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JimmyDavid J0K3R GodzillaKeeper502 SHvar JimmyDavid Crocdoc JimmyDavid SHvar Crocdoc JimmyDavid Shay_ Shawdow Rick_Albig Nileofky Krusty SHvar SHvar BlackSquall JimmyDavid Crocdoc BlackSquall Crocdoc BlackSquall JimmyDavid BlackSquall SHvar SHvar JimmyDavid SHvar Crocdoc

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#930349

JimmyDavid
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Weight

After Komodo dragons and water monitors what other species have been recorded with the next higher body weight??? Iā€™m guessing niles, but i canā€™t find conclusive data on that.

08/08/06 10:44pm

#930416

J0K3R
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Message To: JimmyDavid In reference to Message Id: 930349

Weight

i dont think its a nile i would say a black-throat.

08/08/06 11:29pm

#930561

GodzillaKeeper502
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Message To: J0K3R In reference to Message Id: 930416

Weight

croc monitor

08/09/06 12:44am

#930629

SHvar
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Message To: JimmyDavid In reference to Message Id: 930349

Its hard to say...

I know that a perentie is very heavy supposedly for its size, in fact a long thin 6.5ft perentie can supposedly be 53lbs. Albigs are light for their size, they are semi-arboreal monitors, think about this, when Sobek was last measured she was 6ft 4 inches and 31lbs (when someone says their 5-5.5ft albig is 25-35lbs they are lieing). Think about this, my old 54 inch bosc monitors was at most 11 lbs at one time.
A healthy nile adult is hard to find as most nile keepers never see a nile grow to beyond 3ft, and rarely beyond 4-5ft, why, that is a reflection of care.
I dont know as far as weight goes among healthy monitors in the large species which is heavier beyond a komodo and water.

08/09/06 01:20am

#930750

JimmyDavid
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Message To: SHvar In reference to Message Id: 930629

Its hard to say...

I was quite sure that BT’s and crocs would be mentioned. But there are reasons to discard those 2, if you think about it. ALL literature i could find on african varanids so far, by any author, says that the nile is the bigger african lizard both length and weight wise. I wouldn’t say these authors have been wrong all this time, so we might as well pass on the BT’s. As for crocs they are only known for their length, in fact they seem to be very light.
I was thinking that the real next contenders would be perentie and lace monitor, but i can’t find records on adult weights for those.

08/09/06 04:42am

#930801

Crocdoc
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Message To: JimmyDavid In reference to Message Id: 930750

Its hard to say...

Perenties are long and thin, so they’re out. Lace monitors have a heavier build than perenties, but don’t get as long, so as far as I know the record maximum weight for wild caught individuals of boths species are fairly close, around 20-22kg. The lace monitor apparently regurgitated a huge meal shortly after capture, though, consisting of some small rabbits and fox kits.

My bet would be on Nile monitors. I’ve seen photos of huge ones trapped in the wild for the skin trade. 90-100 cm SVL.

08/09/06 07:23am

#930885

JimmyDavid
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Message To: Crocdoc In reference to Message Id: 930801

Its hard to say...

I know. Niles just seem to be the most obvious choice for me, too.

08/09/06 09:55am

#932499

SHvar
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Message To: JimmyDavid In reference to Message Id: 930885

I just recieved an email asking for a weight measurement on Sobek.

And in it was a comparison of a very large male ornatus, he is 6ft 6-8 inches long and 37lbs.
I think there are a few species heavier aside from African species by size.

08/10/06 04:26am

#932586

Crocdoc
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Message To: SHvar In reference to Message Id: 932499

I just recieved an email asking for a weight measurement on Sobek.

yes, there are. V komodoensis and salvator.

08/10/06 08:32am

#934415

JimmyDavid
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Message To: Crocdoc In reference to Message Id: 932586

I just recieved an email asking for a weight measurement on Sobek.

Hey SVhar, i was reading on another post of yours something like "Komodos have the shortest tail to body length ratio of any monitor".... But i’m sure most will agree that exanthematicus beats komodos on that. Those suckers really have very shot tails. I had one with (i almost could say) a tail shorter than it’s body, without being bronken.

