A few years ago, 2007 I think, there were some ads on KS for US cbb Cape Banded Whitethroats, offered for about $350. I really liked the dramatic banding on those animals but not being much smarter than monitor food, I did not bother to take down the seller's contact info. Does anyone recall who was breeding those handsome Whitethroats, and can you share the contact info?
While I'm here I'd like to comment on Robyn's statement regarding Savs. I agree, there is no current commercial viability in US cbb Savs. That said, I do think that one day, perhaps soon, we will no longer have access to imported Savs, not so much due to American import legislation as much as African game laws, international conservation, the consequences of appalling mis-management of Sav populations in Africa possibly resulting in abrupt collapse of source populations, the spread of human development in Sav habitat--likely all combined.
We have access to economical Savs now and I think now is the time for at least a few of us to begin preparing for losing access to wc imports. I hope some will make the effort to acquire small breeding groups and treat them as entitled, significant living things deserving of the best care and a chance to live fulfilling captive lives, including reproducing. Those of us who do this will probably never see a cash return for the cash portion of our investment but we will enable future generations to have access to a superb reptilian ambassador and excellent species to share the lives of those so inclined and able.
Savs have been described as not the best choice for a pet monitor due to shyness and an intense need to burrow, but I think shyness can be overcome and good care provided with reasonable keeper commitment. If it does turn out that the only Savs we can get are US cbb, they will cost enough to discourage impulse-buying, and hopefully will attract collectors with at least mid-level skills in herpetoculture. There will be more of those as time goes on anyway, with increases and sharing of knowledge.
Savs raised on a good diet heavy with insects and very low on vertebrates mature at around 25 inches TL, a good size for a lap lizard. I think Savs are important animals to assure sustained access to, and I also think the most reliable way to do that is to routinely breed them.
Our hobby is very much a work in progress, with important contributions not only being made each year, but being made from all quarters. We breed Gila Monsters and Beaded Lizards, Corkbark Geckos and even Horned Lizards. We took Ball Pythons, once hardly imaginable as routine cbb, and turned them into the lab rats of the snake world. We have more morphs of boas than we have wild strains, and even Final Frontier animals like Abronia are starting to show up as cbb. Now, while we have access to a large pool of imported Savs, now is the time to prepare for the day when Savs can join Ball Pythons, Abbott Okeetee Corns, Snow Boas and Tangerine Leopard Geckos as mainstays of the $50-and-up cbb reptile market.
That was a comment? Good thing I didn't offer to discuss it in detail.....
