Monitors

[Olimpia]

This is puuurely out of curiosity. No one needs to lecture me on care or responsibility. But I have a friend who is interested in monitors and just wants me to get him a list for him to follow up with research on his own.

So, which of the monitor lizard species is in the smaller size range and considered "good pets" (as in, won't tear your hands off if you handle them and that kind of thing)?

We all fell head over heels for some baby black-throated monitors at the last show, but when we saw the adult one they had on display it was like seeing a 13 year old in a cage - A 100 lb pet lizard? That is too much for most people to handle. But gosh are they adorable babies.

 

[jojackson]

Not sure about exo monitors, but a few Aussy's come to mind, V. acanthurus (ackie/ridgetail monitor) http://pilbarapythons.com/ridgetail.htm is great, dosent get bigger than around 23inches including the tail. V.gilleni http://uts.cc.utexas.edu/~varanus/gilleni.html and V.tristis http://www.reptilia.dk/Krybdyr_vi_h...istis_orientalis/varanustristisorientalis.htm also are similarly sized and care.

None of these will tear your hands off, but thats not to say they wont try!

Member Feareffect (Brye) breeds ackies I beleive, might be worth a chat with him.
cheers

 

[Pure]

And of course there is the old stand by, Savannah monitor, but they do get to a hefty size, but not as large as most other monitors. 3-4 feet being common and 5 ft being the extreme. They can be quit tame if handled a lot from hatching.

 

[chams1]

If you want a nice "small" sized monitor that is a good pet, get a Timor monitor. I have had one and they are awesome. They are a "dwarf" species and they get maybe 1.5 - 2.0 feet long at the longest (with their long tail) and they are generally pretty thin. They are okay to handle, however they are very flighty by nature but won't tear you apart when you hold them (although I can say that I have been bitten before (he was stressed because I had him out too long so it was my own fault) and they grab on to you and can draw blood, but nothing that requires more than a band-aid) and they don't need nearly the space that other monitors need, nor do they consume the amount of food that the others do. This was my first monitor and not nearly the handful that my argus is.

Overall, the Timor is an awesome monitor to keep if you are looking for something small. Relatively inexpensive to purchase and to keep.

 

[Olimpia]

Great, thank you very much for the info. I'll send the links and species names to this friend and let him do the follow-up research.

 

[ballin]

V. brevicauda, they only get 23 cm

 

[ciafardo 4]

If you want a nice "small" sized monitor that is a good pet, get a Timor monitor. I have had one and they are awesome. They are a "dwarf" species and they get maybe 1.5 - 2.0 feet long at the longest (with their long tail) and they are generally pretty thin. They are okay to handle, however they are very flighty by nature but won't tear you apart when you hold them (although I can say that I have been bitten before (he was stressed because I had him out too long so it was my own fault) and they grab on to you and can draw blood, but nothing that requires more than a band-aid) and they don't need nearly the space that other monitors need, nor do they consume the amount of food that the others do. This was my first monitor and not nearly the handful that my argus is.

Overall, the Timor is an awesome monitor to keep if you are looking for something small. Relatively inexpensive to purchase and to keep.

I have kept a group of Timors in the past and i can say the only negative thing is they are a bit skittish other than that they're beautiful they stay small and they're very raptor like in appearance !

 

[heloderm]

Really depends on what your looking for. I'd highly recommend Red or Yellow Ackies (spiny tailed monitors). Very popular in the trade for good reason! Others that may interest you:

Timors - usually are pretty shy and don't enjoy being handled, many different kinds (yellow spots, blue spots, reds, kizar islands)
Kimberly Rocks - great captive, females sometimes have egg binding issues when breeding and are expensive
Piblara Rocks - expensive
V. brevicauda - hard to find
V.gilleni - hard to find
Tristis - getting harder to find, both the black headed and freckled variety
similis - alot like a timor

Do your research, most monitors are very forgiving when it comes to husbandry issues but that doesn't mean it's good for them.

John

 

[sushigex]

ackies all the way

I also vote for V. acanthurus for best novice monitor. There are other dwarf monitor species, but they can get quite expensive.

Ackies might cost a little bit more up front than some of the larger monitors. In the long run though they are much cheaper when you account for smaller housing needs and cost of food.