Reptile & Amphibian Forums

New pics...

Very nice picture SHvar.

Out of curiousity, what's the dimensions of Sobek's enclosure?

I will build a 10x6x5 in the future but no room what so ever now..

You mention a height of 5 feet...

Since I have only been able to find plywood in widths of 5' as special order and costing a pretty penny, do you plan on going this route or piecing different cuts together?

We're starting to get the wood prepared for the cage, my first goal was 10x5x4... Now it's 10x4x4.. Also, do you paint the inside of your enclosures or do you use another form of covering for them to keep them waterproofed?

The size will be 6ft high 5 ft wide and 10 ft long. Ill piece and seal it together and line it with frp from the bottom to a 3 ft mark at the sides. I want vertical climbing space since she enjoys climbing the grape vine and apple tree so much.

You build this "huge" 8'x 4' enclosure, put your beastie in it, he loves it for a coupe days cause its all new to him, but pretty soon you realized how small that area really is. My bt looks depressed all the time -until I take him out. Then hes ALL over the place! Totally on the move, looking for something else to climb on or get into. Hes a sweet heart though. He doesnt seem ill adapted to captivity, just bored with his confines. Maybe this is also a male type behaviour though. You know, always in search of territory to claim. Seems males of all species share this behaviour. (joking...well sort of)

Michelle

If a monitor does what you discribed, its because it has not claimed that cage as its home. Its your job to allow it to do that. Monitors always have homes, both in nature and in captivity, these homes are cracks, crevices, burrows, hollow trees and limbs, etc.. They always return to these. They are the monitors safty zone, temperature control, humidity control. Their home. Many monitor books refer to a home burrow. They may have many burrows, but one or two are the home burrows. These homes in nature are oftened switched by the season, for instance, in the spring they face the rising sun and in the fall, they face the setting sun.

When givin something they accept, they will indeed act very much the opposite. My monitors, freak out, when they are not in there cages. Their cages include their homes. In fact, in most cases, if my monitors escape, they return to their homes
(unless freaked out by something)

The actual size of the cage is not as important as whats included in the cage. A cage must include what that individual monitor calls home or it will never be happy, content, secure, whatever you want to call it. F

that his discontent could in part(or whole perhaps), of him just not getting what he wants out of the set up I am providing. I wish he could just tell me! I know, he IS telling me...I just dont speak monitor yet.