Adult enclosure FINALLY finished and Toothless moved in!

[Toothless]

YAY!! I'm so happy right now!
Toothless is finally moved into his new enclosure (actually just finished). I literally worked on it from 6am to 930pm to get it done and him in there. Took me two hours along just to move the dirt over, and I still need to buy a few more bags because there's not quite enough.
Of course, the first thing he did was hide as soon as I put him in there- so hopefully I'll be able to get some pics of him exploring his enclosure tomorrow.
My temp gun also had to chose today to stop working, so I just set up his basking lights exactly as in the old enclosure (and same surface), and just cranked the room temp up to 75 for now. I'm really too tired to stay up any later and fiddle with the temps, so that will have to be done tomorrow evening once I get home from work.
I threw in a few dubai just in case he gets hungry overnight. I'm hoping he'll come out and find his basking spot sometime throughout the night too (its on another level).
The enclosure has two fluorescent tube lights for during the day, and I plan to leave his basking lights on 24/7. Even with the basking lights on though, the bottom half of the enclosure gets nice and dark.
Hope to have some photos tomorrow evening!! Can't wait to see how he likes the new place :).

[alessia55]

Can't wait to see the photos! Congrats on getting it done.

[Toothless]

I ended up staying awake for a few extra hours last night to to make sure the ambient temps were ok. I'm glad I did, because the ambient on the low side (where he was hiding), dropped to 72F- for some reason my heater's wouldn't kick on so the room was cold. I added another 50 watt halogen on the cool side of the cage and turned back on the fluorescent lights to raise the ambient temp, and also to provide a small basking spot just in case he couldn't find the main basking spot during the night (which I don't think he did). That raised the ambient temp to 75F on the cool end so I felt comfortable enough to go to sleep for the night.
Unfortunately, an hour after I went to bed, I hear all this banging and thrashing comming from the living room so I jumped out of bed to check it out (I was worried that he had somehow escaped from the enclosure and was being harassed by the cats). Turns out he was dashing around the bottom level of the enclosure like a mad man trying to find his way up to the second level (silly guy couldn't find the ramp). I didn't want to disturb him so figure I'll get some yummy grasshoppers on the way home from work today and lead him around the cage with the tongues so he knows where to go.
He did use his water dish though, because it was a mess and there was water spilled everywhere :).
I think I'll have to add one more 50 watt to keep the temps in the proper range. I'm thinking about adding another one on the bottom level so that there are two basking spots (each with two 50 watt bulbs).
I still need to check the surface temps and the ambient temps for each level once I get home (I'll let you all know what they are when I post some pics). Humidity on the bottom level was 80% as of this morning.
I was actually seriously considering playing hookie from work today just so I could stay home and watch him in the new enclosure :). Can't wait to get home and take lots of pics!!

[DeadlyDesires]

give us a run down of how your enclosure is built please? it sounds like you dont have enough lights in there.. how hot is your basking spot? how are you measuring it? what are you using as a basking spot? how many lights/watts do you have over the basking spot to achieve this temp? 75 is fine for the cool side at night, i dont let mine get that low but it will be ok that just means the borrows are colder where mine hangs out and im not ok with that. other than the lights are you providing any other type of heat to the cage? you said you were worried he got out? is there any place you *think* he could get out of? if so you should probably fix that, you would be surprised at the places they can squeeze through to get out of their cages lol.

[smy_749]

give us a run down of how your enclosure is built please? it sounds like you dont have enough lights in there.. how hot is your basking spot? how are you measuring it? what are you using as a basking spot? how many lights/watts do you have over the basking spot to achieve this temp? 75 is fine for the cool side at night, i dont let mine get that low but it will be ok that just means the borrows are colder where mine hangs out and im not ok with that. other than the lights are you providing any other type of heat to the cage? you said you were worried he got out? is there any place you *think* he could get out of? if so you should probably fix that, you would be surprised at the places they can squeeze through to get out of their cages lol.

You realize he has an entire thread about his enclosure, and its very nicely built right?

Nobody here can say he designed an enclosure, and as soon as he flicked the lights on, everything was perfect. It takes some calibrating before you find the right balance. Do you even read what you write before you start criticizing? He said he thought he heard that he got out, and went to check on him, and he was just running around. And he said it was with the lights on that he had 75 on the cool side.

[DeadlyDesires]

You realize he has an entire thread about his enclosure, and its very nicely built right?

