Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I recently traded in my ball python for a savannah monitor in hopes of more peace of mind with feeding and hopes for a little more entertainment. My snake had a setup in a 20 gal long tank wtih a red infrared heat bulb, under tank heater, two hides (hot and cold) and water dish and some wood branches. when converting to a setup for a monitor, my pet store guy said all i needed extra was a UVB light (and different food of course). I purchased a 18" 7% UVB light and removed all the plastic wrap i had on top of my cage to keep the humidity in for the snake.

I currently have all the branches piled up on one side with the top about 5-6" from the top of the cage where the red infrared light is on full blast. i put a part of a hide under the branches for him to hide in and still get the belly heat from the undertank heater. on the cool side i have the water, food dish and another hide. the UVB light only reaches about 2/3 of the way across the top of the cage, so i have it in the middle of the cool side, next to the heat lamp, which is on the hot side.

Questions, can i use a infrared heat bulb for basking? doesnt it have to be incandecent? and if so, how do i use both, since he doesnt need incandecent light at night, but still needs heat. second, the heat lamp doesnt heat the cold side, since its on the one side of the cage. the cold side is about 70 degrees. hot basking side is 115 at the top and 90-95 at the bottom. i saw some people have the heat lamp int he middle, but i cant since i have a long UVB light taht takes up most of the space. third, is it normal for the monitor to sleep all day? i know he goes out hunting at night and plays in the water. i thought they were active during the day. i have only had him for about 3 days, so it might be getting used to the new place. any help with these issues is greatly appreciated!! also, a diagram of a good setup wtih my components or what i need would be great as well! thanks again

You sound like you have a fine set up, but remove the branches, he doesnt need to be that close to the light, about a foot is sufficient. Your monitor should be eating during the day, not at night, you are dusting them with calcium/mineral dust right?, the crickets I mean of course. He only needs one hide spot, not on the cold or hot side, closer to the middle. In reality the ball python is MUCH easier to care for. I personally have both along with another savannah, a nile, and a boa. While Ill admitt the monitors are vastly superior in the entertainment department, feeding is a whole nother thing. They have to eat EVERYDAY, if were talking about a baby here, you need to feed him as many LARGE crickets as he will eat, preferably at the same time everyday. Make sure they are all dusted, you can get this at any petstore, for substrate use dirt, just plane old topsoil, not potting soil. give him enough to burrow in if he wants, a few inches is good. When he gets larger start him on pinkies or fuzzies, size depending. A good rule of thumb for rodent size is to try and match the size of the monitors head with the rodent. Rodents are a perfect diet, no dusting needed and this is what you should be striving for, get away from the crickets as soon as hes larger. you really dont need alot of stuff in the cage, just the necessities, a hide, a heat light, dirt, water. One thing i would suggest however, is your lighting, get rid of it all. You can buy heat lights with UVB in them, zoo-med makes a great 150 watt that would work perfectly for you, simply put it on one side of the cage and turn it off every night and on every morning, the under cage heater will be enough to keep him warm at night. Remember monitors need a darker cooler period everyday to properly digest their food and stay happy. Hope this helps.....

Thanks for the info! I have attached a picture of the setup. I took some branches out, and have the basking spot at 110 degrees. the belly temp on the hot side from the heat pad is 89 degrees. the hide is currently in the middle of the tank, but not over the heat pad. should it be? the water and food are on the left (cool) side. i will prob get a UVB heat light, and if i dont need heat from a lamp at night i can just have the basking light and the UVB long bulb. does this sound correct? how long until he is comfortable in his new cage?

here is the pic

Looks great, but you need about 3 inches more dirt, it will bring the level closer to the lights, and help keep it fairly moist, but also you dont want that undertank heater too close to your monitor, it is possible to cook him.

Is it necessary to have a UVB light and a UVB/heat bulb? Or can I get rid of the UVB light and just use the UVB/heat bulb? that is assuming the monitor will bask when it needs UVB?

My Sav seems to be very shy, but when you get him out, he is ferocious. He is young (less than a year) and spends time out of his hide, but when I walk by the cage, he always runs away. ALso, when I try to pick him up or touch him, he hisses and trys to bite me. I let him bite to let him know not to do it. Should I be handling him more? or less?

I haven't been here in about a year, Geeze, this side of KS has gotten bad.
Forget everything the pet store guy said.
Do not waste your money on a UV bulb or any other magic bulb.
Ditch the under tank heater.
Buy a 45 to 60 watt halogen flood light and place it on one side over the basking site.
Add about 10 inches of good old dirt.
I hope you know that tank is not going to last long, a few months at the most.
You mention the humidty needed for your snake, your sav needs it too. Around 55%, You can cover the top with tin foil or cut a piece of wood to fit.
Your sav hissing and biting is a good thing, it shows you it is alive and knows how to act like a monitor.
A baby that just sits there and lets you reach in a grab it without any sign of a struggle is a unhealthy lizard.

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

does a halogen flood light produce UVB and heat? will it cover the whole cage with uvb and raise cool side ambient temps? i was on LLLReptile and they had UV heat, UVB heat(but only 100W and 160W), basking lights and so on. If I had to get one light from them and only use one, what would be best for a 20 gal long tank?

I have never used a UV,UVA, or UVB bulb on any monitor.
I use 45 to 60 watt halogen floods, 1 for babies and a bankof 3 for the big fellas.

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