Quote:
Originally Posted by arnoldosu1
Hi murrindindi, I appreciate your input. The reason why I got the smaller temporary inclosure was from reading forums and such. My line of thinking is that the smaller inclosure would make the baby monitor feel more secure...kind of like a dogs crate though not to that extent. In addition to a plywood top, I also planned to line the sides and back of the cage with lattice to add, not only climbing space but security and insulation as well. Does this sound good?
The size of my cage or any cage made for a monitor (baby or adult) would be in my opinion be too small for their exercise needs...this is where my 'free roam' idea that I mentioned before, comes in. That along with some outside exercise as well would make for a much better life for the monitor, than just being kept in a large cage. This is of course only my theory...infernalis and others say not to do this, as illustrated here:
In my last post, I proposed this scenario, asking infernalis and others for an explanation of why 'free roam' is a bad idea:
Thanks for all the input guys! The info so far has been helpful, I hope I did the quotes correctly, I'm new to this. Anyways a lot of great info...leading me to other questions but I'll save those as to not get off topic.
Also...
Don't worry I won't, that's why I'm on here to make sure I know exactly what I'm doing and can provide a good home for the monitor!
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Hi again, I wasn`t sure whether you had already got the monitor, it`s nice to know you haven`t just yet!
I take it you don`t want to make a custom built enclosure at this time? If that`s correct my opinion is still the same; the type you are thinking of using is not suitable. A smaller enclosure won`t necessarily make the animal feel more secure, the important thing is to provide lots of hiding places, the monitor should be able to travel around the whole tank almost unseen, there should be lots of cover around the basking and feeding areas in particular.
The idea of allowing a fully acclimated monitor some "outside" time (that doesn`t necessarily mean outdoors) is perfectly acceptable under strict supervision with certain conditions in place (not left unattended). I think Wayne (Infernalis) and the others were only suggesting keeping them outside their supportive enclosures for extended periods could be harmful (insufficient temps, humidity, etc), so extended "free roaming" would probably be unhealthy in the majority of cases (unless you live in a climate very similar to where the monitor originates from).
Ask all the questions you can think of, then ask some more, and ALWAYS question the answers so you understand why something is said to be so....
This is my young (male) Varanus salvator macromaculatus (Asian water monitor), having a few minutes (literally) in the "real" outside (fully contained area).
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5454/8...1c0285c8_z.jpg
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8255/8...62e37b6d_z.jpg
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