Reptile & Amphibian Forums

looking for my first monitor or tegu
i dont want to spend much more then 50 on it right now cause its my first one....i have a 6' bny 2' by 2' cage to put it in and i was wondering if any one could help me pic out a few to look for

"i dont want to spend much more then 50 on it right now cause its my first one...."

Unfortunately, there are not a lot of monitors or tegus for $50 that will fit in your 6x2 cage for more than a year or two.

More than likely, if you buy a $50 monitor or tegu, your first experience will be a lousy one, and you won't ever get to enjoy your lizard.

Save your pennies - and keep researching for the RIGHT monitor for YOU.

all i need if for the monitor to spend at least a year in the cage if it gets to big ill get a new cage but i dont want somthing like a water or nile monitor that gets 8 feet snout to tail. right now im looing into savannahs and trying to find styuff related to them

any one know where i can get good care sheets for savannahs?
and any other lizard that dosent grow larger then 5 feet in2 years

For $13 I would suggest Daniel Bennett's book on Savannah's. Order at www.mampam.com.

>>any one know where i can get good care sheets for savannahs?
>>and any other lizard that dosent grow larger then 5 feet in2 years

First off, if you buy a baby, a 6' cage is going to be a little big for it. WHat you end up with is one scared monitor. Also, most baby monitors like to climb. My 15 YO salvator is in a 6'X4'X2'. and I feel that a 2' width is a little small, but she does like to climb on occassion. My big concern is that you only want to spend 50.00. Are you factoring in cost of lighting? I normally don't post websites, but Bloodbat's site is good (find the address in one of his messages), and themonitorspot also has good info. Save your money, setup the right enviroment for the reptile that you pick, and then buy.

i have lighting and suck and i also have a 2 foot by 1 foot by 1 foot cage i can keep a baby in im taking abot somthing to keep the lizard in when im not home hwen im home once i get it tamed it will be wondering around my room for the most part once its big enough....50 bucks was an aproximation...cause i prefer cheaper animals that way i still have money left over for supplyes i need ...in the 6 foot cage i have a uvb light and 2 dome lights one has a 100 watt bulb and the other has a 40 ....hot side cold side and stuff i have the basic set up i just need to find a lower end moniter i am thinking about a savannah cause i have friends that have kept them and i used to baby sit it when he went away...so i kinda grew fond of them...once the animal reaches full length it will be moved into a larger pen/ cage

Ok, cool. Then just be careful who you buy from then. Maybe a local reptile show would be a good place. Just talk to them before you buy and make sure that they know what they are talking about (do your homework). There's nothing wrong with savanas, just misunderstood IMO. There is however, plenty of books on them and lots of info on the web.

Good luck to you.

i work the show i get the person that runs the show to pick out the vendors with th best stuff and i get it that way
so at shows it usually costs me only 60- 75% of what vendors ask but thats only sumtimes.....but usually at the show the savannahs are only 8-15 $ i think im going with one of those i knwo the most about them out of the othe rmoniter speacies and i like them in general...i just have to find one with good color so i can get my mom to let it in the house how much do pastels run i ahven seen any in a while??

Keep in mind that those cheap savannas are going to be wild caught and probably have health problems. They'll need special care. Most (all?) savs are wild caught so I'm not sure if it matters where you get them from.
-----
Peter: It's OK, I'll handle it. I read a book about something like this.
Brian: Are you sure it was a book? Are you sure it wasn't NOTHING?

hum i didnt know this i thought savannahs were widely bred
they are sold at the show i work as cb

Almost no one breeds them in the US. Almost all 'CB' savs are from eggs layed by WC gravid females and weren't born in this country. Just be sure you know what to look for as far as internal parasites goes, and of course try to pick a healthy looking active one.
-----
Peter: It's OK, I'll handle it. I read a book about something like this.
Brian: Are you sure it was a book? Are you sure it wasn't NOTHING?