Maybe not for beginners??

[The Cannibal Monkey]

Hey guys, I've been looking longingly at tegus (and now akies ^__^) for quite a while, and though I won't be able to get one in the too near future (have to get out of school first =P), I was curious as to whether or not they were good beginner lizards if you have the space, money, etc. I keep seeing threads saying that they're good for people wanting a larger lizard or are interested in monitors, but never really if they're good for someone who has only had experience with snakes. I'd really appreciate your opinions, I'm trying to do extensive research into all different kinds of reptiles before I decide to add to my collection =)

[Shelby]

Well, as long as you are well informed and have done well with your snake, there is no reason not to get one of these animals. You have to do a lot of research however.. and talk to people who own them. The best way to start in monitors/tegus is with a dwarf monitor such as ackies.

Tegus require a more varied diet. Red and black and white tegus require fruit in their diets.. blue tegus do not, and they also are smaller, so blue tegus are the easiest of the three pet quality tegus to care for. Tegus also require UV lighting, while monitors do not.

[mr~python]

if you want a monitor or tegu i think your best bet would be an ackie. im getting one as soon as i can afford it (BTW, im at $245... yaaay!) and i see one available. ive never owned any lizard (just my ball pythons) and im getting one. ive been reading that they are an awesome starter monitor.

[The Cannibal Monkey]

Thanks for your help, guys ^__^ You all are the best! Ackies are really cool looking, I'll try to do some more research on them as well as tegus.


mr~python, that's really exciting, good luck with them!

[bongzor]

does anyone know of any good ackie breeders besides pro exotics?

[Shelby]

look on kingsnake or fauna classifieds listings. there's usually several ackie ads.

[The Cannibal Monkey]

I found a few sites on Kingsnake.com that sell monitors (I don't remember any specific names or whether they were actual breeders or not), but in general I couldn't find much info on them...I found thetegu.com, which is what got me interested in tegus in the first place, but I've been pretty unsuccessful trying to find info on monitors in general, regardless of species...I was hoping there would be communities out there like this one regarding them since they seem to be pretty popular pets, but no such luck =( Any suggestions? I've read a few very brief caresheets, I should probably just suck it up and get a book =P

[Shelby]

You can read about ackies here: http://www.proexotics.com/care_ackie.html

[The Cannibal Monkey]

Awesome, thank you again! ^__^