Reptile & Amphibian Forums

can any one tell me the cage size for these monitors,also there temperment,and which speices one would recommend. thanks for your time....

Water monitors can grow beyond 9 ft and have been known to exceed 100lbs.

I keep my salvators in a converted spare bedroom. The room is roughly 9ft x 9ft. This is the best picture to date that I have of the room. Mostly you see their dirt box which measures 6x3x3 (approximately). The also have a 6x2x8in water container. All items in the room are elevated to allow them to hide under the items (nice use of space). Labyrinth spends most of his time under the dirt box. Mushu does not hide much. When she does, 9 out of 10 times it is under the board on top of the dirt. Sometimes Labyrinth is in there with her - even when they are not mating.

In this picture they are mating, though that is hard to tell. This is an old picture, taken on July 11, 2003.

Also, as of 2 weeks ago, I have put a film over the window so that at night the neighbors cannot see into the room (it is on the second story, but with iguanas in the room and lights on in the room I did not want neighbors to catch a glimpse of the inhabitants).

Salvators

Mushu is a very laid back and tolerant monitor. I know her behaviors very well. She has been tolerant of children touching her (closely supervised - with my hand near the child's and ready to pull the child's hand away or push Mushu away - never been necessary, but always prepared to do it). She is also tolerant of other people touching her, and has been used in educational/public presentations.

HOWEVER, Labyrinth, her mate, is the polar opposite. I don't trust Labyrinth even when he is cooled. At normal daytime temps, he is more than a challenge to manage. He requires a lot of focus and concentration to manage when he is warmed and alert. If I make a mistake, I will pay for it. He is strong and determined in his efforts to get away and/or defend himself.

In general, salvators tend to fall somewhere in the middle of those attitudes. Salvators tend to be more laid back and tolerant compared to other large monitors (so I have heard, I only have experience with niles and salvators are usually more relaxed compared to them!!). But the lesson here is that there are no set-in-stone rules. You probably will not end up with a Mushu, and you probably will not end up with a Labyrinth (who is worse than any nile I have ever dealt with). So, you must not be disappointed when yours is not a happy go lucky salvator, and you must be prepared when you end up with something like Labyrinth.

Here are two pics...

Mushu could pack a nasty bite if she were so inclined:

And Labyrinth IS inclined to pack a nasty bite!

Salvators

the pics did not show on my screen... so....

one of them is on the website under Labyrinth... say, ahhh...

Mushu's is below

Salvators

thanks for all the info bloodbat,it was very helpful.those are some impressive dragons,i bet you could watch them for hours if not days.thanks agin....