Product Description
Complete guide to keeping monitor lizards and tegus.  Covers housing, feeding, handling, taming. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

keeping and caring(?) for monitors and tegus
while the species overview within the monitor section of the book was interesting, i found the husbandry portions outdated and lacking. having maintained and bred these lizards in captivity ifind the information largely misguided. i must give gredit to the author for his precautionary words concerning these animals, but i heartily suggest he research the current husbandry practices involved with these creatures. ... Read more

Product Description
Monitors originate in Asia, Africa, Australia, and Indonesia, and come in many varieties, including the world's largest and some of its smallest lizards. Here is advice on caging and care of its various kinds, including the Savanna Monitor, the White-Throated Monitor, Blue-Tailed, Ridge-Tailed, and many others. Also featured is a general introduction to this reptilian family, a checklist of monitors found around the world, a glossary, and a bibliography. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Good book
The book has a lot of good information and is probably the best springboard to find more information on Monitors and Tegus.It doesn't have nearly enough information on Tegus and a reader would be lead to the conclusion that Tegus and Monitor lizards are very similar.This is not the case.They are very different.They are both intellegent lizards that look similar but that's where the similarites end.Unfortunately the only better source of information I've found is my vet and talking to breeders.

Easy Read
Good and easy read for obtaining basic information on a variety of species. Can help guide you in making a decision if you are not sure what species to get. Also gives a good overview on health, care and handling, etc...

not what I expected
the book had more info on monitor lizards than tegus.The monitors were covered well but I was interested in tegus and there was not enough info on them.

The Bible
This is by far the best book I have found for tegus.It contains very detailed, easy to understand information.Although mostly focused on monitors, nearly all the information can be applied to tegus as well.

Monitors (Complete Pet Owner's Manual)
Whereas monitors receive moderate treatment in this book, Tegus seem to have been (literally) added as an afterthought. Many sections speak at length about varanid behavior for several pages, only to end with "Tegus are also somewhat like this except ..." (and a few words).

If you're serious about keeping monitors, there are more detailed and useful resources (The Natural History of Monitor Lizards, Monitors: The Biology of Varanid Lizards). This book does suffice as an account of common species and might serve as a good introduction and general reference to monitor husbandry.

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Product Description

Originally published in 1992, Giant Lizards is a bestselling reference held in high regard within every level of the herp hobby for its authoritative and thorough coverage of lizard biology.

Now in a completely revised and expanded volume, Giant Lizards features all newly written information by an expert on monitors and other large lizards (defined as those reaching over 3 feet in length) and it covers over 90 species. Lizard profiles range from the relatively affordable to the extremely expensive, and from those commonly kept as pets to those critically endangered and unobtainable. Species include iguanas (including green iguanas), rock iguanas, Galapagos Island iguanas, tegus, sail-fin lizards, Gila monsters, beaded lizards, water dragons, monitors (including savannah, water, and Nile monitors plus Komodo dragons), and more.

Giant Lizards provides complete coverage of essential care subjects like feeding, housing, breeding, and health care. For the more scientifically minded reader, it includes sections o
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Customer Reviews (3)

A Beautiful Book
I don't keep lizards myself, but I love looking at these beautiful creatures. The pictures are absolutely gorgeous.

Save your money, and the health of your captives- buy a different book
For those considering purchasing this book, don't. There are several other books which deal with the natural history and keeping of large lizards (iguanids and varanids) out there which are more deserving of your hard-earned money. This book is filled with sloppy editing, factual errors, contradictions, poor photography, and just terrible husbandry advice.

A detailed review of this book appears in a recent issue of the monitor lizard journal Biawak (link below). I suggest reading it before purchasing this book:

[...]

Great Book
Giant Lizards 2 is a wonderful introduction to the captive care of monitor lizards. I like the rating system of captive care difficulties. A lot of people buy a cute little lizard and have to get rid of it when it becomes a 5 ½ foot terror. This is a great book for those who are considering getting a Varanus lizard. I highly recommend it. A+ ... Read more

Product Description

Gale proudly presents the completely revised and updated version of the acclaimed “Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia” set. Hailed by many as the best reference work on animals ever published, a legacy left to us by famed zoologist and animal lover Bernhard Grzimek, this set is renowned for its scientific reporting and coverage, and serves as a major point of reference for researchers, students, and those hoping to satisfy their curiosity about the animal kingdom. Information can be found on life cycles, predators, food systems, overall ecology and much more. Staying true to the original scientific pedigree, Gale enlisted prominent advisors and contributors from the international scientific community to incorporate recent developments in our knowledge of the animal world.

Product Description
This book provides essential information on the responible care and breeding of the popular savannah monitor and other monitor species regularly offered in the pet trade including: Dumeril's Monitors, Mangrove Monitors, Nile Monitors, Black Rough-necked Monitors, Crocodile Monitors, Asian Water Monitors, Spiny-tailed Monitors, Timor Monitors, Argus and Gould's Monitors and Tegus. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Decent
This book has a lot of good information in it but it reads like a science journal.It was also written like 10 years ago so much of it is outdated (particularly in regards to breeding success).It is however a good companion piece to "Monitors and Tegus (Complete Pet Owner's Manual)"by R.D. Bartlett.

Great information, but mostly geared toward Savannahs
This book has a wealth of information within it, and describes every aspect of monitor ownership. And I have seen no greater book written on Savannah monitors in particular. But, if you are interested in obtaining or own a different species of monitor, such as a water or peach-throat, the book doesn't dwell on them too long. Simply a paragraph or two deals with other individual species. Which is OK, but it doesn't discuss all the special requirements of other species, which can be important, in its generalized chapters. Yet, if its savannahs your interested in, which are by far the easiest and most commonly kept, this IS the book for you! Don't miss it!
--Lauren

Great section on Argentine B/W tegus!
Did you know that the Argentine Black & White tegus, as you can read in this book, eat a larger variety of food than the Colombian tegus and can hibernate?It is all in this great book on tegus and monitors.Here is another example of this great book: "The Argentine Black and White tegu is the most desirable of all tegus" (p. 142 in Michael Balsai's book on monitors and tegus). Am I glad I found an Argentine tegu at Agama!Please read this book if you like tegus and other big lizards, it is fantastic! ... Read more