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#2263043 Dillonh24 View Profile	Favourite Type of Monitor What is your favourite type of monitor and which ones would you like to work with? I myself don’t have a favourite monitor simply because they are all gorgeous and amazing animals but if I had to choose my favourite it would be probably my savannah Goliath haha. If I could work with any monitor though it would probably be all of ’em at some point in my life but one that I never hear of in captivity (as a "pet") would be Varanus Giganteus (the Perentie). They have a BEAUTIFUL pattern on them and the speed of them is just awesome.
04/17/12  02:43am
#2263070 Crocdoc View Profile	Message To: Dillonh24   In reference to Message Id: 2263043  Favourite Type of Monitor Quite a number of people keep perenties. Just not in your country.
04/17/12  09:54am
#2263080 Milkweed666 View Profile	Message To: Dillonh24   In reference to Message Id: 2263043  Favourite Type of Monitor I watched this documentary on monitors last night called lizard kings. They were actually putting cameras on the backs and heads of wild perentie and releasing them back into the wild. Pretty interesting show. Well besides the fact they were interfering with the lives of wild animals.
04/17/12  12:02pm
#2263083 Dillonh24 View Profile	Message To: Milkweed666   In reference to Message Id: 2263080  Favourite Type of Monitor I watched that documentary a few nights ago which showed me the beauty of the perenties. I think it is an awesome idea to put the cameras on the back of monitors to see how they are in the wild but I agree that it kind of sucks how they interefere with the lives of wild animals. As for keeping them as pets... I would LOVE to own one.. but they would be a bugger to find and import and everything.. This is why I keep telling the girlfriend I want to move to Australia.. Just because of the monitors and venomous snakes.. she isn’t really for it :(
04/17/12  12:45pm
#2263087 Aragarnn View Profile	Message To: Crocdoc   In reference to Message Id: 2263070  Favourite Type of Monitor Rub it in crocdoc
04/17/12  12:56pm
#2263089 Norf View Profile	Message To: Dillonh24   In reference to Message Id: 2263083  Favourite Type of Monitor I believe that It’s because of studies like this we know so much about these animals. It’s a lot better than collecting wild lizards and exporting them by the tens of thousands to be purchased by people and kept in fish tanks. That way we’re "interfering" with their lives permenantly, muah haha Monitors like savs and niles. From personal experience I really enjoy argus monitors. I don’t think I’ll ever get bored with these energenic monsters. I would love to pick up some V.tristis some day when I have more space. Unfortunatley being in the US V.rosenbergi are unavailable to me. And another favorite, V.griseus, is CITES, appendix I All beautiful monitors I would love to have the opportunity to work with.
04/17/12  01:07pm
#2263099 Krusty View Profile	Message To: Norf   In reference to Message Id: 2263089  Favourite Type of Monitor Griseus are captive bred in the US, Norf. In fact, there are quite a few out west in Cali and AZ. They can’t be imported nor cross state lines, but they’re perfectly legal to be kept actually and successfully bred for many years, albeit underground b/c people want them in other states. LOL A Monitor nut in Clearwater, FL by me had a group some years ago but had a massive heart attack and dismantled his collection due to his health. Another guy in Port St Lucie has Desert Monitors too in FL. Rosenbergi? They’re like darker, ugly Gouldii Monitors. Why not keep a Gouldii or FLavirufus? I don’t think a 7 foot Perentie could be kept "happy" without a room for a cage, so I don’t really think they have a place in captivity honestly...but i feel the same on Waters and Croc’s too...just nobody does them any justice with caging requirements in reality. My favorite captives - Glauerti, Flavirufus, Mertensi all come to mind.
04/17/12  02:02pm
#2263109 Norf View Profile	Message To: Krusty   In reference to Message Id: 2263099  Favourite Type of Monitor Quote: Griseus are captive bred in the US, Norf. In fact, there are quite a few out west in Cali and AZ. Well that’s news to me haha Bummer about that guy in Clearwater though. Thanks for sharing. I LIKE V.rosenbergi, man. I actually like the dark reds and black. I mean I wouldn’t mind a Gould’s monitor either but I’ve seen some very pretty photographs of brightly colored rosenbergs. In the years to come. In regards to large monitors exceeding 6ft in length, I’m with Krusty.
