View Full Version : Can i have one PLEEEEEEEASSSSEEE!!!
Lankyrob
03-29-11, 06:25 AM
Popped in reptile shop this morning and saw this lil guy - it is the first time i have ever seriously considered buying an animal that htere is no way i can house properly (i wouldnt, dont worry) but he is SOOOOOO CUTE!! :Wow::Wow::Wow:
http://i375.photobucket.com/albums/oo200/Lankyrob1975/Photo0247.jpg
Lankyrob
03-29-11, 07:03 AM
He will need a room size cage when he is older, absolute minimum size would be 6foot by 3foot, we just havent got the space or money to do it at the minute. He is currently 3 inches long and will be up around 5foot full grown.
holy poop! in that case.....get a gecko :)
stephanbakir
03-29-11, 09:21 AM
Eventually an animal like that will pay for itself though, not with money but with relieved stress. I can think of 3 dogs that live close to my house that never stop barking and each is smaller then my foot.
infernalis
03-29-11, 10:19 AM
For Emilie... before and after. Our own personal Chomper.....
http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data/500/babychomp.jpg
http://www.reptard.info/chomp/chompdot.jpg
dshin963
03-29-11, 10:28 AM
For Emilie... before and after. Our own personal Chomper.....
http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data/500/babychomp.jpg
http://www.reptard.info/chomp/chompdot.jpg
That is awesome! I want one :)
Lankyrob
03-29-11, 10:55 AM
We will have one someday but for now i will just drool over pics of chomper!
radstusky
03-29-11, 03:48 PM
Wayne, how much time was there between the first pic and the second?
it would take like 2-3 years (unless you powerfeed and only feed rodents) to get that size at most i had one before same size named beast, he was awesome. but all grow different and grow to different sizes i doubt it will be 5ft more like 3.5 maybe 4ft
infernalis
03-29-11, 05:16 PM
Wayne, how much time was there between the first pic and the second?
3 years... no power feeding, very little rodent. Tons of bugs, fish, shrimp, crayfish, and occasional venison.
They are so gorgeous, but you must resist!
Imagine the money you would spend of insects, the enclosure and the heating bills.
I will love others monitors instead!
You could always talk a friend into buying one and visit a lot!:confused:
infernalis
03-29-11, 07:15 PM
I almost forgot, he gobbles down big night crawlers, loves them....
holy poop! i wonder if they get growing pains? lol but umm ya I dont think i could take care of something like that so the respect goes to you guys that can
infernalis
03-29-11, 11:14 PM
They are so gorgeous, but you must resist!
Imagine the money you would spend of insects, the enclosure and the heating bills.
The insects are not bad if you keep a colony of big roaches or locusts.
What sucks down money is buying big bags of raw jumbo shrimp, a fresh trout fillet is $10 a pound but I don't care...
we have natural crayfish out back in the creek, we catch night crawlers and big slugs out on the property as well, so we really only pay for about half of his food.
TeaNinja
03-29-11, 11:35 PM
chomper is a savage lol.
chomper is a savage lol.
looks like one....are they nice?
infernalis
03-30-11, 12:37 PM
Chomper for the most part is a docile lizard, but like any wild animal, if he gets spooked, it's not pretty.
He got scared once and he went into defense mode like he was bipolar and off his meds.
He escaped once (I left his door unlatched, my fault) and we did not know he was loose, suddenly there is a loud crashing sound from the next room..
He started climbing up the curtains and his weight pulled the whole thing right out of the wall.
wow. I wouldn't even know where to start.
TeaNinja
03-31-11, 07:24 AM
yea they are very large energetic lizards. they have A LOT of weight to them.
infernalis
03-31-11, 09:02 AM
Those toes have eagle talons for nails on them too, so when a big heavy lizard like that decides you are a tree and starts climbing up your leg or arm, you better have a decent pain threshold.
One time I was holding him out in the yard, he saw a grasshopper jump and decided he wanted to eat it, he squirmed and behaved like a 2 year old in a candy store when mommy just said no.. the gouges on my arm looked like I got into a fight with a rabid cat.
