Above: On the left is a large adult nile monitor (Varanus niloticus) photo credit: Mpata Safari Club. www.mpata.com
On the right is a sub-adult Sumatran water monitor (Varanus salvator)
As you can probably imagine by now Nile monitors, Asian water monitors, and other large monitor lizards commonly found in the pet industry should also be avoided by new keepers. I would go so far as to include any monitor who regularly clears 5 feet in length. Some of the more commonly available species would be black throat monitor lizards, black roughneck monitors, argus monitors, white throat monitors, and crocodile monitors. Most face many of the same problems as the previously mentioned savannah monitors with regards to importation of wild-caught (WC) and farmed animals. In fact, a larger portion of these animals are WC due to the fact that many are so readily available in the wild that it’s not cost effective for large farming operations to produce them. Water monitors for example, take 6 months of incubation for the eggs to develop, and females are typically only able to produce one clutch per year. With WC water monitors typically selling for well under $100 at the source it’s not feasible for farms to spend the time and money it takes to maintain large breeding animals while their competitors simply take animals from the wild. Nearly all large monitor lizards face this exact issue. Typically if you see a large monitor species listed as farm bred or CB from farm it means that the animal’s mother was captured long enough to lay eggs and then released or sold for meat or skin, or more likely that the eggs were harvested directly from a wild nest. In these cases CB stands for captive-born and not captive-bred. You may also see them listed as CH which stands for captive-hatched. Make sure to ask exactly where the animal came from when you see CB next to large monitors. As with most reptiles there is almost always at least a handful of breeders producing true captive-bred animals and their prices will reflect the expense they incur to do so. What you’re getting for that drastically increased price is generally a much more social animal as well as, and most importantly, a much healthier animal. WC monitor lizards come with parasites plain and simple; there are no ifs ands or buts about it.
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Next up on the list is Savannah monitor lizards (Varanus exanthematicus). Savs, as I will refer to them occasionally, are one of the top five most commonly exported small animals in Africa. They are primarily exported for skin, meat, and the pet trade. Nearly all of the savs you see available in the pet trade are imported from Africa, and while CITES reports that roughly one third of these animals come from ranches and farms the rest are wild caught. In fact, many of those from the ranches and farms come from wild-caught adults who are captured and kept long enough to lay their eggs and then released. By the time pet stores in the U.S. and countries receive these animals there is no way to distinguish between those that are farmed and those that are wild caught. For the pet trade most of the wild caught savs are captured as babies or eggs collected from nests, but some adults do make into the pet trade as well.
“Almost quarter of a million live savannah monitors were traded internationally between 2008 and 2015 (Figure 1). The vast majority are suspected to be recently hatched animals, although this cannot be determined from CITES records. Five countries within the range of savannah monitors reported total exports of 239,237 live animals in that period (Table 1). Almost all animals came from Ghana (66.8%) Benin (15.1%) and Togo (14.6%), with the remaining 3.5% from Mali and Niger.” ~ Mampam, March 6, 2018. To my knowledge there are only a handful of breeders in the U.S. who have had somewhat regular success in the breeding of savs, but no one has produced large enough numbers to even begin competing with the importers. This is in no small part due to the fact that breeding medium to large monitors is difficult, costly, and takes a lot of space. Being costly to raise and maintain means that in order to clear any kind of profit and make breeding a worthwhile venture the babies have to be priced significantly higher than their imported counterparts. Joe public generally doesn’t understand why a captive bred animal should cost $250 while the next table over at the same reptile show is selling that animal for $35-$60. That being said, make sure you’re not paying $250 for an imported animal who’s been falsely marked up. This makes it extremely difficult for local captive breeding programs to even get off the ground.
Image provided by Wild Things Las Vegas - if you're going to purchase a savannah monitor, make sure to purchase from a reputable store that specializes in reptiles who will help you should any problems arise.
