Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm toying around with some ideas for revamping the enclosure for Halai, my V. timorensis (timor monitor), and I'd like to hear some feedback.
One thing would be possibly having a larger irregularly shaped water dish at one end with a water pump (I've already got a pump) in it, which would pump water to the other end and flow down as a small stream (about 2 or 3" wide and only an inch or two deep). I feel this would be asthetically pleasing, as well as increase humidity.
Another aspect would be a top to a water trough to actually be the enclosure. I was thinking a section of plexiglass and some screening on a frame of 2x4s how much screen might you recommend for ventilation?
I also would like to put in a good rock pile and use some PVC to have a prefab. subterranian hide, as well as plenty of limbs to climb on and cork tubes as arboreal hides, and a couple hides at ground level.
I'd appretiate any feedback or suggestions you might have. Thanks!

To be honest none of that sounds all that useful to the monitor. I set my timors up with a deep layer of oak leaf litter, lots of climbing area, cork bark hides and Retes stacks. I find they burrow more than anything else. I would avoid using screen, just drill a few holes in the plexi for ventilation.

cheers
Steve

I've never heard of using oak leaf litter, where do you get this?
The rocks are based off the description given of Varanus timorensis written by D.R. King and L.A. Smith in Varanoid Lizards of the World (Pianka and King, 2004) that "Most specimens were captured on rocky coastal areas...(Schmutz and Horn, 1986)." The rocks will also work essentially the same as Retes stacks, only with a more natural look.
The subterranean hide would essentially be another ground level hide, the idea for which I got from an article about V. acanthurus in Reptiles magazine (I can't remember which issue at the moment, I can post that if necessary), that I think can easyily be adapted to a useful hide for my V. timorensis.
The stream would essentially serve the same purpose as any other water dish, except I feel it would give a slightly more natural and interesting feature to the enclosure, though it is just an idea, and I'm not positive I'll do it anyway.
As for simply drilling holes in the plexiglass for the top, that seems like it would work fine, and it would help prevent Halai from deciding to climb on the top of the enclosure. How much would you recommend?

You can get oak leaf litter under oak trees I just collect it where I can find it. With the leaf litter you can put cork bark flats on top of it and they can dig under it where ever they want. I am sure you could make a hide and that would work just fine but the bark is very easy and natural looking too. I actually use cotton wood bark now rather than cork bark as I can collect huge pieces of it for free. I would bet you could find similar types of bark depending on where you live. You can use the bark to make a Retes stack instead of plywood for asthetic purposes too. The stream could work, but you are just making more work for yourself. Given timors tendancy to hide all the time making a cage that is nice to look at minus the monitor might not be a bad idea. I was concerned at first that you might have been putting asthetics ahead of the monitor's needs. It sounds like you have done your homework though so if you don't mind the extra work I would say go for it.

Good luck,
Steve

Make sure the oak leaf litter isn't from an area that is sprayed heavily with pesticides. My first tortois was a hingeback. I was a kid and the guy at the pet store said that he would enjoy being outside and eating the grass. Unfortunately, pesticides are sprayed heavily to control the mosquito popultaion here. My tortoise died and I had a necropsy (not the band) done and he had died of pesticide poisoning.

Be ready to replace the pump on a regular basis.
Once all the poo clogs up the line, the pump will overheat and die.
I tried something like that with an argus.
It was real purdy for a day or two.

Scott
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Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup.

If you really want to make a stream(I have made many) then by all means make it. But you may be better off not doing it for monitors but instead some other animal. Like fish and frogs.

Monitors will muck it up on a continual basis. You will spend each day working on getting all the crap out of the stream. Or it will do nothing for the monitor.

You can always build it, then decide what you like better, the stream or the monitor, then get rid of what you like less. No worries either way. Cheers

I don't know much about how the stream will impact the monitor, but I know that if you cover the inlet to the pump with meesh and put a layer of gravel over it, it makes a good filter. However, your pump may not be strong enough to pull water through if you do that.