Croc monitor

[qiksilver]

allergenic may be a little rough around the edges but he is trying to help. You should probably both just start over and you should start listening.

The way you have it set up now is inappropriate, and when people try to say that you get angry. Don't do what's right for you, do what's right for the animal.

[Skiploder]

Most of the banning off certain reptiles is due to releases into the wild. Not because of people getting hurt. Now, one thing is for the owner of the animal to get injured by the animal and another thing is if someone gets hurt by someone elses animal. I'm not doing anything to harm our herp keeping world, im just learning about a new species I have decided to get into, only problem is I currently don't have him in the right environment. Now, people already know these are dangerous animals, some people that stress out too much about the danger is whats killing this hobby. If you would say that yes this animal is dangerous but there is a way to keep them while not getting injured would sound better than you saying oh this is a very dangerous animal you don't know what your doing, blah, blah, blah.

Now tell me how I am jeopardizeing our monitor keeping situation?

The banning of certain reptiles is due to many things...one is propagation in the wild as an invasive species, another is people buying large boids, hots and large varanids without fully realizing the danger and respecting the capabilities of the animal.

As Mainbutter commented:

Unfortunatly, scales, claws, fangs, razor sharp teeth, and creepy crawlies are great fodder for the news.

Your claim that "people who stress out too much about the danger is whats (sic) killing this hobby" is both confusing and potentially misleading. First, the concern of conscientious owners who always are aware of the explosive danger some of these animals represent to their keepers isn't killing this hobby - it's helping it by keeping inappropriate animals out of the hands of inexperienced and foolish keepers. Whom you were admonishing doesn't matter at this point because your statement is wrong.

As a reptile owner, I am uncomfortable seeing a large number of retics and varanids in private homes - especially when these private owners seem to crop up over night, post like whores and then disappear as soon as they arrived.

There comes a time when an animal (be it lizard, snake or dog) grows beyond the easily managed and cute stage and shows it's owner what it is capable of. My cynical view is that there is a large percentage of people who buy large varanids and snakes who do not have the vaguest idea as to how much responsibility, effort and potential risk these animals represent.

Second, the real damage to this hobby comes at the hands of owners who shrug off the potential for harm these animals can cause.

You going out and buying an animal that you claimed you are "just learning about" and "a new species I have decided to get into" is case in point. You bought an animal (one of the potentially most dangerous to own) without having done your due diligence. You have - to this date - kept it at improper temps, in an inadequate cage with no idea how to deal with it's health issues. Regardless of whether you meant to or not, these actions show a lack of respect for the animal and the hobby.

You can debate this until you are blue in the face and it still won't change the fact that you are unprepared for this animal.

[BallPython17]

Um, this is about the 20th time I've said that I know I'm not meeting his care requirements. I know about the cage size I need for him and the temps now. Whats annoying me is that you guys keep stressing about him being dangerous, I already know he's dangerous. Apparently you guys want to keep at it. This is the thing about forums, people keep stating the same fact a million times so they can look all smart or w.e. Maybe it's just me, but I think the people that are basically trying to be hard are just plainly jealous of me because I own a croc monitor and they don't. lmao

But seriously, I as a herp hobbyist am going to get this croc into his right cage, temp requirements. And basically no thanks to you guys who weren't much help, just causing a problem (and thank you to those who really gave me info.)
And what cracks me up is that on the web since no one really knows anyones real history with reptiles, people tend to act smart and bash on people about a mistake they did. While in reality, they themselves have been in situations like mine, we are human, we are not perfect. The point of this thread was to give me knowledge on this animal, not to ridicule me. This is yet another reason why this hobby is slowly dieing, because MOST people in it tend to be a know it all (don't take this wrong for the people who actually try to help). And again thanks for the help to those who deserve my thanks, and Ill be back soon on the BP section when my bp's drop some eggs. And as for my croc, I will enjoy him myself, no use in posting updates on him cuz apparently according to the smart guys here, he won't last with me.

[allergenic]

Talking to a wall.

[Nadamamasboy]

[QUOTE= There comes a time when an animal (be it lizard, snake or dog) grows beyond the easily managed and cute stage and shows it's owner what it is capable of. My cynical view is that there is a large percentage of people who buy large varanids and snakes who do not have the vaguest idea as to how much responsibility, effort and potential risk these animals represent.

Second, the real damage to this hobby comes at the hands of owners who shrug off the potential for harm these animals can cause.

You going out and buying an animal that you claimed you are "just learning about" and "a new species I have decided to get into" is case in point. You bought an animal (one of the potentially most dangerous to own) without having done your due diligence. You have - to this date - kept it at improper temps, in an inadequate cage with no idea how to deal with it's health issues. Regardless of whether you meant to or not, these actions show a lack of respect for the animal and the hobby.

