Smaller Monitors?

[upwith inverts!]

Besides wanting to get into turtles, I've also been itching to get into monitors. Are there any species that are pretty easy to care for, reasonably priced, and stay around 3 feet? I'm sorryfor making so many newb posts, Im just trying to get into reptiles in a pretty spectacular way

And please PM me with any sites that have a monitor with the above qualities

 

[Jmugleston]

There are a number.

Check out the subgenus Odatria. This is the group that contains ackies Varanus acanthurus (mine are about 18-22 inches). Black Headed monitors, Varanus tristis and a number of others. If it is you first experience with monitors, I'll suggest you try the ackies. I tell people they are all the fun of the larger monitors, but in a more workable size. They don't get as large, but they are much easier to house, feed, and breed. They can be kept in groups all year round, and if by chance they happen to bite you, you don't have to worry about ER visits. (ER visits suck, trust me. Twice I messed up with a croc monitor, Varanus salvadori and twice I had to explain to the ER docs and the police that it was my pet that did the damage and I didn't want to go for legal action. The police are called with any animal bite in the ER). The pet store monitors, Varanus exanthematicus, V. salvator, V. niloticus, and V. indicus to name a few are not the best choices for starter monitors. The pet store monitors are cheap to purchase, but that is where it ends. To give you a reference of sizes of cages, my ackies and tristis cages measure from 2X4X3 feet and up. My V. yuwonoi cages we are building now measure 8x4x7 feet per cage and I have 3 of them. Monitors are great, but they are more work than many other lizards.

 

[Sarcastro]

smaller monitor sp. can be a pain to find sometimes and a little cash consuming.
the most common of the smaller sp. is the yellow or red Ackies(Varanus acanthurus)Ackies are very very social animals and should always be bought in pairs or more that is where the cash consumption comes in..I payed 750 for my 3 reds and 450 for my 2 yellows

 

[upwith inverts!]

Ooh. Pricey. What do you think about Varanus timoriensis? The seem like they are pretty good all around. They apparently only get to 2 1/2 feet.

 

[Sarcastro]

I don't know much about them.I've never owned them...the only large reptiles I own are a Nile monitor my akies and 5 Tegus

 

[jcornish86]

agreed if u are wanting a smaller monitor, i would look into tegus. I own a Columbian black and white, Blue tegu, and also a red. Very sweet animals, almost cat like but have the nice size of a monitor your looking for.

 

[Sarcastro]

I love my Tegu's.Their awesome their not monitors but darn close lets call them the new world monitors. I have 2 Argentinian B&W's 2 blues and a Colombian B&W(golden)..the Colombian gets about 3-3 1/2ft but sometimes can have an attitude where as the Argentinian get about 4-4 1/2ft I've seen a 5ft and if properly socialized with humans are big teddy bears and sometimes actually enjoy human interaction.

Argentinian's usually run around $100-125 for CB babies
Colombian's are around $35-45
Blues are around $150-200 depending on coloration

If your looking to get a good Monitor or Tegu i would suggest Varanusinc.com they have a great selection and I've done business with them for awhile now. good people.

 

[jcornish86]

Ya my comlumbian is very "Flighty" perfectly calm siting on my shoulder next thing i know he is angry at me and jumps 5 feet across the room.

 

[upwith inverts!]

OK, so im probably going to go with tegus. I love the prices I see on them. Are they communal? I understand that there should only be one male to a tank if they are communal.

 

[Jmugleston]

OK, so im probably going to go with tegus. I love the prices I see on them. Are they communal? I understand that there should only be one male to a tank if they are communal.

If you decide to go with tegus, you'll probably be much happier with T. marianae, T. rufescens, or T. sp. (blue). The smaller and cheaper tegus, T. teguixin (Gold Tegus or Colombian Black and White Tegus) are typically not as calm as the others. The Argentines and the blue tegus are a bit larger, but their temperaments are a bit easier to work with. They aren't as cool as monitors (personal opinion of course, but I may be biased) but they are great lizards. If set up properly, they can be great lizards.

 

[Sarcastro]

yes, they are some what communal but in smaller groups of no more than 4 per grouping.adult males shouldn't be kept together.they don't require other and are fine kept by themselves.but if you are going to get more than one prepare to account for added space requirements as the Argentinian do get quite large.

 

[upwith inverts!]

Thank you everyone for the help. I will tell you what I order(probably the T. marinae) and when.

 

[upwith inverts!]

I just realized, would it be possible to put heat lights were normal lightbulbs would go?

 

[Loudog760]

Great choice. I've been studying them for a while now. If your going to buy one I highly recommend Varnyard! He has high quality Tegus! He's the only big breeder out there right now. He has black & whites normal and white head color phase. Reds, Extreme Giants which is like a black and white but huge! And some hybrids. I highly recommend you join his forum and read his care sheets and just read around. There's tons of info on this site. I think Bobby still has some black & whites left. You're best bet will be to give him a call. Talk to him and explain that your new getting into Tegus and he'll help you out. And if you want a male or a female, he can do that for you to. I'll post links below to his sites.

His site
www.varnyard-herps-inc.com/

The forum!
www.tegutalk.com

 

[Jmugleston]

Agama International might still have some Argentine black and whites as well. I just purchased a group of Shinisaurus crocodilurus from them. They are great to work with and have a nice reputation for having quality animals. The prices are quite low right now as well.

 

[Loudog760]

Agama International might still have some Argentine black and whites as well. I just purchased a group of Shinisaurus crocodilurus from them. They are great to work with and have a nice reputation for having quality animals. The prices are quite low right now as well.

Agama International is not owned by Bert anymore since he's past a way. He weak, lowlife son owns it now and cares nothing for the animals, he in it for only the money. There Tegus are full of parasite and in bad shape. He has videos where you can see adults with miss tails and toes due to not being fed.

 

[Tarantula_man94]

I say it depends on what you think "pricey is". But that aside, I would look into tegus. They don't get as big as monitors and are pretty cool. You really dont see too many aggressive ones either.

 

[Jmugleston]

Agama International is not owned by Bert anymore since he's past a way. He weak, lowlife son owns it now and cares nothing for the animals, he in it for only the money. There Tegus are full of parasite and in bad shape. He has videos where you can see adults with miss tails and toes due to not being fed.

Yes, sadly Bert died last year. As for the credibility of his son I can only speak from my own experience. I've been dealing with him for the last few weeks. I've recently purchased a number of their Shinisaurus crocodilurus. The interaction with him has been professional and I have heard or seen nothing to think that he is not doing a proper job of keeping the animals.

 

[upwith inverts!]

When I get one Im going to name it Lyzyrd Skynyrd

 

[jcornish86]

honestly like a big cat, my blue loves to lay in my lap when i watch tv. His name is bossk after the trandoshin bounty hunter from starwars. One of my all time fav pets, he can get a little scary tho when he is hungrey he has ben known to take, some werid glances at my fingers, witch is common for a blue when hungrey, Eating Machines !!!!;P My columbian's name is Nugnug, and my red's name is Ruby