The horror of the monitor industry

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Originally Posted by tegu

Wow. That's not the kind of stuff I like to see.

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no kidding, makes me really sad. ;(

Baby Savannah Monitors can be had here all day long for 20 bucks, and at the same time you will be told it can live in a 3ft enclosure. It really is depressing.

People do it with all pets that have any sort of serious requirements, from parrots, to large lizards or snakes, to tortoises, to horses, pigs and even dogs.

Large monitor lizards are probably fairly rare overall, in the number of types of pets people get. The largest number of pets are always going to be more traditional, dogs, cats, hamsters, etc. In reptiles, the smaller lizards are most common, with small snakes, then large snakes before anyone gets to the larger lizards.

People get horses without realizing they need regular exercise, space, massive amount of food, vet care, hoof care, training... and they neglect and ruin them when they aren't new anymore. People get large dogs and forget it will need exercise and space and training and grooming and tons of food and vet care... and they take them to a shelter when it's obvious they're not all fun and games.

A lot of people get monitors without realizing how much space, food and time they are going to take. Some people research and then promptly think that they can still do things differently, i.e. just let them roam the house instead of a properly heated large cage. Or they fail to research what a full grown lizard requires, versus the baby they purchase. Many of those lizards die.

A few people do research and plan and do things right. There's quite a few folks who do right by their monitor lizards. But you're not going to hear about 90% of those successful owners. You WILL hear about any owner who dumps their lizard, who lets it starve or die, puts it on craigslist, etc. Don't let the louder voice convince you that the quiet keepers don't exist though.

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Originally Posted by MD_Pythons

I feel like iguanas catch it worse, as they are cheaper and more commonly available. At least from what I've seen. This is one of the reasons I have mixed feelings about Reptile Shows, anyone can just show up and buy something on impulse that they don't know how to take care of. artgecko really described it better than I can.

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Mad sad as I am to admit this, this exact iguana situation happened in my family years ago. They had them cheap at the pet store fed us a line about ease of care and an aquarium for a cage for life. Well little turned to a big mean iguana and interest was lost and unfortunately the iguana paid the price for just being an iguana. This was year and years ago but it’s still a shame things like this continue in 2017.

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Originally Posted by wolfy-hound

People do it with all pets that have any sort of serious requirements, from parrots, to large lizards or snakes, to tortoises, to horses, pigs and even dogs.

Large monitor lizards are probably fairly rare overall, in the number of types of pets people get. The largest number of pets are always going to be more traditional, dogs, cats, hamsters, etc. In reptiles, the smaller lizards are most common, with small snakes, then large snakes before anyone gets to the larger lizards.

People get horses without realizing they need regular exercise, space, massive amount of food, vet care, hoof care, training... and they neglect and ruin them when they aren't new anymore. People get large dogs and forget it will need exercise and space and training and grooming and tons of food and vet care... and they take them to a shelter when it's obvious they're not all fun and games.

A lot of people get monitors without realizing how much space, food and time they are going to take. Some people research and then promptly think that they can still do things differently, i.e. just let them roam the house instead of a properly heated large cage. Or they fail to research what a full grown lizard requires, versus the baby they purchase. Many of those lizards die.

A few people do research and plan and do things right. There's quite a few folks who do right by their monitor lizards. But you're not going to hear about 90% of those successful owners. You WILL hear about any owner who dumps their lizard, who lets it starve or die, puts it on craigslist, etc. Don't let the louder voice convince you that the quiet keepers don't exist though.

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I'm not trying to block out those with the knowledge who provide the correct care. These are the people who I get my information from. I don't generally get an animal before being able to talk with an experienced keeper. Wish I could talk more with breeders, but their advice can be skewed because they want a sale.

I'd be lying if I said it wasn't infuriating to constantly see these half dead animals all over the place. There's atleast one channel on youtube that does this with a huge following, and these people can be very impressionable on their veiwers. I also see them on craigslist, petshops, and social media.

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