Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I wanted to make a decently large cage that i could move around. The whole enclosure only cost $120 bucks make with 2x3's, and half inch 4x8'plywood, with free glass from a window repair company (they give it away for free). This economical setup can be rolled around easy due to $1.99 home depot "heavy duty" rubber wheels. I drove it down the street, handles well but the suspensions a bit rough. If you ever thought a decently strong 4x8 would be to heavey to be portable, its not. Im gona try a 8x8 next

yummy fried croc monitor..... lol how come you got so many lights? is one or two not cutting it to maintain the proper temps?

alex

Low watt bulbs mostly, but im testing out different heat ranges to try to increase breeding habits. Going to keep some at constant warmer temps, some a constant cooler temp and others with seasonal variations with some having a more drastic variation and some more subtle. Probably wont make a difference but ive always suspected that crocs need a slightly different temp then other monitors to increase them wanting to breed.

Oh really ? I didnt know that ........i figured coming from tropical humid hot as heck new guinea their temperatures stay pretty constant year round.....unless life in the canopy might be different?

There are seasons, it can vary a lot. My friend said its common for temps to get into the 60 every year.

Thinks hes needs to reinvent the wheel. I am sorry but breeding crocs is and has been done, the temps are normal any monitor temps. The problem with croc monitors is in another area of husbandry.

That area is space, they are kinda large and require some space. Hmmmmmmmm so, lets compare. Croc monitor male averages about 7-8 feet long, females slighly smaller. Let me think, OK, I thought, Your 4 foot by 8 foot by 5 or so high cages would be the same as keeping a breeding pair of ackies in a cage that slightly longer then a male, about 20 inches, by half as wide as a male ackie, 8 or 9 inches, heck lets throw them some space, and call it 10 inches wide. By about 12 or so inches high.

Croc monitors; 6 to 8 feet long, in a cage 8 feet by 4 feet by 5 or 6 high.

Ackies; 14 to 20 inches long, in a cage 20 inches by 10 inches, by 12 inches high

Do you really think people would breed ackies in a cage 20" X 10" X 12" ????????

Croc monitors need lots of space. Even if you compare them to ackies. A normal ackie breeding cage is 5 to 6 feet long. So thats 60 to 72 inches, so we're talking at least three times as long as the ackie, better if more. If you compare, that would be a cage at least 18 feet long for a croc monitor. That indeed sounds about right.

I am not trying to rag on you, but please sir, think about the monitors, and think about what your doing. Would you keep an ackie that way(in a cage 20 x 10 inches), no you wouldn't so why would you keep a Croc monitor like that? You don't need to answer me, but please discuss that with yourself. FR

FR, because you heard sombody did somthing, doesnt make is so. Because you only had one croc before does not make you and expert, me having 100 doesnt either.

Just repeating something you heard doesnt make in factual or experienced. No, croc monitor breeding isnt commonly done, in fact it virtualy non-existant. Having the experience you always boast you should know that by now?

and no, a 8 foot croc doesnt need a 20x20.

Just remember your famous advice "if a monitor is sick, it should be put down".

You would be suprised how many people have bred and produced croc monitors. Some have done it multiple times.

Captive Hatched is when they are imported gravid (you know better), these are what you have seen/heard, other then the captive hatched theres probably only a few instances of true succesful CB in the USA, your showing your lack of experience atleast with the Salvadorii species.

No I said bred and produced. You seem to know termanology of an importer very well do you import by chance?

I know first hand of people breeding them and producing them in captivity in the U.S. as well as overseas.

BTW I currently am working with the Madrid Zoo with their salvadorii setup. Guess they contacted me because my lack of experience as you call it.

I hatched babies from three seperate clutches. Stan has hatched at least two(clutches), Ron St.P has hatched them. Miami zoo, has, as well as two or three other U.S. zoos, most likely more.

All of this is in this country, they were bred in Europe before here, and of course many times in captivity in Indo(Bali)

I get the feeling that most of the private folks and the zoo folks stopped breeding them for the same reason. Which Jobi explains very well.

So yes, its so, heck just check AZA birth records.

I love the way you quote me, totally wrong again sir, but if a monitor is sick enough it should be put down. You know, has no kidneys or liver, from bad husbandry.

Besides I only needed 1.2 to get 1.2 to breed, its interesting how you think you need 100 to do so, I guess your not feeling lucky.

About you having 100, I will bet you cannot show us 25 individuals, muchless 100. Please show us sir. FR

First off, you have to quit lying, the topic was a kid in a pet store that was worried about a sick savannah, you recomened killing it to put it out of it's misery, there was no discussion on liver failier etc. The 15 year kid said he didnt know anything, but it didnt move around much and was skinny and cold. You flat out reccomended to kill the monitor to end its suffering.

No, you didnt breed any crocs, you CH them, thers a differnce. The other 2 examples are probably the only ones birthed as well and whoes to say they were CH?

