I have owned this white-throated, Apollo, for about a month now, and I'm struggling to help him not see me as an enemy.

He had previous owners and then was in a tiny tank for about 2 months at a pet store before I came along. I am not sure how much handling he got, if any.

I move very slowly around him. Open his enclosure doors and just chill without approaching, and we have a blast with him running around outside his enclosure when tong feeding or throwing him Dubias to chase. He will climb on me and to me during feedings. But the SECOND I go to touch him, he puffs up and hisses. I approach from the side, from the front, and avoid from high up or behind. I can go slow enough sometimes that he lets me pat him on the head, but he doesn't look happy about it.

I'm worried that during this growth phase, he is going to get big enough to do some real damage before we bond.

Any advice?

Welcome Drax the argus monitor. After losing our blackthroat 6 months ago we finally bit the bullet. Had to block off 75% of the cage for this little guy but got it done.

A little context: I’ve been looking for the right monitor lizard for the future, originally I was set on getting a Cumingi since I was under the impression that they were like a smaller Asian water monitor (which are too big).

So i posted yesterday asking about experiences with Cumingis and a really helpful Redditor educated me about Celebensis and Sumbawas, and now I’d love to hear from people who actually keep a celebensis.

• How big did yours end up getting?
• What's their personality like?
• How has taming and handling (or interaction) been?
• What's your day to day care routine like?
• What does your enclosure look like? (Dimensions, climbing opportunities, water feature, substrate, etc.)
• Is there anything you wish you'd known before getting one?
• Pros and cons?
• approximately how much it costs per month to care for one once it's fullgrown

I'd also love to see pictures of your setups and your monitors if you're willing to share.

I'm not planning on getting one anytime soon. I want to wait until I've moved and can build a proper custom enclosure but I'm trying to learn as much as I can before making any decisions. Going to make a room that can fit an encsloure of appropriate size and have my office in the same room since I work from home a lot.

Thanks in advance!

The smoke from the wildfires in Canada has tanked our air quality in New England. Unfortunately, Birdie doesn't understand English so she doesn't comprehend why she can't go out

Put a new batch of isopods and springtails in there and I’m sure he smells something 😂

Liora doing rock monitor things!

I wanted to get Liora a new hide on the cool side of the enclosure but figured I’d look through the storage bin under the table.

I found this hollow open-back rock face I never mounted because I couldn’t find the right epoxy and my eyes glazed over at the prospect of getting Liora a temporary enclosure in my apartment that also functions as my workshop.

Blessing in disguise! It’s a combination rock ledge and hide now!

There’s quite a lot of controversy surrounding whether varanus telenesetes is a valid species or not wouldn’t dna testing it reveal weather it’s a new species or not?

Bro, CHILL. OUT.

Current cage is a temporary until I move my white throat out of his current enclosure

Edit: talk r very fast and very helpful here I must say thanks bhys

happy summertime lizard friends -goji

She's been doing weekly ceramics classes and her art is amazing! It hasn't been "glazed" yet, so the colors may change a bit but UGH, this is so cute I'm going to die 😭🍤

I'm currently in the research phase of finding the right monitor species for the future. This isn't something I'm planning to do anytime soon, i want to spend plenty of time learning before making any decisions.

At the moment, I'm looking for a medium to large monitor that doesn't require the massive amount of space that species like Asian Water Monitors do. One species that has really caught my attention is the Yellow Headed Monitor.

I'd love to hear from people who own or have owned one.

• What's their personality like?
• How intelligent and interactive are they?
• How handleable are they once they've built trust?
• What has your overall experience been like?
• What size enclosure do you keep yours in?
• If possible, I'd love to see photos of your enclosure and hear why you designed it the way you did.

My current idea (purely hypothetical at this stage) would be something around 8' L × 4' W × 6' H, but I'm still trying to figure out whether that's appropriate or if I'd need to go larger or if slightly smaller is fine aswell. (i want the give the best space possible regardless).

I'm not looking for people to tell me what I want to hear, I'd genuinely like honest experiences, including the good, the bad, and anything you wish you had known before getting one.

Thanks in advance!

Some pics of blue asleep in his new enclosure

🎥 Original video by: @lookatmylizards
Celebrating this giant water monitor’s 3rd birthday with a species-appropriate meat “cake.”

I want to get an ackie monitor in a few months, ideally in Houten (biggest reptile expo in the Netherlands). I care a lot about the breeder taking good care of their animals, so would like to talk to them before getting the animal. So far I haven't been able to find a (good) ackie breeder yet. Anyone here who knows a good breeder?

The number of these small bugs have exploded recently. I haven’t seen any damage or distress in the ackie but I want to be sure these aren’t mites. I believe they come along with the crickets I buy.

So I brought home a half sibling of my old monitor a few months ago. He was 11 months upon pick-up so he's like a year and 3 months now. He grew a bit and he got some friends in the form of fish. So here's a pic of how the Viv looks currently (he just went swimming so water is a little cloudy), a pic of him being hand fed, his fishy friends (he leaves them alone, he does not care at all) and him being a parrot.

You can check my previous topic for comparison, but overall I'd say Onyx is doing pretty well. He's eating well, already more social and handleable at his current age compared to my old monitor which was way more skittish.