new bells lace monitor

[BennyA]

hey guys just thought id take some quick pics, this is my first lace monitor, its a bell phase around 15 months old, his still a little huffy and puffy but is getting better everyday, his in a 7 foot lond by 5 foot high enclosre and sits on top of my gillens set up, he loves his massive hide and his basking branch, also loves swinging off the light cage, his got a temp background towel for now he shreds up and hopefully foaming and grouting his new background tomoz.
What uz think.

 

[Damiieen]

Im Jealous i want one

 

[Dannyboi]

I want one but cannot get one as my room is too full of frogs and other enclosures. The second I have my own place oh I just can't wait.

 

[JAS101]

nice lacey , the bells phase is next on my list .

 

[BennyA]

I've tried near everything geckos, gillens monitors, pythons and the lacie is sensational always doin stuff highly recommend one (so far)

 

[fishunter]

Hahaha he looks very happy, good stuff

 

[cadwallader]

love his pattens make sure you post pics of the background once done

 

[richardsc]

looks small for 15 months of age,nice looking bells though,just be careful at feeding time,as they can be a handful when they get used to the hand that feeds them

 

[BennyA]

I have welding gloves and tonges to feed him, so far everytime he takes his food so so gently, licks it and turns his head and so slowly takes it from the tongs it's strange how gentle he is my beardie hits his food harder, he won't let me pat him yet though

 

[Guest]

wait till he's bigger lol
I only feed mine in his bowl
I try not to associate my hands with food as best i can
i do sit with him as he eats but i dont hand feed him or feed him from tongs
as he gets bigger you will understand why
he is very nice though, great score

 

[crocdoc]

so far everytime he takes his food so so gently, licks it and turns his head and so slowly takes it from the tongs it's strange how gentle he is

Sounds a bit on the cold side. What's the basking temperature?

Nice looking bells.

 

[Gusbus]

mine is on its way

 

[BennyA]

Sounds a bit on the cold side. What's the basking temperature?

It ranges from 30-37 on the basking log around 22-27 in the enclosure and hollow log and his hide is heated from the light below to 33 and cools off at night a little.
Are these ok or bump up the light globe.
Thanks

Also I feed him a hopper rat Saturday's (chopped up) a chicken neck Tuesday and thurs and offer woodies daily,

 

[seanjbkorbett]

wait till he's bigger lol
I only feed mine in his bowl
I try not to associate my hands with food as best i can
i do sit with him as he eats but i dont hand feed him or feed him from tongs
as he gets bigger you will understand why
he is very nice though, great score

..haha yeah wait till he gets bigger.. .also your basking temp should be around 45-55 degrees,Monitors love their heat...then you should see some speed when feeding time is on!.lol. Enjoy they awsome animals.

 

[imported_Varanus]

Nice Bell's,

I'd be inclined to go 55-65c (using a bank of floods to avoid burns) and offer food more regularly and stick with whole or chopped rats,mice, chicks,quail; forget the meat products and insects. Just leave the food in a bowl if the animal's a bit shy or try offering with tongs. I'd give the light cage a flick too, incase he becomes stuck and gets burns.

Some damp substrait would be good also (I use coco peat), rather than the fake grass, your aiming for 20cm or so, if possible to avoid dehydration.

Cheers

 

[crocdoc]

It ranges from 30-37 on the basking log

That explains his gentle feeding habits. That's way too cool. As Sean said, the surface temperature of the basking spot should be 45-50C for a young monitor, hotter for an older one. They have a preferred body temperature of 36C, so when your basking spot is running at 30C your monitor can't achieve that temperature and when it's running at 37C it would have to spend all day basking just to maintain that temperature. They like a hot basking spot so they can heat up quickly, move around, bask again, move around...

Drop the chicken neck from the diet and replace it with another hopper.

You may also want to think about replacing the astroturf with some sort of substrate, to hold humidity.

 

[BennyA]

Yep done just put a 150w in now it's 48 and climbing a lil bit at a time his flattened himself out and soaking it all up, oh yeah

 

[xxMelissaxx]

That's good the temps are now correct Benny - lucky you happened to post on here and a clued-up member sensed an issue and asked about your temperatures.

I suggest you get stuck into some good reading material, as these things (temps, diet, general husbandry etc.) should really have been known to you before purchasing such an animal - get researching.

 

[JAS101]

That's good the temps are now correct Benny - lucky you happened to post on here and a clued-up member sensed an issue and asked about your temperatures.

I suggest you get stuck into some good reading material, as these things (temps, diet, general husbandry etc.) should really have been known to you before purchasing such an animal - get researching.

dont be so quick to judge that research hasnt been done , when researching for my lace i found a whole heap of conflicting info out in good old www land .

 

[xxMelissaxx]

dont be so quick to judge that research hasnt been done , when researching for my lace i found a whole heap of conflicting info out in good old www land .

Fair enough, but the internet shouldn't be the only source of information when researching.

Also, I can't imagine many websites stating that a basking temp of 30 degrees is adequate for a Lacie..