KEEPING MONITOR LIZARDS AS PETS ILLEGAL, DANGEROUS
Mr Kannan Raja, chairman of the Herpetological Society of Singapore, said Rock Monitors are normally big animals.
“Being a Rock Monitor, which is obviously not native, this creature would not have ended up here by itself, ” he said.
This likely constitutes the unlawful pet trade, so. Therefore, it might have been an abandoned or escaped animal. As a result, it is familiar with persons, which is probably why it was so pleasant living in a home or close to people.
It initially began to move a tiny when folks got too close to it. So it ’s used to individuals, hence it was quite relaxed. ”
Mr Kannan, whose society is involved in the study and conservation of reptiles and amphibians, said even though the monitor lizard can climb, “you would n’t see a monitor lizard climbing straight up 11 storeys ” from the ground.
“Even if meal was current, they might hike for short distances, ” he noted.
He added that keeping track reptiles as dogs is not only illegal, it can also be harmful.
These reptiles “kind of eat what they can get their mouths around, ” as opposed to common pets like cats or dogs. Perhaps some species can bring venom.
“They have very good defence mechanisms, ” said Mr Kannan. You could also get a poor bite or scratch if you stress them or get too close. ”
Non-native animals may also damage Singapore’s diversity.
When our local reptiles are smaller, smaller, or feeling threatened, they may start battling for food and mates, according to Mr. Kannan, who predicts that this non-native animal may start to be more in demand as compared to our local reptiles.
It has already happened in other nations, where local reptiles can sometimes become dead due to the presence and stress of this non-native animal. ”