Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i was wanting a monitor for so long and then i found two baby blue spotted timor monitors for a amazing price of $85 each!!

so of course i got them. now the monitor fever wore off and i am stuck with to very she, biting, lizards that i hardly see.

i made a big mistake i'm thinking of selling them and getting something i can tame down and hold.

what speiceise should i look in to?i'm looking for a mid sized monitor like a black rough neck or a durmil.

oh how much could i sell my baby blue spotted timor monitors for?
please reply!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Species of monitor only more so flighty and secretive, why not keep them and apreciate them for what they are or set up a second cage for a different species and keep the timors also.
I remember this was said to you before about the reality of timor monitors and that they are not accepting of handling.

i know i'm hard head, but a can't aford three monitors so i have to let these pretty guys go

what do you guys think i should get?

I can say with all honesty that I watch TV with my bearded dragon, as long as I let him sit on the back and keep my ears peeled for any 'dragon falling off the couch' or 'dog and beardie standoff' sounds. Beardies are pretty easy to catch.
I hate to say it, but you might not just be a monitor person. I was jealous that your timors seemed so well-adjusted but I still want to hang on to mine even though he hates me.
Carpet pythons are very pretty but just a little nervous. You can't really hang out with them either, they never sit still outside of their cage. 8 foot adults are not easy to house or cheap to feed, though. (Rats? I'll take three!). But I guess you could say the same of medium sized monitors.

You really shouldn't get another monitor. Of any species.
Not until you learn some patience. You gave those two guys a whole week? or two? Shipping is stressful, a new cage is stressful, a new human is stressful. There's always exceptions, but I would think they all need TIME to adjust. I hope you realize when you relocate those guys, what you are doing to them, and avoid doing it to another.

That's great you like reptiles, but maybe a monitor doesn't suit you just now? Are there any other herps you like? Boas, bearded dragons, and water dragons seem to be pretty mellow. I am assuming you are pretty young, why not wait to get a monitor until you are older?
Just being honest, not a flame.
D.

your right i am young, 16 year old i love reptiles i own a spotted python and shes great love love monitors but i just got something i wasn't looking for i understand what your saying about stress and i plan to keep them for like two to three weeks. i don't want to come out looking like i don't know what i'm doing. THE THINg IS THAT IF YOUR NOT 120% COMMITTED TO TAKING CARE OF An ANIMAL WHATS THE POINT IN KEEPING it.I WANT THEM TO HAVE A GOOD HOME AND I FEED THEM EVERY DAY I TREAT THEM LIKE THEY WERE MY CHILDREN. i just wanted what i was looking for a monitor i could sit on the coach with and watch tv.
please reply
thanks

Hello
OF COURSE, you shouldn't keep animals you aren't thrilled with. Please try to find them a good home.

Yes, I understood you perfectly. In the first post, you said you wanted one you can handle, (and it has to be before your attention span wears out?). Now you are saying you want one you can watch tv with.
EVEN MORE why I am saying maybe a monitor isn't for you, at this time. I do not mean that in a bad way. I think its great you are being honest about what you want. If the owner isn't happy, the animal sure as heck won't be!
I've never kept an ackie, and they are reputed to be more people tolerant than most. But will even they be content to just hang around with a human??

Maybe someone else will answer that.
D.

Great post D. I completely agree with you. I have been putting off getting a monitor for three years now. I am going to get a cross. For someone to get a monitor and then decide to get rid of it after two weeks is completely idiotic and they should not have another until they grow up and realize the patience to take care of one. If it does not want to be handled then let it be and just enjoy it. They are not disposable animals as people like this guy treat the, I would not even recommend an ackie to this guy because he would probably do the same if it didn't like to be held or touched. The best thing for him to do is to grow up!

I don't think anyone doubts that you're taking good care of the monitors. That you've spent so much time in this forum asking questions indicates that you're serious about caring for your animals. If you're not committed to the Timors, it's best to let someone else have them. It's what you have stated that you want in a monitor that has us concerned that a monitor isn't the right choice for you. What you want in a monitor is uncommon enough to not be a realistic expectation. Some people get lucky and get one that can be calmed enough to hang out on a couch with them, but there are no guarantees with any species of monitor that they'll be that calm. In fact, the odds lean toward the monitor not wanting any part of hanging out on the couch calmly with you and not allowing itself to be held without trying to shred your arms with his claws. (I tried for years to get my Sav to be a couch potato. He preferred to be a couch Godzilla and would stay huffy with me for days after any attempt to introduce him to hanging out on the couch.)

