Django the Nile Monitor - Page 5

Pirarucu · 02-12-13, 07:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vegasarah

Thanks everyone, I just thought he might like a little variety. I know that in the wild they will eat carrion and also eggs if they find them. It just got me thinking about raw meat and chicken eggs.

Where do I find fertilized quail eggs? I wouldn't even know where to start with that one...

Instead of ground turkey or whatever, why not give him actual carrion? Throw a large, dead prey item in there for him, LOL.

Vegasarah · 02-27-13, 06:38 PM

So in a way, Django has told me himself that he wants a new enclosure... by escaping his current one!

I was in my room when I heard a scratching sound at his tank, I looked up and he was fiddling with hinge on the tank lid. I ignored it, he scratches around and explores all the time. Then about ten minutes later I heard a small bang come from my room. I walked in there and Django is out of his tank and climbing the curtains! I freaked out and didn't know what to do, so we just both stared at each other for a minute. Then I threw a towel over him and wrestled him back into his tank.

I inspected the hinge, and he had wiggled it enough to where the screws had come loose and squeezed out through the gap it created. I obviously tightened down the screws right away and even put some glue around the screws just for safe measure. So now I'm looking at him and this enclosure and I'm just thinking that it's time for an upgrade. The tank is 'big enough', he's still a baby, but I still feel like he would really benefit from more space.

I was taking a look at different types of enclosures and I think that I have a general idea of what I'm going to do.

I think Wayne called it, I don't know if I can give him up now... I really am interested in keeping him but that would mean a very large enclosure and would mean a lot of begging my fiancé. And I don't know where I will be a few years from now, and don't know if I will be able to take such a big enclosure with me. But I guess that if it gets to that point I could always sell him along with his enclosure or even give him along with the enclosure to a rescue if I couldn't find any buyers. I just don't know if I can convince my fiancé to let me take on such a big project. I don't know if my life is really ready to take on the challenge of an adult Nile Monitor.

What do you guys think I should do? :/

monitorlizard · 02-27-13, 07:26 PM

Give him up and get some ackies! Then when you feel comfortable and have permission you can get something bigger.

Pirarucu · 02-27-13, 07:39 PM

Truthfully I would say go ahead and keep him if you think you are capable. My idea would be to buy two circular horse troughs, 6' or larger in diameter. Put them side by side to form a base and build a box around them. Then you could fill one with dirt and one with water if you set up a filtration system. If a filter system would be too much, fill both with dirt and provide a smaller tub of water. The bonus with this sort of system is that it can be taken apart (relatively) easily in case of a move.

jarich · 02-27-13, 07:46 PM

Well you already have the ring, so your fiancee is kind of stuck with you and all your peculiarities now, isnt he?

You could compromise and say that you will give him up when you find a good home for him with someone who knows how to take care of him. Trust me, that'll take you years anyway, and by that time your fiancee will be used to it.

Vegasarah · 02-27-13, 07:51 PM

I know ML, I would like to get a smaller monitor species. I have my hands full with the 20 odd other animals I have right now as it is. I love ackies, and even a tree monitor would be really cool because it's more arboreal space.

And the more I think about it the more it kind of overwhelms me. Just the enclosure is going to cost $100s, not to mention keeping him fed and electricity to keep him warm. I've thought about building it in my garage and insulating it really well. It gets really hot (115 F) in the garage in the summer but then I could just turn off some of the lights. It never gets below 20 F in the winter really, and it's only that cold for maybe 2 weeks out of the year so I could run a space heater or something. Do you think the temperatures would hold at those extremes if I insulated and sealed it really well?

Vegasarah · 02-27-13, 07:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jarich

Well you already have the ring, so your fiancee is kind of stuck with you and all your peculiarities now, isnt he?

You could compromise and say that you will give him up when you find a good home for him with someone who knows how to take care of him. Trust me, that'll take you years anyway, and by that time your fiancee will be used to it.

Haha, yeah he's already very patient with my 20 odd other animals. It's really just the space in the house that it will take up. Our house is pretty good sized but a 12x4 enclosure is a LOT to ask of someone who doesn't even like animals lol. It's a huge money suck too, and we are two students and are often pretty broke. Blah.

Vegasarah · 02-27-13, 07:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pirarucu

Truthfully I would say go ahead and keep him if you think you are capable. My idea would be to buy two circular horse troughs, 6' or larger in diameter. Put them side by side to form a base and build a box around them. Then you could fill one with dirt and one with water if you set up a filtration system. If a filter system would be too much, fill both with dirt and provide a smaller tub of water. The bonus with this sort of system is that it can be taken apart (relatively) easily in case of a move.