Nobody here can say he designed an enclosure, and as soon as he flicked the lights on, everything was perfect. It takes some calibrating before you find the right balance. Do you even read what you write before you start criticizing? He said he thought he heard that he got out, and went to check on him, and he was just running around. And he said it was with the lights on that he had 75 on the cool side.


what is wrong with you? i didnt say anything wrong, all i asked were a few questions i didnt see another thread of his enclosure, all he would have to do is post it and i would go look and say ok, he said he was worried about temps i was trying to help. i DIDNT say anything wrong.. just go away, you aren't helping and you seem to think that everything that comes out of my mouth is rude and im criticizing people thats not what im doing, if you can't offer any help then stick to your own threads that YOU need help on. geez.

[DeadlyDesires]

you dont like me, i get it, i dont care, i did not criticize him about anything so keep your two sense out it. all you are doing is going around my threads where im trying to help and complaining about what i say, if you dont like it then you dont have to read it and you dont have to say anything.

edit - i just went and looked at his thread of the enclosure... there is only 1 picture. so unless there is another thread some where with the rest of the pictures i dont really see anything about how the inside of his enclosure is built thanks a lot for opening your stupid mouth and making me look like a jerk when all i was trying to do was help the OP out. and as for the "escaping" part all i simply said was if he though there was anywhere he could get out to fix it because the fact that he thought his sav got out made me think maybe there is a spot on the cage he is concerned about and not sure... i didnt say anything that should have offended him.

[smy_749]

Hes been working very hard, his enclosure looks very nice, and you are constanty oblivious to the issues at hand and treat people as if they have never housed a reptile or kept one.Im not the only one who notices your "your doing something wrong, Im sure of it" attitude, and your constant striving to find out what can be wrong with peoples setups. If toothless doesnt find what you said degrading then fine, if he does then you need to start realizing its you. You did the same thing to nepoez and I wasnt the only one who noticed it.

[DeadlyDesires]

Hes been working very hard, his enclosure looks very nice, and you are constanty oblivious to the issues at hand and treat people as if they have never housed a reptile or kept one.Im not the only one who notices your "your doing something wrong, Im sure of it" attitude, and your constant striving to find out what can be wrong with peoples setups. If toothless doesnt find what you said degrading then fine, if he does then you need to start realizing its you. You did the same thing to nepoez and I wasnt the only one who noticed it.


UGHHHHH i didnt say anything wrong... im not saying there is anything wrong with his enclosure. i dont even know what it looks like... and i was just tyring to help with his heat issue. why is this a problem for you?????? as for the other person i still dont agree but i let it go and stopped posting in there. when are you going to understand that I DONT CARE if you dont like how i post or put things. as long as im helping you can get over your little holier than thou attitude and go on somewhere, your not better than i am and you make a lot of stupid little mistakes yourself i see it all the time but i dont say anything because you already think im mean anyway so if i told you what i thought about you you would deff think i was mean so just go away and let me be. i didnt say anything wrong, i asked questions, i didnt make any assumptions or criticize his enclosure THAT I HAVEN'T SEEN YET.

[poison123]

I didn't feel as though deadly was being rude in this post seems as though she is just trying to help. Some people don't have time to look at every single thread :)

Its best if we stay on subject no need for these internet fights unless you plan on meating up with each other :p

[smy_749]

I didnt say I dont make mistakes, Im just saying your comments have a specific tone to them, and it sucks. If you dont care what I think stop responding, this thread is for toothless's enclosure. Calm down....

Thanks for telling me 'im not better than you and make alot of mistakes' . Thats the kind of attitude we need here .

[bowdenmx]

nead to see pics of it all man!! :)

[DeadlyDesires]

I didnt say I dont make mistakes, Im just saying your comments have a specific tone to them, and it sucks. If you dont care what I think stop responding, this thread is for toothless's enclosure. Calm down....

Thanks for telling me 'im not better than you and make alot of mistakes' . Thats the kind of attitude we need here .


i dont think im better than you, never said that if that is what you are implying, i simply said you aren't better than i am, which mean you make mistakes too, do make mistakes, but you come at me all the time and makes me feel like you think you are better than me that is why i said what i said.

[poison123]

I too would like pics :)

[DeadlyDesires]

I too would like pics :)


+3 and not because i think there is something wrong with your enclosure lol..

