Best way to tell my girlfriend she is NOT ready for a monitor...

So my girlfriend is really big into bearded dragons, and today she texted me saying she was probably about to get this Savannah Monitor... I told her that was a terrible idea right now. She's to scared to hold a ball python... Yet she wants a savannah monitor. I told her that it has to potential to do some serious damage to her, and has some pretty strict requirements and a lot of dedication. Yet she won't listen. We still in highschool, so yeah she doesn't have alot of time to provide that kind of dedication. So help please? Haha.

Ask jbean about her monitor. She was responsible and researched beforehand and even after all that she STILL has said before she wasnt ready. Does she know they can get big and mean...?

Compile a list of the costs of proper housing and a year of proper feeding.

That should dissuade just about anyone.

Have her research the requirements before she makes any sort of decision. First of all, tell her that if she does not have a proper set up already she shouldn't even be considering it. And if she can't tell you the exact requirements of the animal the day of purchase is also a good sign she is definitely not ready for one... I would also explain to her the reason your are saying this is for the welfare of the animal, not just 'that you don't want her to have one'.


Explain all of this nicely too of course :P

All I can say is good luck. I have no idea how to convince a woman that she is making a poor decision. Lol

Please refer her to this thread...

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showthread.php?t=167388

This thread details the incredibly painstaking care that goes into keeping a monitor from a baby..

This member posts everything from details on their feedings to their enclosure.

Monitors REQUIRE whole prey items, a VERY large enclosure with deep actual dirt to dig in, a natural setting with places to hide and climb, UVA and UVB with very high basking temps, etc etc etc..

The truth is, most of these poor savs sold as pets are not taken care of properly at all. Live very short and miserable lives.

Then show her this.. Failure to follow all of this info would be very bad for her and the monitor. There is nothing cheap or easy about keeping them. They are also not easy to tame.

http://savannahmonitor.co/

I would think the enclosure size and food cost to be bad enough to scare her away? I know it did me.

Tell her she she has to breed her own roaches, that usually does it.

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Originally Posted by californiakingsnake

So my girlfriend is really big into bearded dragons, and today she texted me saying she was probably about to get this Savannah Monitor... I told her that was a terrible idea right now. She's to scared to hold a ball python... Yet she wants a savannah monitor. I told her that it has to potential to do some serious damage to her, and has some pretty strict requirements and a lot of dedication. Yet she won't listen. We still in highschool, so yeah she doesn't have alot of time to provide that kind of dedication. So help please? Haha.

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If she has a job and is a responsible keeper already then she may be ready for one but there are some things to be aware of.

Costs First Year: Caging -first year- 30-40gallon tank with a wooden top $20-40
Substrate - first year - organic dirt/natural sand mixture 75/25 mix - $30
Feeding - first year - dubia roach colony of appropriate size - $200-500
Lighting - first year - 2-3 (+2 backup) 50WT Flood Light Bulbs + heat lamps to put them in - $60-100


Time: - First Month - Hands OFF - leave the animal alone and do not take him out of the cage
Second-Third month - Hands in the tank 20-30 minutes a day...everyday... this will get him/her used to your scent and prescence
Fourth-Fifth month - Begin picking him up INSIDE the cage but do not take him out.
Six Months Onward - Begin moving him to the bathtub for swims (filled to the level of his shoulders) and be incredibly patient with him, you need to have a very intimate understanding of his vocalizations and movements. You have to know when its the right time to put him away because hes stressed or whether he is just puffing because you moved wrong. At this time you can begin messing with his tail and stroking his back while in the bathtub.

Costs Second Year: Caging - second year - 4' long 4' wide and 3' tall Wooden Cage which your going to need machinery to make. Its probably best you break out a tape measure and show her how large that is. $200-500
Substrate - second year - 200-300lbs of dirt/sand 75/25 mix - $50-150
Feeding - second year - dubia roaches and 1 egg a week - $300-500 to prop up your colony's numbers
Lighting - second year - 4-6 (+4 for backups) 50WT Flood Lights and light strip mounted to ceiling of cage - $100-150

Costs Third Year: Caging - third year - 8' long 4' wide 4' tall Wooden Cage $300-800
Substrate - third year - $50-150
Feeding - third year - dubia roaches and 1-2 eggs per week - $300-500 to prop up your colony's numbers
Lighting - third year x2 of the second year

This is not meant to persuade her not to get one, it is ultimately her choice but trust me it is a very large commitment. Savannah Monitors are incredibly rewarding to work with as are all monitors due to their higher level of intelligence. I would recommend going with a Red Ackie if I was her, you can keep a pair in a 4' 4' 4' wooden box as outlined above forever. They eat the same as a 1.5 year old savannah does and they stay small. I'm not going to lie, I very much enjoy my 3ft monitor who is three years old now but at times I do wish he was a bit smaller (mostly because now he can escape from the bathtub on his own during swims :rolleye2:).

