Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i need to know how to make sure my argus monitor stays healthy and i also want to know some creative stuff i can do to make my tank look better.

I suggest starting with the Captive FAQ over at www . varanus . net.

Tank? That'll only last a month for an argus. Just use branches, dirt, rocks, leaves. Use common sense for the materials (nothing poisonous or pesticide laced), and make sure to secure everything so the lizard cannot be crushed underneath anything.

Good Luck and Have Fun,

--Robert

Use a "trough" system, like a large box (8x4). Put in a couple feet of dirt with some boards over part of it and a good temp gradient. Give them a large water bowl in the middle and feed the hell out of it. Do that and you will have a happy Argus.

Robert is right about a month, but he should have said hopefully a month because hopefully you will properly care for the baby and it will outgrow its tank within a month.

andrew

I don't believe I forgot dirt. Yeah that too.

--Robert

hahahahaha, I'm losing it, I shouldn't post before coffee.

--Robert

I think I remember you posting before you got your argus, how's he/she doing? ...and get some coffee lol

Coffee is amazing stuff, cleared out those cobwebs....

I've had my pair for almost two years now, they were hatched by a guy that used to hang out here alot. I do miss his overly dry sense of humor and sarcasm, he wrote some funny posts.

Argus are the energizer bunny of monitors, I've had a number of issues with my female, and she just keeps on going. She just dumped another bad clutch, I've got nesting and male issues to deal with. They are not the best pair, but I think if I spend a little more time and effort, I can make it work for both of them. She is substantially smaller than the male, but can hold her own, he just gets too persistant and annoying to her at times (I think). I'm thinking that he is destroying her nesting opportunities (getting in her way), but I've been misreading when to pull him (I'm always late).

I've also been trying different dirts for them, but things take time, I have a feeling that until the male is not pestering her when she is trying to nest, the exact type of dirt isn't going to matter much. But half the fun is not really knowing and having to actually make it work.

I digress....thanks for asking, it's nice to talk about monitors.

--Robert

It is great to talk about them. My little argus doesn't seem to want to grow up and tell me what he/she is. I think I have caging issues, as the its appitite isn't the "garbage disposal" I keep hearing about. I hope to aquire a mate when I figure out what I have. I'm also building a new cage and will post some pics when I get it done. Good luck with getting your pair figured out.

hbailey

I leave for work at 5:15 am, I hear the coffee thing.

cheers, andrew

I agree with Robert and andrew. I started mine in a 29 gal tank. This lasted about a month and I had to scramble to build the current 4x2x2 cage that I have now. A good example of the cage Andrew described can be seen on lwcamp's site http://www.pizards.com/hbd/tricks.html . I'm starting construction again on a new enclosure because 2ft in height is not cutting it, but my current cage lasted about 10 months.

Good luck,

hbailey

I have mine in a 5Lx2Wx3H with a rete's stack which he uses very much for thermoregulation "great invetion". I used almost a foot of dirt/sand/cypress mix for burrowing I use two 50W halogen bulbs on one side over the stack to get a basking temp of 130 to 140 and in the dirt on the cool end it is about 75. I do not use UVB for him at all it is not needed. They will eat like a pigs. Fuzzies,weanlings,snails,and every once in a while I feed him zupreem monitor diet and eggs. He seems to be doing great with this setup and is very active. Oh and plenty of hides spots too.

Good luck with him and post some pics

Doug