Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey I was wondering which one of these monitors would be the better choice.Which one has the better temper out of the two.How big do the argus get, and do they tame down as they get use to you.Where can I get a CB argus hatchling I dont want anything wild caught.Pro exotics has some nice looking black throats but im kinda leaning more towards an argus monitor and I dont think they sell them.

hey i have to black throated monitors right now and my friend is sellin me a pair of argus monitors i love them both but i think u sould start of with a black throat because the dont grow as fast as argus and dont have the bigger feeding response as argus have the biggst of all monitors and if i was u id get an black frist then get an agrus later but thats my apnon so i hope i help chad lane

So ur saying that a argus will eat more than a black throat? It seems to me that a Black throat will eat more because they are a lot bigger.

black throats eat more when the are fully grown then argus but argus are more agresave feeders then black throats but u can get what ever u want im just sayin if i was startin with monitors i would not get a argus id start with the black then get and argus i hope i help a little ok peace out

I have had both. Most blackthroats are wild caught and full of parasites. The Argus I have eat well but are not super agressive feeders. I do feed them a lot though and that may have something to do with it. Argus tend to be a little smaller, and the are reluctant to bite. Their heads are smaller also, so if they do bite, the damage probable would not be as bad.

I would go with the Argus, they are my favorite. Chose which you like better, and buy that one.
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Ed

There are chameleons, pythons, and monitors in my jungle room.

>>Their heads are smaller also, so if they do bite, the damage
>>probable would not be as bad.

I've never been bitten by a blackthroat, but I've been bitten by large savannas, medium sized Niles, and small adult arguses. The savannas and Niles are African monitors like the blackthroats, with similar skull and tooth morphology, particularly with the peg-like teeth and powerful crushing skulls. The arguses have serated, bladed, knife-like teeth for cutting meat. Even though the arguses were considerably smaller than either the savanna or Nile, their bites caused worse damage. For this reason I am thankful arguses are reluctant to bite in self defense.

There is an interesting story in Eric Pianka's autobiography about a student of his from South Africa who made the mistake of thinking knife-toothed Aussie monitors had bites no worse than the peg-toothed African monitors. He intentionally stuck his hand into the gaping mouth of a wild perentie, and came to painfully regret his actions. He ended up needing reconstructive surgery on his hand to get his full range of motion back. Apparently he had done this trick many times with Nile and whitethroat monitors and came away none the worse for wear.

I guess the moral of this story is that if you are working with large knife-toothed monitors, then your only option is not to get bit. With a few simple precautions this is an acheivable goal. I have never been injured by one of my large arguses. I attribute this to by being careful, being aware, not feeding by hand, and by using gloves when the situation calls for it.

Luke

Well shucks, Now I am scared of my 2 argus. hahahahah

Thanks for the clarification
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Ed

There are chameleons, pythons, and monitors in my jungle room.

Has anyone saw the argus X flarvi crosses in the monitor classifieds.I have decided to go with a cross.The price for the crosses in the classifieds are $125 and I thought that was cheap considering that CBB arguses are usually $200 to $250.Shount the crosses be more has anyone seen the pictures that im talking about.Could someone who knows the difference between a regular argus and a cross check out the pics and let me know if they are true crosses.They look to me to be argus monitors but I could be wrong.Does anyone know where I can get a Baby argus X flarvi cross online from a good dealer or breeder.

Are you talking about the Ben Seigle ones? He usually has some. I saw some of his at a show in NC last year. I was thinking of getting some myself, if he has some when he comes back to the Raleigh, NC show.
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Ed

There are chameleons, pythons, and monitors in my jungle room.

Yes I am talking about the ben seigle ones.Did he have some nice looking crosses.I think im going to take a risk and get one for $125 thats a steal.Do you know of any body selling argus x flavi crosses.Private breeders or web sites.Is ben seigle reptiles a good company to do business with.You can see pics of the ones he has for sale now in the calssifieds.Do they look like decent crosses to you.I just want to get the best out of my money so if you know anybody selling some post the site for me.Thanks

I got some nice chameleons from him once. The reptiles I saw at last years Raleigh Show looked good to me. I have not heard anything bad about him. Someone else may have though. He has a nice set up at the Raleigh Show and is respected there. I think his web site is Albinonile.com. As for how they look, I don't really feel qualified to say. If I saw them in person I would feel more comfortable recomending them.