08/11/06 10:20am

#934792

Shay_
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Message To: JimmyDavid In reference to Message Id: 934415

Short tails, heavy bodies

i would think v. brevicauda would have the shortest tail to body length ratio. after all it’s the Short Tailed Pygmy monitor.

i’ve read from different sources that the Perenti was the heaviest behind Komodos and waters.

08/11/06 02:51pm

#935215

Shawdow
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Message To: Shay_ In reference to Message Id: 934792

Short tails, heavy bodies

Here’s a link of a 6’ 6" V. ornatus. Looks pretty hefty.
Ornate Link
Perenties seem to have a pretty thin/light body structure. I would have to say V. niloticus or V. ornatus are heavier due to a lot of muscle mass.

Cheers,

Adrian

08/11/06 07:33pm

#936105

Rick_Albig
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Message To: Shawdow In reference to Message Id: 935215

Short tails, heavy bodies

Hahahaha! Great plug for the site adrian! Its looking great!

Rick

08/12/06 12:56pm

#937005

Nileofky
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Message To: Rick_Albig In reference to Message Id: 936105

Short tails, heavy bodies

Maybe a croc monitor?

08/12/06 11:30pm

#937683

Krusty
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Message To: Nileofky In reference to Message Id: 937005

by weight....has to be V. niloticus or ornatus.

08/13/06 01:39pm

#937810

SHvar
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Message To: Shawdow In reference to Message Id: 935215

That is Robs ornatus.

He told me the other day that Kael is 37lbs. He asked me what Sobeks weight was for a comparison. Somewhere I have an old picture of an ornatus that is enormous, the owner says he is 6ft 9-10 inches and 65 lbs, but this lizard was very fat and I think over-estimated.
According to Daniel Bennetts book an adult Perentie the same length is supposed to be heavier, around 53lbs if I remember right, supposedly very deceptively heavy for a skinny lizard.

08/13/06 03:13pm

#937827

SHvar
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Message To: JimmyDavid In reference to Message Id: 934415

The tail length for a bosc to body length.

Seems to depend on sex. Also the shortest tail to body ratio in boscs is 1:1, the tail length is not shorter. I have pictures of several that have all longer tails than body lengths, also these are adults, not very young. One as a matter of fact has a longer tail than body length with 2 inches missing from the tail. The komodos body length as an adult is longer by a bit than tail length if I remember right.

08/13/06 03:20pm

#937994

BlackSquall
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Message To: SHvar In reference to Message Id: 937810

That is Robs ornatus.

SHvar I read the same thing and I have seen some pics of perenties that look as bulky as a nile or water monitor. On the Chevron website they tell how pumping oil on barrow Island affected the animals and they showed a perentie that looks very bulky. here is the link. the pic is down on the right
bulky perentie

08/13/06 05:52pm

#938198

JimmyDavid
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Message To: BlackSquall In reference to Message Id: 937994

That is Robs ornatus.

I have a hard time picturing the perentie heavier than the nile (adults). The last one just seems much bulkier even if a bit shorter in total lenght. I Could see better chances from a lace.

08/13/06 08:32pm

#938596

Crocdoc
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Message To: JimmyDavid In reference to Message Id: 938198

That is Robs ornatus.

that’s not a bulky perentie, that’s a perentie that’s just been fed a whole lot of camp food.

Niles get much heavier than perenties or lace monitors.
I’m guessing you guys haven’t seen perenties or lace monitors in real life?

08/14/06 12:10am

#938718

BlackSquall
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Message To: Crocdoc In reference to Message Id: 938596

That is Robs ornatus.

your right I havent seen one in real life. And most pics of perenties look very skinny. Doesn’t a perentie that eats alot of camp food become bulky? like that ornate that is taken care of and eats probably alot more than ones in the wild. How many perenties are in captivity? definitely not as much as niles. I’m not saying that perenties are heavier than niles(encase you thought)

08/14/06 02:07am

#938901

Crocdoc
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Message To: BlackSquall In reference to Message Id: 938718

Perenties

There are quite a number of perenties in captivity and they’re being bred in captivity more frequently these days.

