varaderos - groups?

[dfrmav]

So I have proven that I have two male varaderos. I have seen each call. I'm in the process of putting together an 18x18x24 exo terra viv, and rather than get a new species, I was considering buying 1-2 more varaderos and putting four in that tank. Do they do well in groups like that, or is it a disaster waiting to happen?

[Pumilo]

Grouping imitators is Old School. They have been proven to be monogamous and do better as a sexed pair.

[dfrmav]

Originally Posted by Pumilo

Grouping imitators is Old School. They have been proven to be monogamous and do better as a sexed pair.

Alright, sounds good. Just from reading things here, I am pretty hesitant about grouping anything, hence why I asked, although it seems your reasoning seems more grounded in breeding than aggression. Any comment on the latter? I'm just curious because that's what I was really concerned about (didn't even know monogamy was a factor to consider).

[dfrmav]

And I won't be grouping either way, but I'm just curious about the aggression part.

[Pumilo]

Males will outright fight. It looks like insanely violent Greco-Roman Wrestling. Blows your mind when you see it for the first time. The dominant male can intimidate the submissive one to death.
Females will eat the other females eggs and seems like there is some passive aggressive intimidation going on.
These problems may not present themselves until a mate is present.
In a large enough viv, with enough hides, a well experienced keeper may be able to watch for these problems and get away with groups.
I prefer to save grouping for frogs like Vents, Lamasi, and Vanzos. My Vanzos do well in a group. I've heard with Vanzo's if you raise them together, you can group them, but otherwise, pair them.

[dfrmav]

Originally Posted by Pumilo

Males will outright fight. It looks like insanely violent Greco-Roman Wrestling. Blows your mind when you see it for the first time. The dominant male can intimidate the submissive one to death.
Females will eat the other females eggs and seems like there is some passive aggressive intimidation going on.
These problems may not present themselves until a mate is present.
In a large enough viv, with enough hides, a well experienced keeper may be able to watch for these problems and get away with groups.
I prefer to save grouping for frogs like Vents, Lamasi, and Vanzos. My Vanzos do well in a group. I've heard with Vanzo's if you raise them together, you can group them, but otherwise, pair them.

Cool, thanks! I was always curious about which thumbs do well in groups. I'll check it out some more

[tclipse]

I'll second Doug on grouping lamasi and vents, and throw in variabilis- a great group frog that is often forgotten about, and look *nearly* identical to the nominal imitators.

Imi's have definitely been better in pairs in my experience... some people have pulled it off, but IMO it comes down to the personalities of the individuals... you don't know whether you're going to end up with a super "alpha" male, or an easily stressed one.

[bgmike64]

I agree with Doug!! Mine used to be prolific until a little less than a year ago. I added a 2nd proven female and rarely get any tads. I found two tads in the last 4 months. I'll be separating them as soon as I can throw another tank together.

[eldalote2]

Originally Posted by Pumilo

Males will outright fight. It looks like insanely violent Greco-Roman Wrestling. Blows your mind when you see it for the first time.

This. Yea it happens WWF style or whatever they call themselves nowadays.

[Pumilo]

Originally Posted by tclipse

I'll second Doug on grouping lamasi and vents, and throw in variabilis- a great group frog that is often forgotten about, and look *nearly* identical to the nominal imitators.

I don't know the heck I forgot to mention Variabilis...Especially since I have a group of 5 Southerns showing up tomorrow morning!!