Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i went to a local pet shop today, hanging out with the guys that work there and i fell in love with a rough neck, she has amazing colors and is really mellow. the guy was also saying that she is probably the best colored one he has seen and she may retain some of the color. better still she is still small enough to fit in my timor's cage for a bit, the guy guessed a year but i will probably only keep him in it for like a month or two till i go back to college then buy him a cage up there. i havent been able to stop thinking about her since i saw it and i can't wait to get it, i don't think i will be able to talk myself out of it. better yet, if i do find my timor they will give me some cash for it and since the guys are chillers they will probably hook it up. and i know they only sell animals to people when the buyer knows exactly what they are getting and will properly are for it, the way they do that so well really amazes me in this monetary obsessed america,so i know he will be going to a good home.
now i have some questions/opinions, to save room (and this may very well be insanely stupid) could i keep her in like a large dog kennel and let her out in my room (supervised) and take her outside to roam on a leash? (just a thought, otherwise i'mm totally willing to make that 10 foot or whatever size cage... so long as it fits in my room) second question, how would you guys rate them on handlability/tameness? do they mind it, barely tolerate it, depends on the individual, or hate it like a timor? also, they cost $169 (though i'm hoping i can strike a bargain) what do you guys think of the price?
anyways, i think that's it for now, though i will probably be back with a ton of questions in no time. (i'm getting her on thursday, taking her for a day at the beach right after!)
thanks,
jake

p.s. this is not a totally out of the blue decision, if it sounds like it, i have been toying with the idea for a while and i think the time has come...

dog kennels are for dogs. They will not hold the correct enviroment suitable for your monitor within your room. Your better off building a cage.

If your new to keeping monitors i would suggest building a smaller cage then 10 foot. Especially since your monitor is smaller by the sounds of it. This smaller setup will be easier for you to adjust and learn from. Once you learn the needs of your monitor then you can go larger.

Good luck

yeah, i kinda thought of that right as i was posting, and as soonas i posted i realized that too. i'm not saying i will necessarily build a 10 foot cage, but i like giving my animals room when i can. what do you think is a good size cage for a rough neck? if i could see some pictures of any of your enclosures that would be awsome. i'm not completely new to monitors, i had my timor for i think almost two years, this is just my first bigger monitor.
sadly, still no trace of my timor. the mice i set out are still kicking and the crickets are still annoying. so right now i'm thinking he may have become cat food, lotsa people seem convinced... especially with the cat throwing up recently . i hope he is still alive and kicking though, if not at my place then i hope he can fend for himself and live out in san diego (at least its not like some snowy place).
wow i write a lot! anyways, thanks for the input
-jake

there should be pictures in the archives. I will try and get some of my enclosure pics up later too.

When building a cage I typicaly build it around the monitor at hand. Or use one previosuly built until a new one is needed. Example might be a 2x3x4 cage for a younger animal and a 4x6x6 or more for an older animal. Then of course if your adult is looking as if he cannot move go larger. If you have more then one animal housed in it then go larger.

You can always go larger later first learn what is needed from the smaller setup. It is much easier to adjust things in a smaller area then it is to tune in a large area. I do not call any of my cages permanent I gave up on that idea long ago.

thanks for the good advice. i especially liked that you "do not call any of my cages permanent," it shows that you are always looking to improve your animals' quality of life, however isn't at least some consistency good for them? or is the change good? sorry i have never really had a large reptile like this yet (snakes don't exactly count...) were they outgrow cages so easily, 2ft lizard's been my biggest thus far.
new question though i have been reading as much as i can about them(i thought there would be more info and care sheets out there) and i have read pretty conflicting reports about adult size, what's the average? cuz i have read everything from 3 to 5 feet... and thats a big difference (5 ft is the reason i was thinking about a 10 foot cage)
thanks, can't wait for the pics
-jake

3-5 foot is a good range to give. Just keep in mind 5 foot can be different within each species. Such as a 5 foot black roughneck compared to a 5 foot salvator. The body mass is way different in them. Also 3-5 foot is a range you could have it end up being inbetween under or above. Chances are it will be inbetween. Males are by far larger then females so this also comes into play.

This is another reason why I never call my cages permanent. What if I built a nice large cage for a 5 foot animal. Then his animal all of a sudden goes beyond that. This would make my cage flawed. So instead I build around the animal at hand. Change as they change and never think of my cages as the final. Rolling with the punches works much easier when dealing with animals.

here are a few of my setups. Nothing to special or flashy but they work ok.

This first one is 4wx4dx6h you can see one of my larger males in the water tub. The bottom box is filled with leaf litter. The wire style cage works out ok for my use. It may not work out so well for you depending on where your located and where you put your cages. I am in Fl. so not much to worry about with heat loss or humidity.

Here we have another cage that houses a young pair. This cage is
3wx4dx6h.

I have 3 of these right next to each other. I plan to combine two of them into one cage later. The first one houses my indicus, second has my rudis, and the third is unfinished. The picture should give an idea of what two combined will look like.

Lastly here is my female in the cage.

Thats how i temporarily have my crocs set up. A tad bit bigger, and with more shelves/ logs, etc but same idea of 2 cages next to each other.
I have a closable "monitor door" in between so that they can go back and forth. Interestingly, they seem to have each claimed a side. The boy hangs out in the right hand enclosure, while the female wanders back and forth at her lesiure. Sometimes shes hanging out with him on his shelves, and other times shes on her side, or hidden in her substrate box. But he NEVER goes into her cage. Guess hes whipped?! HA

Has your female rudi layed in her rubbermade tote?

she has also scattered them before as well as nested within the substrate of leaves. My other monitors have also used the nest boxes (rubbermaid totes or otherwise).

My crocs cage is also similar to that. But without a divider installed. I have a back up cage if either needs to be seperated.

Rudis are without question some of my favorite monitors. With few exceptions, they are much more calm than Timors, as well as easier to handle. I just got three small beauties with quite a bit of blue on them.

Oh, and some friendly advice: don't put a monitor cage in your room at college. That is, unless you don't care about getting girls. They probably won't allow it anyhow--my college in Santa Barbara didn't allow reptiles period.
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1.0 melinus
0.0.3 rudicollis
0.0.1 exanthematicus
0.0.1 niloticus

hahaha i love that college advice, but don't worry, the girls will find it hot, they won't have a choice lol. no really, i don't know if it was a line or if it is true but apparently a guy that takes good care of his animals is hot cuz it shows they are.... caring... or compassionate... something like that (of course i couldn't live an entire year completely pet-less).
also, i'm not living in the dorms, there is no way a rudi would fit (aside from the fact that it would be hard to hide). i'm living at the frat house (AEPi for any bros out there) (don't worry people won't mess with my animals, even if they try i am buying locks for my door and the cage doors).
also i have to say i am liking your responses a lot more than the "oh no what did you do" when i got the timor.
-jake

P.S. as soon as i get it tomorow i will try to post some pics

Let us know what a drunk, high, and over sexed monitor acts like. HAHAHA

Sorry if I offended anyone (not really sorry, I am just being nice )
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Ed

These heat lamps make my electric bill to high.

will do... i guess...

ive been a herp girl for 10 years and there is nothing hotter then a man who will play with my "babies" but i never had luck with frat boys...