Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hey guys,

i would greatly appreciate a little help here. throughout the years, i have kept a multitude of different monitor species. i have not however, kept any tree monitors. well it looks like i am going to be able to acquire a couple of hatchlings here shortly. i would greatly appreciate a bit of help on how to keep them and other pertinent information. have a few questions for you experienced keepers. can i keep hatchlings in large subadult cages at this age? the cage is 3'x3'x6'tall. from what i understand, they need a basking spot of 130 degrees, and an ambient temp of 80 degrees. am i on the right track? what else should i know about them so that i can get them to thrive? once again, thank you in advance for some help.

What other monitors have you had?
Keep them stimulated and stress free.Provide as much coverage and moist hides as possible.You're on the right track as far as temps go. Just provide different temp gradients so your animals can pick and choose.

Some keepers would say go for it right away,some would rather keep the animal(s) in smaller cages to monitor food intake and such. Go by the animals, hopefully you're getting some animals that arent too bad in shape.With having more then one animal, be prepared for with another cage just incase something doesnt go right.

ive kept: savannahs, black throats, peach throats, white throats, niles, waters, and ackies. while i know its not a huge assortment, but i did keep them for many years. thank you very much for your help.

If you've raised that many species successfully, then you should be aware of what and what not to do with a tree monitor. Though tree monitors tend to be more shy then the species you've kept,going about taking care of them is fairly similar.

Got any pictures?

You should trying hanging on to species instead of constantly trading/selling them. You'll learn a lot.