Attention all monitor keepers.. help wanted!

Aussie Pythons & Snakes Forum

Help Support Aussie Pythons & Snakes Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Status
Not open for further replies.

matty91

Not so new Member
Joined
Jul 10, 2008
Messages
30
Reaction score
0
Location
Melbourne
Hi

i am currently in the debate of which monitor i should get and im going to make the cage at school, so i am desperate to find out some recommended info. before i fall behind.
i am thinking of keeping either an ackie or a Black tailed (varanus tristis).

can you guys please gve me some dimensions, heating requirements, u.v lighting and anything else that you think is great to know about keeping them.

thanks,
 
All monitors need a very hot spot in the enclosure (45 to 48 degrees).
So you will need a basking shelf under a spot light in one corner.
Both monitors you have sugested are less then a meter fully grown, so an enclosure 5 foot long by 2.5 foot deep and 3 foot high would be ideal. Although you could get away with it being a bit smaller for the ackies.
Put a thermostate in the middle of the back wall. At one end have 3 heat globes (one of which a inferred spotlight) wired to the thermostate. at the other end a UV light wired seperate so you can put it on a timer.
If you set the thermostate to 30 degrees, it should reach 35 degrees at the hot end (45+ on basking shelf). At the cool end where the UV is, it will get around 26 to 28 degrees.

Make sure you have a lot of hides, as young monitors do stress a bit.
 
ok thanks andy,

how much bigger would the enclosure need to be if you were to put 2 or a trio of the species in the enclosure?
 
The size ive suggested would be fine for a trio of Ackies, or a pair of Tristis.
Add an extra foot to the length if you decide on a Trio of Tristis.
Cheers Andy.
 
more like 60-70 degrees for a hotspot, but usially over 50 degrees.

pygmy mulga monitors are a great little monitor, and so are ackies, the ackies being more common though
 
what andy suggested would probably be alright for a trio of ackies, the minimum is usually 4 foot by 2 foot by 2 foot i think
 
you can get away with a 4x2x2 for a pair of ackies but biggers better, i have 3 tristis in a 6x3x3 and i would go bigger if i could.
the hot spot needs to be the the 65-70c mark.
 
i strongly recommend reptiles australia volume 3 no.1! It has both ackies and pygmy mulga monitors
 
here are some pics of monitors!

1.pygmy mulga monitor
2.ackie

:)
 

Attachments

  • SAVE0377.JPG
    SAVE0377.JPG
    78.4 KB · Views: 157
  • Ackies%20006.jpg
    Ackies%20006.jpg
    79.2 KB · Views: 149
none they dont need it ,your just waisting your money if you get one
 
the only lighting they need is a 60 watt spot light which you can get from your local bunnings!

this lights the tank and provides a hot basking spot for them

most reptiles would need UV but monitors are one of the only reptiles that dont need it!!!
 
well, u can put it in, but they wont actually benifet from it! so theres not much point really!

if u get the reptiles australia magazine on them, it will explain everything for u!
u can order it online from there site.
 
I am new to keeping ackies and I have heard of people successfully keeping them with and with out UV - I have already ordered the back issue of Reptiles Australia Magazine to get yet another incite from the more experienced.
I am using a 5% compact with reflector for mine while they are growing. I figure this is the time when bone development is very important and I don't care if I am wasting my money if it has no added benefit to calcium powder alone. I don't think it can hurt.
When they are adults I plan to give them some real sun time in an outdoor cage built just for this. The breeder I got mine from puts his adults outdoors in the summer and their colour gets more red. If skin colour is altered by UV their may be other affects as well.
matty91, I am guess you are building a wood work project. When you build your cage for ackies don't fit doors right at the bottom. Build a front wall with plenty of depth to put in a sand bed for them to dig tunnels in. If you can manage door which open out rather than sliding ones ( sliding is easy to do ) you don't end up with door tracks constantly filled with sand from them digging and flicking it back at the doors.
A lot of ackie cages are glass tanks or the base is a large plastic tub as it contains the sand very well.
 
uv and monitors are debatable. The way i see it. Uv can't hurt. So i use it
I own ackie's.
I use an exoterra 150w barking spot to get a 70 hot spot.
 
book,

would you be able to show a sketch of what you mean, for what to create the enclosure like?
 
also, anyone who has photos of their set up, if you could send them in, it would be greatly appreciated..
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Latest posts

Back
Top