GrumpyCinnamonster wrote: I'm surprised someone would recommend timors or peachthroats over ackies. Did they have a reason, or simply just state that a timor would be better? Everyone has their own experiences though, and no monitor is "easy" so I'm sure there is a lot of debate on which monitors are good "beginner" monitors. Nonetheless, other than personality most of the small arboreal monitors require the same or similar care. Most probably recommend ackies, because they will generally hiss, tail whip, and defecate on you before biting. The more shy species would potentially go straight to biting, and it only takes one good bite from a monitor(even the small ones) to need stitches. If you understand that monitors are basically only display reptiles, then you might be fine starting with a timor or peach throat.
The jowls on tegus are normal, though not always as prominent on females. I personally adore them.
They said that timors are small and in their experience have "tamed" a lot easier. I don't particularly like animals I can't handle, but I do enjoy monitors as a whole and would be willing to give that up and keep them as a display if I had to. Would I like to be able to do
this or
this, you betcha, but I also see the cuts on their arms and have seen what a grumpy monitor can do to flesh and even bone. I like these lizards but I like my fingers and hands a whole lot more. I am planning on buying from someone who spends time "taming" their animals as much as possible just for my hands' sake for when I need to move them out of the enclosure to clean or if an emergency should arise.
Most of the time "what's a good beginner monitor" is met with something like "When people ask questions like this, I tend to feel they are not ready for the challenge that is caring properly for a monitor or tegu . So I'm going with Bearded Dragon." Yes, that's a DIRECT quote from someone who was asked on a reptile forum, and no actual answer was provided in the 4 pages where the members talked about how the OP was clearly incapable of owning a large lizard. Which is... rather unhelpful, annoying, and quite rude to me. That's like asking "what's the best gecko" or "what's the best python" and being met with "you obviously need to do more research". It's one thing to research the species you're interested in, that should be
expected, it's another thing to be expected to research the entire family or order when their requirements can be
vastly different. Obviously I'd research the species that have caught my eye (namely peachies, though ackies too if that truly is where I should begin), but there's no denying that a croc monitor needs different things than a timor.
Ewww, not a fan of the jowls on the tegus then. I obviously wouldn't have either large lizards as my first... likely will start with an AFT (only geckos I like aside from leaf-tails and tokays) and work my way up from there. Again, lizards are going to have to wait until I have my own house regardless of "ease of care" as the pest control uses something that would kill all bugs in the vicinity and that would kill off my lizards' food supply as well. Snakes are much easier in that regard as I don't have to keep their food alive and can chuck mousicles right into my freezer where they can be safe from whatever it is pest control sprays.
You lizard people need to make up your minds on what monitors are the best for what level of experience. I can't even ask on reptile forums because the consensus is that if you need to ask you're not ready for one (which is obvious, but asking allows you to know which species to research and thus helps you prepare for one Dx )
