Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I finally desided to get a large monitor and I went whole hog and got a Water. It is a sri lankan animal. A bit on the skinny side but I think will rebound quickly as it has eaten 4 pinkys and 3 dozen crickets in 2 days. Was kinda a hungry little bugger. It is about 13 inches nose to tail right now and has a kinda big tummy but definatly a bit underweight otherwise a great little water. It is in a 10' wide 8' tall and 23' long enclosure which I am hoping will be good for a while. She has 5 differant basking spots ranging from 180 to 130 in temps. The ambient temps range from 68 to 99 depending on exatly how far you are from the heat source, lotsa hides and about 3 feet of dirt on the bottom she has a 100 gallon pond in with her ( I know kinda big for the little one) I put some rock islands and logs in there to help the little one till it gets a bit bigger. Otherwise I basicly have it set up like my timors cage as they both seem to come from similar tropical climes. If any of you have any ideas about things to change or add please let me know. or if you need more info just ask I will be happy to answer I would like to give this little one as happy a home as my timors have.

Shawn

You must be kidding us?
First sri lanka has been closed for export sins I was a teenager. Dealers collecting animals there risk have there hands cut off, trust me I know!

Then a 13 inch monitor in a 23 feet cage with 3 feet of dirt make no sense at all, babies should be raised in smaller cages witch you have control over, then transferred to larger cages.

Who advised you about varanids husbandry?

You asked for opinions, that’s my opinion.

as to locality I am only going by what I was told I could have been lied to and I am ok with that. I am sure it is a water monitor and as to husbandry issues well I just read everything I can about the animal and try to mimic as much as I can. I know it is WAY overkill for the little guy to be in such a HUGE cage but they grow fast and I don't like rebuilding things every 6 monthes to keep the cage the size apprpriate to the curent size of the lizard if it don't want to use all that space it dosen't have to. I just know water at most can get to be 8 feet so I built for the best/worst case (depending on wether you ask me or my wife) I have kept timors very happy in a huge cage for them for a few years now they don't seem to mind at all.

If I remember this one was photographed in sri-lanka? I don remember who took the shot, beautiful image none the less.

I wish you luck with your monitor, you will need more then usual.
Many things could go wrong raising a baby monitor in such a large cage, feeding and all related to comes to mind first.
I prefer having more control, but that’s me.

I believe they have more space than that in the wild and seem to survive. Its the fact that you have plenty of hides that seems most important. You should post picks though because it would make a good game. You know, find the monitor.

sounds to me you have many of the neccessary components of a quality cage. As mentioned already, it may be a bit big, but I think that is much better than being a bit small. I'm a fan of huge cages so long as you can get the right conditions. Post a pic of your cage when you can
cheers

Hello M,
I would say that you have gone right on space(for an adult), just make sure that everything else is right(humidity, etc.). You will also need a good wild food source constantly moving about in a cage that large and one that is reproducing within to support a growing babies appetite and nutritional needs as you will probably rarely see your lizard (try lots of cockroaches(the big Australian kind) and gambuzia or tilapia in the water/pond areas). Make sure that all of your cracks and crevices are sealed tightly(I'm sure that you have already thought of that). Good luck & Best to you- Mike

Thanks for your input mike the humidity I am still trying to get perfect or at least as perfect as my timor cage (which still varies thou on slightly compaired to the bigger cage for the water) right now it is ranging from 80-70 across the width of the cage but it may be that I am gonna see variations in a cage this size. As to not seeing him I have seen him 4 or so times today and he dosn't seem to mind if I do see him. His basking spots are all out in the open and he seems to care more about the heat then if I can see him or not. As to letting roachs breed in the cage I think I may not want to do that( I am not a huge fan of bugs). I figure at most he would be eating stuff like that for 6 months by then he might be a bit large to be interested in bugs. Thou I like the fish idea well when he is a bit bigger. Even my little timors don't like bugs that much they prefer pinkys and fuzzies, and they are full grown and only about 10 inches longer then he is right now. I would guess close to the same wieght as this little one seems to be built heavier then the timors. As to seeing well the differance is night and day I only see the timors at feeding time and sometimes a little bit in the evenings. The water don't seem to mind me seeing it at all.