Pygmy Mulga Monitor Enclosure Help

[geckolover07]

Im going to build an enclosure over the next few weeks for a Pygmy Mulga Monitor. Was thinking of having it pretty tall instead of wide eg 80cmW 70cmD 140cmH. Do they like to climb because my reptile book says that they rarely come down to the ground but i thought a mulga was a flat bit of land.

IM CONFUSED.
Plz write back and any pis of enclosures will be great,
Cheers
Aaron

 

[Chrisreptile]

Volume 3 Issue 1 of Reptile Australia has a good care sheet on V. Acanthurus and V.Gilleni, these two species are kept in pretty similar conditions.

 

[cris]

That would be an ideal size IMO, unless you want to make it bigger, which is always a good thing with goannas. They are a climbing species so good height is preferable.


Mulga is acacia tree woodland, im not much of a plant person so im not going to try and describe them, try googling it.

 

[Veredus]

Mulga is a word referring to acacia savannahs and also to the Acacia aneura in which pygmy mulga monitors are often found.

Yes these monitors love to climb but I recommend an enclosure longer than it is tall, a few small branches and rock wall will suffice to satisfy their climbing urges. These monitors need a very hot basking spot though (between 60 and 70 degrees celsius) and this is harder to achieve in a tall enclosure

 

[cris]

Yes these monitors love to climb but I recommend an enclosure longer than it is tall, a few small branches and rock wall will suffice to satisfy their climbing urges. These monitors need a very hot basking spot though (between 60 and 70 degrees celsius) and this is harder to achieve in a tall enclosure

I would disagree, do you keep them?

 

[Dave]

I would disagree, do you keep them?

read reptiles australia, they even say to much height is bad.

 

[Veredus]

I would disagree, do you keep them?

I do actually, I see where you are coming from given that they often spend much of their time in trees in the wild, but from my experiences with them in captivity they spend more time running along the ground than they spend in their branches or on the wall. I can only speculate about their wild behaviour as I have not studied them in the wild myself but perhaps their restriction to trees is due to a lack of other suitable ground cover and hiding places from predators.

 

[imported_Varanus]

Hey gek,

I'd have to agree with Cris(height is preferable) but also agree it is harder to maintain a good gradient in such an enclosure (140cm high). I've found using a heat mat with a thermostat helps in this regard.

I am now of the belief that, being diurnal, Monitors also benefit from proper U.V. I'm planning to use a MegaRay 100W, 50W halogen and a fluro with a lux reading of 5000kelvin or grater(up to 6500K).

RE: Gillens; Provide plenty of hollow limbs at various places throughout the cage for proper thermoregulation and an ambient temp of 25c with a hotspot of 70c. Also, if possible, provide two basking spots, one with U.V (Mega Ray) and one without (just a 50W Halogen).

Just how I'd do it; I know others have different ideas.

Hope this helps,

Cheers,

I.V.

 

[geckolover07]

Cheers guys. Any suggestions on how i should furnish the place.
Post pics of your enclosures if you have some
Cheers