V.gilleni set up help

[CrazyNut]

Hello,
i plan to get a breeding pair of V.gilleni but first I want to get some help with the set up. Firstly I know that monitors have very sharp claws (going on experience ) and I want to make a custom foam background but I'm wondering will they destroy it? The next question is what is the minimal size enclosure for a pair? And lastly is there any possible way at all to reach those high temps needed with a fully wired thermostat?
Thanks for the help (sorry if my questions appear noobish)

sincerely
CN

 

[Sean_L]

Fibreglass is youre best best for the background. Make it out of polyurethane expanding foam, carve, then coat in firbreglass. Finish off with a half resin/half sand coat of resin and then paint with acrylics.
Alternatively, use acrylic render or plain cement mixed 1 to 4 with sand and use your hands and a metal trowel to coat the foam. Rough is better, dont get carried away smoothing it out, unless youre going for a basalt look. Add details and such in the wet cement and then bring the cracks and imperfections to life with a few differing shades of base colour, folowed with a few washes of black and brown watered down paint in the cracks and then highlight with some lighter colours.

You should be looking for an 'average size', not minimal size enclosure. Monitors can be more difficult to breed than other lizards due to their long list of preferences required to initiate breeding behaviour. Limited space wont encourage breeding behaviour. 600mm high x 1000mm long by 500mm deep would be 'minimum', in my opinion. You could add another female to that space in the future quite easily.

Lizards, like heat. Monitors, LOVE heat. But they also love to bask under an actual light. What you want to aim for is selecting the right wattage MVB bulb (perhaps with a supplemental spotlight) and then balancing out your gradients with correct vent placement. Done succefully, you wont need a thermostat at all. Stricty speaking, you dont need UV B/A producing lighting (MVBs) as monitors will get their necessary dietry components from the whole food items you should be feeding them. But it couldnt hurt.

 

[Ramy]

Once your temperatures get high enough, you have a broad range of acceptible temperatures. If you find the temps drop by 5 degrees over winter, that won't change anything. As such, you're better off just setting everything up so that the temperature reaches a relatively stable 55-65. Highest temperatures i've ever seen on a thermostat was 50 degrees, can't remember where I saw it but it just doesn't seem worth it.

 

[Illium]

For gilleni.
Light render on a foam background using a good mix of sand and tiling grout work pretty well. Mine crawl over it day in day out with no issues or damage.

I keep 3 females and one male in 600x1200x1100 no problems as long as you use that rendered back wall, plenty of branches and hides. Plus a tub to dig in when to mood takes them.

As for the heat, iv played with a few options in this particular enclosure.
A 150W MVB is great for some ambient heat in the enclosure.
For your intense spot I am finding more and more to prefer the GU10 lamps. Especially the harder to find 75W spots. These give you a bit better distance and larger heat area without the concentration.

 

[Rogue5861]

Dont use a thermostat, find a heating system (series of bulbs) to gets to the right temperature. You dont want the basking lights going on and off for lizards.

Foam and render will work fine, i have 3 ridge tailed monitors on a rendered wall i made that probably has 30-40mm of render on top of the foam. Sealed it up with pond sealer and they havent damage it yet.

An enclosure to suit adults would be 800-1200x800-1200x500, this would allow for heat gradient and as well as logs, branches, plants ect.


Rick

 

[dodgie]

I use a dimmer switch for my basking lights and just turn it up or down depending on the temp i need (70c) and at the cold end i use a room thermostat set at 30c.This way you don't have to worry about overheating or fire,the light fittings and wire get very hot.

 

[CrazyNut]

Thank you for all the help! From what you guys have said my enclosure I had in mine, will not work so I might just build one from scratch. I want to give them the best life possible so that means my wallet is going to hate me lol all my enclosures are made of melamine (with the exception of 3 that are glass). Ilium,

Plus a tub to dig in when to mood takes them.

are you referring to a nesting box? Lol just curious hehehe!

 

[Illium]

yea, just a nesting box. But its also used as a humidity hide or just general digging box when the mood takes them