Intro / Part IStarting Tuesday, March 24, 2020 I will be starting a multi-part series to be posted on Saturdays surrounding 10 reptiles or groups of reptiles, it’s actually a few more if you’re keeping count, that new keepers should absolutely avoid. This is not to say that these animals can not make fascinating and rewarding captives to those with the proper skills and resources, but rather to say simply the following. If you are a new keeper these animals are not for you. That is not an attack on your character, it’s not an insult to your intelligence, and it’s not meant as an affront to your ego. These are animals that require either advanced techniques and skills, have enclosure requirements beyond what the average new keeper can provide, or have the potential to pose a serious threat to the health and well-being of those who are inexperienced. Make sure to let your friends know if they're looking for their first reptile and aren't sure what to get or not to get to check out this series and please feel free to share the articles each week on your social media profiles. Part I Green Iguanas I’m going to start with green iguanas, scientific name Iguana iguana, because they are one of if not the most commonly imported and sold lizards in the pet industry. Originally the majority of green iguanas came from wild populations being imported by the thousands and dying in captivity just about as quickly due to a lack of understanding in regard to their basic care and needs on the part of Joe Public. By the 90’s many of the babies being imported were coming from farms in various regions of South America, where they are also a food source, which was an improvement to the situation, but their basic care was still largely misunderstood and so still the majority of these imports died. Currently there are an increasing number of individuals raising captive bred iguanas within the U.S. who selectively breed for specific color and/or pattern traits, but the large majority in pet stores still come from farms in South America. Whenever possible it’s always best to purchase from private and reputable breeders over farm bred babies. You will typically pay significantly more, but the animals are generally better adjusted and healthier overall with a significantly lower chance of the parasites associated with farm bred and wild caught animals. Part of the reason so many die in captivity is that the farm bred animals can generally be purchased as low as $10-$20 which leads chain pet stores stocking up on them and impulse buying on the part of the consumer and typically a lack of research on even their basic care requirements.
So you’re thinking about getting a reptile? Maybe you’re not sure what kind of reptile you want to get yet, or maybe you are. Maybe you want to get a pet lizard for yourself, or maybe it’s a pet snake for your kid that you’re after. Maybe you met someone like myself at your local museum and just thought that 7ft boa constrictor was just too cool not to have. The truth is that I don’t know the first thing about you, your financial or living situation, or your ability to provide the general care and space required by whatever reptile it is that you're considering. However, I do know reptiles. I’ve been keeping reptiles since I was “knee high to a grasshopper” as my father might say. As early as I could capture the green anoles (Anolis carolinensis), mediterranean house geckos (Hemidactylus turcicus), and various types of frogs, insects, and turtles around my southeast Texas home I was bringing them home and keeping them in jars and discarded fish tanks that I found around the neighborhood. I was the kid who brought his pet turtle or lizard or frog to school and was happy as a clam to spend my recess telling my teachers all about them. In later years I spent my lunch hours in the library reading every book our library had about animals. Mind you this was in the 80’s and 90’s so it was just before the big internet boom. We didn’t really have internet access until the last couple years of highschool. What I didn’t learn from books I tried to learn by pestering local pet shops, some better than others, and talking off the ears of folks at the few reptile expos I was able to attend. Over the years I’ve bred a number of species in small numbers and a couple in more moderately large numbers. I’ve kept probably several dozen species many with success and a few without much. I am by no means an expert, and I probably will never feel that I am, but I do know my reptiles. The purpose of this post is merely to point out some of the good, the bad, and the gross parts of keeping reptiles as I see it today. I hope not to discourage you from reptile ownership in anyway as personally I’m obviously a little bit, okay really really really, obsessed with them. They’re as much an addiction for me as anything can be. They are my one true vice in life; I rarely drink, I don’t smoke, I’ve never done drugs, and I’m not an adrenaline junky. I only want to make sure you have some realistic expectations going into this hobby and realize the commitment you’re potentially making.
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