Ideas on a monitor

[evinminded]

I just moved back home and just got my tank out of holding. The size of the tank is 6ft langth - 2ft wide - 2ft high. I was just seeing the best type of monitor could me housed inside this tank.

Thank you
-kevin

[savannahmonitor]

probably a yellow or red ackie would be best. If the cage was just a bit bigger i would say a savannah monitor

[chuck911jeep]

You will have much more fun if you build the cage for the specie you choose instead of buying a monitor for a type of cage. Also, tank is not the best enclosure for monitor.
Take care!

[Aaron_S]

Skip on the monitors for tanks as already stated. Go with a couple of tokays!

[The Snake Guru]

I just moved back home and just got my tank out of holding. The size of the tank is 6ft langth - 2ft wide - 2ft high. I was just seeing the best type of monitor could me housed inside this tank.

Thank you
-kevin

6ftx2ftx2ft would work nice for a Savanah, or Black Throat....Black Throats are pretty cool had one for awhile.

~B~

[chuck911jeep]

Hi Brad.
2 feet wide is small for a savannah and 6 feet long isn't enough for an adult blackthroat.
I think most people asking for witch monitor to put in ''X'' tall tank are not well prepared to take good care of husbandry and how to convert the tank to accomodate adequatly a monitor.
Just my opinion
Take care!
http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o85/dana70_19/P1160191.jpg

[The Snake Guru]

Well the other thing is it makes a huge difference in wether it's a female or not, granted I haven't had a whole lot of experience with Monitors but I have kept a few species, my female Blackthroat only got 4.5 feet, but to tell ya the truth I wouldn't personally keep either of the species in anything less than an 8ftx3ft floor space cage. Perhaps something such as Dumeril's Monitor would be better suited to this cage.....though I know they like to climb, perhaps rip off the top and build up?

Just trying to help out, besides which one could go as far to say that you could certainly start them out and grow them up in the 6 footer than move them to larger accomidations later on.

At anyrate not trying to step on anyone's toes.
~B~

[chuck911jeep]

Good idea you provide him about ripping off the top and building it up.
2 feet isn't enough for an adult dumeril either. Anyway, there is anything set on stone but i would go bigger. Your right Brad, this tank well configure can start a bunch of specie. If Kevin want to keep it in all its life and keep it as it is, i would go only with the smaller dwarf specie.
Take care!

[The Snake Guru]

Seems to me it would make a great setup for a colony of Ridgetail Monitors.

~B~

[chuck911jeep]

Ya!
acanthurus, caudolineatus, glauerti, kingorum, scalaris, tristis, storri, timorensis and probably a couple more i forget the name.

[SerpentLust]

I'd go with a Red Ackie personally or even a pair. If I'm not mistaken that tank gives plenty of room for Ackies. I could be mistaken however, I've only read a couple of caresheets when I wanted to get an ackie...

Jenn

[varanuslover]

I would only keep small monitors in a tank that small. 2 ft wide doesn't provide a lot of room for anything much bigger than an ackie or a kimberly. and 2 ft high is way too short for a Dumeril which will spend more time climbing or chilling on a branch than on the bottom. For most monitors it is best to build cages in the end to best suit there needs.

[TailsW/Scales]

Stick with Ackies for that size enclosure. If you get reds a pair might fit. Red Ackies have been known to reach almost 3.5 foot easly. Yellows stay a bit smaller then that.
Personally a 2' wide /2' tall is not big enough for any monitor. Even my Ackies were in a 7' x 3' x 3' and that was for my yellows. Mine made full use of climbing logs and arborial hides.
Like a few have said pick the starter monitor and the obtain an enclosure around that species not vice versa.

Also just to touch on the subject, because it was mentioned. Monitors are not like snakes in which females obtain a larger size then a male and /or the female being smaller then the male. With monitors obtaining size is all in how they are brought up and cared for.

Good luck.

[snakebeginner]

Ok if your asking a question like this. You obviously have done little or no research. so dont get any monitor yet. instead do a couple months of research. If u dont your monitor will probably die within a year anyways. Im not trying to be harsh to you. But I have seen way to many monitors with crappy cages and they look so unhealthy its sad and cruel. You probably wont take my advice but i hope you do. take care and good luck :)

Aaron

[snakebeginner]

6ftx2ftx2ft would work nice for a Savanah, or Black Throat....Black Throats are pretty cool had one for awhile.

~B~

dont black throats get 6 ft long????? or bigger???lol....thats bad advice. that would be a horrible cage for one. way to small. people who dont know anything about monitors should stop giving stupid advice. If you dont know what your really talking about then why try and give advice?

[TailsW/Scales]

dont black throats get 6 ft long????? or bigger???lol....thats bad advice. that would be a horrible cage for one. way to small. people who dont know anything about monitors should stop giving stupid advice. If you dont know what your really talking about then why try and give advice?

Now I am going to bite back. Apperantly you've either not owned black throats or have done little study on them. Yes they get big but it's rare to find a BT over five foot. I have owned /bred /kept Varanids for over 14 years and have only encountered and seen documented proof of lizards over 5.5' a few times. I won't say it's never happened but it's extremely rare. I owned one huge female in 14 plus years and she maxed out at 5' 6". So maybe you should take your own advice and not post a reply to something when you clearly do not know what you're talking about.

