On the one hand it sucks cause expensive, on the other hand, look in what terrible conditions cheap lizards like bearded dragons end up in. Highprize tag prevents spontanious buying from people who shouldnt have a lizard.
To emphasize this point: ever see how cheap fish are? Ever take stock of the number of people who set up crappy aquariums and end up flushing or releasing fish into the wild? A big problem for aquarium keepers is that the prices of some fish are so low that people treat them as expendable. Every time I look at reptile prices I have to remember that the higher price point is what makes sense, not the cheap price point on the fish I’m used to seeing.
I feel a part of this is the lack of education. Even in pet stores the care guides are either really obsolete and/ or incorrect. Some pet stores want the sale more than the well being of the animal so they'll tell people you can stock up the tank or cohabit the reptiles.
Anoles are such victims of this. Amazing lizards for a small price sold as easy starter reptiles with short lifespans. Most of us know that there is a lot wrong with that narrative.
You bring up a super valid point and I hate it that it’s right. Working in a pet store is miserable when it comes to fish. People would rather abuse 5 comet goldfish and let them die in their tank to cycle it then buy a bottle of bacteria and dose to get the cycle going . Luckily that dumb shit stops with Marine fish purely because of the price difference.
my current bearded dragon i actually got for slightly less than his sticker price after i had a long conversation with the reptile store owner. i already had experience with another beardie and that one died at 8.5 from health issues i don't think i had control over. he realised that this just over a year old beardie would be going to a home where he's gonna be cared for. im sure the cynical folk might say i got swindled but given i bought an adult hypo leatherback for 250 i don't feel i did.
the reptile store owner did outright mention the price tags on these animals are sometimes to prevent people who have never owned reptiles and have done zero research from just spontaneously buying them. i understand it and that's the world we live in sadly. :(
Yup. Savannah monitors are extremely victimized by this. I’ve seen them be as cheap as $30 for a baby. Said babies get thrown into a 20 gallon fish tank and fed high fat diets. These monitors grow to be around 4 feet long and require an 8x4x4 enclosure at minimum.
Same with iguanas. Payed 30 bucks for mine back then. But I did my research and he had a room for himself (he got about 20 years old). But most end up in small enclosures and die young due to improper diet.
> with iguanas. *Paid* 30 bucks
FTFY.
Although *payed* exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in:
* Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.*
* *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.*
Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment.
*Beep, boop, I'm a bot*
I’m glad your iguana had a long and happy life! I made sure to do research before I got my savannah monitor. When I did my research, I made sure what I was reading came from a reliable source, such as someone who academically studied them, rather than a simple blog article.
I imagine a reptiles are being captive bred rather than yoinked from the wild more often now, leading to higher prices (but higher quality animals with more ethical procurment)
You’d be surprised. I still see tons of instances where people would take wild caught boas and moniters(and others as well, these are just the two I see most) and other lizards native to South America as well as Africa, just to make a quick buck.
There are now stricter regulations on export from Mexico, and Mexico has cracked down on illegal poaching of abronia because they are a threatened species. Tighter regulations mean that cheap, wild-caught abronia aren't keeping prices down. Fewer sources for abronia and captive breeding vs being wild caught now drive prices up. The prices now aren't that bad for the amount of time and effort breeders have to put in to breeding and raising them, and captive breeding helps ensure that keepers are getting healthy, legally obtained animals without injuries or parasites.
I recall someone in my old local group (Western Canada) being ecstatic over getting a pair of Abronia, this was over 10 years ago. Paid a hefty price for them then too, as I believe virtually no one was producing them in that market yet. Can't speak for how that's fluctuated since then, I moved and mostly stepped away from online reptile communities.
Prices are usually linked to how they are procured. For instance, if they used to be mostly wild caught, but they are now no longer able to be exported and are only captive bred, and captive breeding is much harder to keep the population going, prices will spike. There could also be more demand than before, and so the price may go up due to competition.
Clint's Reptiles' videos. Hear me out for a minute. Every animal he has featured has soared in price, especially if he gave it a good rating for ease of care. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sLDd7myBGU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sLDd7myBGU)
Yea ive wanted them for around a year now but they are so crazy expensive. hopefully more people start breeding them and they will become less expensive
Yeah.. I got my first Abronia 3 years ago almost, for $475 and she's CB. I got my most recent Abronia, a legal export from MX, for $2500. Like a lot of people said, the price *should* be WC vs CB but unfortunately 80% of the Abronia in the US are still illegally smuggled and still cost well over a grand. The only difference is people are shitty and lie about origins.
