Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Right now I have a BT thats prolly about a foot perhaps a inch or two less long from nose to vent, and the only thing missing in his cage right now (a 6ftx2.5ftx3ft horse trough) is a burrow for him, i have a stepping lbock use usually see in a garden that I put down so he could dig below but it dosnt really work that well.. as far as substrate goes I just have some topsoil with no additives i got from home depot, which now has actually compacted and hardend alot more than when i first got it and until a friend who is rediculously lazy finishes a top for me my soil depth is only about 6 or so inches.. anyways any ideas would be helpfull... im thinking perhaps like a flat board that has dirt on it with a big section dug out below it??

Thanks,
Matt

I have a post below with an Argus peeking out from under a piece of plywood burried in the dirt. You just need to start a little hole for the monitor to see he can dig there. He will create the burrow himself. I have had blackthroats that dug under boards just like my argus does. Now the argus has burrows all over the cage. All I did was did down a couple of inches to get him started where I wanted.
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Ed

There are water dragons, chameleons, frilled dragons, pythons, and monitors in my jungle room.

Hi Matt,

The best way to make a burrow is to let your monitor do it! If it won't dig one then the soil your using is inadequate. You best bet is to play around with different soils until you find something your monitor deems as suitable.

Also, 9 times out of 10 if you dig a burrow for your animal it won't use it. Just something to think about. I've done it in the pass to no avail and had to resort to what i shouldve done to begin with and what im telling you.

The first step in your quest is to find out what type of soil is native to your animals native habitat and try and get as close as possible to it.

I can also tell you from experience that topsoil by itself( in my oppinion) is a poor substrate because its so hard to maintain and keep moist enough on the surface so that it doesnt harden like you mentioned. Although... it can work if you install a good misting system or stay on top of it(i.e. frequent spraying)

Anyway i wish you luck in your quest cause its not an easy one. hahahha

Cheers
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James Grigsby
Newark,Delaware

Animals Kept include:
0.0.1 Varanus Salvator (Gator)
0.1.3 Varanus Exanthematicus (Adisa "long term captive" other 3 "yet to be named hatchlings"
2.0 Ferrets (Chaos & Kasha)
1.0 Cat (George)

I ended up very quickly with an eggbound Sobek because she wouldnt dig in it at all. Ya notice the little flying white bugs in that dirt? The stuff stinks doesnt it? Unless their topsoil is natural real topsoil (usually has rocks in it) Id start digging some field dirt, maybe add a small percentage of sand, and try that next, it sometimes takes a few tries to get them in the right stuff, and 6 inches isnt enough for a burrow for an ackie let alone a large species of monitor.