Can somebody PLEASE go to petfinder.com and tell me if the “croc monitor” they have is really a nile? The colorations seems close but the nose looks wrong to me and I just can’t see anybody dropping off a crocodile monitor at a humane society, I would like to know so they can be informed if they have the name wrong, I really don’t like it when they tell you it’s one kind and it ends up being another. Thanks Jadelizard http://www.petfinder.com/pet.cgi?action=2&...tmpl=&stat=
Actually, in most urban areas if you look at your city's website and look up animal laws, you'll find that most any "exotic" pets are either illegal or require special permits. Mine just lists the acceptable pets as : Cats, dogs, ferrets (not more than 2), or pot-bellied pigs (not more than 2). Good thing is, if you have the proper enclosure for a monitor that size, you can usually pester your local authorities into giving you a permit. Zoos might be able to help too. If you live outside the city, you're probably free to keep whatever you want (other than federally protected/regulated species). EDIT- And yeah, thats definately the genuine article croc monitor.
Well, I definately don't live in the city. I actualy live right next to a village called carland. (i know it says elsie in my discription but that's acutaly about a 15min drive away) I'm still looking into what what's legal and ilegal in rural arias but my dad would probably freak if I brought home anykind of monitor, or any more lizards period (sniff sniff) Jadelizard
If your dad would freak about any more lizards, you definately don't want that croc monitor. Most people don't know, but Crocodile Monitors are actually the LONGEST monitors in the WORLD. They can reach adult lengths of over 15 feet, with the average being about 12! The komodo dragon is classed as the "largest" monitor based on its weight, but the crocs are longer. Like most monitors, a croc monitor can be tamed with daily handling from infancy, however thats never a guarantee, as all monitors will have their off days when they are a grouch. Oh yeah, and they also posses the longest claws AND the LONGEST TEETH of all monitors. I don't know about you, but it would make me nervous as hell to keep a pet that could easily turn me into breakfast on one of it's "off" days. They are cool animals though. Check this out: "Another really interesting fact about a Crocodile Monitor’s teeth is with the exception of the Tyrannosaurus Rex, it is the only other reptile to have its top and bottom teeth scissor across each other. This drastically improves the animal’s ability to tear and remove flesh from its prey. Not like I think they even need that extra “Ripping & Tearing” feature! Trust me, of all the animals to get bitten by; you definitely do not want one of these guys getting hold of any part of you. If they do, I can guarantee that they will take it with them! Every once in a while, one of the Sanctuary’s group of five animals will get into a fight. When this does occur, the wounds are absolutely horrific to look at! Their teeth are so incredibly sharp and long that they create 4 inch long, deep gashes in each other. Now keep in mind the fact that their skin is so tough, that in most cases when we stitch them up, the suture needle breaks or becomes so dull that it has to be replaced after only 3 – 5 entries into the animals skin. Hard to imagine how much damage they could do to soft human flesh! That is why David and I are always extremely careful when handling these animals, especially EL DIABLO our 10-foot and growing male."
I have read a LOT about them and still think that monitors are the coolest lizard, but I‘m pretty sure I‘ll have to buy my own place before ever getting one. Some day I would like to set up large “barn” reptarium with several large encloses so that I can have some of the larger lizards, but that’s going to be a long way off. Just out of interest KaMiKaZeE what size enclosure are the monitors in? I know they live primarily up in the trees, going as far as laying their eggs up there, and was wondering if it’s true about having semi prehensile tails? I think that would be awesome to see. Thanks Jadelizard
thier tails are not prehensile at all and are actually really sturdy, where did you hear that they lay their eggs in the trees? that is false. they need massive enclosures considering that they can get up to 13ft in length. on another note the crocodile monitor is not fully arboreal, the only full arboreal monitors are the members of the subgenus Euprepiosaurus
yeah thats a croc monitor i would like 1 so bad but they have record of 1 being like 16 ft i think.. i would hate to be walking out in the wild and have a 13-16 ft crock monitor charge me..have any monitor charge you would be scarey. when i was 16 i owned a 6 ft male green iguana and it was some what tame but in breeding season i would open the door to my room and that thing would come charging at me with his mouth wide open.
the largest croc monitor on record is 16ft, but they average out at 11ft, with the capability of 13ft. if you have one that isnt particularly fond of people then you can be in serious trouble
I guess that’ll teach me not to believe everything I read. "Females prefer to nest above the ground..." "The tail is extremely long (up to 200% of the snout-vent length) and surprisingly prehensile; able to curl round branches to support the lizard when descending." http://mampam.50megs.com/monitors/salvadorii.html There was another site that talked about laying their eggs in the trees but I couldn’t find it again. Hopefully by the time I can actually get one, say 20 years or so, I’ll have all my facts strait. Jadelizard
i still stand by my words. that is pretty old with the most recent date being 1994. more research has been done on this and considering i intern at the bronx zoo, which is considering about adding crocodile monitors to the exhibits, i feel that me talking in person with people who study them in the wild instead of reading about them from a website.
I’ll take your word for it, and thanks for the info. And just out of curiosity, how did you go about getting an internship?
i live a couple blocks away from the zoo and i sent them an resume. they were going to decline me cause my age, but i talked to the head of the herpetology department and he saw how experienced i was and agreed to let me intern.