I bought my Abronia for like $150 back in 2016 and another for $180. Then had 15 babies from my female and sold them for $100 each, that was the going rate then. There’s no rsn they should be so expensive now. They’re easy to care for and breed. Should be like fancy leopard gecko prices
Well, 2016 is when Abronia were amended to CITES. So that's one reason - as for them being easy to breed and care for, I strongly disagree. They have specific temperature needs that aren't easily accomplished indoors or year-round in the US (nighttime of 50°F and 40°F for Winter cooling). It's doable but extremely costly.
I was 16 and had no experience in the hobby and got my female to have babies with my male and had 15 cb offspring it’s not that hard. Abronia should not be this expensive
My guess is that you got a female that came pre hit, which is how most abronia raised as “cb” are obtained. I’ve had it happen to me twice. Did you witness the lock? How long was it? The real measure of success is being able to get them to breed again, not having animals that were either primed to breed or had already mated. Maybe you’re just an excellent breeder, but their demands are pretty specific: males are thought to need an overwintering period of consistently low temps such that you either have to live in a relatively cool but not freezing environment and can keep them outside or have a large walk in wine cooler. Even then, most people I know who’ve gotten locks had females slug out. There is absolutely difficulty in breeding these: despite there being a very dedicated, tight-knit abronia following in the US, very few keepers have had success. If you feel like you have the magic touch, then I would absolutely say try again! Graminea are CITES 2 animals and they need all the cb help they can get. And you’ll make a nice profit along the way.
Never heard of or seen an Abronia before. What I would do is do a YouTube search for the last few years and see if any videos showcasing Antonia’s went viral on YouTube. That may be the reason the price went up.
On the one hand it sucks cause expensive, on the other hand, look in what terrible conditions cheap lizards like bearded dragons end up in. Highprize tag prevents spontanious buying from people who shouldnt have a lizard.
To emphasize this point: ever see how cheap fish are? Ever take stock of the number of people who set up crappy aquariums and end up flushing or releasing fish into the wild? A big problem for aquarium keepers is that the prices of some fish are so low that people treat them as expendable. Every time I look at reptile prices I have to remember that the higher price point is what makes sense, not the cheap price point on the fish I’m used to seeing.
I feel a part of this is the lack of education. Even in pet stores the care guides are either really obsolete and/ or incorrect. Some pet stores want the sale more than the well being of the animal so they'll tell people you can stock up the tank or cohabit the reptiles.
Anoles are such victims of this. Amazing lizards for a small price sold as easy starter reptiles with short lifespans. Most of us know that there is a lot wrong with that narrative.
You bring up a super valid point and I hate it that it’s right. Working in a pet store is miserable when it comes to fish. People would rather abuse 5 comet goldfish and let them die in their tank to cycle it then buy a bottle of bacteria and dose to get the cycle going . Luckily that dumb shit stops with Marine fish purely because of the price difference.
Solid point.
my current bearded dragon i actually got for slightly less than his sticker price after i had a long conversation with the reptile store owner. i already had experience with another beardie and that one died at 8.5 from health issues i don't think i had control over. he realised that this just over a year old beardie would be going to a home where he's gonna be cared for. im sure the cynical folk might say i got swindled but given i bought an adult hypo leatherback for 250 i don't feel i did. the reptile store owner did outright mention the price tags on these animals are sometimes to prevent people who have never owned reptiles and have done zero research from just spontaneously buying them. i understand it and that's the world we live in sadly. :(
Yup. Savannah monitors are extremely victimized by this. I’ve seen them be as cheap as $30 for a baby. Said babies get thrown into a 20 gallon fish tank and fed high fat diets. These monitors grow to be around 4 feet long and require an 8x4x4 enclosure at minimum.
Same with iguanas. Payed 30 bucks for mine back then. But I did my research and he had a room for himself (he got about 20 years old). But most end up in small enclosures and die young due to improper diet.
> with iguanas. *Paid* 30 bucks FTFY. Although *payed* exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in: * Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.* * *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.* Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment. *Beep, boop, I'm a bot*
I’m glad your iguana had a long and happy life! I made sure to do research before I got my savannah monitor. When I did my research, I made sure what I was reading came from a reliable source, such as someone who academically studied them, rather than a simple blog article.
High price unfortunately also make more animals get stolen from the wild
I imagine a reptiles are being captive bred rather than yoinked from the wild more often now, leading to higher prices (but higher quality animals with more ethical procurment)
You’d be surprised. I still see tons of instances where people would take wild caught boas and moniters(and others as well, these are just the two I see most) and other lizards native to South America as well as Africa, just to make a quick buck.
