Yes I'm that new guy that got an Indonesian Water

[Joey Casey]

I have had him for about a year now. When I got him I could hold him and then he got testy and then he grew and grew and I could handle him less and less. He hasn't bitten me since he was tiny but that is because I try to limit the opportunity.

I have always and still can hand feed him. I can pet him on his terms, moving very slowly around him. He has been in his new cage for two weeks now and I am really wanting to seek out advice as what I can do to tame him down to be more of a pet than a display animal. I knew when I got him he may never be handleable when he got big and I am still ok with that. I knew what I was getting into as I thought long and hard for a year or so...and even when the pet store got one I still took a month or so before I caved.

His hot spot gets up to about 120+. His water bowl is a 50 gal. I feed him mostly day old chicks and fresh water fish and Mazuri croc diet as a supplement. All of his food is pre killled/frozen thawed.

Even if I can never handle him, I am ok with that. I want to take good care of him. That is a commitment I made and as long as I have a job I will continue that commitment. I just feel like maybe there is something I can do to tame him down over time. Hopefully.

[rocknhorse76]

Good luck with him. That's quite the pet room you have there.

[sweatshirt]

I have 0 experience... but he's awesome!!

And welcome!

[Aaron_S]

From my limited experience from reading from way more experienced keepers, you've got a poop enclosure.

I'd question the other animals too.

[Danimal]

Mine is approx 18mos old and around 32" and it still stays in it's burrow most of the time when there is people around. It will bask while we are in the room but if we move towards the cave it will go to the burrow. I've only handled mine 3 or 4 times in the last year. When I do, once we get past the defensive posturing, it will calm down and allow me to do what I need to do. When it gets a little bigger, on the back side of juvenile and in it's adult enclosure, I plan to work more to keep our working relationship civil. Most of the information I've read suggests that they will become more tolerant as they become larger. Personally, I don't have an expectation other than the practical need to be able to work around the animal in order to move between indoor and outdoor enclosures and be able to clean them.

Thing is you never know. Many years ago I had another one that was completely docile from the day I got it, a complete opposite personality from the one I have now. It was typically inquisitive and liked to explore but I could pick it up and it was as calm as could be, patiently waiting until I set it down again. About a year after I got it I was cleaning cages and set it in the tub in some water like many times before. When I reached to get it out, it grabbed me between the thumb and first finger and ripped me a new one, then was completely calm again. I think just patience bro. Here's mine (http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/varanid/99967-v-salvator-update.html)

[boosh96]

How big is his cage?

[murrindindi]

Hi, before offering more advise can you give some more details:
How big is the enclosure in cm or inches, what type of heating/lighting are you using, what type and how deep is the substrate, and what`s the temp of the water in the pond, and lastly, can you put a few closeup shots of the enclosure insides? Thanks!

[Danimal]

2' X 4' x 2' right now (1' is sub), I am finishing up an arboreal build right now so in the next couple of weeks I will start on a 4' x 8' x 4' (or 5') for the water monitor, 2' of that will be soil in a 3x8x2 stock tank. I picked up the stock tank a couple of weeks ago. I am going to move in about 18mos and at that time depending on the space I give to this monitor, I am either going to add on to this enclosure or I am going to move it one more time into a 10x10x2 stock tank.

3x8 tank
http://www.weebly.com/uploads/8/7/1/5/8715687/1371580046.png

Framed like this.
http://www.weebly.com/uploads/8/7/1/5/8715687/3250153_orig.jpg

[murrindindi]

[QUOTE=Danimal;847095]2' X 4' x 2' right now (1' is sub), I am finishing up an arboreal build right now so in the next couple of weeks I will start on a 4' x 8' x 4' (or 5') for the water monitor, 2' of that will be soil in a 3x8x2 stock tank. I picked up the stock tank a couple of weeks ago. I am going to move in about 18mos and at that time depending on the space I give to this monitor, I am either going to add on to this enclosure or I am going to move it one more time into a 10x10x2 stock tank.
[QUOTE]


Hi, I don`t want to detract from the OP`s post, but are you saying you keep an almost 3 feet long Water monitor in a 4 x 2 x 2feet tank with 12inches of substrate? And a 4 or 5feet tall enclosure is NOT "arborial"! ;)

[Danimal]

[QUOTE=Danimal;847095]2' X 4' x 2' right now (1' is sub), I am finishing up an arboreal build right now so in the next couple of weeks I will start on a 4' x 8' x 4' (or 5') for the water monitor, 2' of that will be soil in a 3x8x2 stock tank. I picked up the stock tank a couple of weeks ago. I am going to move in about 18mos and at that time depending on the space I give to this monitor, I am either going to add on to this enclosure or I am going to move it one more time into a 10x10x2 stock tank.
[QUOTE]


Hi, I don`t want to detract from the OP`s post, but are you saying you keep an almost 3 feet long Water monitor in a 4 x 2 x 2feet tank with 12inches of substrate? And a 4 or 5feet tall enclosure is NOT "arborial"! ;)

I dunno, does it appear differently to you? I wrote what I intended ;) By your response it appears that you read some right and read some wrong. Maybe you should have another go.

[Joey Casey]

The cage is 5 feet high, 6 feet long, 32" wide. Basking temp is 120. I haven't thought of taking a water temp, but I can. I have a laser. There is no substrate. He has a hollow log he can hide in. He isn't so shy that he hides very much. He did for a day in the new cage and that's been about it.

