Reptile & Amphibian Forums

So aparently what I have been reading on the internet is pretty much garbage, not surprisingly. I have kept chameleons, pythons, boas, reef aquariums and tarantulas before so with the right info I can make the right enviorment. I have been mislead though by the infamous internet and I regret not seeing the monitor forums on ks cause it would have helped me greatly because I see most of you know monitors well.
I have recently bought a v.doreanus, seemingly a difficult species to care for in captivity. I read they weren't a difficult species to keep and they are stunning animals but now I see this isn't true at all. Now I am asking for advice as I am concerened in learning as much as possible on the species for the well being of my animal.
I have had it for a week now and it amazes me how smart these animals are. Mine is about 12 inches long, tail and all. He is gorgeous and very curious. I would hate to lose him because of my ignorance therefore I am asking you all for al the advice you can give me. I will really appreciate it, thank you.

They "can be" tough captives and flighty, but not all of them are. Starting with a 12" juvenile was smart vs starting with a 28" wild-collected adult who will never take to captivity well.

If you want tips on how to make them thrive, show your set-up and include temperatures and type of enclosure (e.g. fishtank, vision cage, home-made wooden box). Attaching photos is better than verbally describing what you're doing. They like a lot of hiding areas, humid warm air, fairly hot basking areas that temp gun 120*F and 110*F with a thermometer minimum, but you can burn their backs with a single stinky hot tight beam of light from a bulb. There's a lot to cover, so show us how you have him and we'll give constructive criticism.

For now he is in a 20 gallon aquarium because I had a mishap with the 55 gallo he I supose to be in so until I get the 55 gallon he will be in the 20, reptibark for substrate, a regular rock hide a hollow tree stump and a tunnel I made underneath his water bowl for hides and heuses them all. Uvb bulb for tropical animals and a 75 watt light where his basking temp I around 125 degrees. Humidity is a bit low in the 50s but with spikes when I spray to about 75 percent. Ambient temps are 85 and when the lights go out the temp drops to about 75. This is the only pic I have as of now I am at work but I will try and get more if needed later tonight.

From the picture you will have two issues. First, the basking area is just a stick that the lizard has to balance to get on and heat up and it's very, very unlikely to be reaching 120*F. Secondly it's a screen-top tank that you will need to wet down 3 times per day where if you used a solid topped cage with front opening doors, it'd remain humid in there for days. You also use less bulb wattage to get up to good temperatures if you put the light inside the cage and solid top the enclosure. Being a 20 gallon is small also to get a good heat gradient, so repair your 55 mishap and get the light inside a near-sealed top.

Okay, so when I make my 55 I'll put a light inside for him and I'll make an acrylic lid and drill holes to get some circulation. And I can finally get the dried branches I have to climb on. Thanks for the help.

I kept a blue tailed monitor (v. doreanus) for over 10 years. I hope that you are prepared for its adult size. That 55 gal will not last for long at all. They thoroughly enjoy digging and should have at least a foot of burrowing material. A long cage will be fully utilized.

Hi, you`ve had some good advise, I`d just like to add; if you`re going to use an all glass fish tank (not the best thing in my opinion), it will help if you cover the back and sides with thin plywood or similar (just use tape to secure it around the outside of the tank), that will help stabilise the temps, as well as give the monitor some "privacy", and when you put the heat lamp in, place it at one end of the tank, that way you`ll have a warm and cool side, which is also important, and don`t make too many holes in the solid lid, as you`ll lose humidity, just a few will suffice or air exchange. Provide plenty of hiding places, too.
No handling for the time being, you might think the monitor is "tame" just now, but once the temps and other conditions are good, I think he/she will be quite "shy", and they MUST have time to fully acclimate to the enclosure. Good luck!

How quickly will I have to take him out of the 55 gallon? I'm planning on covering the background in cork bark for no wasted climbing space.

Monitors can grow scary-fast if given proper caging, heat and diet. The lizard could outgrow a 55 gallon enclosure in a couple/few months.

personally i love varanus melinus,people say there are finnicky and almost jittery, but mine is so chill, loves to eat, and to me is easy to take care of, cant wait to get mine a girlfriend XD

Hello, thank you for requesting help. Hopefully the forums can provide you with some good advice. I don't have any experience with this particular species, but some things are true for all monitors.

First, with your enclosure, you might want to look into building a custom enclosure instead of using a fifty-five gallon aquarium. With their thin glass sides, they aren't very well insulated and you'll wind up losing heat. You want your enclosure to retain both heat and humidity. Proper housing will not require misting often.

I believe that these monitors can be very sensitive, so you'll want to make immediate changes to improve conditions for your monitor as soon as possible. Then you can look into building an appropriate long term enclosure.

First, very carefully remove your monitor from the aquarium and place him in a safe holding container. Then, dump everything in your enclosure. At any big box store, you can purchase top soil (not potting soil) for under US$2. Buy some, then dump it in a mixing container. Depending on the quality of the top soil in your area, you'll probably have to add either peat, sand, or both. Water the mixture so that it is moist, but not wet. The consistency you're looking for is what will be able to hold a burrow. If you grab a handful, squeeze, and open your hand, it should retain its shape. Then if you poke it, it should fall apart somewhat easily. Add enough mixture to the enclosure that it is almost half-full. Pack it down lightly. The moist substrate will provide a lot of humidity to the enclosure.

