Ornate monitor enclosure question

[Grendel]

I have a young ornate monitor that I got 6 weeks ago (15inch snout to end of tail). How much substrate ( depth ) do I need for one that small. Right now I'm using just plain dirt, but I did not fill the entire bottom of the enclosure. I just put in a plastic container that is about 6 inches deep with the dirt in it. He does to seem to be interested in it, I don't see any signs of digging, and he prefers to hang out up high on the branches. This enclosure is small (28in Wx28in D x 40 in H acrylic cage), but I have a 6ft x4ftx 4 ft wooden enclosure I was planning to put him in when he got a little bigger. Do you think I should just set that up and let him loose in there, or wait?

[exoticvirus]

monitors can be lazy lizards but since you got a juvenile it's best to have lots of space for it to move around. provide a large water bowl as they love dipping themselves in and excrete waste in the process as well.

i have an 18-inch juvenile asian water monitor that i keep in a 14-inch clear plastic shoebox. i let him dive in a bucket of water every morning after sun basking. after defecating, i just let her loose around our apartment for a few hours :D

[EmbraceCalamity]

monitors can be lazy lizards but since you got a juvenile it's best to have lots of space for it to move around. provide a large water bowl as they love dipping themselves in and excrete waste in the process as well.

i have an 18-inch juvenile asian water monitor that i keep in a 14-inch clear plastic shoebox. i let him dive in a bucket of water every morning after sun basking. after defecating, i just let her loose around our apartment for a few hours :DYou keep it in a box that's shorter than the thing itself? Seriously?

~Maggot

[infernalis]

monitors can be lazy lizards but since you got a juvenile it's best to have lots of space for it to move around. provide a large water bowl as they love dipping themselves in and excrete waste in the process as well.

i have an 18-inch juvenile asian water monitor that i keep in a 14-inch clear plastic shoebox. i let him dive in a bucket of water every morning after sun basking. after defecating, i just let her loose around our apartment for a few hours :D

Completely ignore the above quoted post...

[infernalis]

I have a young ornate monitor that I got 6 weeks ago (15inch snout to end of tail). How much substrate ( depth ) do I need for one that small. Right now I'm using just plain dirt, but I did not fill the entire bottom of the enclosure. I just put in a plastic container that is about 6 inches deep with the dirt in it. He does to seem to be interested in it, I don't see any signs of digging, and he prefers to hang out up high on the branches. This enclosure is small (28in Wx28in D x 40 in H acrylic cage), but I have a 6ft x4ftx 4 ft wooden enclosure I was planning to put him in when he got a little bigger. Do you think I should just set that up and let him loose in there, or wait?

Place the lizard in the largest possible enclosure right away.

[Grendel]

Ok, I can get everything transferred this weekend, but still need the answer how much dirt do I haul in there. Do I need to fill the entire 24 square feet with 12 inches deep of dirt? The shoebox post was clearly anti-productive.

[infernalis]

That's because asking the monitor to only dig in a shoe box is similar to asking a hippo to roll in a bucket of mud.

Trust me, once the entire enclosure simulates real ground, digging will happen.

So yes, shovel in all the dirt you can get away with.

[Grendel]

Ok that makes sense, if it does not really feel like real ground, he won't to do. So I need it deep too.

[Pirarucu]

At his size I'd say shoot for at least a foot of dirt, but you'll need to add to it as he grows, which will happen very quickly. (An inch a week if your temps and humidity are correct.) At least a foot but put as much as you possibly can, in other words. I should also note that the deeper the substrate, the easier it is to control heat and humidity, and keep them stable.

[BarelyBreathing]

There is nothing lazy about a healthy monitor.

[infernalis]

There is nothing lazy about a healthy monitor.

Exactly, that's one of the reasons I said ignore that post.

[Grendel]

Pirarucu did you really mean to write one inch per week, not one inch per month. That would make it 5 feet in one year (close to max size) in just that short. I thought it took 2 years for them to get to that size.

[BarelyBreathing]

Pirarucu did you really mean to write one inch per week, not one inch per month. That would make it 5 feet in one year (close to max size) in just that short. I thought it took 2 years for them to get to that size.

No, this is correct in a healthy monitor. A healthy monitor will grow 2/3 of its final length in the first year.

