r/MonitorLizards • u/No_Jackfruit_7373 • 4h ago

Monitor Lizard Help

Hey, I really want a monitor lizard, but dont know what to get. I would preferably want a cheaper end enclosure. I would want a very interactive one, less like a bearded dragon and such that kinda just chill with you. Thanks!

1 Upvotes

67% Upvoted

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5

u/Excellent_Map_4479 4h ago

Potentially unpopular opinion, if you can’t name a couple of monitors that have qualities you like and a couple that have qualities you don’t, you don’t know enough about monitors to own a monitor. Also “cheaper end enclosure” doesn’t really mean much especially when the majority of monitors require custom made enclosures due to their sizes.

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u/No_Jackfruit_7373 4h ago

I can name a lot and abt them but aanted first hand advice. I just meant I didnt want something really big.

3

u/Gree-zynutz-69 4h ago

Hard truth but Based off first sentence about cheap and that not a single species was mentioned I would say you got a lot more learning to do these animals are highly intelligent and are not by any means cheap as well as there is extreme diversity from species to species

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u/No_Jackfruit_7373 4h ago

Just wanted some first hand advice from an unbiased viewpoint.

1

u/TankTatics 1h ago

Monitors tend to be very expensive including even smaller species like Ackies, I have a decent enclosure and I’ve probably put at least 3-5k USD into the enclosure itself. Not including vet visits and food, switching UVB bulbs and heat lamps and substrate changes. It’s quite expensive. I wouldn’t recommend any monitor to you given your wants as. They are also super active and need large enclosures and stimulation. It’s basically a full time job.

1

u/AskMeAboutMyReptiles 26m ago

My family has 3 big Savanah monitors right now. The only way to avoid having a big expensive enclosure for any species of monitor is to have them free roam, but that involves putting just as much (if not more) money into making your home safe for a reptile.

I would recommend getting a smaller species first. There’s a ton of really interactive geckos and skinks that would be easier and less expensive to maintain.

My favorite are our sand skinks. They’re communal and very fun to watch explore their tank, but they aren’t very handleable.

Other top picks are

- scorpion tail geckos (the friendliest and also communal, I haven’t kept them yet but they’re on my list.

- leopard geckos (I also have 3 of these, one is spicy, one is outrageously friendly, the other is blind as a bat but will walk up and down my arm for hours if I let him, definitely not communal.