Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey, Im looking into my new Water Monitor cage and wanted to see what you guys had for your setups. If you got any pix or suggested materials I'd appreciate it. My water monitors still young but I still want to start thinking about his new cage right now hes in a 4ft tank which will suit him for a while yet just want to be ready when he is bigger. I posted a pic of what hes in now, but now I have a different substrate, one thats really good at holding moisture and was also able to pick up a little mini mister that i plug into the hose that sits in his cage and mists it everyday...
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Guess the image code didnt work... heres the pic.

(and there is a box in there so he can get real close to the heat lamps also... for basking)

worked in preview and not on post... one more try...

hmm, substrate depth seems to be very underrated in monitor husbandry. Perhaps it's because of how pet stores keep theirs.

Several inches of substrate, or better yet, a couple feet worth of substrate serves several purposes. It's a great provider of humidity, it provides the animal something to do such as digging burrows. Its burrows allow the animal to osmoregulate and thermoregulate himself. Water monitors live in areas of high humidity so all this is very important.

You're going to need a massive cage in very little time so long as your husbandry is right. They grow fast, and you've decided to get the 2nd biggest lizard in the world for your pet. Hopefully you have experience with monitors and you'll be able to provide for its needs instead of getting it for the sake of the "cool factor." I hope you have room for a bedroom sized cage, and that's no exaggeration.

Yes I know how big they get and what it entails, I have a spare bedroom for him but right now I want him around me at all times so he stays in the living room and he can see me whenever Im home so he gets used to me. I just want to see what people used for building their cages and how they have them setup. I want something easy to clean and that will let me use water freely without getting mold etc I was thinking some kind of plastic but just want to check out different fixtures.

So far I like this one the best...

It's too small, and with the high humidity requirements of these animals, it will rot from the inside out as there is nothing covering the inside walls. There is no room for deep substrate and water changing will be a pain in the rear without a drain. If the only access is from the ends, daily maintenance, such as cleaning, will be troublesome as well.

Whoever designed that cage was most likely stoned, and or had little experience with large water loving monitors. To put it plainly, that cage sucks.

i was thinking of putting something over the wood like some kind of plastic and making some kind of waterfall pump going into the tub. I just liked the size really.

I just noticed, it looks to have a screen top. Up, up, and away goes all that prescious humidity.

http://www.repticzone.com/forums/Monitors/messages/1272637.html
Maybe this is what you are after.
"How to Cages"

Wow thats a really great link thanks alot! I have been searching the internet for days and havent found anything that was even close to the size I would need and I was trying to find a good base to work with. That site is perfect for building something for him. Thanks again!

n/p

those cages posted in this thread stink for many reasons...Sidbarvin's cages are what you should be striving for, especially with high humidity water loving species. my custom salvator cage houses my old female sulfur. theres a 40 gallon pond for soaking, a high basking temp area and oak leaves and sand mix to 18 " in some places. logs add to the useable height of the cage. The pond is elevated to keep substrate from being dragged inside. The pond is plumb to pvc ball valve and is refilled via hose. The lizard also has access to dark areas under the pond and this adds to surface area that the lizard can use.

Regards

John

cybersalvator.com

id think more in the direction of cement and metal and not wood. and room sized say 10 x 10 mininum.