I am fascinated by Komodo dragons, also known as the Komodo monitor a large species of lizard.
I don't know much about them. Do they make good pets?
You would need a large enclosure as they are unusually large. I would recommend a smaller lizard as a pet.
Are they dangerous, I have small children in the house. Also what do they eat?
No they eat mostly insects and wouldn't bother your kids. The oldest fossils found date to 3.8 million years ago. They existed with the dinosaurs.
Wow that is very interesting. Anything else I should know about Komodo dragons whilst considering one for a pet?
currently found, over the last 900,000 years, "a time marked by major faunal turnovers, extinction of the island's megafauna, and the arrival of early hominids by 880 ka [kiloannums]."
As a result of their size, these lizards dominate the ecosystems in which they live. Komodo dragons hunt and ambush prey including invertebrates, birds, and mammals. It has been claimed that they have a venomous bite; there are two glands in the lower jaw which secrete several toxic proteins. The biological significance of
Komodo dragon
The Komodo dragon ("Varanus komodoensis"), also known as the Komodo monitor, is a species of lizard found in the Indonesian islands of Komodo, Rinca, Flores, and Gili Motang. A member of the monitor lizard family Varanidae, it is the largest living species of lizard, growing to a maximum length of in rare cases and weighing up to approximately .
Its unusually large size has been attributed to island gigantism, since no other carnivorous animals fill the niche on the islands where it lives