Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey, I am financially fit and responsible I'm looking to keep this animal for the rest of its life9long time) But I have an 8x4x4 enclosure I was wondering if i would stand it up right( so it would be 8 foot tall 4 foot deep 4 foot wide) an but a large tree in there or plent yof climbing limbs all the way to the top an kept a hot spot at around 80 -90 degrees if that would be exceptional for the animal. As far as experienced keepers go with this animal are they fed normally every day on mice an rats or every other day? let me know and any additonal information would be greatly appreciated! I have pictures of the cage for experienced monitor keeper( who has success) my email is hatchet188s@msn.com

steven

just out of curiousity, have you delt with monitos before, I only ask because some of the questions you ask seem unexperienced or maybe that is how I saw them. If you are a novice then you may not want to jump straight into a crocodile monitor. Not saying you can't handle it but some people who get them quickly relize they are in over their heads. When a bite sends you to the hospital it just seems to take the fun out even for experienced monitor owners. Your cage would work for a younger croc monitor but you will find yourself having to make it a little larger such as 8x8x8 then maybe 12L x 10w x 8H. I got a cb baby croc monitor less then two years ago and started out with a 4x4x4 cage, six months later 7x5x7, todays cage is 12x10x8 in less then two years starting with a month old monitor (just reference for how quickly they can grow). As for feeding just look at your monitor, you can tell by its shape (gut size) when it needs to be feed. It is hard to give a schedule for feeding due to every monitor is different, some are more active, some grow faster then others, size, age, prey type,proper caging etc (losts of factors involved). As for your tree idea it most likely will not work, you would need a large tree to support a monitor, logs and shelves are a better approach. just my two cents

Not even close. Please make an effort to learn before making a post like this one.

Hey, I have raised African Monitors for awhile! I want to venture into this monitor and have the time an patience to raise the animal. I am curently(off for the summer) gettimg my degree in biolgy and herpetology as i'm 19 years old. I was just asking if the cage dimensions I gave would work as thats what i'm going to use for the time being. I know how fast monitors can grow as my b/t went from an 18inch juvie to a 5 footer in a years time. I am responsible and been keeping reptiles since I was a kid. Its my dream to become a Field Herpetologist. I read these forums all the time(rarely post though. I would give the animal the respect it deserves but I understand mistakes happen and i'm sure its happen to alot of us. But thats why I came here to ask these questions there not dumb questions but questions to help better my care for the animal. Thanks
steve

I think that the point is that if you have to ask if a croc will fit in an 8 X 4 you aren't experienced or ready for one. My little gentle generic savs (hey, they are african....hmmm) live in an 8 X 4 and it isn't enough for them in my opinion.
At 19yo and going to college I doubt you have a room that your folks will spare for your croc. Maybe you have parents that will, but I wouldn't bet that way.
My advice would be to save up and wait til you have a place to put one. Renting or college living isn't gonna cut it.
-----
Sonya

I'm not mean. You're just a sissy.
Happy Bunny

The choice will be up to you. All I know is that when I came from Albigs and savs to croc monitors I was not ready the first time around. Infact I ended up with a little scar from a quick bite and spent the rest of that day stitching myself up with fishing line. I mess with large constictors on top of my lizard experience. My main worry is for the safety of the animal. I just don't like to see reports of people being attacked, bite, etc because it brings down the whole herp community. I can provide you with pics of inside and outside cage settups to help you get a better feel for what works
Dustin

This is suppose to be a place of help, not to bash! I feel I am very responsible enough to care for a croc an LEARN FROM THE ANIMAL. I have large constrictors to, I love retics and have some cool ball pythons( plan on getting more at this years chicago NARBC) My parents love reptile like I do even though my passion stronger than there's they support me. The reason I ask these question's is I seen some croc cages an they werent the biggest, hence why I asked how would a 8x4x4 would do for while! I'm here to leanr from keepers who had success an listen an follow there advice so I too can have success. I love my african monitors I have my blackthroat( dont have any sav's anymore) I have read alot of Jobi's post on here about croc monitors an have done research, just wanted a fellow keeper's advice an opinions. Thanks for the positive's adice gatorhunter an the rest shouldnt realy being posting negative's cause thats not what this forum's about. My email is hatchet188s@msn.com gatorhunter for your pics so i can get ideas from it an i'l send you pics of the enclouse so forth. I also keep freshwater an saltwater stingrays if anyones interested in talking about those neat animals

steve

To answer your question, no that sized cage is horrifyingly too small. Period. Cheers

Thankyou, FR. Thats all I wanted to know. Would you be willing to send my a couple pics of your enclosures for the croc monitors you use to have or still have. I would like to leanr from your experiences- steve hatchet188s@msn.com

My advice would be to not attempt to keep Croc monitors, but instead, something just like them, but smaller. Like Bluetails or peaches or something along those lines. Peachies would BARELY fit in your cage.

For instance, you want to put a monitor that gets 8 ft in a cage thats 4 by 4 by 8 foot tall. That should never ever enter your mind. You need to be much more aware then that to attempt to keep such a species.

Also this stuff about how dangerous or aggressive croc monitors are is a totally naive way to look at them. They are not mean or agressive, THEY ARE SHY. They are afraid of every thing that moves or is different. Shy animals need seclusion. Where are they going to find that in your cage? Not having that is VERY stressful to them and its this that causes them to be dangerous. They do not want to bite. They are full of fear.

Of course this is pretty much the same with most of these types of monitors.

What scares me is, what makes you think you understand these animals? Is there something I am missing? Why do you think you should start at the top, what? are going to work your way down. Why not start at the bottom and work your way up to this species. You know, something common sense, like start with the least difficult and move to the more difficult as you gain experience.

I don't read anything from your posts that tells me your ready or experienced enough to keep Croc monitors. In fact, what I have read is, the exact same as many who rationlize their thinking to keep and monitor they will destroy. Yes, it will not be you thats harmed, it will be the monitor. Another error in your thinking.

My crocs were kept poorly(to small of cages) and I had them in indoor/outdoor setups. The inside is 4ft deep, 8 long 8 high. The outside part is 10 by 10 by 8 feet tall. Yup, too small.

The point thats fuzzie here is, these are not snakes, retic or otherwise. These have legs and use them. They can move across a football field in seconds, a retic would have to take a bus. Try and understand that. Large monitors can move hundreds upon hundreds of yards, on a casual walk, in a few minites.

Cheers

Fair enough FR, my croc monitor is not aggresive. He is actually a pleasure to deal with as long as he gets to do what he wants to do. However his temperment can change from friendly to aggressive fairly quick. Which is like you have said before, you get bite when you trust a "tame" monitor.