Django the Nile Monitor - Page 6

Pirarucu · 03-14-13, 09:27 PM

I'd try making it six wide and six tall if you can, but that could suffice.. The water should probably be around a quarter of the cage's size in this case. Stock tanks would work well.

Enrichment for monitors will revolve around food, and giving them a task or puzzle to complete to reach the food is a good way to go about it. Try buying a hamster ball and putting some roaches in it...

Feeding will depend on the individual monitor and the prey items, you'll need to work that out yourself. Generally if you are limiting food, it's best to feed less on a more frequent basis rather than bigger meals less often. Many people simply feed as much as the monitor wants every day, usually with no problems. If you can post a picture we can tell you about his weight.

Harnesses and leashes are a touchy subject, ultimately it is down to the individual monitor and keeper. You have the right idea, though perhaps not the right monitor. He sounds very flighty and insecure, I would wait until he is bigger and calmer, now it would probably just stress him.

Target training is very easy, most zoos do it with their monitors. Moody Gardens does, they catch on very quickly. I see a lot of benefit, since for one it provides enrichment for the animal when they are still figuring it out. When working with larger species it can obviously make moving the animal much easier on the animal and the keeper, particularly if the animal is insecure or aggressive. In addition, the monitor does not go food crazy at the sight of the keeper, but at the sight of its target.

Vegasarah · 03-18-13, 05:31 PM

Okay so I was correct in thinking a very large water feature would be needed. I love the idea of a filter but I just don't know if it's going to be feasible for such a large body of water. I know those big pond pumps are really expensive. I mean it doesn't make much sense to have to empty and refill a water area that large every day. Need to give that more thought...

He seems to be dong better with more frequent feedings with fewer mice. I think part of the problem I was having was because the mice I fed last week were a little larger than the usual one I get. Mystery solved! Now if I could find an affordable frozen crayfish supplier... lol.

I just don't think he is ready for a harness at least in this part of his life. He needs to get a little more socializing so he's not so flighty around everyone but me. Django and I have a certain understanding, he seems to have actually bonded to me a little bit. He knows I'm the food lady and that I usually will talk to him and interact with him for a bit. He really is such a great animal, I hope in the future he will be able to venture outside of his enclosure.

I have target/ clicker trained my blue tongue lizard for fun, and even he caught on to it pretty quick. It's pretty useless with a BTS but it was a fun bonding thing to do. Pirarucu you make a great point about thinking about his future needs and the needs of keeping an animal of his size. And maybe it will help his confidence and will help strengthen our bond.

Anyone else have any advice or opinions for me? I would love to hear from you!

murrindindi · 03-18-13, 06:07 PM

Hi, how big of a pool are you talking? I have a 30gallon plastic pond with a "Fluval 205" exterior filter and a 200w aquarium heater. I just scoop out the larger pieces of waste with a small aquarium net, I need to change the water maybe every 7 to 10 days or so, though my monitor is almost 6 feet long, and obviously produces a lot more waste than your juvenile will just now!
When the time comes to let him explore "outside" (the enclosure, not the house), cordon off a small area `til he get`s used to it, and make sure you`re the only one present to begin with.
I must tell you that once they know there`s an outside it will be a constant demand!

Vegasarah · 03-19-13, 05:21 PM

I was thinking about maybe doing something a little bigger than 30 gallons, like maybe a stock tank or horse trough or something like that. I was also thinking about keeping my eyes open for a free or cheap bath tub on craigslist. I don't think that anything less than a heavy duty pond filter would keep the waste manageable. He really does enjoy his warm water dish; I see him in his all the time. But I know he will need nothing short of a bathtub when he gets bigger. I've seen pictures of adult Niles in bathtubs and they pretty much take up the whole thing.

I just am not sure how to safely take him out of his enclosure without stressing him out too much. So far I've just thrown a towel over his head and body and scooped him up. That seems to just freak him out, but I don't want to get bit or scratched up too badly. And I don't really want to pick him up anyway and force handle him, but I can't see any other way to get him safely out of his enclosure and into a sectioned off explore area.

Pirarucu · 03-19-13, 08:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vegasarah

I was thinking about maybe doing something a little bigger than 30 gallons, like maybe a stock tank or horse trough or something like that. I was also thinking about keeping my eyes open for a free or cheap bath tub on craigslist. I don't think that anything less than a heavy duty pond filter would keep the waste manageable. He really does enjoy his warm water dish; I see him in his all the time. But I know he will need nothing short of a bathtub when he gets bigger. I've seen pictures of adult Niles in bathtubs and they pretty much take up the whole thing.

I just am not sure how to safely take him out of his enclosure without stressing him out too much. So far I've just thrown a towel over his head and body and scooped him up. That seems to just freak him out, but I don't want to get bit or scratched up too badly. And I don't really want to pick him up anyway and force handle him, but I can't see any other way to get him safely out of his enclosure and into a sectioned off explore area.

A horse trough would work well, but there are other options too. One would be to build it out of wood like you would build an indoor pond, and seal every bit of it. You could also buy a preformed pond liner and set something up with that. A sump system would be your best bet for filtration. Then you won't need as heavy duty of a filter, as the system will do some of the work for you.
For now I'd just focus on his next enclosure and not worry about taking him out if it would have to be done like that.

