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I dont wanna say I have to wait, but where I'm at is really small, I'm moving to a 4000 square foot home next month so If I can keep him healthy and happy in a smaller enclosure for just a bit longer I can make a massive enclosure...no limits on size
I stopped with the feeding tank, since he stopped feeding in it, was too concerned with getting out and away from me. Any particular reason you say stop with the feeding tank? I don't have much experience with monitors so I was just curious as to what that affects? Appetite? or is it a stress thing? I dont know how to about feeding dubias, he wont take them from tongs and they will hide in his enclosure if I leave them for hunting... or no?
How cluttered is his cage? Visibility is not the only thing, he should be able to move from one end of the cage to the other without being seen if he wants to. Give him tight spaces to squeeze into, and lots of cover. Fill up any empty space.
How large is his current cage?
The feeding tank is just stressful, they need to be left alone, especially at this age. Just leave the dubias in there. He'll find them.. Heck, having to track them down would be more natural and might trigger a feed response.
The feeding tank is just stressful, they need to be left alone, especially at this age. Just leave the dubias in there. He'll find them.. Heck, having to track them down would be more natural and might trigger a feed response.
My monitor, not a roughneck mind you, but still a monitor.. i just throw the dubias in there when he isn't willing to tong feed and he digs everywhere for them.. and the tong feeding process doesn't happen over night by the way.. he is probably stressed out.. im sure you are stressing him out and not realizing it too , no offense, its quite common actually with new keepers.. i did it. im sure others have as well.. just let him be dont mess with him.. picking him up all the time will deff stress him out and feeding in a diff enclosure is not necessary.
there is someone around here "wayne, war, someone" that has a video of how to tong feed and let the monitor come to you i think it would be beneficial for you to take a look at.
Ok guys, so I've been busy since the morning. His cage was not very big, and I can't build his permanent one I'm doing a major move to my first home in a month and I wanna do it big when I get there (wont be able to move it or fit it if I do it now, and if its a smaller one no point because he wont be using it in a month)
So I bought a 50 gallon rubber maid (hes only 18 inches long , maybe even less honestly and the bottom of the rubbermade is 42.75"L x 22"W x 18"H. I put a small screen vent in the top for ventilation, I one of the FR on varanus saying if you don't have atleast a little bit of ventilation it will be a rainstorm and not good :S. I got more top soil, washed play sand ,mixed them together. I got like 12 nice fake plants and the lady at walmart only charged me for 2 . A foot high planting ceramic pot, which I luckily smashed into 2 equal Hide like halfs and thats his new basking spot. I got a cork bark runs the height of the tub. A 1.5 ft long by 8 inch tupperwear pool (his snout to vent isnt even half of that) and I put a rock towards the edge. Got a cool hide, a medium hide, and a hot side hide, and I replaced the 120 watt basking bulb with a 45 watt halogen heat bulb, and its suspended in his cage, not sitting on top. Basking spot on the ceramic pot is 124 (EDIT: its at about 130 now) (will see if I need to go hotter and ill grab another) and cool side is 75. I did forget to get the hygrometer (I know I know). But the cheap one I have (which is brand new so it may have SOME accuracy no? ) says 80%. Pictures coming soon !
These are the photos I took, I know they arent really clear, but I can here him in there being very active, and form peaking through the vent, I see he already made a tunnel, Defrosting a fuzzy and a silverside whole fish cut into 2 halves (purchased a pack of frozen ones from petco since I thought the smell of fish would entice him maybe)
and just a question, if there is like 5 cockroaches roaming around in there, and I MAY have lost a pinky somewhere in the soil, do I have to remove everything and look for it or will it be fine to leave it in there? I can't confirm whether there is one or not, (I guess the smell will make it apparent eventually)
it doesn't look like there is enough sand in there :-/ looks like all soil to me.. how much did you add of each? like 50/50 or 60/40? or less? also, did you pack the substrate down well? with my enclosure i stepped all around my substrate to make sure it was nicely compacted.. This tub is better than what you have before but it still wont last, and personally i dont think he should be in it now based on his current size but you are doing what you can, just make sure you keep him healthy and good so he will get his big enclosure. The problem you can run into with the enclosures being so small is they get depressed and just dont eat anymore. Good luck wish you the best
i keep some quince monitors which are similar to rough necks (different areas of the world tho) indonesia vs asia, and my quince's are said to eat fish/insects/small animals in the wild but in captivity they eat (or only seem to want to eat mice). after almost a yearish now nothing bad from eating only mice or cut up crawfish, they function fine, are very active and i just give a little bit higher temps 130+. when younger they ate crickets but never seemed to eat roaches but one time and i think it was just luck. there was one guy on here who kept rough necks, not sure where he has gone tho. rough necks are forest dwelling monitors so organic soil/sand is always good with leaf litter or "coco fiber on top*. i forget if rn's are the same complex as most indo forest monitors but the care is pretty similar except rn's require a rainy season for better mating/breeding, but will still breed without it
I think there is about 50/50, but its covered by peat moss ontop , maybe thats why? I Must admit I did not pack it down, should I pull everything apart add more sand and pack it down then re do it? It holds its shape but its not super packed down. Do roughnecks burrow so much? From what I read they arent really a burrowing species, I've never seen a roughneck burrowing photo unlike savannahs, ackies, etc .etc. ? Just curious if they actually burrow are mainly stay up in the tree line?
I think there is about 50/50, but its covered by peat moss ontop , maybe thats why? I Must admit I did not pack it down, should I pull everything apart add more sand and pack it down then re do it? It holds its shape but its not super packed down. Do roughnecks burrow so much? From what I read they arent really a burrowing species, I've never seen a roughneck burrowing photo unlike savannahs, ackies, etc .etc. ? Just curious if they actually burrow are mainly stay up in the tree line?
I dont actually know, let someone else answer that question, but if their answer is yes, i would try to pack it down a little bit.. as far as the 50/50 thats fine.. prob can't see cause of the moss...
I think there is about 50/50, but its covered by peat moss ontop , maybe thats why? I Must admit I did not pack it down, should I pull everything apart add more sand and pack it down then re do it? It holds its shape but its not super packed down. Do roughnecks burrow so much? From what I read they arent really a burrowing species, I've never seen a roughneck burrowing photo unlike savannahs, ackies, etc .etc. ? Just curious if they actually burrow are mainly stay up in the tree line?
Hi, most Varanids will burrow to some extent given the means, even the so called semi-arborial types.
I would use a mix of soil/playsand at a ratio of around 80% soil to 20% sand (it`s trial and error) moist but not wet, and very well tamped down, otherwise the burrow/s might collapse. Apart from the obvious issue of burrows helping to keep the monitor hydrated, they`re also good for security.
. A foot high planting ceramic pot, which I luckily smashed into 2 equal Hide like halfs and thats his new basking spot. I got a cork bark runs the height of the tub. A 1.5 ft long by 8 inch tupperwear pool (his snout to vent isnt even half of that) and I put a rock towards the edge. Got a cool hide, a medium hide, and a hot side hide, and I replaced the 120 watt basking bulb with a 45 watt halogen heat bulb, and its suspended in his cage, not sitting on top. Basking spot on the ceramic pot is 124 (EDIT: its at about 130 now) (will see if I need to go hotter and ill grab another) and cool side is 75. I did forget to get the hygrometer (I know I know). But the cheap one I have (which is brand new so it may have SOME accuracy no? ) says 80%. Pictures coming soon !
Hybrid Mode