Add lots of hiding areas all over the enclosure. Your small monitor is a prey animal, as such, he will want to hide. Don't use any heavy cage furniture in precarious positions. Consider that things fall, and if they do, you don't want your monitor to get hurt. I like using cork bark because it's so light. You can also add a layer of leaf litter to the top, it will help the substrate keep its moisture and your monitor can hide in it.

Ditch the thin twigs you're using and use something that your monitor can comfortably perch on. A wide piece of cork bark at an angle leading to your basking light will work well. Also, the plastic plants probably don't do anything for your monitor, so you can probably ditch them, too. Add your water basin.

Now, I assume you have access to some power tools and are a least a little handy. Take a piece of plywood, longer and wider than your tank by a few inches each. Place your tank on top, then with a pencil, draw the outline of your tank on the plywood. Then remove your tank and grab your heat lamp. Place that toward the end within your tank outline and then outline your lamp. Drill some holes big enough to get a jig saw into it, then cut the circle out of the plywood. Your lamp should just barely fit through. Take some chicken wire, cut it to a size slightly larger than your hole, staple it in. Now place your piece of plywood on top of the tank with the chicken wire side down. Take your light, use a smaller wattage bulb (40-50), sit it in your hole and bam, you have a very temporary but much better than nothing enclosure. It should take you all of a few bucks and a few hours and your monitor will be much better for it in the time that it takes you to build his permanent enclosure.

Quit all unnecessary handling, feed your monitor daily, and watch him grow. Good luck.

I take that back about the chicken wire, your monitor will be able to climb on it and could potentially get burned if he stays there too long. Instead, just tack some nails around the inside lip of the lamp hole to sit the light on.

I'm gonna give that a shot and I might even try and make my own enclosure if i can buy a sheet of glass for the front panel for cheap enough and go bigger than the 55 gallon tank. Thanks for the advice from all of you. I really appreciate it and I'm sure my monitor will too.

Check your local craigslist's free section. I got table top glass for free and cut it to size. Good luck!

Hello
Peat should be avoided, when moist it's highly acidic, when dry it gets real dusty.

This dust when inhaled becomes again highly acidic and thus irritating to the vascular system.

A good mix that has worked for me over the years has been sandy soil mixed with FINE mulch and or sphagnum moss.

Mike

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Mike's Monitors!

Thats a really cool picture. Last night I was thinking about how to make the enclosure and it got me thinking if the bottom is wood its goin to hve to be lined by something wouldn't it? Because the moisture and high humidity inside would cause it to mold rather quickly. is he anything you guys use for this problem?

Thanks, that paticular enclosure is a "topped" stock tank (horse trough).

These are stock tanks not "topped".
Mike

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Mike's Monitors!

Thats cool. I need to figure out what to line this wood with. I wish I could find a tray the size I want to make the enclosure and like 2 feet deep. I need to find our how much acrylic is.

I wish I could delete that dumb double post. But anyway I'll look into that. i think I might know where to get what you are talking about. I was thinking of making the front glass like a door I can slide up and pull out the tray I'm planning on making to clean out the dirt every once in a while.

Check out the FAQ at our site, link below. There are a number of trough "treatment" pics, including Mike's setups.

We have also welded up a custom "pan" of galvanized metal for the base of other cages. That has held soil for years without erosion problems.
Pro Exotics FAQ on monitor troughs- Pics

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robyn@proexotics.com

ShipYourReptiles.com
Pro Exotics Reptiles

The enclosure I just built to house two savannah monitors is framed with 2'x4's, lined with 1/2" plywood, and then lined again with fiberglass reinforced panels, or FRP, then siliconed around the seams. You can find FRP in the bathroom section of big box home improvement stores. I'll look for my camera charger so I can finally take pictures.

There is a lot to go over and I did my best to go over the existing post but heres what I have to say from my experience from my 2.

Firts as soon as you can replace that screen top. The air cirulation can deydrate and kill your monitor faster than anything else. As stated plywood or acrylic will get the job done. Very few small holes needed for air exchange.

Second more heat. You want a hot spot of atleast 120 for him maybe even higher. What wattage bulb are you using? What is the temp below the light on the ground? A branch above the soil below the heat light will give him a small amount of temp gradient. Shoot for a little wider than his body so he can comfotably bask on it. That way he can have a hot spot and warm spot as well as the cool side away from the light.

More dirt atleast on one side for now. This will allow him a place to go if he needs more humidty and cooler temps. They like to burrow and this gives you a margin of error if your cage is to hot or not humid enough.

A soaking pool for this species as well. Again if your humidity is too low it can retrete into that. They ofen just walk though it.. LOL.

That will at least get you started and moving in the right directions with the right concepts.

From there lets move on to the new cage. It needs to be big. My pair is in a 7' tall x 7' wide' and 3' deep. A single feamle could get away with a little smaller, a single male will need larger as my pair will before to long. You often need to line these cages as you asked about due to humidity. Not only the bottom but the sides as and top as well. There are a few ways to achive that.

It will outgrow even the 55 gal in less than 3 months if fed and heated well. They Like a tall cage so they can clinb especially as babies and juvies. Even as adults mine use every bit the cage. A humididier can help a lot to keep the humidity high enough for them. But with very little vents humidity can be mannaged with sparying and a deep soil base. I recommend a 2 foot soil base alone.

Good luck they can be great to work with but are certainly a challanging species.