Vegasarah · 03-19-13, 08:48 PM

Yeah, he's going to just stay in the enclosure for now, I don't need him stressing out or holding a grudge against me.

I never thought of using a preformed pond, those are pretty easy to find at home depot or lowes. I could try and set up a sump, though that's going to be a ton of work and probably not cheap. I'll have to draw up some kind of plan this weekend. I'll post it here next week to see what you guys think about it.

Vegasarah · 04-02-13, 07:58 PM

Good news, I finally saw the adult enclosure up at the rescue and it's 8x4x4 with a tempered glass front and lots of ceramic heat fixtures already wired in. Obviously this cannot be his adult enclosure, but it does give me a little bit of time to build the 12x4x6. I can work on it every other week when I go up to the rescue, and I can more easily afford to work on it bit by bit rather than have like $700 ready to burn. I've been scouting craigslist for leftover building supplies and might even be able to get my hands on some large old bathtubs from a casino that is being torn down! Water feature solved! I will be spending next Friday up at the rescue where I can snap some pictures of the grow-up enclosure and get some of the dirt/ sand bags up there as well to start getting it ready.

infernalis · 04-02-13, 11:34 PM

Casino demolition. Glass partitions and glass doors!!! and that's going to be some super tough glass too.

Vegasarah · 04-03-13, 07:01 PM

I never thought about that, Wayne. That's a good idea actually. And I have a glass guy I work with that could cut down whatever I have to the right measurements.

We are also thinking about getting a rat breeding rack up and going. It' small scale right now in glass aquariums, but its a lot of work to keep everything straight and to get to the babies on time and all that other stuff. Does anyone have any recommendations on how to build my own breeding rack for rats?

Pirarucu · 04-03-13, 08:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vegasarah

I never thought about that, Wayne. That's a good idea actually. And I have a glass guy I work with that could cut down whatever I have to the right measurements.

We are also thinking about getting a rat breeding rack up and going. It' small scale right now in glass aquariums, but its a lot of work to keep everything straight and to get to the babies on time and all that other stuff. Does anyone have any recommendations on how to build my own breeding rack for rats?

Wood, mesh, and concrete mixing tubs is what I see a lot.

smy_749 · 04-03-13, 08:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vegasarah

I never thought about that, Wayne. That's a good idea actually. And I have a glass guy I work with that could cut down whatever I have to the right measurements.

We are also thinking about getting a rat breeding rack up and going. It' small scale right now in glass aquariums, but its a lot of work to keep everything straight and to get to the babies on time and all that other stuff. Does anyone have any recommendations on how to build my own breeding rack for rats?

They are rats after all, they do just fine in abandon cars in freezing temperatures and in super hot temperatures. They are pretty hardy, just get a book shelf big enough to put decent size rubbermaids in, and make sure they can't get out (dont leave ANY spaces, I swear rats are boneless hahahaha). They will do the rest. Have you considered rabbits instead? And just getting an outdoor rabbit hut ?

Here is a fairly simple design, courtesy of google images.

http://a3.ec-images.myspacecdn.com/i...94d3283e/l.jpg

Vegasarah · 04-06-13, 05:19 PM

That actually seems pretty do-able. I was afraid that they would be able to chew through the rubbermaids or through the cement tubs because they were made of plastic but I guess that's not an issue. And if any holes start being worked on I could just get a new tub I suppose.

We adopt out rabbits and get a lot of abandoned ones lol... And it's too cold up there for like at least half the year for them to live outside. Rabbits would be nice and big for the bigger guys to eat, but rats are better because we do have some animals at the rescue that are very small and need pinkies and fuzzies. Then we can take out the big male rats and grown them up in the aquariums that they are living in now so that we can have some big feeders for the big snakes and lizards. And freeze (and possibly sell) our extras.

I've been looking at how much it would cost to build breeder racks like the picture smy shared but I keep getting all different kinds of numbers. I guess I need to take a trip to Home Depot and just price everything out. Maybe I'll take set-by step pictures and price breakdowns for anyone on the forum that is interested in doing something like it for themselves.

smy_749 · 04-06-13, 05:30 PM

Heres an idea, if you can "envision' what I'm trying to describe. Just build a wooden frame, and find metal bins (I'm sure home depot has something) if you are worried the may chew threw. I don't have experience with mice so I couldn't tell you. Get some dresser drawer sliders (the 'tracks' to pull your drawer in and out) and fasten them to the wooden frame. The only part I haven't included is the top, having a very very secure top is the hard part, and I don't know if they need mesh or solid tops, and how you will include the water bottle fixture.

**Aaron_S** · 04-06-13, 09:16 PM

Rat Rack

Bam!

Vegasarah · 04-08-13, 05:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aaron_S

Rat Rack

Bam!

Awesome. I wonder how many 2x4's were needed. I can look up how much those bins from Ikea are online I'm guessing.

Does some kind of hide need to be placed inside for the mothers to have their babies in? Or will they just kind of have them in the corner? I think I have a lot to learn about breeding rats! 0.0