What I meant when I said that perentie had just been fed a lot of handouts is that it had a huge belly. It’s still not a very bulky animal, otherwise, and they rarely are.

08/14/06 08:11am

#939144

BlackSquall
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Message To: Crocdoc In reference to Message Id: 938901

Perenties

Now that I look at it better your right, its arms are pretty thin compared to its fat body. BTW how much do your lace monitors weigh? I think in another post someone asked you how long they were, but not how much they weighed.

08/14/06 12:14pm

#939161

JimmyDavid
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Message To: BlackSquall In reference to Message Id: 939144

Perenties

Yeah, niles and ornatus develop strong limbs and large shoulder/neck areas. These are very robust lizards that also can have girthy muscular tails as well, not just long and thin like perenties or croc monitors. That’s why i said from the start that i think niles are up there right after salvators. If i had to make a top 5 heaviest lizard list it shoul be something like this:
1- komodo dragon
2- Salvator
3- nile (ornates)
4- Lace monitor
5- Either Salvadorii or Perentie

But i understand that some people with better experience with monitors than me can have another vision here. I’m still open to other points of view.

08/14/06 12:27pm

#939181

BlackSquall
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Message To: JimmyDavid In reference to Message Id: 939161

That list makes sense to me. Although I kinda think that a v. albiguris would be heavier than a salvadorii. I might be wrong though.

08/14/06 12:40pm

#939267

SHvar
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Message To: BlackSquall In reference to Message Id: 937994

They dont have to be bulky to be heavy..

The idea from the information in Bennetts book is that they are long thin and very deceptively heavy for their size. I gave an example a 6ft 6 inch perentie being weighed at 53lbs (supposedly), a 6ft 6-8 inch ornatus being weighed at 37lbs, and the heaviest albig Ive heard of was measured at 53lbs (I think it was overestimated) and 7ft 3 inches, but a 6ft 6 inch albig is not that heavy.
Ive seen a few perenties in person, as well a few lacies, but I would never have guessed without reading that from a few sources that perenties are supposedly that heavy.

08/14/06 01:56pm

#939272

SHvar
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Message To: SHvar In reference to Message Id: 939267

Forgot one example..

Ask Mark Bayless for sure, but I do have the article somewhere around the house about the nile monitor captured in the elementary school playground years ago, the record at 7ft 11-3/4 inches, she was only 39 lbs.

08/14/06 01:58pm

#939386

JimmyDavid
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Message To: SHvar In reference to Message Id: 939272

Forgot one example..

I’m not trying to disregard any of that documentation, but it makes us wonder just how much one can trust those "tales". I, for instance, can’t picture an almost 8 foot nile weighting only that... It would need to be skin and bone alone.
Comes to mind another tale of a giant rock python on record, also killed near an ellementary school (must be a reptile thing, lol) measured barely under 10 meters. Now that would make it almost as big as the longest retic and of course much heavier. But who can tell how acurate the data is??? nobody.

08/14/06 03:17pm

#939528

SHvar
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Message To: JimmyDavid In reference to Message Id: 939386

A good friend of mine who now has a ..

5.5ft whitethroat named Blaize (pictured below) also had a 7ft niloticus, he was not skinny and was 29 lbs. In Rob Fausts nile monitor book he mentions the nile as Africas longest lizard, but not the heaviest by size, that goes to the albigularis as the heaviest and bulkiest for size.
This guy is 25lbs.

08/14/06 05:08pm

#940237

Crocdoc
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Message To: SHvar In reference to Message Id: 939528

A good friend of mine who now has a ..

Shvar, you’re placing way too much emphasis on one supposed record of a 57lb perentie. Not everything you read in books is true. A 6 1/2 foot perentie would weigh 10-15 kg (22 - 33 lbs).

Where have you seen lace monitors and perenties?

Someone asked how much my lace monitors weigh. My male, at over 165 cm (and heavier than a perentie would be of the same length) is 5.5 kg at his heaviest. My female is over 130 cm and 2 kg

08/15/06 01:00am

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