what you are looking for is called a dog...
and closest lizard you will get to what you want is a beardie, and even they want to explore sometimes. give them some time. i got a Blackthroat from PE, when i first got it was the most aggressive lizard i had ever seen. i gave it 3 weeks without me touching it. now she is still not tame, but i can pick her up no problem. after about 30mins of struggle shes worn herself out and ill put her in my lap with a blanket over her so she feels safe, and she IS getting better. thats what i do to tame mine down... worked with EVERYTHING i have. good luck and dont be so quick to give up on an animal.

ok
good luck with the b.t. monitor

Reptile ownership. Impulse buying reptiles is wrong because you cannot expect a puppy if thats what you are really looking for. You say that you understand the stress and all that but you just showed you dont at all, by saying Ill keep them for 2-3 weeks.
Maybe your better off at your age when you dont know what you want from minute to minute raising plants instead. This is not and insult or flame it is the truth. 16000 savannah monitors are imported every year and a handful survive to the end of the year, because of impulse buying something you have no idea what you are getting into, niles suffer the same. Stick with the timors and learn what a monitor is so you dont get disappointed later on by something they are not.

ok fine anyone else got something "nice" to say!
please go ahead and dis me all you want.

Gladly. You know, it`s people like you, and so many people these days that are causing Reptiles to wind up in shelters, and over importation. Grr!!! You have to research! You can`t just buy a monitor because you have some fever for it, you have be dedicated! I bought my Savannah not because of a fever, because damn it I love these animals, I knew what I was getting into, and I planned the scarafices. If you only have a fever for them, don`t buy them! Jezze! I say give the monitors time. And if your so eagar to give them away, don`t buy another. Untill you are damn ready. Think before you buy, I can`t stress this enough! They are trying to poassa law banning all reptiles. Even frogs, all because of impulse buys. Grrrrrrrr I would say more, but I`d get banned! Think alittle next time!

Whoa! We all know impulse buying is bad. The kid has been asking questions on this list; he did try to research monitors. Yes, he wants to sell them now, but a lot of people on this forum have also sold or traded reptiles, so let's not demonize him for that. Most importantly, though he made a mistake, he has not dumped the monitors at a shelter or a rescue. He's taking good care of them until he can rehome them.

Now, why aren't we asking questions about how an impulse-buying 16-year-old was able to acquire a pair of monitors? There is an endless stream of uneducated people out there who will foolishly buy pretty Nile monitors at the the pet store then dump them at the animal shelter. There are not nearly so many monitor breeders out there, and that would seem a more logical place to begin to fight this problem. It would be to our benefit to police ourselves rather than have an outside agency do it. Breeders/vendors like ProExotics are already stepping up to the plate and refusing to sell throw-away monitors, but you can go to any reptile show and find breeders/vendors pressure-selling to impulse buyers, including kids, while other vendors and reptile keepers usually stand silently by. Let's step up our efforts to police ourselves through peer pressure and education before someone else does it for us.

Anything outside of crickets, pet products, (or goldfish when he has them). There are a thousand kids every year going through his shop asking prices for exotic reptiles and are "told you must be 18 to buy animals".

That's great! I wish more pet shops would do that. I think it's great for kids to have and learn about reptiles if their parents are responsible, knowledgeable and willing to assume care if and when necessary. Sadly, I've seen too many examples in which that wasn't the case.

Please don't think of all us 16 yr olds are like this, I feel that i am very responsible, i have a red tegu and a california kingsnake right now and am looking at a black throat monitor, i did the research on my tegu, and found it to be very enjoyable, and the black throat that i am looking at is very nice.

I also think that the word "tame" is a bad word for everyone to be using so freely, these animals don't exactly have that type of intelligence, well not completely, i've heard many instances where they sound "tame". I blame it on the vendors, i don't think illy of them but look what they are doing, they are watching people(not just kids) make impulse buys without informing them on the actual reptile.

I really wanted to say is that not all young people are like the one you've been talking about. By the way anyone got any info on black throats?