[Toothless]

First off, I'm a girl :).
And I just wanted to say that I didn't take any offense to the comment made by Deadly. We are all very passionate about monitors and I think the questions asked were quite valid.
Yes, it is a new enclosure so will take me a few days to get everything temp wise all sorted out, but its well in the process. As of now, the bottom level is 77F with 77% humidity, the middle level is 80F with 82% humidity, and I just moved the device to the top level, so will have to wait for a bit to get the ambient temps up there (this is with two 50 watt halogens over the basking area, one 50 watt on the bottom side, and two fluorescent tube lights.
Not sure what the basking temp is yet, as my temp gun died, and I wasn't able to get to the store today to buy another one as my son got sick. It should be around 140-150 though as I used the same lights/ basking surface, and distance as in the old enclosure. I should have that all sorted out tomorrow though.

He's still hiding, but is normally very shy so I'm thinking it will take a few days until he's ready to come out. I'll shoot some photos here once I'm done supper and upload them for everyone :).

[murrindindi]

Hi, just to reafirm; you only need to know the lowest ambient in the coolest parts @ approx 24c (75f), then the surface temp at the basking site @ between approx 50 to 60c (120 to 140f), no other temp matters.

[DeadlyDesires]

First off, I'm a girl :).
And I just wanted to say that I didn't take any offense to the comment made by Deadly. We are all very passionate about monitors and I think the questions asked were quite valid. Thank you for this!
Yes, it is a new enclosure so will take me a few days to get everything temp wise all sorted out, but its well in the process. As of now, the bottom level is 77F with 77% humidity, the middle level is 80F with 82% humidity, and I just moved the device to the top level, so will have to wait for a bit to get the ambient temps up there (this is with two 50 watt halogens over the basking area, one 50 watt on the bottom side, and two fluorescent tube lights.
Not sure what the basking temp is yet, as my temp gun died, and I wasn't able to get to the store today to buy another one as my son got sick. It should be around 140-150 though as I used the same lights/ basking surface, and distance as in the old enclosure. I should have that all sorted out tomorrow though.

He's still hiding, but is normally very shy so I'm thinking it will take a few days until he's ready to come out. I'll shoot some photos here once I'm done supper and upload them for everyone :).

you said levels so you have 3 levels then yes? ill wait to see pics so i can understand better lol, i have 3 60 watt halogen floods on my basking are and a heat emitter so maybe add 1 more flood to up the heat a little more on the 2nd level? 80's is a little cool for a warm side. also did you insulate the enclosure? it can help a lot with holding in humidity and heat. the basking spot is great just need the ambient a little warmer. those temps are great for night though. i turn off all my lights and turn on my heat emitter at night to help maintain heat. i also keep my cage warm i only offer a 10 degree temp drop at night for my sav. it goes from almost 100 sometimes 102 during the day to 90 at night and 78-82 on the cool end at night. the borrows are in the 70's as well.

[DeadlyDesires]

Hi, just to reafirm; you only need to know the lowest ambient in the coolest parts @ approx 24c (75f), then the surface temp at the basking site @ between approx 50 to 60c (120 to 140f), no other temp matters.


so as long as your basking spot is good and you cool end isn't too cold it doesn't matter what the temps are in the cage?

[murrindindi]

you said levels so you have 3 levels then yes? ill wait to see pics so i can understand better lol, i have 3 60 watt halogen floods on my basking are and a heat emitter so maybe add 1 more flood to up the heat a little more on the 2nd level? 80's is a little cool for a warm side. also did you insulate the enclosure? it can help a lot with holding in humidity and heat. the basking spot is great just need the ambient a little warmer. those temps are great for night though. i turn off all my lights and turn on my heat emitter at night to help maintain heat. i also keep my cage warm i only offer a 10 degree temp drop at night for my sav. it goes from almost 100 sometimes 102 during the day to 90 at night and 78-82 on the cool end at night. the borrows are in the 70's as well.

Hi, why are you saying the ambient temp is too cool?
It doesn`t matter what the air temp is so long as the surface temp is within range. The only problem might be if the ambient temps were too high throughout, because they are active in the somewhat cooler wet season, meaning we don`t want to replicate the hotter dry season when they`re least active. The coolest temps are likely to be in the burrows, again, only TWO temps matter; the coolest ambient (air) then the surface temp at the basking site/s, NO OTHER temp matters in the least (bearing in mind not too much ambient heat)!

