Hello folks,
I just wanted to share with you a technique that I have been using with my tree monitors, that could and would work out great for many other species of arboreal-ish monitors, including rougnecks, dumeril's, blue tails, melinus, timorensis, tristis, glauerti, etc...
I have noticed in all of my years of keeping reptiles, is that most keepers(I was once guilty of this too not so long ago) fail to acknowledge an invaluable amount of real estate within their own enclosures- the walls!!! It is all too often that I see photos of people's tree monitor enclosures that are bare-walled- whether it be plywood, FRP, melamine, or even an aquarium, and I hear them complain that they wish they had more space for a bigger cage for their animals to have..
While yes, larger cages may appear better because they offer greater volume, most people do not know how to use this volume correctly. Keep in mind a larger enclosure just makes it more difficult and expensive to keep it heated and lighted properly, and to maintain proper humidity levels... So bigger is not necessarily better...There are ways of making a smaller, functional enclosure that are better than large, spacious enclosures..
Here, I will use myself as an example. While my tree monitor enclosures do vary slightly, most measure approximately 4'wide x 2'deep x 7' tall. Prior to me converting my enclosures, the total amount of useable area for climbing was limited to the branches which are in the enclosure, as I have found that my tree monitors very rarely use the floor area, but for argument's sake, I will include the floor into my calculations. I figured that the surface area of all the branches that I had in the enclosure measured approximately 10 square feet, and the total area of the floor measures 8 square feet. So prior to any modifications, the animals in each enclosure had only an approximated area of only 18 square feet of usable space.
Upon doing some thinking, and calculations, I determined that the walls of each 4x2x7' enclosure offered 56 sq feet of area. What I did to utilize this prime real estate, was attach inexpensive, recycled cork tiles to the walls. These tiles are rigid and durable, and hold up to the sharp nails of my animals quite well. So now, after modifying each enclosure, each enclosure has a total of 74 square feet of useable space for the animals to move around, as opposed to the previous 18. This simple modification has created 4 times as much space for my monitors to use.. While previously, the animals did not have many choices as for direction of movement; they could only move up a branch or down a branch.. Now, they have a 360 degree range of movement. They can move up, down, side to side, diagonally, etc, and they can use the walls to get get from branch to branch..etc.
LOOK AT ALL THAT PRIME REAL ESTATE YOU ARE WASTING BY HAVING SOLID WALLS!!!
Also keep in mind that most keepers do not provide their arboreal lizards with vertically oriented branches. In 99% of all the reptile enclosures that I have seen, climbing branches are only oriented horizontally and diagonally. Again an example of keepers making choices for the animals..
As I have said, this technique has done wonders for my enclosures, and although I cannot communicate with my captives, I am sure that they appreciate the extra usable space, as my captives prefer to use the walls over the branches I have positioned in the enclosure...
I have seen some people use cork flats, or cork tubes to achieve similar effects, but think about the expense it would take to use on most of your enclosures at home. Not to mention, you will almost always have gaps and pockets where the cork backing is not flush against the wall.. These recycled tiles are much cheaper and easier to work with, and produce a more natural look/feeling than any blank white wall/plywood wall.
I highly recommend that those of you who keep arboreal/ish monitors think about this, and hopefully it will open your eyes to the negligence of allowing so much space in your cages go to waste... Your animals will benefit/appreciate it...
Take care friends. Cheers, have a wonderful day!!
Bob
TREEMONITORS.COM
