New Photos of my big guy - Page 4

LadyWraith · 10-18-13, 09:11 AM

Love the videos. He went APE over the gerbil! I so envy those of you with Savs. It's gotta be like having your own 24/7 zoo enclosure. They look so active and interesting to watch.

Toothless · 10-18-13, 02:48 PM

They are VERY interesting. I noticed a big change when I moved him out into the family room- much more interactive and bold. I think he's become desensitized to the noise and screaming (two young kids)- he hid for a month or so, then started to get used to it. He lays on his shelf and watches TV alot- not sure what he sees, but it entertains him non the less

. I now find that he will come to the doors whenever I'm in the room, or will peak out to see what everyone is doing. I'd love to start my hand at getting him used to being handled, but sadly I havn't had much time to interact with him lately besides tossing in food and changing water. Nontheless, he hasn't reverted back to being defensive and pissy, which is usually the case if he gets neglected interaction-wise.

I was thinking of getting some bloowork done when he turns two. As so many of these guys die young, I'd like to have regular bloodwork done so I can catch anything early. I was thinking every 6 months. I know it will be stressful, but he's becomming more comfortable with other people, and I think if I work with him alot before bringing him in I can make the experience go much easier for him.

The only problem with monitors is that its contagious

. There's something about having a mini dinosaur in your house that makes you want to get more. Only thing stopping me from getting a water is space and money. I can't really afford to feed another bottomless pit at this point in time.

Toothless · 10-20-13, 05:58 AM

I heard a bunch of commotion from the enclosure this morning so went to check it out. This is what I saw when I looked in... Apparently there was a roach up above the door he was trying to reach. Too funny!

And a few more from this morning...

infernalis · 10-20-13, 07:04 AM

Awesome. Nice to see the climbing activity.

Toothless · 10-20-13, 04:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by infernalis

Awesome. Nice to see the climbing activity.

Thanks Wayne! Your two are looking good as always!! What is your highest ambient temp in the enclosure? Mine's at 95F but I'm wondering if I should bump that up a bit and give him a wider range to use. I've noticed he likes to hang in the hotter areas alot, although he still uses every inch of the enclosure.

murrindindi · 10-20-13, 05:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Toothless

Thanks Wayne! Your two are looking good as always!! What is your highest ambient temp in the enclosure? Mine's at 95F but I'm wondering if I should bump that up a bit and give him a wider range to use. I've noticed he likes to hang in the hotter areas alot, although he still uses every inch of the enclosure.

Hi, I can only judge from the photos, but in my opinion the monitor looks absolutely fine, and why on earth do you want to raise the ambient temps if the basking surface is between approx. 50 to 60c+ (120 to 140f+), because it`s perfectly acceptable? If you want the animal to hide away for a couple of days at a time raise the ambient to well above that which they would normally encounter during the periods of greatest activity (the cooler wet season).
In times of extremes (the hottest parts of the day/year) these animals will usually RETREAT.
I must make it clear I`m not worried about the air temps immediately under the basking lights (of course they`ll be elevated), it`s when a significant part of the enclosure is kept at these unnecessarily high temps in the strange belief the monitor won`t become overweight and their metabolism will be even higher as if there`s no limit? They have a relatively narrow range of "activity" temps which can easily (quickly) be reached with the above range of surface temps.
As always, no disrespect to anyone, my thoughts are from my personal experiences in captivity and the wild...

infernalis · 10-20-13, 06:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by murrindindi

Hi, I can only judge from the photos, but in my opinion the monitor looks absolutely fine, and why on earth do you want to raise the ambient temps if the basking surface is between approx. 50 to 60c+ (120 to 140f+), because it`s perfectly acceptable? If you want the animal to hide away for a couple of days at a time raise the ambient to well above that which they would normally encounter during the periods of greatest activity (the cooler wet season).
In times of extremes (the hottest parts of the day/year) these animals will usually RETREAT.
I must make it clear I`m not worried about the air temps immediately under the basking lights (of course they`ll be elevated), it`s when a significant part of the enclosure is kept at these unnecessarily high temps in the strange belief the monitor won`t become overweight and their metabolism will be even higher as if there`s no limit? They have a relatively narrow range of "activity" temps which can easily (quickly) be reached with the above range of surface temps.
As always, no disrespect to anyone, my thoughts are from my personal experiences in captivity and the wild...

Absolutely.... The temps are fine, especially if you are seeing a lot of activity, leave it alone. The old saying goes "if it's not broke, don't fix it" and that applies here too.

Toothless · 10-20-13, 11:48 PM

I just thought that since he's been resting in the warm areas more than usual that he may use a small area with a higher ambient temp. I wasn't planning to raise the temps in the enclosure, just offer him a shelf/ box with a hotter ambient temp . Not really sure why I thought that and thank you for the explanation. I'll leave the temps alone

. Most of the enclosure is between 75-90F with one shelf at 95F that he likes to rest on alot.
He is definately very active. I swear he's playing drums in there sometimes by the amount of racket he makes

. This afternoon he dove from the top ledge right onto the dig-box (all the way across the enclosure). He ended up banging into the side of the enclosure and landing on his side- got right back up and kept going like nothing happened. He's getting pretty reckless in there. Will he hurt himself or is he smart enough to know better? He usually prefers to jump down from the ledges rather than use the ladders and I'm sometimes scared that he's going to hurt himself.

Toothless · 10-21-13, 03:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by murrindindi

Hi, I can only judge from the photos, but in my opinion the monitor looks absolutely fine,

I'll have to get a side-on photo. He has a bit of a dangly belly- it doesn't touch the ground, but is a little bear-guttish

.

Toothless · 10-22-13, 07:37 AM

He's not a big fan of dead roaches, but they're great for giving him his vitamins.
DSCF3253_zps95d1f1fd.mp4 Video by gothicangel_69 | Photobucket

formica · 10-20-13, 10:03 AM

haha nice pics

no way they are rubbish climbers!

mines just got a massive oak log and half a foot of leaf litter, he's havin great fun in it

infernalis · 10-20-13, 10:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by formica

haha nice pics

no way they are rubbish climbers!

yeah... uh OK.

Toothless · 10-20-13, 04:16 PM

I'm not quite sure if my guy is unique in the fact that he likes to climb so much, or if most would do the same given the opportunity? We may be moving across country next year (been planning to for a while now but I think it's finally going to happen) and then I'll hopefully have the room to build a 10 x 5. Now that I know he climbs so much, I plan to make the next enclosure like a giant jungle-gym.I really wish I had put the lattice on the walls like I had originally planned with this one.
I`ve also noticed he`s a tad pudgy so he`s going to be getting mostly roaches for a bit and hopefully I can get him out for some excersise a few times a week. He`s been scratching at the doors for a while now so I don`t think taking him out will be an issue...putting him back in may be

.

Pirarucu · 10-20-13, 04:36 PM

Just goes to show, if it's in their cage then they can get to it.

Toothless · 10-20-13, 11:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pirarucu

Just goes to show, if it's in their cage then they can get to it.

Very true! I'd like to build some puzzle-solving 'games' that I can put in the enclosure every so often, but havn't had the time yet. I got a bunch of great ideas off the net, and can't wait to try them out. A little extra mental stimulation never hurt

- I know I'd get bored sitting in a wooden box every day.