monitor people......

[carinacat]

just wondering what the smallest monitor i can own in vic on my basic licence is?
very intersted in monitors but only want sumthing small that will do well in an inside enclosure. once ive found out which monitor is the smallest i will do sum for research into that species. not planning on getting one straight away thou. just wanting ideas

 

[bredli84]

i dont keep any but i think the smallest basic monitor is probably Varanus gilleni.
there is a good article in reptiles australia about them, not sure which issue but can find out if u want.

 

[Magpie]

You don't need to get the smallest to be able to keep them inside. Something like an ackie, Varanus acanthurus will thrive in a 4'x2' or bigger cage.

 

[herptrader]

The smallest is a Pigmy Mulga Monitor or Gilleni as bredli84 has indicated.

There is a group of small monitors you may wish to consider. Accies for example range quite a bit in size depending upon their origin. Some of the Alice Springs forms are not much larger than Gilleni.

Most of the small monitors are very active and great value.

 

[cris]

I would also suggest gilleni, they are usually very friendly towards each other and dont tend to kill each other as much as ackies. Although one of my males is an exception to this 'rule'. Storrs monitors are also small.

Pygmy short tailed monitors(brevicauda) are the smallest but they arnt as common, more expensive and may not be on a basic licence(i dont know much about vic rules)

 

[carinacat]

i would be making an outdoors enclosure as well but during the colder mths would be keeping them (2) inside

 

[bredli84]

not sure about keeping the small ones outside, they all seem to be from northern desert type regions and may not do well in vic, they would also be food foe many birds, cats etc so enclosure would need to be covered. i'm just speculating, somebody who actually knows what the're talking about may reply with more solid info but you should keep this in mind.

 

[carinacat]

ok thats fine. they dont need to go outside ive checked out what we can keep on a basic in vic. tristis, varius, indicus, mertensi, gilleni, acanthurus, gouldii, and storri. im well aware that laceys are HUGE so wont be getting one of those........ until im out on sum property. hehe

 

[carinacat]

any one here from vic breed acanthurus?

 

[Aslan]

Carina - I keep Ackies and Gilleni...they are both great and easy to keep.

I would suggest Gilleni, they have even more character than Ackies (which I wasn't sure was possible) and are even bolder. They are also EXTREMELY active, jumping around their enclosure all the time. Fantastic little animals...

 

[richardsc]

storrs are the smallest that u can keep in vic,but can be fiesty little buggers,id recomend gillens or ridge tails for starters,both will thrive if provided with suitable conditions indoors,i breed both but none for sale so cant help u there im afraid,but highly reccomend one of those for starters,storrs can be ok to,but if kept in groups they can get very narky at times,especially if u introduce new ones together at adult age,but that can happen with other species to,good luck

 

[gonff]

reptiles austrailia, volume 3 no. 1 ( info on gillens and ackies.)