[murrindindi]

so as long as your basking spot is good and you cool end isn't too cold it doesn't matter what the temps are in the cage?


Exactly! You win the prize (an all expenses paid trip around the world) compliments of Wayne (Infernalis)....Well done!!! ;)

[DeadlyDesires]

Hi, why are you saying the ambient temp is too cool?
It doesn`t matter what the air temp is so long as the surface temp is within range. The only problem might be if the ambient temps were too high throughout, because they are active in the somewhat cooler wet season, meaning we don`t want to replicate the hotter dry season when they`re least active. The coolest temps are likely to be in the burrows, again, only TWO temps matter; the coolest ambient (air) then the surface temp at the basking site/s, NO OTHER temp matters in the least (bearing in mind not too much ambient heat)!


so what is your opinion of too much? if i turn down my heat a little to let it drop lower then my basking spot drops too because my ambient comes from my flood lights... :hmm:

as for saying its too cool, i posted that before i read that it didnt matter, sorry, i didnt know the ambient didnt matter as long as the one side doesn't get too cold... i may be making some adjustments to my temps..

[murrindindi]

It`s not what the ambient temp is around the basking area, that doesn`t matter at all, obviously it will be relatively higher, what would be a concern for me is if someone (nobody in particular) was to keep raising the ambient temps without understanding that the object of the excercise is to try and replicate the conditions they are most active in, and in the wild that`s the somewhat cooler wet season.
We aren`t sure whether they remain inactive at times (dry season) simply because of the higher air temps/lower humidity, or a reduction in prey items (or some other reason)? Dr. Daniel Bennett did see evidence that they do at least move around in their burrows, though he didn`t find out whether they were just basking or perhaps did take prey? They do not brumate.

[Toothless]

Ok, so here are a few pics!
As for the ambients- I'm just measuring all levels for curiousity sake :).
The enclosure is not insulated yet, but its something I plan to pluck away on during the next few months (money's tight at the moment and I needed to get him in there because the old enclosure was rotting).
The bottom half is divided into two sections since I had to watch the weight on it for the time being. Its made so that the divider can be easily removed and soil can be added to the second half when the time comes.
Keep in mind I still need to add some more dirt :).
Basking spot
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e310/gothicangel_69/IMG-20130415-00858_zps04c1e8b4.jpg (http://s42.photobucket.com/user/gothicangel_69/media/IMG-20130415-00858_zps04c1e8b4.jpg.html)
Soil area
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e310/gothicangel_69/IMG-20130415-00857_zps365e5888.jpg (http://s42.photobucket.com/user/gothicangel_69/media/IMG-20130415-00857_zps365e5888.jpg.html)
Bottom level
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e310/gothicangel_69/IMG-20130415-00856_zpsaeb184df.jpg (http://s42.photobucket.com/user/gothicangel_69/media/IMG-20130415-00856_zpsaeb184df.jpg.html)
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e310/gothicangel_69/IMG-20130415-00859_zps6c7c07df.jpg (http://s42.photobucket.com/user/gothicangel_69/media/IMG-20130415-00859_zps6c7c07df.jpg.html)
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e310/gothicangel_69/IMG-20130415-00860_zps2b1f2bdc.jpg (http://s42.photobucket.com/user/gothicangel_69/media/IMG-20130415-00860_zps2b1f2bdc.jpg.html)
And Toothless (taken last week).
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e310/gothicangel_69/IMG-20130410-00855_zpscb7bd900.jpg (http://s42.photobucket.com/user/gothicangel_69/media/IMG-20130410-00855_zpscb7bd900.jpg.html)

[Toothless]

Don't mind the tub of roaches- I'm trying to encourage him to come out of his hide :).

[DeadlyDesires]

very nice enclosure! how big does it measure? looks very cosey i like the plants hanging down over the basking area to offer some seclusion. its very pretty :D is there dirt on both sides of the divider? could you take a picture of the outside of the enclosure all closed up so i can see what it looks like around the outside too? :D

[Toothless]

Its 8 x 4 x 5.
There is only dirt in one half of the bottom at the moment- I have bark chips in the other half.
He likes lots of clutter in his enclosure as he's still pretty shy, especially with anything new. I can feed him with tongues, but if anyone else comes into the room or goes near him, he'll either run and hide, and lunge at them and try to bite- its kindof funny :).
The outside looks pretty shabby, but I'll try to get a pick tomorrow.

