Here is what needs to happen.

I was just like you once, in fact not so long ago.. I came on here and posted my monitor, and people tried to tell me I was doing things wrong, I refused to listen, and my monitor eventually died.

I too said "he's healthy" but in fact he was not. He was slowly dying from the inside out, and once he finally looked sick, it was too late to reverse anything, and his death was gruesome ugly.

So here is the first things you really need to address, A tub of dirt to burrow in is no substitute for a ton of soil.

you'll need at least a pickup truck bed's full of dirt for a typical Argus enclosure, that should be an absolute minimum of 8 feet wide, and 4 feet tall, four feet front to back, however, due to the hyper nature of this species, I would honestly recommend 12 to 16 feet wide.

Yo will also want a log or very large tree branch securely bolted - drill 1/4 inch holes, and use galvanised bolts with washers and lock nuts to secure it. The last thing you want is for a large log to fall on your lizard.

There should be a minimum of 2 feet of dirt nearly everywhere inside the cage, so your lizard can chose exactly where it wants to burrow on it's own.

I made "artificial burrows in my cage, and son of a gun if my little monster didn't backfill that and make their own elsewhere.

That tub you have filled with dirt, use that for your water bowl.

An ideal basking spot should be anywhere from 130 degrees to 150 degrees. The best option would be to stack sheets of plywood on 2x4's and create a "basking stack" (See photo below)

Once those conditions are met, please don't expect your Argus to be friendly, because once they heat up to the right temps, it will gladly dismember the family cat and eat it.

Good luck!!

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Regards,
Wayne A. Harvey
Thamnophis US
Savannah Monitors
Snakes and Lizards, It don't get any better....

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