Someone that posts on this forum may have some, so keep your eyes open.
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Ed

There are chameleons, pythons, and monitors in my jungle room.

i'm thinking about getting one there too, also i should be getting that female argus by the end of this week, i read in a post that you might sell one of your arguses, if you can hold on to thrasher until april 9th i might be able to get him.
Gage

I am thinking of getting some crosses or ackies. Heck, I would like to get a black tree monitor or a pair of peachthroats. It all comes down to room in my house and the cost of feeding everything. I have heard so much good stuff about ackies that I want to get a trio. On the other hand, I do like crosses and would like a monitor that is a little calmer then Thrasher. He has that name for a reason. He is still young though. I hope he calms down to be more like Tripod before he gets too much bigger.

Let me know when you get your female, and we may be able to work something out in April.

BTW Tripod is 32 in, and Thrahser is 31 to 32 inches and full of the devil and eats anything dead in the cage. He only seems to eat live mice if they bug him. I prekill the rats before I put them in the cage. Tripod only likes live mice. They have very different personalities. They are too durn cool!!!!!!!!!!!
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Ed

There are chameleons, pythons, and monitors in my jungle room.

thos one for 125 are from a really good dealer anf are cross if i was u get 2 for 200 but its up to and the predy good lookin babys

Where does it say that the are 2 for 200?

it was an old add that ben had u can e-mail them and ask them if they are still doin it

Argus are a smaller species than a BT, about 1-2ft shorter and about half the weight of a BT. In their first year a BT can eat like you could never imagine,(at 3ft long I seen them eat 6-9 adult mice daily, right now my banded WT can put down 12 chicken peeps in a feeding every 3 days, and burn it off, hes a few years old) it is debateable who has a bigger appetite for their size. If kept correctly a male BT can grow from 9 inches long at hatching to 6ft long at 1 year old, this was proven in Europe as well my female BT/WT cross was 5ft long at 1 year old, 6ft at 2 years old, and over 6ft 3 inches now. I saw 2 pics of a male BT that was 7ft 3 inches long (old pics from WC), and one captive BT male that was 7ft 3 inches once. I have seen more than a few 6ft -6.5ft BT males in the past. In all of the years Ive been in this hobby the largest agus Ive ever seen has been "T", hes a rescue a good friend has, hes missing a bit of tail and is about 5ft long and I know for sure 15lbs (very atheletic monitor), as a matter of fact heres pics for comparison. "T" has been around for several years (not sure on his age), this is my female BT/WT cross, with him.

Argus are a smaller species than a BT, about 1-2ft shorter and about half the weight of a BT. In their first year a BT can eat like you could never imagine,(at 3ft long I seen them eat 6-9 adult mice daily, right now my banded WT can put down 12 chicken peeps in a feeding every 3 days, and burn it off, hes a few years old) it is debateable who has a bigger appetite for their size. If kept correctly a male BT can grow from 9 inches long at hatching to 6ft long at 1 year old, this was proven in Europe as well my female BT/WT cross was 5ft long at 1 year old, 6ft at 2 years old, and over 6ft 3 inches now. I saw 2 pics of a male BT that was 7ft 3 inches long (old pics from WC), and one captive BT male that was 7ft 3 inches once. I have seen more than a few 6ft -6.5ft BT males in the past. In all of the years Ive been in this hobby the largest agus Ive ever seen has been "T", hes a rescue a good friend has, hes missing a bit of tail and is about 5ft long and I know for sure 15lbs (very atheletic monitor), as a matter of fact heres pics for comparison. "T" has been around for several years (not sure on his age), this is my female BT/WT cross, with him. This is "T" with a 3.5ft female...




this is to give you an idea of what 6ft 2 inches looks like.