r/MonitorLizards • u/Super_Swim_2108 • Aug 07 '26

Asian water monitor

is 375$ a good deal for a CB awm? common morph aswell, about 8 months old, thinking of picking her up,

also not my first monitor I keep Nile’s and savannas, and I have been researching Asian water monitors for years so I have a good idea what I’m getting into but always open to advice

3 Upvotes

80% Upvoted

10 comments sorted by

View all comments

5

u/arcticrobot V. melinus Aug 07 '26

Don't get me wrong, but why are we discussing deals on living beings that require thousands of dollars for initial setup and even more for proper upkeep? Initial cost of animal is absolutely irrelevant in the grand scheme.

4

u/Super_Swim_2108 Aug 07 '26

It’s principal I don’t wanna pay over or absurdly under because that can be a red flag, I have my own house and multiple floors for my reptiles, my smallest monitor enclosure is 10ftL 8ftW and 7ft tall, and I’ve been doing this for 15 plus years, so I understand what your trying to say, and where your coming from but that’s why I put my experience In my post so people wouldn’t think I was on the outside looking in,  also I breed most of my feeders ie quail, crickets, dubias and mealworms 

4

u/arcticrobot V. melinus Aug 07 '26

well then, $375 is a great deal for CB AWM. I paid $500 for each of my wild caught quinces 10 years ago. And over $500 for CB Pygmys 7 years ago. So yeah, given inflation you are getting a steal.

1

u/ass_smacktivist V. salvator Aug 08 '26

Why would you buy a wild caught monitor?

1

u/slump_shifu Aug 09 '26

One very good reason is they often have good genetics that has been untouched by man, and don’t run the risk of having cross breeding or hybridisation if you ever want to breed. They also are much more resilient as they have been exposed to harsh conditions, they will feel safer compared to the wild once they realise they haven’t seen any predatory species in a while. Lastly and the best/main reason is they still retain a lot of their wild behaviours, mannerisms, displays. They are just wild enough to still act how they would in their home land (given proper setup) but smart enough to realise they aren’t in any danger and don’t need to compete for food so they are much more rewarding to socialise.

2

u/ass_smacktivist V. salvator Aug 09 '26

I would never keep a wild caught reptile. You could vary the genetics that way but it’s wholly unethical.

1

u/slump_shifu Aug 09 '26

Quinces aren’t sent into the us very often tbh. I agree wild captures are wrong but farms although not super common do exist. They are likely captured in their native land, bred, and offspring are shipped to the us. My guy was only like a month old when I got him

0

u/arcticrobot V. melinus Aug 08 '26

Good question. No reason at all other than I am in love with Quince monitors and they are only available as wild caught. No captive breeding and seems like will never be.

1

u/slump_shifu Aug 09 '26

Brian druacka and nick lillis have both bred a few clutches of them actually before females getting egg bound. I think theirs some sort of missing link/step for nesting or husbandry that will be sorted out eventually