Don't take our teenager rants personally. We know teenagers can be responsible keepers. Most of us are far more concerned about the stage of life you're in because we've been through it, and we know the pitfalls and changes you're going to encounter. Like anyone, a teenager has to consider very carefully if an animal that requires special care, considerable expense, and can live for decades will fit into his/her life for the next 20 years. At 16, it's impossible to know what your life will bring, and you're in for some very big changes over the next decade. Once you're responsible for the animals, it will put restrictions on your life that can be difficult for someone starting out in life to live with. If you have no one else to assume care for your animals, it will limit where you can live (dorms, many apartments, and some entire cities don't allow pets or certain types of pets) and some of your job options (forget enlisting in the military or taking jobs that require you to travel). If your parents are helping cover the costs of the animals, will you be able to cover them on your own when you start working and have to pay for rent and other costs of living on an entry-level salary? Are you willing to go without vacations if you can't find an animal sitter? What if a future spouse or girlfriend/boyfriend hates or fears reptiles? What if your large lizard turns out to have a really nasty temperament, and you decide you want to have children? Or your significant other insists you need to get rid of the reptiles because children are on the way? All of the above are major reasons why animals end up euthanized in animal shelters or dumped in rescues. No one knows for sure what the future brings, but at 16 you usually have a lot more unknowns that at 30 or 40.

Thanks for understanding, i agree with you completely. I'm not saying i have all of those answers right now, but i do have a bunch of them i can answer with a positive outcome for the reptile.Well thanks again

Brandon

Are you sure you really want a monitor? The traits you're not happy with in the Timors are pretty much the traits you're going to find in a monitor. They don't adjust quickly to changes in their environment (new cages, humans), they may spend quite a bit of time in their hide spots, and most are not fond of being held. I have an ackie and (until he died of cancer in March) had a Sav, both reputed to be among the calmest of monitors. After acclimating to their new homes and me (which took a lot longer than 2 weeks), neither of the two were shy, and both got to the point that they were calm to the touch, especially the Sav, but even after 4 years of handling, neither of them like(d) to be held at all.

You can check the kingsnake.com classifieds to see others are selling their Timors for.

thank you guys so much for the info i think i will keep them for a month and them get a carpet python its some thing i always wanted. for a month OR LONGER IM GOING TO TRY to BE THE BEST damn monitor keeper i can be!
but i will alway have monitors in the heart good luck everyone have fun with monitors and try to get some more c.b. monitors on the market some one needs to ban w.c. animals!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Good luck either way with them! Hey, you never know...the little guys might just grow on you! My ackie can hide for days and absolutely hates being held, but I could watch him for hours when he's out and hunting (he twitches his tail like a cat when he sneaks up on crickets) or hanging out in a goofy pose with his front feet on a rock, his back feet on his basking platform, and his belly hanging down unsupported in the middle. Once I caught him eating his scrambled quail eggs with his back legs clinging to his platform and the rest of his body stretched out over thin air, his nose leaning down into the bowl and both front legs sticking straight out to the sides in the air like airplane wings. Such a little clown!

i have to say my timors are very cute to. they almost seem to talk to each other. when i walk in to the the room i can watch them run around playing in the water bowl and basking on each other. it's funny because one will put their arm over the other ones sholderlike a couple would. the weird thing is that you always hear of timors climbing like crazy, but my ones haven't toutched their branches all day long they will dig in the dirt.

If having aggressive reptile turns you off you may want to consider getting a different snake than a carpet python... I cant speak for everybody who has one but i got a jungle carpet about six years ago as a hatchling and he was very aggressive but there wasn't much of a problem holding a 15" aggressive snake it was mostly entertaining at first, he is now 7" long and has quieted down alot but still has his days he does not want to be handeled he mostly just lightly hisses but hasn't tried to bite me for a while now but it took many years and many bites for him to get that way, one of the bites got me in between my fingers and i got some nerve damage from it when i rub where he bit me my finger tingles like when you hit your funny bone and that was about a year ago which was about the last time he bit me. now im not trying to turn you off to getting a carpet they are very beautyfull snakes and i love him but thay are not as easy to handle as a spoted python but im sure some people that get them tame up well but then again im sure some people get timor monitors that also tame up well, just a thought sorry so long.

well your problem is that jungles are pretty nippy snakes i know because for the last two year i've been trying to find the right kind of carpet for me. i also recently wrote a 7 page research paper for school about carpets pythons. the irian jaya carpet python is very docile and nice almost all the time. any carpet is docile its just that when your confined to a cage and you see a hand coming towards you, you panic and for the snake it bites. so i use a snake stick and i've never been bitten once also i've had a boa and a ball python.and yes i kept them long then a week.
good luck with the jungle, buy a snake stick to take the snake out of the cage and you should be fine.