[DeadlyDesires]

Its 8 x 4 x 5.
There is only dirt in one half of the bottom at the moment- I have bark chips in the other half.
He likes lots of clutter in his enclosure as he's still pretty shy, especially with anything new. I can feed him with tongues, but if anyone else comes into the room or goes near him, he'll either run and hide, and lunge at them and try to bite- its kindof funny :).
The outside looks pretty shabby, but I'll try to get a pick tomorrow.


any particular reason you chose bark chips for the other side instead of sand/soil mix? if you have stated previously i apologize as i didn't go through your other post.

[erichillkeast]

any particular reason you chose bark chips for the other side instead of sand/soil mix? if you have stated previously i apologize as i didn't go through your other post.

A few post up (where she poster the pictures) she said that it was because she was concerned about the weight.

[DeadlyDesires]

A few post up (where she poster the pictures) she said that it was because she was concerned about the weight.


oh ok lol sorry i didnt see that, just looked at the pictures. i think the weight wouldn't be an issue, i live in an apt and have mine full of dirt. and i have no issues, do you have supports running through the bottom of the enclosure?

[Toothless]

oh ok lol sorry i didnt see that, just looked at the pictures. i think the weight wouldn't be an issue, i live in an apt and have mine full of dirt. and i have no issues, do you have supports running through the bottom of the enclosure?
I do have supports running along the bottom of the enclosure, but as I'm on the second floor I'd like to keep the weight of the entire enclosure under 1000lbs until an appartment on the ground level opens up (or I move, whichever comes first :)). It is a very well built building, and probably would hold the weight, but I'm not one to take chances. I figure this way if the super asks about the weight, I can always say that if the floor will hold 4 200lb guys sitting on a couch during a football game, then it can handle my enclosure. lol (especially since the weight of mine is distributed on more than just four focal points).

[Toothless]

It appears as though Toothless hasn't moved a muscle since yesterday morning (you can see the end of his tail if you lean down and look under the shelf). I got a little worried this morning, wondering if he was ok, so I decided to take a glove and stick it under the shelf to touch his tail just to see if he moved.
Turns out he's just fine because he hissed at the glove, then moved further underneath the shelf. Makes me feel much better :D. I know I'm supposed to leave him alone, but I was quite worried and just wanted to make sure he was ok.
How long should it take him to acclimatize and start eating again? I left a few dubais in there, but he hasn't touched them yet.
I know he's stayed in his burrow for 5 days straight before and was perfectly fine- I guess I'm just being a worry-wart but I can't help it :bouncy:.

[infernalis]

Curiosity will take over sooner or later, initial exploring will likely take place when no one is around.

in a week or two things should be settled to normal.

[DeadlyDesires]

Curiosity will take over sooner or later, initial exploring will likely take place when no one is around.

in a week or two things should be settled to normal.


took mine about 3 weeks i believe to get used to me opening the cage and being around it, maybe try and cover the window to give him more privacy,that is what i did.

[Toothless]

Good news! I came home from work today and crept up to the enclosure quietly. When I looked in I saw I big dirty face staring up at me from halfway out of his little hidey-hole :). Mind you, he ran back under the shelf as soon as he saw me, but at least he's starting to explore a bit. I'll just continue to throw in some dubai's and let him eat whenever he's comfortable until he's ready to take them from tongues again.

Quick question in regards to the dubais- I'm only comfortable leaving the male dubais in the enclosure and was wondering what the ratio of male/female should be for the colony? I don't want to take out too many of the males.

[stephanbakir]

I've eaten Dubias before (lost a bet) not sure how comfortable I'd be feeding a sav with my tongue tho ;) tongs maybe?

[smy_749]

i try to do 1:5 , if your scared leaving females will cause an infestation in the cage it wont. But no point in wasting females, stick to nymphs and males.

[stephanbakir]

I ran a 1-5 a 1-10 and a 1-5, got best growth with 1-10, then ran 3 colonies of 1-10 with different food combos, got crazy growth with dog food (dry) and oranges without peels as a combo

[stephanbakir]

Even the smallest Dubai nymphs can be sexed, don't ever feed females unless you have too many

[Toothless]

Thanks for the info everyone. I'm not sure exactly what my ratio is at the moment, but I probably have about 40 males now, and well over 200 mature females. I'm getting plenty of babies, but I think the colony needs a break for a month to replenish as most of the babies are still quite small.
I don't think I could ever have too many females :). I'm sure if I put Toothless in the bin, he would eat every single adult in there in a matter of minutes- mind you he would probably look like a giant balloon afterwards.

