Jack the Ornate "Nile"

[Melody]

I want a monitor so bad but can't choose which one too get

whats your lizard experience? Savs and ackies are good starters

[mumps]

Congrats on your acquisition. I currently maintain a pair of ackies and an Ornate, as well (besides all the other stuff). They are all awesome but I really have a soft spot for the larger species - truly magnificent animals.

I'll give you some stats on the Ornate:

He is in his third enclosure; it's way too small but his fourth is under construction shortly.
He will be 3 yrs. old on August 3rd. He was captive bred here in Canada.
In the first two years of his life he ate as many rats as would keep a pair of ball pythons fed one rat weekly for fourteen years.

Here is a pic of him on his second birthday; the deli cup is what I brought him home in at 3 weeks of age.

Chris[
IMG][/IMG]

[Melody]

Congrats on your acquisition. I currently maintain a pair of ackies and an Ornate, as well (besides all the other stuff). They are all awesome but I really have a soft spot for the larger species - truly magnificent animals.

I'll give you some stats on the Ornate:

He is in his third enclosure; it's way too small but his fourth is under construction shortly.
He will be 3 yrs. old on August 3rd. He was captive bred here in Canada.
In the first two years of his life he ate as many rats as would keep a pair of ball pythons fed one rat weekly for fourteen years.

Here is a pic of him on his second birthday; the deli cup is what I brought him home in at 3 weeks of age.

Chris[
IMG][/IMG]

Hes beautiful! how long is he?
i agree, ive always had a thing for the larger speices.

[SwampDonkey]

So Melody, how is that new enclosure coming? The one he was in is pretty bad for him.

[killerphade310]

whats your lizard experience? Savs and ackies are good starters

i have never owned no monitors but i have experience with big iguana especially agressive ones

[mumps]

Hes beautiful! how long is he?
i agree, ive always had a thing for the larger speices.

In the pic he's 5 and a half feet. He is currently 7 feet.

Chris

[Melody]

i have never owned no monitors but i have experience with big iguana especially agressive ones

Well monitors deffinitly require different care from iguanas, however as long as you do your homework i dont think youll have much of a problem, considering you already know what its like to deal a large agressive lizard so i can assume you have a pretty good idea of what youre getting into.
As i said, Savannah monitors are good starters as they usaully get to about 4-5ft. If your looking for something alot larger, Sumatran Water monitors are wonderful, though keep in mind they get very Very BIG and need a room sized encloser. But the same can be said for most larger speices of monitor.
If youre really up for the challenge, niles and ornates(like jack) are also very magnificant lizards.
Whichever you choose just make you learn everything thing there is to know about the speices you choose, ask a lot of questions, and if you can try to find someone or a reptile shop that has an adult so you can get a feel for the size etc.. bthats what i did
Good luck! if you have any other question or just want to about it feel free to pm me

[slayer]

In all honesty Savannahs do not make good first time monitors based on the all being imported and their need for a large enclosure. There are plenty of C.B.B. born species of Odatria (dwarf monitors) that are much more appropriate for a first time varanid owner due to their more forgiving nature and relative ease of housing. Id look into Ackies or Tristis if I were you.

Heres some info links for you

http://www.varanus.net/faq/

Monitor housing "How To"

[Big Dave]

Love the pics, we have a Red Tegu and my daughter wants me to get a Black Throat monitor now. Please keep us updated on your baby!

[SwampDonkey]

Well monitors deffinitly require different care from iguanas, however as long as you do your homework i dont think youll have much of a problem, considering you already know what its like to deal a large agressive lizard so i can assume you have a pretty good idea of what youre getting into.
As i said, Savannah monitors are good starters as they usaully get to about 4-5ft. If your looking for something alot larger, Sumatran Water monitors are wonderful, though keep in mind they get very Very BIG and need a room sized encloser. But the same can be said for most larger speices of monitor.
If youre really up for the challenge, niles and ornates(like jack) are also very magnificant lizards.
Whichever you choose just make you learn everything thing there is to know about the speices you choose, ask a lot of questions, and if you can try to find someone or a reptile shop that has an adult so you can get a feel for the size etc.. bthats what i did
Good luck! if you have any other question or just want to about it feel free to pm me

Melody, not to be mean, but you have no business giving advice to others about keeping monitors. You bought a baby and are keeping it in the worst possible enclosure. If you actually knew anything about them you wouldn't be keeping him in an aquarium on newspaper.
Did you do any research at all? Ive seen advice given to you on this forum. Did you just blow it off? If so then I wouldn't worry about how big he could eventually get....