Please invest in a nice snake hook. Makes all the difference with them. They're not angry snakes, they're just jumpy.

Well kid, sorry I got all mad. I just couldn`t stand the thought of them banning reptiles. I`m glad you have chganged your mind, again, sorry for flaring up. But back on topic, I hope they end up trusting you. Good luck, Nic.

the guy you bought them from and get something more suited to your needs.
When I was 15 I came home with a nile monitor and my aunt whom I was living with at the time FREAKED. She read my book about them and had a heart attack when she found out how big they got. Anyways, she took it back to the pet store and cursed out the people for selling the animal to a minor, and got my money back.
Aside from them cursing, maybe you could negotiate something with them.
Hey, we ALL make mistakes.
Good luck,
Michelle

thats a good idea, the only problem is they shipped them from north carolina i don't have the slitest idea how to ship and i do not want to find out that they died on the way there.

poster you know. you probably shouldn't own a monitor, they are too much responsibility for you. seriously, you give advice on doing this and that and then you say oh i got a monitor, now it sucks it bites like a monitor should.
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Varanus Creations

So what happened to your other snakes? I don't think your really ready for a monitor at this time. Wait till your older and more responsible. Don't take that the wronge why. Good luck

I still have my snakes. I work with jungles, bredls, northern brazilian bci and have a monacled cobra. cheers
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Varanus Creations

a fu#!ers i try and be honest and tell the truth and all i get is sh!t. so look i am keeping the monitors for good and going to breed a jungle carpets with with my friends( who works at the LA zoo)coastal female. good luck to all you monitor keepers and back off!

A jungle with a costal? You're just going to get ugly carpets. Yuck. That's the reason you never seen costal crosses. They're pretty on their own, of course. You'd be a lot better off finding two screamer jungles and breeding them, maybe you'll get super-screamer babies and I can buy them from you.

maybe, i don't know every carpet is a pretty carpet to me
i would love to sell you a carpet, but that will be a long time from now, but hay i will tell you guys when their in the incubator.
good luck have fun be nice!

I'm just a pure jungle and irian jaya fan.
Ok, I'll admit it... I don't even LIKE costals. There. I said it...

Obviously you did make a stupid mistake but all new keepers do. In fact they make many that 90% of the time kill their monitors. People (kids) like you are the reason I have to spend hundredes of dollars saving it's life when your through with it. Nobody can make the final decision for you. Keep them or sell them!!! If I were you I would sell your timors and then go out and get a book about monitors. If it's one thing that I've learned when people get somthing then find out it's not what they wanted they tend not to take care of it and mistreat it. No that I'm saying you will. You already seem upset that you "have" to keep them.
Do the monitors a favor and sell them. It's better for you, better for them. Then you need to wait and research a lot before buying another one. You not ready to own one in any way right now.
Christine :>~

I agree, but the kid is taking his responsibility, I hope. Hey Monitor101, again, I didn`t mean to yell. Oh, and if you got a cam, could you get some pictures? Also, I hope you take good good care of those little rascals. But if you do decide to sell them, take it from me, I have worked with wolf dog rescue, so please, check out the back ground of the people, and make sure they get a very good home. You wouldn`t believe the number of people who say they`ll give them a nice home, then turn around, and dumb the animal someewhere, good luck man.

I'll second that. I do Pit Bull and Siberian Husky rescue. (I once even had to rescue one of the Pits I pulled for a legitimate rescue organization back from the rescue when the foster mom's new boyfriend tried to kill it.) Perhaps you can do as dog breeders and rescues do and have the buyer sign a contract that says the animals will return to your ownership if the buyer no longer wants them or the animals are not taken care of properly.

i will take some pics as soon as posibly just to tell you guy even though they run away and i hardly see them they some of the most beautiful baby blue spotted timor monitors i've ever seen.
pics coming soon
i have learned!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!ok!

Yeah, I agree. I think I`ll write up a contract for my moms friends Wolf Dog rescue. I plan to work in reptile rescue when I get older. Taking in injured ones, and what not.

That would be a great thing to do. I assume they have a questionnaire for potential adopters to fill out and sign, too. Maybe it could be placed in there. Wolf dogs are probably up there with Pit Bulls in terms of problematic placement. Too many people want them for the wrong reasons, and so many places have outlawed them.