You can debate this until you are blue in the face and it still won't change the fact that you are unprepared for this animal.[/QUOTE]



I'm not trying to jump on the bandwagon here and pick on the OP, just pointing out what some fail to think of.

Keepers of such potentially dangerous animals often don't consider what could happen if their pet unintentionally gets OUT. If you live in an area like lower Florida then the animal is likely to survive because of the great weather conditions, and that's why they are having problems there. These aren't slow moving like snakes but amazingly quick, especially when hungry! They climb trees and jump on their prey. It could easily burrow out, or if a bad storm hits (storms in Florida?) the cage could get damaged by a falling tree etc. What's going to happen when you hear that your croc escaped it's outdoor cage & attacked or killed someone's child? There is so much more to the ownership of such an animal than most people realize.

You need a back up plan for the main plan, and lots of $$$ for damage control. And if you don't have the cash to get it to a vet to take care of those parasites, you can't afford the damage control once it gets well and reaches maturity.

I've always wanted a Tiger, but even if I could afford it I still wouldn't get one because there's just too much potential for catastrophe. And THAT'S what hurts our hobby. 'Oops, I didn't think it could get out... '

[BOWSER11788]

I think it has a better chance in the Everglades. I don't care if you kept
freakin dinosaurs before, your husbandry is sickning. From a person with acurite moniter keeping, listen to those you dislike most, they are right. I feel bad for all your
moniters. An adult croc would use every bit of a full room enclosure

[allergenic]

It's been a great ride, and since this thread will probably be locked soon, I thought I'd use analogies to relate the two major lessons I've learned in the past 24 hours.

1. I could buy a half grown Retic and keep it in a tiny rabbit hutch with a heat lamp. Even though I would be epic failing at its husbandry, it is in no way an indicator that I won't be able to take care of it if I just "respect the animal for what it is". Anyone who tells me I'm not ready for a potentially 22 foot snake because I don't even know its basic care is clearly only on the Internet to bully people and look smart at other people's expense.

2. Anyone who has kept a leopard gecko or Savannah Monitor is qualified to go onto Retic forums and dispense husbandry and medical advice about care for potentially 22 foot snakes, despite having never been around them before. If someone has a real and difficult question, they can just link to a caresheet from Bob's Herptile Site, and be thanked profusely and told that they are the only ones really helping in the thread.

[mumps]

I've been on holidays for the past few days, and have missed one entertaining thread.

To the OP: there are LOTS of people with LOTS of varanid experience who would be shunned upon for choosing Varanus salvadorii. I'm gathering from the majority of posters here that not many of them have had experience with this particular creature. For good reason. Now, I know you CHOSE to keep this animal and you came looking for advice for its regurg problem and didn't expect the trashing you received. Sorry I wasn't here to contribute. You say you've had Niles, waters, etc. before. Where are they now? The same fate as the burm you had before? Eliminating mites and ticks is pretty easy stuff for most herpetoculturists with any experience; it seems again you're pretty lacking.

What you fail to realize, is a lot of varanophiles are very passionate about their animals, and shudder when they see a situation such as the one you find yourself in, and cannot help but want to scream "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING WITH AN ANIMAL THAT YOU KNOW ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ABOUT". This is not a rescued bp you have taken in. It is a wild caught, highly stressed and very young crocodile monitor that, in the best scenario, will take probably two years or more of very intense trust establishing before you find yourself at minimal risk from serious injury.

But, since you know it all already, and don't need any advice (I mean, with all the experience with varanids that you have, you already know about their high basking temps and voracious appetites and fossorial/arboreal tendencies), I won't bother giving any; because you've already proven to be a brick wall.

I will, however, wish you luck with your acquisition, and hope desperately that you take this opportunity to make all of us "bashers" look like idiots. Post pics in two years...

And read my sig...

Chris

[BallPython17]

This ones for mumps. My monitors have never died, reason I got rid off most off them was for the fact that they had passed the ROC permit and I got the wrong info and thought that any monitor that grows over 6 feet would have to require an ROC permit. So i got rid of them and found out later that, that wasn't the case. And here is the savy I kept, he is about 2 1/2 feet now and he's doing great. I had him since he was a baby.





These are pics of him from today while I was giving him a soak.

[BallsUnlimited]

allergenic as much as he comes off the wrong way does know his stuff about monitors and there care. He may not say it in the nicest way but im sure he means well. Ive butted heads with him before but if you take the time to read his posts that have info you will find what your looking for.