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Originally Posted by OctagonGecko729

If she has a job and is a responsible keeper already then she may be ready for one but there are some things to be aware of.

Costs First Year: Caging -first year- 30-40gallon tank with a wooden top $20-40
Substrate - first year - organic dirt/natural sand mixture 75/25 mix - $30
Feeding - first year - dubia roach colony of appropriate size - $200-500
Lighting - first year - 2-3 (+2 backup) 50WT Flood Light Bulbs + heat lamps to put them in - $60-100


Time: - First Month - Hands OFF - leave the animal alone and do not take him out of the cage
Second-Third month - Hands in the tank 20-30 minutes a day...everyday... this will get him/her used to your scent and prescence
Fourth-Fifth month - Begin picking him up INSIDE the cage but do not take him out.
Six Months Onward - Begin moving him to the bathtub for swims (filled to the level of his shoulders) and be incredibly patient with him, you need to have a very intimate understanding of his vocalizations and movements. You have to know when its the right time to put him away because hes stressed or whether he is just puffing because you moved wrong. At this time you can begin messing with his tail and stroking his back while in the bathtub.

Costs Second Year: Caging - second year - 4' long 4' wide and 3' tall Wooden Cage which your going to need machinery to make. Its probably best you break out a tape measure and show her how large that is. $200-500
Substrate - second year - 200-300lbs of dirt/sand 75/25 mix - $50-150
Feeding - second year - dubia roaches and 1 egg a week - $300-500 to prop up your colony's numbers
Lighting - second year - 4-6 (+4 for backups) 50WT Flood Lights and light strip mounted to ceiling of cage - $100-150

Costs Third Year: Caging - third year - 8' long 4' wide 4' tall Wooden Cage $300-800
Substrate - third year - $50-150
Feeding - third year - dubia roaches and 1-2 eggs per week - $300-500 to prop up your colony's numbers
Lighting - third year x2 of the second year

This is not meant to persuade her not to get one, it is ultimately her choice but trust me it is a very large commitment. Savannah Monitors are incredibly rewarding to work with as are all monitors due to their higher level of intelligence. I would recommend going with a Red Ackie if I was her, you can keep a pair in a 4' 4' 4' wooden box as outlined above forever. They eat the same as a 1.5 year old savannah does and they stay small. I'm not going to lie, I very much enjoy my 3ft monitor who is three years old now but at times I do wish he was a bit smaller (mostly because now he can escape from the bathtub on his own during swims :rolleye2:).

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Not trying to be an insult here, but that is one aweful post... where did this information come from? a petco care sheet??? everything about it is RUBBISH.

I will only break down the first few, the rest are just as worthless.......

Costs First Year: Caging -first year- 30-40gallon tank with a wooden top $20-40 - That first year in the fish tank will have already comprimised the animal's health. they need a PROPER cage from DAY ONE.

Substrate - first year - organic dirt/natural sand mixture 75/25 mix - $30 - good info, except, since you need to START with the proper enclosure, there will be a TON of dirt required, not just a 5 gallon pail.

Feeding - first year - dubia roach colony of appropriate size - $200-500 - wow, wanna buy some roaches?? give me $500 and I will ship you a whole colony already to go, food & enclosure included...

Lighting - first year - 2-3 (+2 backup) 50WT Flood Light Bulbs + heat lamps to put them in - $60-100 - another WOW - can I be your electrician??

I simply MUST address the bathtub comment too - DON'T!! it's stressful and very unnecessary.

Anyway.. show her this, tell her that when it's all built, she can get started...(8 feet wide, 4 feet deep, 4 feet tall, sealed and full of dirt)

http://www.varanus.us/cage/cage.jpg

Tell her irresponsibility is actively unattractive.

Tell her that monitors will give her Herpatitis M.

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Originally Posted by infernalis

Not trying to be an insult here, but that is one aweful post... where did this information come from? a petco care sheet??? everything about it is RUBBISH.

I will only break down the first few, the rest are just as worthless.......

Costs First Year: Caging -first year- 30-40gallon tank with a wooden top $20-40 - That first year in the fish tank will have already comprimised the animal's health. they need a PROPER cage from DAY ONE.

