The BEST day EVAR!

[aw2x3]

I'm the proud papa of a Crocodile Monitor (Varanus salvadorii).
I saw a guy post on Craigslist, saying he wanted to sell it, but gave no price. I called him up and he said he wanted $1500 for it and I said forget it. Ended up, over the course of this week, talking him into a trade.
This thing is 7' long and weighs in right at 50lb. The guy I got it from was really nice, living up in Northern Missouri. Bought it, on a whim, when it was 14" long (paid $800 from some fly by night, "I can get you a King Cobra tomorrow" pet store), for his daughter and 18 months later, he had a 7' monster on his hands. He talked about how it's puppy dog tame and will eat from your hand, blah blah blah but when my girlfriend and I went to pick him up, the guy was scared to death of it...telling us to be carefull cause he could bite your hand off. I just spent a little bit of time with him, tried to read body language, got balsy and picked him up, carried him to the van and he chilled in the back, the whole way home. He did take a big dump, which caused my girlfriend to start uncontrollably gagging...that was funny stuff.
Anyway...just ranting cause I'm REALLY excited. I've been looking for one of these forever, but was always dissapointed when I saw how expensive they were, just for juveniles. There are only a HANDFUL of this species, in the entire US. From what I can find, there are only two public zoos that have them...the Honolulu Zoo and Shedd Aquarium. I contacted my friend (who takes care of the reptiles at Shedd) and he said the one they have is barely 6' long and it's the biggest he's aware of. I mean, without jumping up and down (which I might've done...shut up!), how excited could I possibly be?...having every bit of a 7 footer, when some place as amazing as Shedd only has a 6 footer?!
I haven't gotten pics yet...I'm just letting him get used to being here, before we start messing with him too much. He's getting his own climate controlled 18' L x 12' W room, in my basement...6' prefab Koi pond, arboreal setup, 4x 250W heated area. Dear Lord, please don't let my future elec. bills make me file for bankrupcy!
He took a swipe at my hand, when I was getting him out of the car and after I almost crapped down both legs, I thought it'd be better for me to let him get settled before I started flashing pics in his face.
I'll have pics tomorrow!!!

 

[shogun323]

Wow bro! That is awesome (except for the part where you almost lost a hand)
Can't wait to see pics of this guy. What a beast!!!

 

[shogun323]

Yikes. I just read they have been documented to reach a length of 15 feet. That is huge!!!

 

[kjr_trig]

Your a brave (perhaps a little crazy) man Andy....Just curious, is there any illegality to the importing of this animal?

 

[crimzy]

This is probably one of those times when I should just keep my mouth shut, but...
This is unfortunate for the animal. This animal would be much better off in a zoo/aquarium than in a makeshift enclosure in your basement. Not to mention that you've gotten rid of several different animals in the past years, and had to move. I wonder what's going to happen to this animal as your situation changes in the future.
You talk about the "I can get you a king cobra" pet store. Aren't you the "I have a komodo dragon in my basement" guy? I know, I'm an a$$hole but I think this sucks.
BTW, it appears that several zoos keep these guys... toledo, miami, chester, oklahoma...

 

[darthtang aw]

An 18X12 room for a lizard that can get 13-15 ft long? Where are you going to fit climbing branches in the room? Also how are you going to maintain the 75% humidity they prefer?
Do you by chance also keep a shark in a bio cube?

 

[darthtang aw]

I recommend you revist the news story about Travis the chimp............

 

[usirchchris]

Originally Posted by crimzy
http:///forum/post/2986945
This is probably one of those times when I should just keep my mouth shut, but...
This is unfortunate for the animal. This animal would be much better off in a zoo/aquarium than in a makeshift enclosure in your basement. Not to mention that you've gotten rid of several different animals in the past years, and had to move. I wonder what's going to happen to this animal as your situation changes in the future.
You talk about the "I can get you a king cobra" pet store. Aren't you the "I have a komodo dragon in my basement" guy? I know, I'm an a$$hole but I think this sucks.
BTW, it appears that several zoos keep these guys... toledo, miami, chester, oklahoma...

Originally Posted by Darthtang AW
http:///forum/post/2986959
An 18X12 room for a lizard that can get 13-15 ft long? Where are you going to fit climbing branches in the room? Also how are you going to maintain the 75% humidity they prefer?
Do you by chance also keep a shark in a bio cube?

+1 bad idea, be a good guy and get that thing to a zoo. If it went from 14" to 7' in matter of a year and a half, your little enclosure gives it a couple months before it struggles negotiating 12'.

 

[kjr_trig]

Max size of 8 feet according to Wikipedia, with 2/3rds of that being the tail.....If it matters.

 

[rslinger]

that sounds like interesting. Good luck with it andy. What do you feed that monster.

 

[darthtang aw]

Originally Posted by kjr_trig
http:///forum/post/2987014
Max size of 8 feet according to Wikipedia, with 2/3rds of that being the tail.....If it matters.
Wikipedia is wrong (as usual). The largest known species ever found was 19 FT. The average size is 12-13 FT. Shed aquariium (who has one) states as much. 66% of it is tail I will agree with that, but these are tree dwelling lizards. The climb, what are they going to climb in a room? Plus imagine the waste cleanup problem.....not to mention how is the rest of the house going to smell.
http://www.centralpets.com/animals/r...s/lzd2707.html
http://www.tigerhomes.org/animal/oth...le-monitor.cfm
http://www.vanishingspecieswildlife....nus/Salvadorii
http://www.sheddaquarium.org/1541.html
http://animals.jrank.org/pages/3779/...-ACCOUNTS.html
http://www.newenglandreptile.com/monitor_croc.html
http://www.seaworld.org/animal-info/...le-monitor.htm

 

[hammerhed7]

Can't wait to see the pics Andy, haven't seen you in a while, thought one of the snakes may have gotten you. Glad to see your girlfriend enjoyed the trip, nothing says quality time like uncontrollable gagging.