04/17/12  02:28pm
#2263112 Krusty View Profile	Message To: Norf   In reference to Message Id: 2263109  Favourite Type of Monitor I think that I am somewhat "jaded" or maybe just wise to the care, clean-up and safety aspects (aka REALITY!) of keeping these animals. In a perfect world where I’m not cleaning out fouled water tubs and not worried about losing a hand, yeah the larger stuff sounds fun. But in reality of actually working with these lizards, the smaller the better. Heating, caging, food bills, giant turds etc etc etc are not fun obstacles with these high-metabolism animals. Argus are plenty of lizard to handle and they are not even 5 feet long. My opinion anyway..... Next time someone in Cali is parting with Desert Monitors, I’ll drop you a message Murphy. ;)
04/17/12  02:49pm
#2263124 Crocdoc View Profile	Message To: Krusty   In reference to Message Id: 2263112  Favourite Type of Monitor I agree with Justin (Krusty). Big monitors like perenties just aren’t suitable for being housed in a box indoors. As for rosenbergi, I suspect half the attraction is the rarity in captive collection overseas, for they are a pretty bog-ordinary looking monitor. For every photograph you see of a pretty one, there are dozens of really ordinary looking individuals that no one is photographing. To keep it on topic, my favourite monitor is the lace monitor (which, as it happens, I do the injustice of keeping in boxes indoors).
04/17/12  03:06pm
#2263153 Dillonh24 View Profile	Message To: Crocdoc   In reference to Message Id: 2263124  Favourite Type of Monitor Yeah I agree about the keeping big monitors (over 6 feet) is kind of hard but there are those who can commit the time and space to them. If I were to get anything over 6 feet I would give up my workshop which is 25 x 25 x 10 and I even feel that isn’t big enough for ’em but its better than what most offer (no offense to anyone who keeps big monitors). In relation to what Justin (Krusty) said about the care of monitors.. I agree that for the most part smaller is better but I myself am not attracted to smaller sized reptiles. Like I myself wouldn’t personally own any monitor smaller than a savannah simply because thats not where my interest lies. I prefer the ones like Niles, Waters, Crocs etc. I myself would rather have 1-2 big monitors compared to 5-6 smaller ones. But then again thats just me. I don’t think that even if I owned smaller monitors that I would keep more than 2-3 at one time because I spend probably 2 hours a day with my savannah already and I would like to make sure I can spend enough time with each as I feel neccessary (at least an hour a day each).
04/17/12  05:19pm
#2263155 Dillonh24 View Profile	Message To: Dillonh24   In reference to Message Id: 2263153  Favourite Type of Monitor One monitor that is smaller than the niles waters etc that I do enjoy is the Argus. Simply because the feeding response is SO sensitive. One little hint of food and they are on it in no time! I am considering turning the workshop room into an Argus room. It would probably suit a few fine correct?
04/17/12  05:22pm
#2263157 Daryl- View Profile	Message To: Dillonh24   In reference to Message Id: 2263155  Favourite Type of Monitor I would love to work with a CB pair of Varanus Reisingeri. Something about Tree moniotrs has always interested me, but getting hold of a CB pair of them works out to be a fortune! I’m also with Justin, I have worked with both Argus and Ackies and as fun as the Argus was, I always had that side of guilt as I could not allow it a whole room - I find the smaller monitors provide just as much enjoyment with less upkeep, plus you can provide fairly appropriate caging for them. Cheers Daryl
04/17/12  05:36pm
#2263158 Yaksha View Profile	Message To: Dillonh24   In reference to Message Id: 2263155  Favourite Type of Monitor interesting read.. i must say my favorite is my V.rudicollis, but i am biased cause he’s my monster. and even at 4 feet, he needs a massive inclosure and uses every inch of it. man they are fast and agile monsters
04/17/12  05:42pm
#2263159 Dillonh24 View Profile	Message To: Daryl-   In reference to Message Id: 2263157  Favourite Type of Monitor Yeah, I see what you guys mean simply because they are enjoyable just as much as the largers especially the Argus I’m sure. I am lucky enough to have a 1500 square foot basement that I can dedicate to my reptiles. So I CAN offer room size cages for my monitors but I know not everyone can do this but I know they do the best they can with what they got :)
04/17/12  05:44pm
#2263160 Dillonh24 View Profile	Message To: Dillonh24   In reference to Message Id: 2263159  Favourite Type of Monitor How is the temperment of V.rudicollis?
