Just to get some mouths drooling...

[snakeguy101]

Do they get non aggressive in captivity? remember to always brush his teeth to get rid of bacteria (complete joke do not take seriously)

these guys are super easy to tame in captivity. More so than water monitors from what I understand. Below is a link to youtube of some zoo keepers handling theirs and some pictures of the one I got to work with in Zoo Atlanta for a few days.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxxf4y-dtP0&feature=related







as far as them making it to the publics hands, as of right now no private keeper has been issused a CITES I permit needed to import them so the only ones in the states are in AZA institutions and all AZA are prohibited to release animals into the private sector. when there is a surplus of a species, instead of selling the babies to private institutions, they freeze the eggs.

There MIGHT be some making their way into private hands but if it goes through, it will still be a long time before they are available. That is all I can really say right now but it got me excited.

 

[Sylvias]

They freeze the eggs......
How pro active.......

 

[snakeguy101]

They freeze the eggs......
How pro active.......

I know it is frustrating but AZA has a stick up their butt about exotic pets. most of them think everything should be illegal except to zoos and they would rather kill the animal than let it into the private sector...

anyways, that is a little off topic so I am going to try not to get into it....

 

[Masa06]

Haha nice in the first pic he looks 3 legged.. I hope youll be able to get one eventually.! and get the joke? i liked it even tho it wasnt to factual

 

[A. gigas]

i can has?

i really hope they make it to private collections, i would love to have one.

just let him roam the house, and you dont even need to bother with an anti-burglar security system...

so what's going on with it? are you helping take care of it at a zoo/museum or something? or did you just want to show us the pic?

 

[coura]

Here in Europe we have it a litle easier I know that there are (or at least were because I think the people that had them eventually evolved into opened to the public zoological institutions) some komodos kept privatly in Europe, if Im not mistaken actually the first TRUE captive breeding of komodos outside Indonesia took place in a Holands private colection, not in National Zoo as they claim. Of course each country has its legislation, In Spain for instances if you own a zoological permit and legal specimens can be obtained you can have them.
I think that under the apropriate rational permit sistem this could be a very interesting species to have in the private sector.

 

[A. gigas]

Here in Europe we have it a litle easier I know that there are (or at least were because I think the people that had them eventually evolved into opened to the public zoological institutions) some komodos kept privatly in Europe, if Im not mistaken actually the first TRUE captive breeding of komodos outside Indonesia took place in a Holands private colection, not in National Zoo as they claim. Of course each country has its legislation, In Spain for instances if you own a zoological permit and legal specimens can be obtained you can have them.
I think that under the apropriate rational permit sistem this could be a very interesting species to have in the private sector.

i hate the government...

 

[Lepisosteus platyrhincus]

heh heh. I just love zoos. lol.
um...

 

[coura]

i hate the government...

But a zoological permit for example in Spain aint a easy thing to obtain and keep, and in Portugal...well...there isnt even the possibility to obtain such a permit privatly...any zoo is a public one and I havent yet figured out if you can keep privatly a cites 1 animal here, even a cb, full documented one! Be happy by what you have dude, here I cant keep any venomous snake, croc, Varanus salvator, Varanus niloticus, Varanus salvatori or big python and condas. And we should be happy! A wille ago before the new law came we couldnt keep any Boid and the veterinary delegation wanted to outlaw all big lizards, all snakes and arrow dart frogs, and they could have done it if it wasnt for the intervenction of a hobby group.
I will have likely dificulties one day if I want to keep any Cyclura legally but we will see First I need the space and the means, the rest I will figure out, even if I have to make a mini zoo opened to the public.

 

[Vicious_Fish]

There was a PBS special on Nova called "Lizard Kings" last year. Definitely check it out if you can. Part of the show had a segment about the intelligence of these guys centering around a particular tame, captive dragon.