I am very aware of the bite haha. I also keep monitors and snakes and my worst bite was from a 10ft croc monitor I used to have. It was just gnarly and hurt so much! Straight through thick leather gardening gloves.
Any heladerma keepers out there?
- Thread starter Aw3s0m3
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I can imagine a ten foot monitor being a problem and I'd love to see the enclosure for it.
I wish I could show you but that was at least 10 years ago when I had it and I lost all pics when my comp crashed but it was 10x5x10
All I've got right now are 4 retics ranging from 8-15ft, a hatchling Nile monitor, this beaded and my fish. Plus my dog
It's actually really good for a nile but I've only had it a couple months and I handle it everyday. It's still pretty nervous and will whip and hiss but he stops literally after 1 whip. He knows I won't hurt him and will climb on my hand instead of tryin to run away but he definitely ain't sociable like water monitors are known to be especially if you compare him to NERD's.
I had no idea you were so well-versed. You should do just fine with the Beaded if you have that experience level. People who don't know Tegus and Monitors and even smaller lizards with big bites like Tokay Geckos (and even fish too) are at the highest risk.....it's human nature to underestimate their bite strength because of their size.....
.....but when you see something that weighs less than your HAMSTER latch onto you with a death-grip from Hell and won't let go no matter what you do and you have a wound that takes weeks or months to heal, ....you get a new perspective on Nature
You sound like you are in the right direction. For a lot of people who want venomous snakes, the Helodermatidae may be a better route for some.
Haha ya. Everyone I've met on here have realized that I'm more of a snake guy that just happens to keep fish
No, it just seemed like ....you almost gave off the feeling this was your 1st lizard or something by handling it with no gloves and not holding it behind the head lol but I guess as it turns out you're just very confident in yourself and have a good resume`. We have seen a lot of things in the reptile trade, including people who do dumb stuff like buying a Rhinoceros Viper with no previous venomous experience or buying a crocodile hatchling because it's cute but the only animal they ever owned before that was a BEAGLE or a Gerbil. I don't mean to come off in a certain way sometimes....I just have this caring Fatherly instinct in me that sometimes comes out in my head as "Shoot, I gotta say something before someone else ends up injured or worse". It happens all too frequent in this trade and a lot if the reason is because people brush it off and don't take preemptive cautions.
I think part of it comes from taking on a lot of untrained people in the field with me and having some of the most stubborn apprentices I could ever wish I didn't find. LOL
Haha I feel ya man. My ex gf got a retic as her first snake ever just cuz she fell in love with all mine knowing that she wouldn't know what to do with it once it got too big for her to house. We can't stop people from making choices but we can try our best to help them make the right one