04/17/12  05:47pm
#2263162 Varanus_odom View Profile	Message To: Dillonh24   In reference to Message Id: 2263043  Favourite Type of Monitor albigularis :-)
04/17/12  05:48pm
#2263164 Dillonh24 View Profile	Message To: Varanus_odom   In reference to Message Id: 2263162  Favourite Type of Monitor Albigularis are awesome! I know my girlfriend wanted us to get one at some point, they are her favourite as well as Ackies (cause of size) and Argus because of feeding response.
04/17/12  05:51pm
#2263167 Norf View Profile	Message To: Dillonh24   In reference to Message Id: 2263164  Favourite Type of Monitor Quote: Next time someone in Cali is parting with Desert Monitors, I’ll drop you a message Murphy. ;) Haha thanks but no thanks, Justin. I couldn’t affor the initial cost much less the cost of keeping/housing one at this point. Give me 5yrs and I’ll reconsider ;)
04/17/12  06:14pm
#2263169 Stephen foo View Profile	Message To: Dillonh24   In reference to Message Id: 2263043  Favourite Type of Monitor For myself it’s probably still the salvator complex BUT there are so so many close seconds , i love the larger type monitors but agree with a few others that they are time consuming and expensive to keep. Steve
04/17/12  06:27pm
#2263172 Dillonh24 View Profile	Message To: Stephen foo   In reference to Message Id: 2263169  Favourite Type of Monitor I just think that especially with reptiles some people are drawn to the biggest or the most powerful or the most dangerous. Like I know a lot of people like the smaller ones and content with owning them but A LOT of people want to move up and try something bigger, more powerful, more dangerous. I myself am one of those people .. I love large monitors, large pythons ( Burms and Retics), Crocodillians and Venomous snakes. I don’t know why I am so drawn to them I just am.. Like I myself ALWAYS like a challenge so I think that is why I am so drawn to them.. I of course do my research into a species before acquiring obviously and all that stuff but like a monitor I would like to own is a Nile just because of their personality and difficulty "taming" not to mention they are beautiful lizards but that will be after acquiring more difficult species of monitor than savannah and building my way up to the Nile.
04/17/12  06:51pm
#2263175 Yaksha View Profile	Message To: Dillonh24   In reference to Message Id: 2263160  Favourite Type of Monitor V. rudicollis temperament, depends on the day.. my monster is fearless and always investigates what ever i am doing in his cage, (hoping for food).. i rarely handle him except to inspect him after a good shed.(although he never seems to mind being handled) but he likes to climb on me when i am messing around in his cage. and bolts at me mouth open when i have food... however when ever i go near the dark side of his cage he hisses and whips me with his tail. (one time i actually needed stitches from a good well placed tail whip). he is protective of his hide, although he never really uses it.. umm i have had him for 6 years now and am really lucky. he has never ran or hide from me and most of the time is calm and investigative.. but he can be rather aggressive at times
04/17/12  07:05pm
#2263181 Dillonh24 View Profile	Message To: Yaksha   In reference to Message Id: 2263175  Favourite Type of Monitor Well thanks for the information on that :) I now have another monitor to consider when I am on the market for a new one. Not looking forward to the tail whips but thats the price ya pay.. I find with my savannah I am really lucky because she would tong feed as soon as i brough her home, she never hides from me and is investigative as well.. whenever I put my hand or face near the cage she comes right over trying to smell me or when I open the cage door she will sit just inside the cage smelling the outside world but not run away and hide or bolt out of the cage. She did however escape on me a few days ago when I was feeding her but it was my own mistake and she is back to her good ol’ self. I hope to work with every species of monitor in my lifetime but it will be soooo pricey. I live in CND so I pay more than people do in the states.. like Ackies here are $500-700 that I have seen even savannahs are like $80-100.. All the bigger monitors are cheap like black throats ( $175-200), waters ($200) and niles ($200+) but a blue tree monitor here costs like $2600.. And I just can’t drop that much money on a single animal plus housing and everything.
