I was wondering if anyone could help me out here... I have always liked monitors, ever since I was five and I would watch discovery channel. I want a pet lizard, and I hadn't even thought of monitors, I was heading for a beardie. Then I saw the picture of a savannah monitor. The more I saw, the more I liked them- they're roundness, the way their heads sort of lean forward when people hold them, and the way they sort of look like they're "hugging". The way they're greedy and lazy. But really, are these guys actually agressive? Are they super smelly? This is my most inspiring website: http://members.nccw.net/coyote/familypages/monitor.htm Would you say that portrays them correctly? I mean, of course they're all different, but in general...? What are the definate downsides to this species (besides the cage size?) Now, the ackie. Pro exotics says they are *THE* best lizards that ever walked this planet. I just don't have the same fondness for them as I do for the savannahs, though they seem so perfect and practical. What'd think?
Id keep Ackies in a second. Savannahs ehhh they are ok. I got enough big things in my house, id welcome something small. Timurs are real cool too.
if this is you first monitor then go for the Ackie they are smaller and easier to tame then a Sav. as for smelly...the only thing that smells is there poop, and with regular spot cleaning it is easy to keep the smell very low. most monitors poop in their water dish so that makes cleaning very easy. as for aggression it all really depends on when you got it and how often you handle it. if you are set on getting a sav, then get a baby this way it will become adapted to being with you fairly quickly and this will increase the chances of it becoming a tame lizard. that site seems to potray them pretty well, but that monitor is obese. the way its stomach is out that far means that it is definatly fed way too much. obesity in captive monitors is all too common, especially in savs.
I agree .. a baby Sav is better than an odler one .. I just got one that is 14 inches long and he is a handful .. he rocks I love him to deat hbut he is hard to handle .. quick and hard to catch and doesn't like being handled at all ... but feeding response is unbelievable .. seen nothing like it before. He won't let me hold him without a fight but when he comes time to feed he follwos me around lol Ackies are easier to keep from what I understand and gentler in attitude .. Sav's can be agressive.
savs also grow extremely fast within 14months of age they should be 4ft long. i read that on a website and i wouldnt have believed it except for the fact that i got my sav maybe 5months ago when he was 5" and he is now 20" long
I love monitors, all of them, and right now I have a 3.5' monitor dwelling in my home.. he's big and lazy, and he's awesome. I love the way they just look, laying there being all cute. LOL For something as lazy as they are, wait til u feed them.. incredible. Ackies are pretty sweet too.. honestly I'd take them both. LOL
I also started looking at Argentine Black and White Tegus. They sound docile-er, and they say they're smaller (leaner, and to 4', not 5) and cheaper to feed (they eat some vegetation). And tegus hibernate. I like that. I know you're always taking a chance, but I DO want something I at least have a good chance of being able to handle, and I've heard about as many sweet sav's as... erm.... spirited ones. The ackies just don't grab me like the bigger guys do, and I can't find them anywhere. But nothing's final.
yea i hear you man. there is just something about big lizards that gets everyones attention. but with food for the argentinian black n white tegu it is still pretty much the same amount of cash food wise. but it is hard to find TRUE ARGENTINIAN black and white tegus. if its under $500 your probly not getting and argentine but a columbian black and white. columbians are very docile, but some of them arent too fond of people. here is an AWSOME tegu site and they show you how to tell the difference b/w the Argentine and the Columbian: http://www.agamainternational.com/merianae.shtml
Ahhh well, it was a good try with the food. It's not the end of the world, and it isn't why I like them. I don't want a columbian. Everyone says the Argentine is more of a docile critter. I would want to get a baby, and I found this.. http://www.bluetegu.com/list.html That seems to be a pretty respectable tegu site. They say they have some argentines that have nipped tails (and I'm assuming this is what it is- nipped tails) that are only $45, which would be pretty good if it's true they're the Argentine kind and they're babies. The good thing is us Canadians are allowed to take lizards from the US into Canada now without even having to tell the customs guys we've got them. Since I'm very close to the border and I know a couple people in the states, I could have the lizards shipped to their address and make sure when the lizards arrived, I was there. This is gonna be tougher then I thought. I wish people would just lable their tegus properly.
if they are true argentine then that is an insane price! true argentines are usualy in the hundreds in price range. i honestly dont trust it too well and they dont have any close pics of the side of the tegus face. Argentinian Tegus have two large scales between the nostril and eye Columbian Tegus have one scale there. this is a direct quote from Agama International and i quote them because they are the ABSOLUTE BEST when it comes to tegus , " A non-scientific way to tell a Columbian tegu from an Argentine Black & White tegu is by knowing the purchasing price of the tegu you are looking at. If the price is around $100 or less (most likely $50), than you have a Columbian tegu. Also, by probability theory, the odds of seeing a Columbian tegu are much higher than the odds of seeing an Argentine tegu, simply because the Argentine tegu is much rarer and impossible to export from Argentina."
Lookie at this! From Agama International! "Argentine black-and-white tegus (Tupinambis meriane)…. Born here in July 2002 . Sexable. About two feet and over. Very white colored ones, as they are original Argentine bloodlines. Beauties! $150 EACH. For males, $200 for females. Will breed in 2005. Genuine ARGENTINE stock. Cold-tolerant. Arg B/W tegus born in 2003 are $ 100 each. Limited number still available. First babies hatched already. They are $70 each. Dealers: Tweny and up, $35 each, till enough are sold." From what I get from this, there are babies for $70!!!
definatly get them from Agama International they know what they are doing and they have been doing it for many years
There are a few breeders on the web that have Arg. Tegu young for close to $100 plus shipping. Columbians are going for less than $50 currently. If you look closely at the patterns found from their necks down and the scales between their nose and eyes, they are very different from Columbians. I have a an Arg that, while still young is very cool. All varieties will bite at first and draw blood, monitors included. They will get over it with constant attention.
Savannah for sure i was the same way when i bought my monitor. the dwarf monitors didnt appeal to me. so i bought my monitor at 30 inches and im lucky he was really tame. the last thing u want is a 30"+ unhandable savannah monitor. And the bigger monitore have such awesome personality's too. If i were you i would go with the savannah or a Sumatran water monitor or maybe even a mangrove monitor
definatly never recommend a water monitor as a first monitor. they get really big and can become extremely aggressive
ok yeah but he said he wants a big monitor and really when it comes to caring for the monitor..its really not the different from a savannah. Plus he isnt really gettin his hopes up for a super tame monitor. and If he buys it as a baby the chances of it becoming tame are good. I say if you have thr room to house a sumatran then go for it. When i was 15 years old the sumatran was my first monitor and i did fine with it. so i think if a 15 year old could give a sumatran proper care than an adult could....but now that im 23 i would never get another sumatran just mainly because of the size of the animal.
If you want a big monitor, and can provide a 6' Long X 4' Wide X 5' high (for about 1' of dirt and a raised basking spot), and want to be able to tame (with hard work, pretty much any monitor can be "tamed"), a sav, if you want a smaller, more active, easy to tame, under 3' Varanid, a Ackie is best, they are very pretty too LMAO, encloser an 75 gallon at least, bigger the better
I was back and forth between an ackie and a savanah, and we decided on an ackie. He is great, cool as can be, just like a little dinosaur, and consider this: An adult savanah will require a huge enclosure, and adult ackie 50g aquarium. Our ackie also is affectionate toward his owner (my daughter) and will fall asleep in her hair or on her arm as she strokes his head. Very cool lizard.