 

[meowzer]

I didn't know you could keep crocodiles as pets

I usually don't comment on things like this, BUT I agree with the fact that it should be free in a MUCH bigger place.

 

[pontius]

I agree with Darthtang AW and (oddly enough) Crimzy. this seems like a very, very bad idea. forget about your own safety, what are you going to do when this thing gets out and kills a child in the neighborhood? If I were your neighbor, I'd be raising hell. get an iguana.

 

[aw2x3]

I've been in contact with my friend, at Shedd, where they have one. The largest Croc. Monitor to have ever been documented was a wild caught, that was 9' 6"...3/4 of that being tail. He said that the size of ours now will most likely be adult size and he will grow no larger.
Heather has been on the phone with her friend at St. Louis Zoo, getting insight from professionals.
And, the 50lb weigh in, which is what I was told from the previous owner, was a little exaggerated. He's right around 25lb.
You guys know me...I don't do anything too stupid. If I thought I wouldn't be able to provide great care for him, I wouldn't have gotten him. I am, however, very glad we did. The guy we got him from was not taking good care of him, AT ALL.
In the less than 24 hours that we've had him, we've noticed that he's overweight to the point of obesity and he's having some breathing issues.
Along with me talking to my guy, at Shedd, Heather has gotten in touch with a girl she knows from St. Louis Zoo. Hopefully, it won't be too much trouble to get back up to 100%.
Look at the pics, below, then find other pics of people keeping much more common Monitors (Niles, etc). He's not bigger than them. Just because you read somewhere that these things get 15' long doesn't mean they do. How many times do you see where people have stated that Reticulated Pythons and Burmese Pythons get 35' long?
PICTURES!!!

 

[pontius]

this is the exact quote from the Shedd website that Darthtang linked above......
“Because he’s arboreal, it’s a little difficult going into the habitat to feed or clean him,” says James Clark, the aquarist in charge of the croc monitor and many of the other animals in Lizards and the Komodo King. “You have to be aware of where he is at all times. Besides looking on the ground or in the pool, you have to look up so he doesn’t drop down on top of you.”
Factor in massive curving claws, a bullwhip of a tail that is two-thirds of this monitor’s 7-foot length, and a high-strung disposition, and it’s like dealing daily with a velociraptor.
Then there are the unique teeth. “Unlike other lizards, their teeth are serrated — like a crocodile’s — so they can rip off chunks of meat,” says Clark. The teeth are as long as a Komodo’s — and sharper. In fact, these lizards cut their own gums when they eat. “So whenever you see them eating, there’s blood. It’s not from the prey. And it’s normal,” the aquarist says. Lucky Shedd guests might get to witness the monitor’s once-every-five-days feeding by Clark.

 

[dragonzim]

Originally Posted by AW2x3
http:///forum/post/2987151
I've been in contact with my friend, at Shedd, where they have one. The largest Croc. Monitor to have ever been documented was a wild caught, that was 9' 6"...3/4 of that being tail. He said that the size of ours now will most likely be adult size and he will grow no larger.
Heather has been on the phone with her friend at St. Louis Zoo, getting insight from professionals.
And, the 50lb weigh in, which is what I was told from the previous owner, was a little exaggerated. He's right around 25lb.
You guys know me...I don't do anything too stupid. If I thought I wouldn't be able to provide great care for him, I wouldn't have gotten him. I am, however, very glad we did. The guy we got him from was not taking good care of him, AT ALL.
In the less than 24 hours that we've had him, we've noticed that he's overweight to the point of obesity and he's having some breathing issues.
Along with me talking to my guy, at Shedd, Heather has gotten in touch with a girl she knows from St. Louis Zoo. Hopefully, it won't be too much trouble to get back up to 100%.
Look at the pics, below, then find other pics of people keeping much more common Monitors (Niles, etc). He's not bigger than them. Just because you read somewhere that these things get 15' long doesn't mean they do. How many times do you see where people have stated that Reticulated Pythons and Burmese Pythons get 35' long?
PICTURES!!!

First off, that is one FAT lizard!
Second, you're freakin crazy!!!

 

[aw2x3]

James Clark...the guy in the picture, where that quote came from, is the guy I know from Shedd.
As I said, I'm not that stupid guys.
I also have a 14' Burmese Python...do you all believe, because you see online, that they can get 30' long?

 

[salt life]

Originally Posted by AW2x3
http:///forum/post/2987176
James Clark...the guy in the picture, where that quote came from, is the guy I know from Shedd.
As I said, I'm not that stupid guys.
I also have a 14' Burmese Python...do you all believe, because you see online, that they can get 30' long?
there always has to be negativity in every thread.
I have read your other threads and you seem to have alot of experience with reptiles, good luck with him and put that thing on a diet

 

[aw2x3]

The poor thing has never been fed anything other than chicken livers and chicken gizzards, bought from the grocery store.
No wonder the little fatty is a fatty. lol
He's definately getting switched over to whole foods...rabbits and baby pigs (which my large Burms eat) and he'll get supplemented with chickens, quail and ducks.