[infernalis]

My Savs are almost fully adult size in 9 months.

In the wild, it's a race to get big. Until they get big, they are targeted by everything including larger specimens of the same species.

[Pirarucu]

Pirarucu did you really mean to write one inch per week, not one inch per month. That would make it 5 feet in one year (close to max size) in just that short. I thought it took 2 years for them to get to that size.Yes, I meant to write one inch per week. Once they reach a certain size they start growing in bursts then slow down, put on a bit of weight, and grow again. But for most of the first year, they grow continuously.

[Grendel]

Well then over the past month mine is not doing that great, he did not get longer, just filled out / got fatter ( was pretty skinny like a finger when I got him). I feed him F/T hopper mice and raw chicken breast, and very large crickets.

[Pirarucu]

Well then over the past month mine is not doing that great, he did not get longer, just filled out / got fatter ( was pretty skinny like a finger when I got him). I feed him F/T hopper mice and raw chicken breast, and very large crickets.Scrap the chicken, it's usually best to stick to whole prey. Much more nutritionally complete. How much are you feeding him? At that size you generally give them as much as they want. Also, can you get roaches? A colony will not be missed..

[Grendel]

He is eating a mouse every other day, sometimes daily. I offer something daily.

[War Machine]

That tells me it's not hot enough for him. A healthy juvenile should be a bottom less pit.

[Grendel]

I think the temps are the issue too/ I added another heat source today.

[Pirarucu]

How hot is his basking spot? You want it at least 130-140F surface temp.

[Grendel]

The temp was 115, I changed to a stronger bulb, and now with substrate everywhere he is digging like crazy, every thing got covered in dirt in past 24 hrs. Thanks for all the advice.

[EmbraceCalamity]

The temp was 115, I changed to a stronger bulb, and now with substrate everywhere he is digging like crazy, every thing got covered in dirt in past 24 hrs. Thanks for all the advice.Is he in the larger enclosure yet? Out of curiosity.

~Maggot

[Grendel]

Yes I moved him

[War Machine]

Post some pictures, I love seeing custom enclosures, it gives me ideas :)

[simpleyork]

Here are some pics of my ornate to help with ideas . This Ornate monitor was unfortunately kept in a glass aquarium for the first couple of months that I had him. So he grew from 11 1/2" to 16" in the first three months. I then built a large cage and with proper everything within the first month of being in that cage he put on another 3 inches, he is now passing 3 feet in length at a year old though I know if he had been properly housed the first couple months he would easily be pushing four feet by now.
day I got him
http://i1015.photobucket.com/albums/af276/simpleyork/P8280140.jpg

http://i1015.photobucket.com/albums/af276/simpleyork/P1010849.jpg
http://i1015.photobucket.com/albums/af276/simpleyork/P1010848.jpg
http://i1015.photobucket.com/albums/af276/simpleyork/P1010846.jpg
his ever growing burrow
http://i1015.photobucket.com/albums/af276/simpleyork/P1010842.jpg

[dinosaurdammit]

he has a nice peach tint to him, and he seems awfully wary of you. Hope he cools down with time and patience

[simpleyork]

Oy3qmnOWcCU

[simpleyork]

this one has never liked me, display only, my savs deal okay with handling for a little bit, but the ornate more like a love hate relationship

[dinosaurdammit]

Monitors are so silly when they act tough- puffing up and such, although I always take them on their word. A tail whip to the face is none too pleasant. My nile used to puff up and strut everytime I would change out food or water, he would strut up and down a side and if worse came to worse and near a burrow he would launch out like an alligator.

[Grendel]

So today I measured my monitor again and he is now 16 inches, he was 15 when I originally posted 11/22/12.
I half buried a round piece of bark open at both ends and that's now his favorite hiding spot. Substrate is sand dirt mix with leaf litter/pine straw on top.

[Grendel]

Here are some pictures of him.

[Grendel]

Close up of head/ behind him are stacked bark pieces, with a black light directly above them for heating of the stack.

[Grendel]

One more body shot. Sorry these loaded sideways, not sure what's with that, must be because I used my phone.

[Pirarucu]

He sure is a pretty one. Strange how that one row of spots cuts off instead of going all the way across.
How much is he eating?