Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello There,

I have been interested in monitor lizards for a long time. I have owned smaller reptiles such as Leopard Geckos for around 2 years. I
Now want to *upgrade to monitors. Now I know I don't have much experience with large reptiles, but before you try to persuade me not too I have to tell you. I AM getting an monitor, but I need YOUR help and advice so I can make this a better experience for both me and my monitor.

OK, please listen to this while reading the rest of my post:
http://www.worldoftanksguide.com/music/WoT-Open-Beta-Trailer.wma I don’t own this site, in fact I had never even heard of It so this isn't spam, but I just discovered it while researching monitor species, I like to make my posts fun.

Now onto my questions, I realize the amount of time, energy, and resources this will take and I am willing to pay for the costs.
Let’s start with housing. I am not that great with wood working and I was looking around for a good commercial product that would suffice.
I found these and am wondering if they will work:
http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog/vision-cages-racks-tubs-and-visionariums/vision-cages-and-tubs/
The ones I am thinking about using:
http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog/vision-cages-racks-tubs-and-visionariums/vision-cages-and-tubs/-/v734-vision-cage/
http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog/vision-cages-racks-tubs-and-visionariums/vision-cages-and-tubs/-/v632-vision-cage/
Will any of this work for monitors?
Will they work for monitors if my monitor is free roaming quite a bit?
Another fact to consider is I have a real nice basement that is stays at 74 all year around, but I burn wood all winter long so during the winter the temp down there is always 85 (averaging 92)

Now on to monitor species; I want one of the medium sized monitor species. I find the Mangrove monitor, Yellow Monitor, peach throat monitor, and blue tailed monitor species all attractive. I don’t like the look of the savannahs and white throat monitors. Another monitor species I have found interesting is the Ackie, I have heard they are amazing. If worst comes to worst I will definitely get one, but for now I want/am considering the more medium species as I like them more. I am not downgrading the Ackie and I think it is a very interesting monitor. Would the cages I mentioned above work for any of these monitors? I have a friend who is a professional carpenter so I could have him make one for me (pay him of course). The problem I have with these cages is I have a relatively nice home and I don’t want to put a huge ugly cage in the middle of it. I prefer to keep my house nice looking. I have heard that some people have made their home made cages look really nice. Do you have any suggestions for making it look good?
For now those are the only questions I have, but I am sure more will pop into my head as we discuss.

ITherrien
I need Monitor Help

I think these cages are no good for monitors.

I'm also sure you're very wrong if you think a custom made cage will be ugly in your house:

http://www.baumwaran-community.de/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=95&Itemid=79

But first you need to read a lot. Forget everything you know about reptiles and start from zero. This will save you a lot of time rebuilding the enclosure and correcting mistakes, and eventually having to buy another monitor because your first one died.

It's a long way..

It sounds like you have the money to spend on everything, which is more of a "necessity" than a "help" when it comes to monitors IMO. If I were you, and you plan on getting even a medium sized monitor, I would start a few colonies of insects or rodents of your own if you can - as a staple diet that you'll always have on hand. This isn't a leopard gecko where you can buy a little can of fifty phoenix warms and be set for the week. Also, before you spend any real money on anything pertaining to the monitor besides the colonies, I would definitely do a lot of research - from people who know what they're doing. There are a lot of great informers on this site, FR, Murriandi, MDFmonitors, all have great information. Just read on the forums here. There are a few websites on the internet I would give some credit towards, the main thing is to look for what works and whether or not you're ACTUALLY willing to make that commitment. It's not too bad once you get the hang of things, but it's getting rolling and keeping with it that's usually a show-stopper. Overall, if you do the "right" things, monitors are incredibly rewarding to keep and watch. I would recommend Ackies honestly. Not having to spend too much on a large enclosure leaves you with funds to REALLY specialize the smaller enclosure(compared to other larger monitors, you'll still need at least a 4x8 for full grown Ackies even. Once again, IMO.) Take your time, and don't hurry. Because whatever monitor you get, if you do things right, should make at least a ten year commitment. Keep that in mind, and good luck.

Can you recommend any websites?

http://mampam.com/
-Daniel Bennett's site

http://www.proexotics.com/care_water.html
-Has a lot of good information on housing, things like lighting, substrate, stacks.

http://savannahmonitor.org/
-Information more on Savannah monitors, but information nonetheless.

Just a few off the top of my head. I used to have in all in my favorite BUT I had to wipe my computer. haha. Like I said though, the forums are your best bet I think, simply because they're kept up to date. Follow the breeders is the best advice I can give you.
Check out a few studies done on whatever monitor you decide on in the wild.

The forum are pretty much where you'll find most of the information. There are at least 3-4 nice ones, and you'll see the same faces in different forums.

The is a lot of conflicting information too. But the information about heating, feeding, hiding is quite uniform and is a good starting point. Nesting is essential too, but you'll find lots of conflicting information on this subject.

here's a few options:
varanus.net
varanus.nl
captivebredreptileforums.co.uk

Be patient, search the forums, read a lot, choose a species, and then, only then, you build a cage as adequate as possible, then you can start looking for a good animal.