[Toothless]

I've eaten Dubias before (lost a bet) not sure how comfortable I'd be feeding a sav with my tongue tho ;) tongs maybe?
You mean you don't tongue feed your animals:laugh:? It makes for a very intimate relationship...don't diss it until you try it. After a while, you no longer feel the pain when they accidently bite it.

[stephanbakir]

I'd buy another colony, the size of yours and leave it alone for 6-8 months, only feed out of you current colony. Your sav will grow faster then your colony if you don't give your colony time to explode for a while. We had close to 6000 breeders and that was barely enough to feed the sav.

[smy_749]

Stephen how do you sex a nymph? I haven't of this before and it may save me from wasting potential future baby makers.

Also I tried the dogfood, they tended to not love it like they do with greens and oranges, and it made my colony smell terrible. I use romaine lettuce, carrots, broccoli and oranges now.

[stephanbakir]

You sex them by the final scale close to their ***, females have a huge one, males have a tiny one...

Dog food is there in case I forget to feed them, and trust me, dog food did not make you cage smell, lack of ventilation did. I had a ton of Dubias, a few kinds of dog food and fruit in there with a good smell, not a bad smell.
Mold will demolish your colony faster then anything else.

Take a small sandwich container and cut off the lip, then sandpaper the crap out of it with a large grit sandpaper and out your fruit in there. They can still climb it, and it keep the moisture out of the roach cage.

[Toothless]

I'd buy another colony, the size of yours and leave it alone for 6-8 months, only feed out of you current colony. Your sav will grow faster then your colony if you don't give your colony time to explode for a while. We had close to 6000 breeders and that was barely enough to feed the sav.
Only problem with that is its impossible to find them here. I had to make a 9-10 hr (approx. 5 hrs each way) road trip just to get the guys I have now and it took me months just to find them.

[Starbuck]

toothless, you should be able to get a starter colony shipped to you, as long as temps in your area are ok, right?

[DeadlyDesires]

toothless, you should be able to get a starter colony shipped to you, as long as temps in your area are ok, right?


dubia's are illegal in canada :-/

[smy_749]

You sex them by the final scale close to their ***, females have a huge one, males have a tiny one...

Dog food is there in case I forget to feed them, and trust me, dog food did not make you cage smell, lack of ventilation did. I had a ton of Dubias, a few kinds of dog food and fruit in there with a good smell, not a bad smell.
Mold will demolish your colony faster then anything else.

Take a small sandwich container and cut off the lip, then sandpaper the crap out of it with a large grit sandpaper and out your fruit in there. They can still climb it, and it keep the moisture out of the roach cage.

yea I have had a bit of trouble with the moisture that leaves the lettuce/fruit but I maintain my tub fairly often. It doesn't smell so bad anymore, but I still think it was mostly the dog food because it wasn't a rotting or moldy smell, just a gross dog food smell :P I have a styrofoam thing that I use to put the food in, works ok

[stephanbakir]

Try what I said ;)
If you really have issues with smell I'll send you my design for a dermestid beetle enclosure. Those guys reek and I had an enclosure 3 feet from my bed with absolutely no smell.

A food bowl that's been sanded is your best bet, even babies can climb it

[smy_749]

Try what I said ;)
If you really have issues with smell I'll send you my design for a dermestid beetle enclosure. Those guys reek and I had an enclosure 3 feet from my bed with absolutely no smell.

A food bowl that's been sanded is your best bet, even babies can climb it

Alright, they are in a somewhat small tub at the moment. Had a bigger one but I gave away a lot of what I had and moved to a smaller 2 tub system. I drilled holes in the bottom of one, and the babies crawl through but the adults stay up top...I like to seperate them to know how many new babies I have coming in. The smell now isn't as bad, its just somewhat sour almost, hard to explain.

Problem is, its in the closet with all my clothes :P hahaah

[stephanbakir]

You want the babies with the adults, their main source of food is the feces from the adults

[smy_749]

You want the babies with the adults, their main source of food is the feces from the adults

Really??? Wow wtf I did not know that...Anyways, the feces falls through as well, not all of it, but a good portion.