I just don't know where I could put something like that unless I put it in the garage which has some extremes in temperature as I explained above... I don't think troughs would hold the temperatures steady :/

infernalis · 02-27-13, 07:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vegasarah

Do you think the temperatures would hold at those extremes if I insulated and sealed it really well?

Yes, I would insulate the garage.....

Vegasarah · 02-27-13, 08:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by infernalis

Yes, I would insulate the garage.....

Lol I would love to insulate the WHOLE garage, but that's illegal in my HOA! I mean if I just insulate the enclosure really well...?

Pirarucu · 02-27-13, 08:28 PM

Agreed, insulation would be needed.. I would think you could hold the proper temps fairly easily though. Here on the Texas coast the temperatures are about the same as that, and even though our garage isn't insulated, putting plants in it is the difference between life and death for some of them. With heat lamps in a sealed cage I would think it would be easy to keep warm enough. If need be just use some higher wattage bulbs, the ambient temps will soar.
Insulating the enclosure could work, though you would not want him coming out of said enclosure during the winter.

Vegasarah · 03-02-13, 07:14 PM

Mentally preparing myself for the 'foster parent fail' talk with my fiancé tonight. Just got 6 new foster lizards this week too, so my odds aren't looking to great at this point :/

Grendel · 03-02-13, 07:33 PM

I had a similar problem with my wife, she does not care for reptiles, and I had "too many" of them. In order to keep my hobby I cut down from 20 to three favorite ones. She is now off my back and I am actually happier because I can devote much more time and resources to just the three. They will ultimately live better lives and so will I. I kept my ornate monitor as one of the three. I think you should keep the nile, they need someone like you that understands their needs and respects them. In my opinion many other reptiles can find a good fit much easier then monitors.

Vegasarah · 03-04-13, 12:30 AM

Well he said no for now, and that I have till like June to get him up to the rescue. But Grendel, you make a very good point. I would be able to find good homes for a lot of other reptiles probably. I have simple stuff like tortoises and bearded dragons and leopard geckos. If I had to downsize I could, but if I had Django into adulthood he would be a hassle to rehome.

Vegasarah · 03-14-13, 08:05 PM

Alright, so it's true that I will only have Django until June, but I wanted to talk to you guys about his future. He's probably going to live the rest of his life at the reptile rescue that I volunteer for. I'm not totally sure of the size of the adult enclosure, and if it's not to my liking I will either build my own or build onto an existing one.

So here's the questions:

1) Is 12 long x 4 deep x 4 tall an appropriate size for an adult enclosure for a Nile?

2) How big should I make the water area? I will be plumbing a drain into it, so I won't have to lift it to dump it. Django loves his water dish, and he defecates exclusively in it. Would a cut down 50 gallon Rubbermaid hold up to that much abuse and weight or should I look into giant cement mixing tubs or a stock tank or something? I also thought about using a Christmas tree storage box. Money is tight!

3) Has anyone ever tried making enrichment activities for their monitors? I know he's so bored in that tank, but he is too small and vicious to be able to come out and walk around the house at all. I dump live dubia roaches into the enclosure regularly and he has a blast hunting those down. Is a box with an adjacent colony of dubias and a small transport tube thinking way too much into it? He wouldn't be able to get to it, but roaches could come out and into the enclosure if they walked down a tube. He's not interested in either of the rubber dog toy balls I put in there, but maybe if there was a treat inside? Has anyone ever tried this kind of thing?

4) How often should I be feeding him? He's getting 5 small mice every other day, and 4 dubias every other day (sometimes more). He sometimes only wants 4 mice at a time and will take the 5th mouse and hide it somewhere and eat it the next day (UGH SO SMELLY). Is this a sign that I should be feeding less and more often? He looks a bit chubby, but maybe that's just him filling out?

5) How does everyone feel about harness and leashes? I would really love to take him outside to walk around some and sniff around but I would like a back up safety measure like a leash. He's crazy fast when he wants to be and I could loose control over him very fast. I DO NOT handle him at all, save for the time I wrestled him back into his tank and another time when I put him in the bathtub while I worked on modifying his enclosure. He is NOT tame in the least, and I wouldn't be trying to jerk him around on the leash, I would just hold I loosely or let him drag it. Then I could grab it if I needed to.

6) Has anyone ever tried to target train their monitors? I know it can be done, but I would like to know if anyone here has ever accomplished it or sees any benefit in it.