Is it legal to sell monitor lizards in pet stores?

[WingedWolfPsion]

Like this? http://www.rfadventures.com/images/A...nitor-bg-1.jpg

Or like this? http://www.socialteez.com/images/lizard.jpg

Or maybe this one? http://www.reptilevillage.net/crocmonitor.gif

The first one is the largest monitor common in the pet trade. They do get massive. They can be quite tame, but of course, they are individuals, so the one you saw may not have been.

Nile monitors have a rep for being flighty and defensive.

Croc monitors can be quite tame, but are insanely dangerous to your digits, as their razor-sharp teeth take no prisoners and sever tendons like butter.

Water monitors CAN make great pets, if you know what you're doing.
http://www.bayareareptiles.com/Monit...sianWater1.jpg

Trivia bit: The reason komodo dragons are so incredibly dangerous is not simply because of their tremendous size. One bite from a Komodo...even a captive, tame one...may kill you. While not venomous, they might as well be. They've evolved a solution at least as effective, if not as immediate, as venom. Their mouths are loaded with specialized and incredibly virulent bacteria.
More than 57 different strains, both gram positive and gram negative. Immediate treatment with massive doses of antibiotics might save you...but it might not.
The Komodo has an excellent sense of smell. Once its prey begins to die of the virulent infection, it has no problem tracking it down, and devouring it once it's too weak to run any longer.

Even if Komodos weren't a CITES protected endangered species, they would quickly be banned from the pet trade for the tremendous and very real deadly danger they pose. Zookeepers are all very highly aware of this potential, and treat even dog-tame komodos with respect.

A rough experiment was recently shown on an Animal Planet program. The host took two nearly identical fresh steaks out of the fridge. He dribbled Komodo saliva on one, and spit on the other one.

He let them sit for 3 days.

The human-spit steak looked very little different from when he'd taken it out.

The Komodo-spit steak was shockingly decayed and deteriorated, half-eaten away by the hungry bacteria.

Komodos are of great interest because living in alliance with all those bacteria, they must have one hellacious immune system.