[murrindindi]

The cage is 5 feet high, 6 feet long, 32" wide. Basking temp is 120. I haven't thought of taking a water temp, but I can. I have a laser. There is no substrate. He has a hollow log he can hide in. He isn't so shy that he hides very much. He did for a day in the new cage and that's been about it.


Hi again, thanks for the details, I think there are some improvements to be made so I`ll go through a few of the main points.
I think it`s best to use a soil/playsand mix as substrate, even 30 to 45cm (12 to 18inches), that not only helps with the humidity it affords the animal the opportunity to make a burrow (even if it`s partly under a log, etc).
The whole enclosure is far too sparce, there should be lots of cover/hiding places throughout; large plastic plants, stout, firmly fixed branches which give the animal the chance to use as much of the available space as possible.
The water should be heated to around 27 to 32c (80 to 90f).
You haven`t said what type of heating/lighting you`re using?

[Joey Casey]

The water is 77 degrees. I am using overhead heat lamps for lighting. Again, the basking spot is 120 degrees. I will get a humidity measurement too. So I need to heat up the water a bit? Any ideas on how? Should the soil/playsand mix be on both the lower and upper level? I would rather do it on just the lower.

[Joey Casey]

I really appreciate any tips. I know he will need a full room. I can give him that but I need him to be tame before I can just set him free. I don't mean to sound selfish when I say that. If room becomes an issue, can I incorporate my wifes savannah's enclosure to either live together or share a hide or water? I have let them roam free before for an evening and they both once wound up in the savannah enclosure together laying together. They do eventually retreat to a cage if left out. The savannah cage is the white cage on the lower left in my original post. I did get an awesome measurement on my indonesian when he was stretched out sleeping the other nite. Two inches shy of 4 ft tip to tip. Again, I am really happy that he is not a hider and will relax with me. If I reach out to touch him he raises his guard. I try to be slow and lately I dont pick him up since I moved him into this cage just over 2 weeks ago.

[Joey Casey]

Humidity is 64 percent. Tonight his hot spot is only 108. I had some styrofoam that he keeps knocking down. I am thinking to get his temp back up I need to better insulate. The styrofoam will be easy. It is cut to plug into the top se!tions and I can stick it better with double sided tape. But I really thought his humidity level would be higher. On the other hand he was just eating mazuri croc pellets out of his bowl and let me pet him all over. Also, when I am home on my days off he is very active going from his hot spot to his water for a soak and back and forth. At night too, but even more during the day.

[Joey Casey]

I was afraid this cage would turn out to be a piece of poop. And that is partially why I signed up here. I want good advice on how to tame my monitor, and also proper care and feeding and housing. I suck at hammering a nail or screwing a screw into a pre threaded hole. And that automatically makes me a dumbass. Still, I am willing to pay for what we need. And that's why I come here to ask. I make **** money, live in a duplex, but I made commitments to animals and I love them. My landlord is super handy and he didn't build this cage, he saw how messed up it was and fixed that part of it. My boss built it in a day but it took two days to fix up what he left open (there were huge holes around the tub) and my landlord did all kinds of crazy help like fill in the gaps and sanding and building the doors. I am totally willing to scrap this but I need a good plan to restart. Because if I do, this was a 400 dollar and 4 solid day waste. I may have to admit that. All of our reptiles are so handle able we can get them out anytime. But my worst fear is that they feel jailed. I do not want to fail my animals.

[Joey Casey]

I dunno who Danimal is, wish he did his own thread I can't tell who is talking to me or what.
I know Crocdoc posts here and I would pay him for his time just to talk to him on the phone for advice. He is why I signed up here. My time is limited because I work alot and my wife and I share the home computer when we are home for a few hours at a time.

[Danimal]

Joey, I was just sharing my own personal experience as it related to your question, take from it what you will. Get the diet right, get the temps and humidity in the ballpark and you will figure the rest out, read read read, read enough care sheets and it will quickly become clear what are the common denominators and what is subjective.

*edit* When I get a little down time I will share what I do with you in regards to the questions you've asked.

[Joey Casey]

Hi Danimal, I just realized that came across real douchy and I didn't mean for that, I meant that it was kind of confusing maybe for others to remember who was posting about which animal. I had wished you created your own thread. No big deal though. Man I feel really bad. Real sorry for the way that came across. And thanks for your advice as well.

[Danimal]

Hi Danimal, I just realized that came across real douchy and I didn't mean for that, I meant that it was kind of confusing maybe for others to remember who was posting about which animal. I had wished you created your own thread. No big deal though. Man I feel really bad. Real sorry for the way that came across. And thanks for your advice as well.

No worries, I didn't take it that way, just letting you know where I was coming from.

I went back and read all of your responses after Murrindndi last post. Let me reiterate that you should read more on general husbandry for all of your animals. There is a lot of Sav info on this forum, infernalis has a website decicated to that particular species. Correct Savannah Monitor Care (http://www.savannahmonitor.co/) . And make sure it is current information when you are searching.

I would encourage you to get to know the different species that you keep more intimately before setting expectations because there are limitations when dealing with an undomesticated species. Some can and will tame down, so to speak, but it's not the same tame as a dog or a cat. I don't make an effort to "tame" the reptiles I keep. I just get to know my animals and they let me know what I can get away with and what I can't, I still don't take it for granted, been bitten too many times. Someone that does may be able to give you more helpful advice.

The only animals that I would consider keeping together would be of a species that is recognized as social and thrive in a group/pair or of the same species for breeding purposes. While there are exceptions to the rule, this is not a risk I am willing to take with any of my animals.