04/17/12  07:24pm
#2263186 Jpsteele80 View Profile	Message To: Yaksha   In reference to Message Id: 2263175  Favorite Type of Monitor Well after having had my water for a while I probably won’t own another one again, I myself am drawn to the bigger monitors but simply for caging requirement I would rather have a couple smaller monitors as opposed to one big one, I wanted to get some ackies this year but it just didn’t happen, after hearing all the talk of Argus’s and feeding response I went to the pet store down by be to witness this first hand, it was No joke, I think my next monitor will be a pair of Argus maybe a trio, I’ll see how much room I have at the time and I think in a few years after I have more experience I’ll try a melinous, I’m attracted to the tree monitors as well. One monitor I will never own is a croc, I feel there is just to much of a danger factor for me, even just a small bite can do major damage let alone getting a full blown bite, loss of fingers and nerve damage doesn’t exactly seem very appealing to me
04/17/12  07:44pm
#2263188 Dillonh24 View Profile	Message To: Jpsteele80   In reference to Message Id: 2263186  Favorite Type of Monitor Yeah thats why I love that my girlfriend and I have dedicated our basement to reptiles so caging isn’t a problem because she does know I love these animals and plan to acquire more. I am thinking about getting an Argus or two myself. I am with you on the crocodile monitors.. like I plan to get an alligator and a crocodile at some point but I would much rather deal with them than a crocodile monitor. Like I don’t know about crocodile monitor temperment maybe someone can shed some light on that for us but for now.. It is certainly a no go..
04/17/12  07:53pm
#2263201 Yaksha View Profile	Message To: Dillonh24   In reference to Message Id: 2263188  Favorite Type of Monitor Like i said i am lucky with my Rudi, most tree monitors from what i have heard are very skiddish and hide. They also have a lot different requirements, lots of moisture and climbing space as well as heat. he is a handful.
04/17/12  09:04pm
#2263211 Dillonh24 View Profile	Message To: Yaksha   In reference to Message Id: 2263201  Favorite Type of Monitor Yeah I bet. I would want a tree monitor but it would be in the living room and it would have to have bright colours and not be shy.. very easy to find (rolling my eyes) haha.. It’s weird how their different personalities completely defy what you hear a lot of the time.. like the rare "tame" nile or the non skittish tree monitor. I guess it is just the luck of the draw because when you get a baby monitor its personality can and probably will change as it grows older. When I first saw my sav at the store she was darting everywhere, then i brought her home and she hid a lot of the time when I wasn’t feeding her but now she is back to exploring everything 24/7 so hopefully she can stay like this but settle down as she gets older (temperment wise).
04/17/12  10:47pm
#2263213 Yaksha View Profile	Message To: Dillonh24   In reference to Message Id: 2263211  Favorite Type of Monitor Mine is 6, when i first got him, he was in really poor condition.. severely malnourished, beginning stages of MBD and an abscess on his lower lip that required surgery. so i had to be really hands on and basically force feed with a dropper water and mashed up food-vitamins as well as give him a needle in the base of his tail once a day for over a month. ( the pet store i got him from was feeding him cat food ). so after that he was used to me always being around and my hands on him. once he was well i decided to use a hands off approach, so i like i said i rarely force handle him (although he does not seem to mind) he like to climb all over me though.. and i admit on hot days in the summer i do put a harness on him and take him into the back yard to explore.. he does not seem to mind the harness and seems to enjoy walking through the grass and digging in the garden.. (under my close watchful eye of course)
04/17/12  10:58pm
#2263215 Dillonh24 View Profile	Message To: Yaksha   In reference to Message Id: 2263213  Favorite Type of Monitor Thats terrible to hear (about his early life) but I am glad to hear that you got him back to health and everything is going good with you guys. I am assuming that the reason he accepts you so well is because he sees you as his caregiver (I have seen it with other species as well) which I think is why he allows you to be hands on when you want and the whole harness thing.
04/17/12  11:12pm
#2263219 Yaksha View Profile	Message To: Dillonh24   In reference to Message Id: 2263215  Favorite Type of Monitor possibly, i think he just knows i wont hurt him and i usually come with food.. i can do almost anything to him when i am checking him out,(including open his mouth) actually the surgery was very interesting, my vet does not believe in taking a lizard to the office, so he does house calls and the surgery was in my room, with me as the helper but like i said that is only once a month maybe every two months.. other than that he does his thing... but i am around everyday.. poking in his cage, feeding cleaning and giving him water. he is a lizard not a dog so i dont treat him like one. and he can do damage.. like i said i has to get stitches once. and have got several good cuts and scratches from him over the years.. In the future however i dont think i will by another monitor that has not been captively breed.. i have been doing a lot of research on the pet trade and it really is a horrible thing,.. so i think if the unthinkable happens and my monster leaves me.. i will eventually try to get some captive breed argus but i live in canada as well and the selection for monitors are few, unless you want a sav or a nile and personally neither really interest me. where about in canada are you located? i am in north bay amanda
04/17/12  11:27pm

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