It's all good though, He's a Monitor, he behaves like a monitor.. that tells me we did something right.
i admire your ambition, i probably wouldnt be strong enough to hold him....
infernalis
03-31-11, 11:52 PM
We love our little dinosaur. One day I want nothing more than to build a room in the basement that's like 8 feet square so he can find more things to do and stay more occupied.
A web cam in the corner up high looking down would be cool.
Lankyrob
04-01-11, 02:23 AM
That is our ideal plan for getting one Wayne, our dream place would have a room with about six foot of dirt for digging etc, a swimming pool that accesses a totally secure heated outdoor area in order to provide as "natural" an area for him as possible.
infernalis
04-01-11, 02:28 AM
That would be so sweet.
it's nice to see someone with a great passion for their monitor,Infernalis,A 8' square cage would be great for a Sav.This weekend i'm starting a 10 x 6 cage for my Bluetails-it'll be a lot of work but well worth it. Moe
infernalis
04-01-11, 07:58 AM
I figure if I build the room up on cinder blocks it will allow a lot of room for radiant heating from below.
With a proper zone valve installed, I can have the hot water from my boiler furnace circulate under his room. With a double thermostat set up it would use our existing house heat to maintain his cage temps.
Our wood stove is going in the basement also, I am going to love it. The heat will rise up and all our floors will be warm, but it will also keep that basement toasty all winter long.
shaunyboy
04-01-11, 10:35 AM
I figure if I build the room up on cinder blocks it will allow a lot of room for radiant heating from below.
With a proper zone valve installed, I can have the hot water from my boiler furnace circulate under his room. With a double thermostat set up it would use our existing house heat to maintain his cage temps.
Our wood stove is going in the basement also, I am going to love it. The heat will rise up and all our floors will be warm, but it will also keep that basement toasty all winter long.
^^^^^
that sounds like a great plan you giving good old chomper his own room just as you would one of your human kids as they get older
the big guy is family after all...!!
cheers shaun
kenchenzo
04-01-11, 04:17 PM
i have a young nile that is about 2 feet.
when he is big enough he will have a 14x12 room for himself with a filtered pool in it.
infernalis
04-01-11, 04:18 PM
That's dedication..
kenchenzo
04-01-11, 04:19 PM
when you have a monitor you have to be dedicated for them.
infernalis
04-01-11, 04:21 PM
when you have a monitor you have to be dedicated for them.
That's one I know first hand.
kenchenzo
04-01-11, 04:24 PM
they are worth all the effort.
the main thing is taming them down.
mine is a rescue that was let loose then found by the RSPCA and now i have him.
he is getting better slowly.
infernalis
04-01-11, 04:31 PM
Good luck, Niles have a reputation... I can't speak first hand so I leave it alone.
I'm sure it will do much better in your care.
kenchenzo
04-01-11, 04:37 PM
its a very slow process but great fun all the way.
whoaxmary
04-01-11, 05:02 PM
<3 Very envious of all of you that are capable of keeping anything like this. It's deffinetly my goal to learn enough that by the time I'm done school and working eventually I'll be able to invest in something a bit more difficult than that guys I already have. Must be very rewarding to watch them grow . :D
Millinex
05-11-11, 03:15 PM
I'd like to correct a few points in this thread, based upon my experience keeping many monitor species.
Most monitors, Savs especially, grow extremely fast, in order to survive they need to hit adult size fast. It's not unheard of to take a sav to almost adult size in 1 years time, and that is probably the main reason I never recommend a sav, nile, water, albig, etc to a first time keeper.
As for monitors being "tame". No monitor is ever tame. That is a huge problem in the herp community, is calling them "puppy dog tame he's so friendly omgawsh". Monitors are solitary predators. Can you gain trust and work with them? Absolutely, will you eventually have a time where something goes wrong and they grab you and take some flesh, you can bet your ***, and you have to be ready for it.
Monitors require a lot of time, space, and commitment. Even as a subadult, my male water monitor's cage takes up nearly half of my bedroom, and he's only around 4ish feet long right now (tail was damaged when I got him, so not sure how long he really is). They are great animals, probably the most amazing I've worked with hands down.
-Mike
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