Sorry to somewhat hijack the thread.

[snakebeginner]

ya you are right it is rare but it can happen. my friend has one that is 5 ft long. and it definatly would not be able to go in a 6ft long tank so i dont know how u think my advice is wrong for saying a blackthroat would not be a good choice for a 6x2 cage? even if the black throat only got 3.5 feet long it would still be to small of a cage. so i dont see what your really getting at.

[TailsW/Scales]

ya you are right it is rare but it can happen. my friend has one that is 5 ft long. and it definatly would not be able to go in a 6ft long tank so i dont know how u think my advice is wrong for saying a blackthroat would not be a good choice for a 6x2 cage? even if the black throat only got 3.5 feet long it would still be to small of a cage. so i dont see what your really getting at.

What I am getting at was very simply stated. I'm guessing you didn't read my first reply to the poster when I said:
"Personally a 2' wide /2' tall is not big enough for any monitor. Even my Ackies were in a 7' x 3' x 3' and that was for my yellows. Mine made full use of climbing logs and arborial hides."
If you notice in my reply to you I said nothing about your being wrong about putting a large BT in that size cage. What I was getting at was your saying
"people who dont know anything about monitors should stop giving stupid advice. If you dont know what your really talking about then why try and give advice?"
If you knew what you were talking about when it came to BT's you wouldn't have asked the question: "dont black throats get 6 ft long????? or bigger???". That's what I am getting at. You were chastizing someone else about not knowing what they are talking about when you clearly by your own questions do not know either.



Sorry to hijack the thread. Again.

[PDXErik]

I hate to stir up crap, ok, well, I love it. My neighbor had a savannah that was about 6' easy. It was let out a LOT, it spent time in the front yard on a chain and was as easy going as a puppy dog.

I've had a nile and that was pretty cool, he was a puppy dog, too, but he got handled a lot.

I stick with snakes, they seem to need less running around room.

[TailsW/Scales]

My neighbor had a savannah that was about 6' easy.

A six foot Bosc??????? That I would love to see!!!!! I've only seen one. Does your neighbor have photos?

[PDXErik]

That was a while ago, I wish I had pictures, the thing was a beast. Must have weighed in the 100's (or close to, I never picked it up or asked about it's weight). Looked like it could give small kids "pony rides"

[crocdoc]

Sorry to ruin a good story, but...

Must have weighed in the 100's (or close to, I never picked it up or asked about it's weight). Looked like it could give small kids "pony rides"

um.....right.

6 foot savannah monitor
100s of lbs in weight
(I'll skip the 'pony rides' bit as I know you were just joking)

conveniently, no photos

Here's the thing: I live in an area that has native monitors and keep a pair the local species (lace monitors) at home. My male is around 175cm/5'9" in length and weighs around 6.5kg (14lb). He's not skinny, either, but is quite well built. When I've fed him a bit too much and he gets a bit fat, he may weigh 7kg tops (15lbs). The male perentie at work, which is fairly overweight and pushing 2 metres (6.5 feet) weighs a whopping 11kg (24lb). Even though savannah monitors have a shorter tail relative to body length than these two species, it's hard to imagine a 6 foot (180cm) lizard weighing hundreds of pounds and still being able to touch the ground with its feet. Especially given the short little legs those suckers have.

When I go out bushwalking, which I do a fair bit, I often see wild monitors and most of the ones I see are smaller than my male. Occasionally I see one the same size and very occasionally I see one slightly larger. A couple of weeks ago I saw the biggest one I've seen in a long while. It was around 190cm and would have weighed 8kg or so. 9kg max. I've been living in Australia for 26 years, so you can imagine I've seen my fair share of wild monitors. Despite this, almost every visitor I've ever had to my place, and almost everyone I've ever spoken to about lace monitors has claimed to have seen dozens of 2-3 metre long lace monitors ("much much bigger than that one!" they say, as they point at my male). Am I just bushwalking in the wrong places or do I just have a more realistic grasp on the actual (vs perceived) sizes of the wild monitors I see because I have a pair at home that I have actually measured. Often, when I see the wild ones, I am able to get close enough to roughly guess their length, or can measure the ground or tree they were resting on after they've left. I'd know it if I saw one that was significantly bigger. Most of these other people aren't familiar enough with monitors to get a good grasp of the actual size and when you see one crashing around out in the bush, with little around it for scale (excuse the pun), they do seem huge.

I guess the point I am making is that sometimes monitors seem a lot bigger than they are, but when push comes to shove and someone measures and weighs them, they're rarely as long or as heavy as they seem.

Please don't take this the wrong way.

[PDXErik]

I never picked the thing up, 100lbs is an exaggeration, certainly. I also never took a tape measure to it, but standing next to it and imagining laying down next to it, it would easily be as tall or taller than me (5'10") from the tip of it's tail to it's nose.

It certainly looked more than 14 or 15 lbs, though.

I remember talking to them and I believe they said it was a savannah, perhaps there is another species that looks similar enough to mistake.

[crocdoc]

blackthroats look superficially similar to savannah monitors (they were once considered to be subspecies of the same species) and do get that length. They're pretty heavily built, so a five-six footer could weigh 30lbs or so.