whats a good starting moniter

[JohnNJ]

Thanks for all the good info. Monitors had crossed my mind and you have effectively talked me out of getting one. Good job!

Are there any other small, easy to care for, not huge enclosure, rodent eating reptiles that are fun to keep?

[Skiploder]

Thanks for all the good info. Monitors had crossed my mind and you have effectively talked me out of getting one. Good job!

Are there any other small, easy to care for, not huge enclosure, rodent eating reptiles that are fun to keep?

I have said this before and I'll say it again - I keep over 30 snakes and have done so for over three decades. Maintaining a building full of snakes is much easier than maintaining just a couple of species of monitor. As an adult with little in the way of budget restrictions and a separate structure on our property for our animals, I made the hard decision to stop keeping and breeding varanids over a year ago. I have the healthiest of respect for people who continue to properly care for these animals and still find a way to spend time with their wives, raise their kids and work their jobs.

Many of the most commonly kept small varanids (like ackies and tristis) do best on insectivorious diets. All sorts of health issues can arise when fed rodent diets.

While a pair of ackies can do well in an enclosure in the 4x2 size range (the bare minimum in terms of floor space), their need to burrow requires a deep, diggable substrate that retains humidity without getting to wet. That requires an additional two to three feet in depth and substantial weight.

It also requires some skill in setting up a basking site in excess of 140 degrees while maintaining the proper ambient.

So to sum it up, I know of no small monitor that eats rodents. While the enclosure size required is not "huge" it is certainly larger in three dimensions and much heavier than any comparable set-up for another species of lizard.

[JohnNJ]

So to sum it up, I know of no small monitor that eats rodents. While the enclosure size required is not "huge" it is certainly larger in three dimensions and much heavier than any comparable set-up for another species of lizard.

I didn't say monitor. I said reptile. I will never get a monitor based on their needs and my time. So again, any other reptiles fit the bill?

[Skiploder]

I didn't say monitor. I said reptile. I will never get a monitor based on their needs and my time. So again, any other reptiles fit the bill?

None that I have any experience with.

If the rodent thing is negotiable, I've always enjoyed keeping uromastyx. While they are not "easy" to keep, they are much, much easier than varanids.

If we are talking ANY reptiles, there are many smaller species of colubrids that are much more interactive than ball pythons. Rhamphiophis, many of the smaller pituophis, etc.

If you have a little bit more room, any of the drymarchon are as close as you can get to a monitor lizard in a snake. Relatviely intelligent, reactive to their owners.......................

[JohnNJ]

None that I have any experience with.

If the rodent thing is negotiable, I've always enjoyed keeping uromastyx. While they are not "easy" to keep, they are much, much easier than varanids.

If we are talking ANY reptiles, there are many smaller species of colubrids that are much more interactive than ball pythons. Rhamphiophis, many of the smaller pituophis, etc.

If you have a little bit more room, any of the drymarchon are as close as you can get to a monitor lizard in a snake. Relatviely intelligent, reactive to their owners.......................

My fault for not clarifying further. Non-snake reptile.