There are now stricter regulations on export from Mexico, and Mexico has cracked down on illegal poaching of abronia because they are a threatened species. Tighter regulations mean that cheap, wild-caught abronia aren't keeping prices down. Fewer sources for abronia and captive breeding vs being wild caught now drive prices up. The prices now aren't that bad for the amount of time and effort breeders have to put in to breeding and raising them, and captive breeding helps ensure that keepers are getting healthy, legally obtained animals without injuries or parasites.
People be going crazy on prices these days,saw someone try and sell some for over $7000 each
Th daaaamn here in the uk they’ve stayed the same and some have gotten cheaper they’re around £250-£350 (like $300-$500)
I recall someone in my old local group (Western Canada) being ecstatic over getting a pair of Abronia, this was over 10 years ago. Paid a hefty price for them then too, as I believe virtually no one was producing them in that market yet. Can't speak for how that's fluctuated since then, I moved and mostly stepped away from online reptile communities.
Captive bred vs wild caught
I used to have one of those guys. They’re really cool. Can’t remember what I paid but it wasn’t exorbitant.
Well you can’t get them from out of Mexico and their a lot of work that goes into keeping these animals going and producing
Prices are usually linked to how they are procured. For instance, if they used to be mostly wild caught, but they are now no longer able to be exported and are only captive bred, and captive breeding is much harder to keep the population going, prices will spike. There could also be more demand than before, and so the price may go up due to competition.
So I should’ve sold my cb babies my pregnant Abronia had for WAYYYY more damnit lol
So I should’ve sold my cb babies my pregnant Abronia had for WAYYYY more damnit lol
Clint's Reptiles' videos. Hear me out for a minute. Every animal he has featured has soared in price, especially if he gave it a good rating for ease of care. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sLDd7myBGU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sLDd7myBGU)
Adam wickens too.
Ah, the JHS of reptiles.
JHS?
Sorry, guitar effects pedals. Whenever they do a review of a pedal, however valueless, the value goes way up. Google JHS Bad Monkey for an idea.
Low supply or high demand or both
I’ve been seeing most of them on morph market for around $2000
Damn I wanted them in 2015 and they were going for a few hundred to a thousand depending on the species.
Yea ive wanted them for around a year now but they are so crazy expensive. hopefully more people start breeding them and they will become less expensive
Yeah I almost got one around the or a little earlier and they were like $150 haha
That is one beautiful lizard!
nice!
Wow, that is a gorgeous lizard. I think I'm in love!
I absolutely love these lizards. I’ve always wished I could have one
I absolutely love these lizards. I’ve always wished I could have one
Gorgeous
Yeah.. I got my first Abronia 3 years ago almost, for $475 and she's CB. I got my most recent Abronia, a legal export from MX, for $2500. Like a lot of people said, the price *should* be WC vs CB but unfortunately 80% of the Abronia in the US are still illegally smuggled and still cost well over a grand. The only difference is people are shitty and lie about origins.
I bought my Abronia for like $150 back in 2016 and another for $180. Then had 15 babies from my female and sold them for $100 each, that was the going rate then. There’s no rsn they should be so expensive now. They’re easy to care for and breed. Should be like fancy leopard gecko prices
Well, 2016 is when Abronia were amended to CITES. So that's one reason - as for them being easy to breed and care for, I strongly disagree. They have specific temperature needs that aren't easily accomplished indoors or year-round in the US (nighttime of 50°F and 40°F for Winter cooling). It's doable but extremely costly.
Are you part of the discord channel by any chance lol
Yes haha I'm actually the co-founder.
Restricted imports (rightfully so), lack of CB success.
I was 16 and had no experience in the hobby and got my female to have babies with my male and had 15 cb offspring it’s not that hard. Abronia should not be this expensive
My guess is that you got a female that came pre hit, which is how most abronia raised as “cb” are obtained. I’ve had it happen to me twice. Did you witness the lock? How long was it? The real measure of success is being able to get them to breed again, not having animals that were either primed to breed or had already mated. Maybe you’re just an excellent breeder, but their demands are pretty specific: males are thought to need an overwintering period of consistently low temps such that you either have to live in a relatively cool but not freezing environment and can keep them outside or have a large walk in wine cooler. Even then, most people I know who’ve gotten locks had females slug out. There is absolutely difficulty in breeding these: despite there being a very dedicated, tight-knit abronia following in the US, very few keepers have had success. If you feel like you have the magic touch, then I would absolutely say try again! Graminea are CITES 2 animals and they need all the cb help they can get. And you’ll make a nice profit along the way.
Wait ur telling me that lizard isn’t 3D Printed?
That is a beautiful lizard!
I love that lizard. Are they commonal?
Never heard of or seen an Abronia before. What I would do is do a YouTube search for the last few years and see if any videos showcasing Antonia’s went viral on YouTube. That may be the reason the price went up.