Substrate - first year - organic dirt/natural sand mixture 75/25 mix - $30 - good info, except, since you need to START with the proper enclosure, there will be a TON of dirt required, not just a 5 gallon pail.

Feeding - first year - dubia roach colony of appropriate size - $200-500 - wow, wanna buy some roaches?? give me $500 and I will ship you a whole colony already to go, food & enclosure included...

Lighting - first year - 2-3 (+2 backup) 50WT Flood Light Bulbs + heat lamps to put them in - $60-100 - another WOW - can I be your electrician??

I simply MUST address the bathtub comment too - DON'T!! it's stressful and very unnecessary.

Anyway.. show her this, tell her that when it's all built, she can get started...(8 feet wide, 4 feet deep, 4 feet tall, sealed and full of dirt)

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Petco would have told her that a 3 year old sav could fit in a 10gallon because they scale to the size of the enclosure......

Why exactly is a 30-40gallon with a wooden top so bad for a savannah monitor? I know they are not ideal but I was giving her the cheapest option. I maintained a basking rock where he had full body access of 125F, high side of 90F and low side of 85F consistently the entire year using a probe and the PE-1 Temp Gun. I might have been wrong about the first entire years growth as I can not remember my growth rates off hand because I'm at work, she may have to upgrade to that 4' 4' 3' sooner then a year.

The roaches may have been cheaper, I don't just own my savannah so its hard to gauge how much money he eats alone, which is why I said $200-500.

Also, saying "WOW" is not an argument, so I don't even understand your electrician comment, I'm guessing you think I overpaid for the bulbs?

The bathtub never stressed out my monitor at all, so long as the water is up to the shoulders and not above them they are just fine and actually seem to enjoy it quite a bit. My sav dives under the water to soak his entire body and also goes over to the running faucet to get a nice massage. He really enjoys the shower head being on the most though. Even with proper humidity, giving them soaks really helps them shed so long as you don't over-do the baths. I agree though that the bath can be stressfull if you do it improperly, too cold, too hot, too deep etc can stress them out quite a bit. You should also stay in there with them and watch them the entire time for safety reasons and so you know when they want to get out.

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Originally Posted by TJ_Burton

Tell her that monitors will give her Herpatitis M.

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I'm having a flare up right now...man, it's itchy:O.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by OctagonGecko729

Petco would have told her that a 3 year old sav could fit in a 10gallon because they scale to the size of the enclosure......

Why exactly is a 30-40gallon with a wooden top so bad for a savannah monitor? I know they are not ideal but I was giving her the cheapest option. I maintained a basking rock where he had full body access of 125F, high side of 90F and low side of 85F consistently the entire year using a probe and the PE-1 Temp Gun. I might have been wrong about the first entire years growth as I can not remember my growth rates off hand because I'm at work, she may have to upgrade to that 4' 4' 3' sooner then a year.

The roaches may have been cheaper, I don't just own my savannah so its hard to gauge how much money he eats alone, which is why I said $200-500.

Also, saying "WOW" is not an argument, so I don't even understand your electrician comment, I'm guessing you think I overpaid for the bulbs?

The bathtub never stressed out my monitor at all, so long as the water is up to the shoulders and not above them they are just fine and actually seem to enjoy it quite a bit. My sav dives under the water to soak his entire body and also goes over to the running faucet to get a nice massage. He really enjoys the shower head being on the most though. Even with proper humidity, giving them soaks really helps them shed so long as you don't over-do the baths. I agree though that the bath can be stressfull if you do it improperly, too cold, too hot, too deep etc can stress them out quite a bit. You should also stay in there with them and watch them the entire time for safety reasons and so you know when they want to get out.

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Sorry for my burst of sarcasm.

From my own experience, I released baby Savs the size of geckos into the 8x4x4 the day they came... Running around and making good use of every inch of it.

It's far easier to maintain a proper environment in the adult cage, the mass of the soil help stabilize temps and humidity, and stimulates actual "animal behaviour". Varanid lizards are extremely intelligent reptiles, and with a big hot cage, extremely active too.

Furthermore, procrastination is a human trait that almost everyone posses, so the "temp" tanks sometimes go on for a whole lot longer than necessary.

The whole "grow up cage" thing arose to keep it easy on the KEEPER, after all, it's harder to catch and maul the wild animal if the cage is bigger...

Taking them out of the cage is just something I don't belive in. Mine exit on their own, and re-enter on their own.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4IVzYdKoUw