I'm new! Hi! I was recommended this site so I'm here for advice. So I bought my boyfriend a sav monitor because he had been wanting one for a very long time. I saw an opportunity and took it. I figured I could get him a tiny one so I can teach him how to raise a healthy monitor and tame him without being overwhelmed off the bat with a huge lizard.

Now I do have lots of reptile experience. Had iguanas and tortoises in the past and currently own 2 basic corn snakes and a beautiful panther chameleon. If you can raise a healthy panther chameleon you can pretty much conquer the world I swear.

On a humbling note: I have no monitor experience. I did my research ahead of time and have no problem raising the monitor myself if he gets over it.

When I got him (on CL) he came with a tiny 10 gallon tank (free) and was living on a paper towel with 3 crickets. YIKES! so pretty much, any new habitat will be better than this.

Currently he is living in the dinky 10 gallon with this reptile litter on the bottom and on one side and this mulch that came in a brick form (its 3 inches deep). It's supposed to hold in a little humidity so it's not super dry. I got him a 75 watt (which was too hot for this tank so I gave him my snakes 60 watt) and the cut out log. Also have calcium so I can dust the crickets and I know how to gutload.

I put the heat lamp on the water side(yes not supposed to really) but the log was so close to the heat lamp that it was making it over 100 on the basking spot.

my question is what else should I add on there? Is this an ok temporary situation? I think he is pretty happy, he enjoyed swimming and ate his crickets. Even dug a burrow. Also he is around 6 inches. Pretty tiny. Is he too small to eat some frozen pinkies? I am prepared for him to get huge but what should I expect with growth?


Thank you SO much for reading my novel. Tips would be amazing.

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