[Toothless]

Toothless is out of his hide again :). He still hasn't explored the other levels yet to my knowledge, but I saw his laying in his water dish when I came out to take a look and he had eated all the grasshoppers that I left in a bowl for him :).
Seems he's adjusting much quicker than I expected- I love my big cranky guy! I'll see if I can possibly shoot some pics of him out an about sometime today when he's not looking(as I'm off work).

[Toothless]

Yay!! Toothless finally figured out how to use the ramps! I came home today to find dirt all over the basking spot, and the plants in the soil area were all messed up :). Glad to see he's finally exploring the whole enclosure.

[murrindindi]

Yay!! Toothless finally figured out how to use the ramps! I came home today to find dirt all over the basking spot, and the plants in the soil area were all messed up :). Glad to see he's finally exploring the whole enclosure.


Hi, it`s good to hear the monitor is starting to settle in, I think it would be a good idea if you commenced training the animal to keep the place tidy after all the work you`ve put in getting it just right...... :sad:

[Toothless]

Hi, it`s good to hear the monitor is starting to settle in, I think it would be a good idea if you commenced training the animal to keep the place tidy after all the work you`ve put in getting it just right...... :sad:
I'll leave a note for him today politely asking him to please clean up after himself:D.
The good thing is that all the plants (besides the moss) are plastic, so are very easy to fix back up again (only took me 30 seconds to make it look pretty again).
Can't wait until he's comfortable enough for me to snap some photos of him in the new setup. I've been leaving his food in a dish twice a day(besides the roaches which I have just been throwing in there) and its all gone within a few hours :). He had a lovely breakfast of 20 grasshoppers this morning, and now that he's found his basking spot I'll probably give him a mouse tonight and see if I can convince him to take it from the tonges.

[Toothless]

Finally managed to snap a few photos! They're not the best as I didn't want to bother him by opening up the enclosure.
He also took a mouse off the tonges this morning.
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e310/gothicangel_69/IMG-20130420-00866_zps32f04790.jpg (http://s42.photobucket.com/user/gothicangel_69/media/IMG-20130420-00866_zps32f04790.jpg.html)
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e310/gothicangel_69/IMG-20130420-00865_zps299da13d.jpg (http://s42.photobucket.com/user/gothicangel_69/media/IMG-20130420-00865_zps299da13d.jpg.html)
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e310/gothicangel_69/IMG-20130420-00863_zps981c6d47.jpg (http://s42.photobucket.com/user/gothicangel_69/media/IMG-20130420-00863_zps981c6d47.jpg.html)

[smy_749]

Nice pics. Is that a flexible 'tube' like housing for the flood light? If it is where do you get them and for how much?

[Mark Taylor]

Nice pics. Is that a flexible 'tube' like housing for the flood light? If it is where do you get them and for how much?

You could make one from a computer lamp neck.;)

[smy_749]

You could make one from a computer lamp neck.;)

Thats what I was thinking, but even the flood lights get pretty hot.... Can it handle that much heat? I tried to check surface temps on my flood light and it was pretty hot.....

[Mark Taylor]

I would of thought so as the flexi part is made of metal and is only containing the wires the heat is directed away.

I will say I have never made one but if you want I will.

[smy_749]

I would of thought so as the flexi part is made of metal and is only containing the wires the heat is directed away.

I will say I have never made one but if you want I will.

I think the issue is in the part that you screw the bulb into, on computer lamps I don't know if it can take that type of heat (atleast not mine). I have one at my desk with a long wirey neck, and It has a 13 watt bulb reading 220 degrees F (100 C ? ) and is only designed for max of 13 or something)

[Mark Taylor]

Now I see were your coming from but I still think it can be done if you used a ceramic bulb holder, like I said I will make one when I get time but it wont be cheep lol.

Like this.
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/images/Categoryimages/normal/p-929530-42608-reptile.jpg

[Toothless]

Nice pics. Is that a flexible 'tube' like housing for the flood light? If it is where do you get them and for how much?
The light actually has a metal dome that attaches to it, but I removed the dome part :). It was an old one I had lying around and just stuck it in there to raise the ambient temp. The temp on the log is 120. He doesn't use that spot to bask very often though from what I've noticed. He prefers the 160 main basking spot.

[Pirarucu]

Great looking Sav and cage!