :lol2:


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## mika_len (Jul 13, 2009)

angela__k__84 said:


> I doubt it. Komodo's are endangered species and often don't do well in captivity.
> I believe London and Bristol zoo have some.



Bristol def don't  .I'd be there every day if they did! lol.I REALLY hope they will get some when they build the Eco Zoo :flrt:


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## Herpmad V2.0 (Nov 3, 2006)

just read this thread amazing lol i also herd a few years ago of a bloke in scotland that had some, from most of the accounts i have read about captiverty they are about the same as a salvator to train. and as a decendent of each other they probly not that different.

also although probly not now but some reports made and weight and size chats show that there isnt that much different in size in wild komodos and salvators infact at one point i belive (giant monitor book i belive) it states that water monitors were actualy reclassed as the largest monitor untill a slightly larger komodo was found so keeping wouldnt be that much different to a large salvator, but again as said new research is carried out all the time it was only a year or so ago that it was discoverd that bearded dragons are venomus and if they had the method to inject rather than just tiny secretions it could be almost fatel to humans.

evolution dosnt stop


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## retic lover (Sep 23, 2008)

I think you need a zoo licence to keep them, chester zoo have a nice pair








angela__k__84 said:


> I doubt it. Komodo's are endangered species and often don't do well in captivity.
> I believe London and Bristol zoo have some.


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## penfold (Sep 9, 2007)

i think you will find the first person to breed komodos in europe was jim pether in gran canaria about 2000 then they were suplied to ther zoos ie;london think they managed to kill one of jims if i rember rightly about a week after they got it and colchesters came from jim just to mention a couple ,his are kept outside all the time you couldnt ask for better inclosures really :2thumb:


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## brian (Oct 22, 2005)

kettykev said:


> The female in Chester zoo produced young without mating.I believe this is called parthogenesis and produces male offspring,these can then breed with the female and produce young of mixed sexes.This is how some lizard species colonise islands.


Yes this is so and it was also the first time it had been done but thay was some confusion at first because she had been in with a male the year before and thay was not sure if she could store sperm.........


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## Kloy (Aug 4, 2009)

I usually work in London Zoo Easter and Summer (only retail and admissions mind, because I'm a student so I only work seasonally) (worth it for the free entry though : victory: )and from what I remember Raja has killed 2 females that they've tried to introduce as partners. Shame because I bet the young'uns would be stunning!


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## sean k (Dec 20, 2007)

*london zoo*

didnt the female komodo at london zoo lay a fertile egg and it hatched and the female komodo had not ever been near a male????

i think thats what i heard????

correct me if im wrong...


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## Kev132 (Aug 13, 2006)

sean k said:


> didnt the female komodo at london zoo lay a fertile egg and it hatched and the female komodo had not ever been near a male????
> 
> i think thats what i heard????
> 
> correct me if im wrong...


that was the female at chester zoo, and it was a whole clutch of eggs, all fertile, and she'd never been with a male.

Chester did a really godo job with theirs, i believe they kept them in seperate huge enclosures for about 2-3 years before introducing them, parts of the enclosure where right next to eachother, and where screened off so they could sense each other, the year following the female laying the fertile eggs, they introduced her to the male and they mated, not sure if theyve kept them together though...


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## reck118 (Apr 30, 2009)

*Bump :whistling2:*


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## God-Comes (Sep 18, 2009)

sean k said:


> didnt the female komodo at london zoo lay a fertile egg and it hatched and the female komodo had not ever been near a male????
> 
> i think thats what i heard????
> 
> correct me if im wrong...


thats rely weird lol :bash:


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## reck118 (Apr 30, 2009)

*Yeah it is. suprisingly common though. Quite a few common slug and snail species are capable of it. Aswell as loads of lizards and countless other animals*


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## jc_reptiles (Jan 17, 2009)

I was inside Londons Komodo dome last year. One side is occupied by tortoises so it was all good :2thumb:

Wish I had taken some pictures now. It was so hot in there though, I was sweeting like a newly divorced herper at Hamm.

I have seen chesters off show housing too, massive amount of space for mini dragons, but great to see.


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## Lamprophis (Jun 12, 2008)

sean k said:


> didnt the female komodo at london zoo lay a fertile egg and it hatched and the female komodo had not ever been near a male????
> 
> i think thats what i heard????
> 
> correct me if im wrong...


didn't a certain biblical character make this claim also? :whistling2:


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## The_Real_Moreliaman (Jan 24, 2009)

Lamprophis said:


> didn't a certain biblical character make this claim also? :whistling2:


 In the quiet words of the virgin mary.......come again ??......;-)


Both london and chester had komodos lay without mating, infact if i remember correctly the female at london zoo laid a clutch of 22 eggs before the female at chester zoo laid 25......... i remember chattin to douglas at chester about their parthenogenetic behaviour, very weird.


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## The_Real_Moreliaman (Jan 24, 2009)

reck118 said:


> *Yeah it is. suprisingly common though. Quite a few common slug and snail species are capable of it. Aswell as loads of lizards and countless other animals*


I dont think theres that many lizards that can....i know theres about 15 species of lizards in mexico that never produce males ! with females acting out courtship dances with eachother.........i know greenfly & black fly are parthenogenetic.....like you say its more common than people think.


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## The_Real_Moreliaman (Jan 24, 2009)

reck118 said:


> *Yeah it is. suprisingly common though. Quite a few common slug and snail species are capable of it. Aswell as loads of lizards and countless other animals*


No sorry m8...you are kinda right...there aint loads but theres quite a few i just checked.........whiptails, geckos, rock lizards, blindsnakes and Komodo dragons. I think the whiptails are the mexican specie that dont produce any males.

(i dunno if the links on them will work but it should go to a wiki page)


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## adhamyo (Apr 28, 2009)

i heard about komodos doing that. its because if they get swept to sea and land on an island with not komodos they can produce eggs without a male, so thta they can re populate the island. or at least its something like that.


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## Ssthisto (Aug 31, 2006)

The_Real_Moreliaman said:


> I think the whiptails are the mexican specie that dont produce any males.


There are quite a few whiptail species that are all-female; I used to catch New Mexico whiptails (_Cnemidophorus neomexicana_) on my school lunch breaks.


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## Snakes Incorporated (Jun 27, 2006)

Bryan Grieg Fry says the animal has venom glands.
http://www.venomdoc.com/downloads/2009_Fry_Komodo&Megalania


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## Owzy (Jan 19, 2009)

Snakes Incorporated said:


> Bryan Grieg Fry says the animal has venom glands.
> http://www.venomdoc.com/downloads/2009_Fry_Komodo&Megalania


Thanks for the link


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## The_Real_Moreliaman (Jan 24, 2009)

Ssthisto said:


> There are quite a few whiptail species that are all-female; I used to catch New Mexico whiptails (_Cnemidophorus neomexicana_) on my school lunch breaks.


Yeah i only knew a few until i checked....its surprising how many there are.
thats quality...i wish id grown up somewhere that had a plethora of reptiles running around.....how many do we have here !!! pfft...:lol2:


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## Natrix (Dec 9, 2006)

Just read this thread and thought I should add that about three years ago there was an add selling baby Komodo dragons and I'm pretty sure it was in the classifieds of this forum. 
I can't remember the price but it was lots of money.

Natrix


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## The_Real_Moreliaman (Jan 24, 2009)

adhamyo said:


> i heard about komodos doing that. its because if they get swept to sea and land on an island with not komodos they can produce eggs without a male, so thta they can re populate the island. or at least its something like that.


Yeah & what a scary thought eh....seeing as the climates (apparently) warming up !! lol


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