I really hope you are kidding!!! Cant you see how arrogant you are? I am not saying this to offend you in any way, just to make you see and understand why I don’t share anymore. I have a feeling FR will eventually follow in this path soon! I mean why would anyone want to help when everything they have achieved is disregarded in such a way? For your information iv herd such nonsense even from Horn and other zoologist, biologist and whateverlogist, this is really sad as non of them (including you) have don anything to help this hubby. Think about this

its too funny, but many here saw my croc monitors breed and the eggs and the eggs hatch. I am not sure what you call that, but I will call it CB and CH. This goes for the rest of the ones I mentioned.

Don't worry, if you want to reinvent the wheel, have at it. It surely is no skin off my rear end. I wish you well. But truly, I do not understand why you want to pretend its not been done. If you are lucky and breed them, specially more then once, I will truly respect that. But you do have to do it first, not talk about it. FR

hey very nice cage ummm do u think u can e-mail me the plans for the cage if so thanx alot and also is that an indoor outdoor cage? and im building an out door cage right now do u thank i sould put insaltoin inbetwen 2 sheets of plywood or do u think just the wood will befine incali it get in to the 30's in the winter and 100' in the summer where i live well thanks. bye bye

These enlcosures should be ok in a garage type location in s. ca. Id put extra lights fixtures in just in case, hate adding them later. I can maintain a good constant 74 degrees (in coolest areas) with (2) 120watts. It got cold last night maybe high 40's. Cool thing about putting wheels on them you can push them around even outside during the summer, its light enough that i can push it over carefuly on its back and put the wheels on myself(light). Ill try to find my measurements and post them. Start to finich about 3-4 hours, used nailgun with pre-glued type nails and it seems solid with no screws (go figure, must be the glued type nails).

This really shows why these animals shouldn’t be keep by private, it’s the reason I don’t offer them anymore and why I don’t advertise monitors in general. To think you want to breed them on a large scale is scary. I think its unrealistic and shows your inexperience. You obviously don’t understand what this specie is about and don’t show any respect for them. A serious keeper would have researched this creatures needs and realised the implication involved, some guys have don there home work and devoted part of there house or garage to comfortably house a pair of crocs, these peoples fully understand that this specie is a money pit, nevertheless they keep them out of passion. The reality about them is you cant find them good homes, 90% keepers wont keep them as adults.

I like the cage. I know people are ragging you about wanting to breed croc monitors in there. I know you will be building bigger cages too. You stated it in your post. What size do you plan on keeping pairs in when they are full size?
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Ed

These heat lamps make my electric bill to high.

They are paired up in 8x8's and 8x10's. For some people like FR, dont grasp the fact how big an 8x10 is. It wouldnt matter if it was 20x20, yes it could always be bigger, taller, thicker etc. Would FR's tree monitors be better in a 12 foot tall enclosure instead of his 6 footers?, yes they would. Is it killing them?, dont know need to ask him. My crocs do well, they are active, there healthy and they will start producing offspring next year. Jobi, exactly how many did you produce? ZERO, NADA...

FR i think you need to upsize your enclosures to the size you direct others to do, better start hammering 4 foot to each enclosure. The pics ive seen of your monitor enclosures are tiny, yea you have a couple 4x6's. Put them up lets see em!

Shadow, you said you have 1 croc, lets see it's enclosure, id like to see how you keep yours.

Theres a very large outdoor section with a large indoor section. By looking at the pics they are 20x14 or larger outdoors (Im referring to the long line of them in a few pics). Also he has posted many times about his outdoor cages made for ackies, maybe those are the ones you refer to.
As to Steves croc breeding project, I remember seeing pics of hatchlings, maybe Im wrong, but I saved them somewhere to look at later.
I dont remember the exact size on FRs cages though.
Could you post pics of your big croc and its cage, just interested to see how big it is, and its cage.

I'd make a portable cage like that, if I ever needed to transport a large lizard or take other lizards a long distance. The only thing I'd change is to make sure the glass is safety glass, or acrylic.

I don't know how warm an inverter-driven lighting system can make the interior. The high wattage inverters are pricey.

If you use bugle-head screws to hold the panels together, you can use a screwgun to take it apart easily, for storage.

Good job, I'd say.

Roger

Yea, i could go around and back up the nail contruction with some screws here and there.

I was also testing how fast i could put it toghether (figured the glued nails would be fast semi-secure and the nailgun makes the construction time virtualy nothing after the cuts as im going to build a bunch a 4x8's and cut out sections so i can add them toghther to form 4x8x8's or even maybe 3 toghether.

After i made the cuts it took like 30-40 minutes to get it toghether complete with glass, 2 of us. I pushed the thing all around and rolled it on its back with the glass in,it will even be alot more ridged when i get my wood 2 inch dowels in the corners etc. I have a ton of larger glass pieces that are standard back door sliding windows nearly 4x8's but im thinking the flex is going to be too much with that much window.

The standard near 4x8 sliding glass door windows work great for all my permanents. Saves money, plexi is so expensive.

can u please email my instructions or blue prints of the cage to Midchild7@aol.com thank you