Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I unfortunatley had to put down my 3 year old savannah, after a cist he was born with, seperated his spine, and out pressure on his spinal cord, causing him to be cripled, and not being able to deficate. I have had him since he was born, and have also had a black and gold tegu, but am looking to move uo into the larger monitor world. Can not decide between a nile, an argus, or a sumatran water monitor. I know the agressin problems with most niles, but do not know much about any of the 3 types. Any info that you have about these 3 would be helpfull, and with my current knowledge, the reasearch i will be doing, and the information I get from yall, I should be able which of these 3 dream monitors of mine, will fit me best. Thanks in advance, Jeremy.

From what I've heard Water seems to get tame more than argus, but they do get really big and need insanely large cage to house them. Are you prepare for that? I have no experience with argus but they seem to be really popular because they are so pretty. If I were you looking for a large lizard, I'd go with black or white throat monitor. I've heard they really have the best temperament out of big monitors. They will eat right out of the shipping box as soon as they arrive.

...so do my baby Argus. They'll eat your hand when you open the box! LOL

Hi Jeremy. I can't speak about argus as I have never kept them. Niles and waters require a huge amount of space, time, and money. Very few have what it takes to support them properly. As for the "aggression" problem with niles, much of what you hear is hot air coming from those with little experience or understanding of monitor behavior, in my opinion. My experience tells me that they simply exhibit the same types of behaviors as other monitors x10, and tend to hold a grudge a lot longer than many other species when mishandled. Niles are very hardy as captives, quite forgiving of keeper error, as far as husbandry goes, which is a plus in the short term, but in the long run, over time, shoddy husbandry will take it's toll and it's too easy for the casual hobbyist to become laxidasical. All in all, you're talking a huge investment which makes them better left to serious keepers with some serious dedication. Unfprtunately a huge percentage of them end up in the hands of the opposite due to high availability and the low initial cost of the animal itself. As far as waters go, don't even bother unless you have more than a few years of experience and have been exposed to indo species monitors, along with the afore mentioned issues of space, time and money.

I'm sorry you lost your Savanah monitor.

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As far as waters go, don't even bother unless you have more than a few years of experience and have been exposed to indo species monitors, along with the afore mentioned issues of space, time and money".

Please elaborate on Indo monitors Mr Sidbarvin? I have a couple of years experience with young ones and the space, time, and $. I sure like them alot.

Of the monitors I'm keeping, I think the albigs have the most personality. Active, intelligent and just think a whole lot of themselves. But I've never kept Ackies.

I think I have decided to go with a black throat, but more reasearch will be done

If you can dedicate a room sized enclosure to it, I don't think you'll be disappointed, unless you get stuck with a sickly WC import, as I did. (she's doing fine now, just on the small side)

My second BT was the opposite and seems hell bent on catching up to 'Sobek', as far as size goes! (From 28" to 5'6" within a 12 month period and still growing

Wow. Sounds like excellent husbandry. I know you've been asked this before but what, how much and how often are you feeding Brutus?

Thanks!)

From day one, I've fed him every day on rodents, chicks and quail, along with shrimp.
I let him tell me how much he wants, but it's not as ridiculous, as I hear some say they're feeding. Usually two, or three items per day, depending on size.

I think, exercise has a lot to do with their growth. It gets the blood flowing and keeps the joints moving. These big guys need a lot of that.

So you are giving him all he wants?

(This with proper basking temps so he can digest it of course).

Yes, but he's not really that greedy, when you consider the size of him. I hear people say they feed much more than I do, but I've always paid more attention to what my animals tell me, than anyone else

He has a choice of basking temps from 110f and 140f.

Indo species seem much less tolerant of keeper error. Young waters seem especially susceptable to RI and dehydration which is sort of a double edged sword. High humidity coupled with a few chilly nights where the temperature drops too low in the cage and before you know it, whallah, you get a sick monitor with a cough and runny nose stuck with a keeper with no clue as to how to deal with such a thing. Temps too high with a keeper who is not on top of humidity levels can easily dehydrate quickly, this is the case with all monitors but from what I've seen, it happens more quickly with indos. The real problem is chronic, long term dehydration due to humidity levels being continually too low. The result is a long road to visceral gout, for which there are no outward symptoms untill it's too late. There is no cure for visceral gout and it results in an untimely demise. In my opinion these species are better left to those who are familliar with monitor behavior and have the ability to maintain a good environment year round 24/7.