Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hello everyone,

i tried doing searches on the internet for the roughnecks... but couldent find any good information so i decided to come here and ask, so if anyone could possibly answer these questions or link me to a few sites that would be very greatfull

-since the roughnecks are so arboreal, do they need a deep substrate to burrow in?? or will they do there sleeping and all in the "tree" thing i would put in his/her cage,

-how large of a cage do they need?? i was thinking of something along the lines of 7.5'x4'x6' (LxWxH) any suggestions??

should be all for now

thanks alot

V. rudicollis have been found as high as 20 meters in trees, and also seen foraging on ground, like V. beccarii do, riffling thrugh leaf matter for insects/grubs. A dirt substrate is good for them to forage through, and add king mealworms and other insects periodically for them to search through it and give them enrichment from merely sitting all day. A high cage place high in a room will also give the teraria the image of being loftier than you are, and your animals an angle above you, which makes them feel comfortable, being arboreal animals. Also, V. rudicollis LOVE to swim, so provide ample water basin for them to completely submerge/swim if possible. V. rudicollis are a jack of all trades = good climbers, swimmers, diggers = good varans. There are a few articles on them in: Hartdegan, R. Reptiles, October 1998:68, 70-75; Bayless, M. Bull. Chicago Herp. Soc. 32(12):250-252, 1997; Humphrey, S.R. Endangered Animals of thailand. 1990; Bennett & Liat Malayan Nature Journal 49:113-116, 1995;
good luck,
mbayless

lol a bit of everything... so by swimming... they can actually go underwater?? (fully, head and all) so... about the substrate.... would it be smart to make it deep?? or just leave it pretty shallow so if he pushis the dirt around hell reach the bottom...

and with the water... should it so its like 1/3 water on the bottom and get a good filter to be going at it al lthe time so i only have to do partial water changes every other day, or keep it about his size and change it manuly daily

Hi
My two males like to go underneath the water and 'sleep' for an hour at a time. (This pic is of War and Ana, my pair) What I really think he is doing, is 'hiding'. When I used to go into the bathroom, War would see me, and silently sink to the bottom of the tub and stay motionless. The other male, Blade, is a real waterdog. He goes to the bottom, or sleeps at the surface, with his nose out of the water. While the other two will jump out after a bit and paw at the door, (I feed them after a bath), Blade never leaves the tub. I have to pull him out. These three vary in their response to water. You'll have to watch yours. FYI, excessive soaking could also be a sign of dehydration. But in my opinion, rudis are very aquatic. They NEED water available!
My pair liked the dirt when I first gave them some. Since I added leaves, they haven't slept in their burrow. I am still experimenting to see what substrates they like.

My advice is to provide it all!! And see what your monitor prefers. An area of deep dirt, an area of deep leaves, and a water pan big enough for the body to fit in. See, they may crap in it all the time, (two of mine will, the other never has), making a deep water container a pain in the arse. Everytime they crap, you'll have to clean it, or they'll get sick from dirty water.
I have changed my mind about giving a real deep pool in the next cage. That is way too much work, they can have a smaller rubbermaid for cooling off in the cage, and have the bathtub for their soaks. The bathtub is soooo much easier to drain, fill, and disinfect. Hey, my male is HUGE, do you have any idea of how big a pool he needs to actually swim? Anything less than human bathtub sized, and you're just kidding yourself.

If you have a juvvie, give as big a container in the cage as you can. In my experience, they dive in and out like its some sort of game. Fun to watch. D.