Whilst recycling old video tapes for the butaan project I found this long-lost footage of Varanus exanthematicus in the wild.
Our pet-owners' guide to savannah monitor lizard is the first ever
written by people who have studied the animals in the wild and bred them
in captivity. There are at least seven books in print about the savannah
monitor, but we think this is the only one worth reading! Last few
available
U.K. Customers
Customers outside U.K.
To mark the export of half a million savannah monitors from Africa for
the pet trade in the 21st century “The Truth about Varanus
exanthematicus has been released as an ebook.
Savannah monitor lizards are one of the most abused animals in the reptile pet trade. Toted as an easy to care for species it is actually a highly specialised animal that takes a long time to die in unsuitable conditions. Thousands are imported from Africa each year, almost none are bred in captivity and they are one of the most common lizard species encountered by animal rescue organisations. Demand for the animals has been fuelled by a series of books and articles that have completely ignored the animals' specialised ecology and given the wholly incorrect impression that the animals are "easy to keep", "ideal for beginners" "will eat almost anything" etc. These publications are sold almost exclusively in pet shops simply to increase sales, and with utter disregard for the welfare of the animals.
Tens of thousands of savannah monitors are exported from West Africa every year for the pet trade, but what happens to them? Very few survive more than 5 years and the vast majority are dead within a year. Many of the survivors end up as unwanted pets. But the species is heavily promoted as an ideal choice of pet lizard for inexperienced keepers.
Juvenile savannah monitor lizards are needed in large numbers for the pet trade, who want them as cheaply as possible. They are collected as eggs dug up from nests or from recently caught gravid females, or dug from burrows at hatchlings. The pet trade calls animals collected as hatchlings "wild caught" and animals collected other ways "ranched, farmed" or "captive born". These terms are intended to mislead consumers into thinking the trade is more sustainable, whereas in fact it is more profitable and much more damaging to wild populations.
CITES has kept records of international trade in savannah monitors since the mid 1970s. The USA by by far the largest consumer of pet savannah monitors, with gross imports totaling 642,500 animals up to 2010. In total, the UK, Germany, Canada, Japan, Spain, France, Taiwan and Netherlands recorded gross imports of 145,711 up to 2010.
The USA recorded gross imports of 20,759 live savannah monitors per year between 1979 and 2009.Between 1999 and 2009 the average was 30,402 lizards per year. The animals have a retail price of as little as $20
To mark the export of half a million savannah monitors from Africa for
the pet trade in the 21st century “The Truth about Varanus
exanthematicus has been released as an ebook for $5. Our pet-owners' guide to savannah monitor lizard is the first ever
written by people who have studied the animals in the wild and bred them
in captivity. There are seven books in print about the savannah
monitor, but we think this is the only one worth reading!
Our pet-owners' guide to savannah monitor lizard is the first ever
written by people who have studied the animals in the wild and bred them
in captivity. There are at least seven books in print about the savannah
monitor, but we think this is the only one worth reading! Last few
available
U.K. Customers£21.95 including postage
Customers outside U.K.£25.95 including postage
To mark the export of half a million savannah monitors from Africa for
the pet trade in the 21st century “The Truth about Varanus
exanthematicus has been released as an ebook. Just £3 worldwide!
To promote the idea that savannah monitor lizards are easy to keep pet trade books recommend that the lizards should be kept on hard surfaces. But it is essential that they are provided with a deep substrate that they can dig into. You should not keep savannah monitor lizards on hard surfaces.
To make savannah monitor lizards appear easy to keep the pet trade promotes the idea that they are scavengers and will eat anything. In fact savannah monitors should be fed only whole animals in captivity. Dog food, meat and animal byproducts are not suitable foods for savannah monitors.
Every year tens of thousands of people buy baby savannah monitors, so there is lots to read about them online. Here is a list of recommend sources and some of the worst ones to avoid.
To promote the idea that savannah monitor lizards are easy to care for, the pet trade favours books that claim that savannah monitor lizards are from dry places and can be kept in a simple box enclosure with a water bowl. But in fact savannah monitor lizards require much higher levels of humidity that are best provided by a deep substrate that will hold moisture and allow the animals to dig.
The mampam website has been running for 16 years and aims to provide full details of projects at no charge. All out of print books and multimedia guides are provided here and full image archives are being developed for each project. This will complete the website's mission.
An obligate frugivore is an animal whose diet throughout its range consist largely of fruit. Other obligate frugivores in the Philippines include flying foxes, hornbills and other birds. The butaan is much larger than any other obligate frugivore in the Philippines and had a much more restricted diet; on Polillo the diet of adult butaan consists almost entirely of eight species of fruits and two species of snails.
Savannah monitor lizards are one of the most abused animals in the reptile pet trade. Toted as an easy to care for species it is actually a highly specialised animal that takes a long time to die in unsuitable conditions. Thousands are imported from Africa each year, almost none are bred in captivity and they are one of the most common lizard species encountered by animal rescue organisations. Demand for the animals has been fuelled by a series of books and articles that have completely ignored the animals' specialised ecology and given the wholly incorrect impression that the animals are "easy to keep", "ideal for beginners" "will eat almost anything" etc. These publications are sold almost exclusively in pet shops simply to increase sales, and with utter disregard for the welfare of the animals.
Juvenile savannah monitor lizards are needed in large numbers for the pet trade, who want them as cheaply as possible. They are collected as eggs dug up from nests or from recently caught gravid females, or dug from burrows at hatchlings. The pet trade calls animals collected as hatchlings "wild caught" and animals collected other ways "ranched, farmed" or "captive born". These terms are intended to mislead consumers into thinking the trade is more sustainable, whereas in fact it is more profitable and much more damaging to wild populations.
CITES has kept records of international trade in savannah monitors since the mid 1970s. The USA by by far the largest consumer of pet savannah monitors, with gross imports totaling 642,500 animals up to 2010. In total, the UK, Germany, Canada, Japan, Spain, France, Taiwan and Netherlands recorded gross imports of 145,711 up to 2010.
To promote the idea that savannah monitor lizards are easy to keep pet trade books recommend that the lizards should be kept on hard surfaces. But it is essential that they are provided with a deep substrate that they can dig into. You should not keep savannah monitor lizards on hard surfaces.
To make savannah monitor lizards appear easy to keep the pet trade promotes the idea that they are scavengers and will eat anything. In fact savannah monitors should be fed only whole animals in captivity. Dog food, meat and animal byproducts are not suitable foods for savannah monitors.
To promote the idea that savannah monitor lizards are easy to care for, the pet trade favours books that claim that savannah monitor lizards are from dry places and can be kept in a simple box enclosure with a water bowl. But in fact savannah monitor lizards require much higher levels of humidity that are best provided by a deep substrate that will hold moisture and allow the animals to dig.
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