Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hi i have an ackie and now have the bug, are peaches a nice monitor to keep and do they get bigas or bigger than ackies. thanks for your time.

danny uk.

Hi Danny,

The biggest problem I see with jobiensis is the condition most of the ones for sale are in. If you decide to go that route get them as young as possible, even if it takes a couple months or a year to get them. Trust me it will be worth the wait. I have no idea what is available to you in the UK.

As far as size comparisons to ackies, I really think my ackies are on the small side (my fault), I have seen pics of some pretty big ackies, so I'm not sure how fair it is for me to compare them. The female peachie that I have that is currently gravid is somewhere over three foot, and probably close to 2kg (but that is a real guess). I have a suspected male, that is longer but not near as thick. Most of the length is tail. All in all not a small monitor species, but not that big either.

As far as handling goes, the peachies have hooked claws which are horrible on skin even if they aren't trying to hurt you, and if anything scares them, you will bleed more. None of my w.c.'s are very handleable, the female will climb on me just as much as necessary to get food. The c.h. ones I got that were very young have become quite tractable most of the time. Feeding time is an experience, they have a pretty agressive feeding response, almost argus-like, so you will learn to use tongs and be careful with how you move your hands around them.

They still remain one of my favorite species, but I would not recommend them as a beginner monitor, based on the fact so few are in decent health.

--Robert

Here is an old pic of her

With the younger ones, this is what I get when I open the enclosure

thanks for your replie and help. great looking lizards too.

cheers danny.