Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was looking into adding a black throat monitor to my collection. However I have to bring up the question of size. As it's been brought up in the past I am sure. I was under the impression adult females maxed the sizes of 3-4ft. While males grow more towards 5-6ft+. I came across a female for sale that is 2.5 years old (maybe a little older), and 28". To me this sounds a little small for her age. My real question, has she stopped at 28" or will she get larger? I'm looking for pet purposes only, so I will not be overly disappointed if she is not going to grow anymore. But i'm not sure if she's 100% healthy at that size. What are your opinions?

My recommendation is, do not buy a female. If your not going to breed them. If you keep a female healthy she will attempt to reproduce. Which means the strong possibility of reproductive problems. So if your looking for a pet, then keep males.

A keeper here had a female that had reproductive complications and had her spayed. She did well afterward and grew to around 6 feet. Best wishes

I completely agree with what Frank said!

If size is an issue then I would think about a different monitor, at least to me this seems like the most logical choice. There are a lot of great monitors to choose from that reach adult lengths of 3-4'. It's true that females are generally smaller than males but the difference is size is less or more dramatic depending on the species and of course there are always exceptions to this especially with species that already have less of a gap between males and females.

I your heart is set on a V. albigularis I would suggest a Cape Banded White Throat monitor. They are smaller than black throats and IMO a better looking monitor. They're actually one of my favorite varanids! The only problem is that they're much harder to come by but if you're not in a rush, I would hold out until one pops up for sale.

If your open to other options I would suggest something like an Argus, Goulds or Flavi. All have of which are great monitors the Goulds and Flavis are much harder to come by than argus. There are also Argus crossed with flavis and Goulds that are offered for sale which obviously are CBB which is great. Since it's going to be a pet and not a breeding endeavor one of the crosses if you find one would be a great option.

Some might blast me for this but I would stay away from Mangroves (V. indicus), blue tailed (V.doreanus), Peach throats (V.jobiensis) and Yellow or Quinces (V. melinus). These don't make the best pets regardless of how beautiful they are most likely you will be looking at an empty cage most of the time, as they'll run for cover even before you get near the room in which they are kept. Not to say they can't be worked with and trained not to fear you but it takes a lot more work with these than say an argus or a white throat.
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Charles Koutris

Just an update, shes still around, alive and kicking. I decided to take a photo tonight. I guess she is now 15 year old or more? The last time I measured her she was 6ft 9 inches a few years ago, but in recent history she suffered an injury to her tail so shes not that long anymore. Its been a long time since I posted here, shes my only reptile now, I reduced my collection years ago.