What water monitor is this?

Hi there,
need some folks water monitor science here: what is this one which is supposed to come from Indonesia.
Thx a mil,
Stephan
stecasa@hotmail.fr

looks like an asian water monitor

ha, don't be too specific blood python..... stephan, looks like a typical sumatran... most of the imports are sumatran unless the seller specifies differently and the price is usually between 80 and 100 for babies that size...

Thx a mil guys for immediate support.

You got my point indeed Johnathan: I do know it's a WM per se :-) but wanted to get the precise genus since there are about a dozen.

salvator andamanensis
salvator cumingi
salvator macrolatulatus
salvator nuchalis
salvator togianus
salvator sp sulfur
salvator bivittatus
salvator salvator

About geographies, you might be very right jonathan since it is supposed to come from indonesia which is vague enough and Sumatra is a western Indonesia island in, western of the Sunda Islands. (sumatra is one of the largest indonesian island with Borneo and New Guinea).

So it seems that it is a sumatran hence it should either be a salvator macrolatulatus (what I wouldn't like since they got the bigger) or a salvator bivittatus.

Jonathan any guess on the actual subspecie? macrolatulatus, bivittatus or other.

Cheers,
Stephan

unfortunately my knowledge doesn't extend quite that far, if you want better details I would suggest calling one of the breeders of water monitors as they may be able to direct you as to how to tell the difference.... However, I do know that the most commonly imported is salvator salvator and usually if it is something else the seller normally knows it and advertises it as such in an effort to get more money for something "different". So my best guess, salvator salvator, and if it turns out to be a female it won't get that large anyway. Males when fed right can easily hit the 5-6ft mark in about 2.5yrs while females will usually only be about 3-4ft by that time. As far as structural differences like in the bt's it's a bit more subtle in waters and harder to tell sex than that so if you have this monitor you may just have to weight to tell sex and figure out about how big he/she can get. If you want a smaller water monitor look for a "speckled water monitor aka sulawesi water monitor" these guys top out at about 6 ft for large males, they are mostly black with flecks of white or yellow everywhere. NERD usually has one or two when I look at their site.

Jonathan you are a precious asset for this forum - merci!

Its V.s. macromaculatus. Its pattern is typical for water monitor babies from central Sumatra and southern Kalimantan. Check http://www.cybersalvator.com if you have other pattern or locality questions. I will be glad to help.

John

Thx John - The cybersalvator website is awesome! So if it is a macromaculatus, it is supposed to be one of the biggest water monitor - Correct?

Yes, wild data suggests 7 feet or more. The further east you go, the larger they become, with true giants in Sri Lanka recorded over 10 feet. In fact, longest recorded monitor is a salvator from Sri Lanka, 10 feet 5 inches. Thats 2.5 inches longer than longest Komodo, and since no one can prove any Croc Monitors over 10 feet, it is record holder (Randow 1932).

I am a bit puzzled then if I got a big guy since I would have prefered (as long as it is a choice to make :-) ) to get a smaller one / 5 or 6 footer...

Any specificity temper wise? Bigger / calmer / tamer? (obviously each individual is different but there might be a consistent behaviour pattern)