by >Lizards. I am most likely going to mail order it, and at $44.50, I was
>hoping I might hear a few comments about it before "springing" for it
>sight unseen.
>Linda
I have the book that you are talking about as well as several other
monitor books and I'll go over each of them for you.
The Natural History of Monitor Lizards by Harold DeLisle (Krieger) has
alot of 'general' information pertaining to all monitor lizards and an
extensive physiology section. It does not offer very much natural
history information and very little captive care info regarding
individual species. I am mostly interested in V. rudicollis so I base
all books on how much info they have on this species. DeLisle's book
has one picture and one paragraph of info (mostly on description). On
the other hand he offers some great phylogenic trees, a natural food
item chart and several interesting tables.
Living Dragons by Rodney Steel (Ralph Curtis) is trash! There are very
few species pictured, many of which are mislabeled. The phylogenics are
outdated and much of the information is just wrong! The rudicollis
count: No pictures (one Dumeril's mislabeled as a rudicollis), 4
paragraphs of info. nearly all on physiological description. Lists max
size as 1 meter!?!
Giant Lizards by Robert Sprackland (TFH) is a little outdated but has
lots of good pictures and descent general information geared toward
captive care. The rudicollis count: 3 pictures & 1 drawing, 3 pages on
description, captive care and behavior.
Savannah Monitors by Mike Balsai (AVS) is a must have for anyone with
monitors. It's very cheap (about $7.00) and has alot of very good info.
The rudicollis count: 1 picture & 1 paragraph with a description and
captive requirements. AVS is supposed to be publishing a new monitor
book (I think by Mike Balsai) in the next couple of months that will be
much more comprehensive. I can't wait!
And the best last:
A Little Book of Monitor Lizards by Daniel Bennett. This has
everything. Detailed description of each species and subspecies.
Nearly every species & subspecies are pictured (the pictures are VERY
small but OK quality). This book is anything but little having over 200
pages of text. Daniels writing style is very easy to read and he covers
every aspect of the monitor lizards. He also includes a huge
bibliography. The rudicollis count: 3 pictures & 2 pages of text
covering description, variation throughout range, natural history,
captive requirements and breeding info.
I would recomend the Bennet book if you want information on a specific
type of monitor as well as general info on monitors or DeLisle's book
for info about monitors in general.
If you want info on obtaining any of the books above email me and I'll
send you what info I have.
David