Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a 2 foot Bt and i realy would like to get another one some time very soon. I have 2 55 gallon tanks and my current black throat should out grow it by the time i get the new one. What i would like to do is connect the two and have an 8 foot long three feet wide and 2 feet high glass cage. It is just an idea and i wanted to know if you think it will be big enough to get away with. if not what size will it last them up until.
Thanx alot.

Okay, I'm just saying what I "think" so please take this into consideration if you're going to take it seriously.

I think you have a serious height consideration to think of. Its like you living in a airvent, but not exactly of course. You should give them enough height so they can move more verticlly. Okay, think about, changing the cage, petting them, decoration, etc. I mean, I don't know what to think anymore so its up to you, I might be totally wrong. I got to go eat, later.

JamesDarec

Im afraid that is not going to work for a pair of blackthroats. These animals have the potential to grow over the 6 foot mark, and most likely will if you provide them with the right resources. Large monitors like blackthroats and waters need more space than what you mentioned. Some people dedicate rooms to them. If you have a basement or if you do not use your garage for vehicles I suggest you think about using that as the new home for your blackthroats. You should try and make the enclosure at least 10 ft long 5 feet wide and 5 feet tall that seems ample enough for them but these could even be minimums. I am not really an african monitor kind of guy, but I have seen larger enclosures in pictures and at fellow herpers houses. Try asking shvar he has an awesome looking monitor thats over 5 foot i think its closer to 6 but he can tell you all about the potentials of these animals. I have argus sand crosses and I am in the process of buildin a 10 foot long enclosure with 5 feet of width and 4 feet of height

am

This is my 2 year old BT/WT cross Sobek at over 6 feet long (thats a 75 inch mattress with her front feet on the pillow and her tail at the bottom edge), I havent measured her in a while but Im guessing 6'1" to 6'2"? Ill try to get a measurement on her later.
The point is how big of a cage will a pair of BTs need? Id consider that both animals when growing will need comfortable requirements at their size, such as not an adult cage right away. The point to consider is they can grow larger than Sobek is, shes only 2 years old and they grow throughout their lives. Consider 7ft 3 in as the record for a male and ranging to 5ft average for a female. As a pair, a cage 10x6x5ft could hold them, but how big does that translate to 5x3x2.5 available per animal. Im gonna make Sobeks next cage 10x6x5ft for herself alone.

But IF there were any logic or math to these things, your space measurements adjustment would be for eight monitors. Not to get too offtopic, but volume/2 would be one dimension divided by 2, not all three dimensions (that is 2^3 larger).

Always make the cage as big as possible, but your assertion that a pair in a 8x3x2 cage is similiar to a single monitor in a 4x3x2 (corrected your math) is not realistic. They will not draw a line and keep to sides, they both will use all available space, as long as their aren't issues with the other lizard. If there are issues, being twice or three or eight times as large may not be enough anyway. The annoying part about monitors is you have to keep a selection of empty cages, ready for monitors that need a break from each other, this is a tough hobby for anyone tight on space.

But I strongly believe a pair (that gets along) has many more options in a 8x3x2 than a single animal in a 4x3x2. The question is, is an 8x3x2 big enough?.... Personally I don't have large monitors because I don't have the space to give them close to what they deserve. I have a hard enough time justifying cramming my smaller monitors in the enclosures I have.

--Robert

"Always make the cage as big as possible, but your assertion that a pair in a 8x3x2 cage is similiar to a single monitor in a 4x3x2 (corrected your math) is not realistic. They will not draw a line and keep to sides, they both will use all available space, as long as their aren't issues with the other lizard."

No they wont draw a line between the 2 sides, but you still have 2 possibly same size animals in the same amount of space, so basking spots, hides, etc etc are relative size, being cut in half is relavent as 2 animals are there not one. Example try this at home, step into your bathroom and stay for a few hours alone, then with another individual the same or similar sized to you, see how comfortable the 2 of you are, even with your wife its difficult let alone for your whole life in that room.

"If there are issues, being twice or three or eight times as large may not be enough anyway"

I completely agree with that, I remember a suggestion to properly keeping a trio of adult Albigs safely but still under good observation for their safety (due to their cannibalistic tendancies) as a cage 40x23x8 meters, but how much room can we provide, if they get along then good but if they dont, any way you do your math 2 cages are needed.

Active foraging Albigs can live safely together as 10 square meters of floor space in a cage. 6.5ft Wide by 16.5ft long to allow a pair.

A single albig in 6.5ft Wide by 8.25ft long is the same?

That is plain crazy talk. The pair has much more options (if they get along, but not a bad thing). They are not variables in a math equation, they are not about statistics and they are not about ratios.

What do I know though, except I actually keep most of my monitors in pairs...

--Robert