Burrowing substrate temps

[formica]

My hatchling spent most of his first week sleeping under a log, ontop of a heat mat, which was approx 35C constantly, very very low humidity, didnt try to burrow at all.

He has two options for burrowing, a cool side, approx 24-25C, and a warmside, with a heat mat underneath, i've just probed inside his borrow and its 36.7C, this seems very hot for a burrow?

I cannot provide a cooler area than the 24-25 area he has, unless i add a fan, which will mess with the humidty, my house is just to warm for that, its either 22C or above all the time, and thats on a cold english summer day (ha)

I'm new to Sav's, and a little worried that this is too hot for a sleeping area for him, despite it being his own choice, maybe I'm missing something in the setup

Humidity is high thruout the tank, except directly under the basking lamps, it never goes below 70%, I'm going to add some moss aswell to see if I can push that upto 80+. The soil in both the cool and hot areas are moist, 90% humidity inside his burrow right now, I dug a horizontal hole into the cooler area, and it is the same @ 90%

You may have seen my previous posts about it, he's a hatchling living in a 4x2x1.5ft enclosure, just moved into this enclosure from a smaller one I use to keep an eye on new comers for their first week, apart from sleeping in what seems to be too hot a space, he seems fine, active and stuffing his face with everything he can catch etc, damn he can get thru a bulk order of locusts fast haha good job I have a breadin colony of crickets (and soon roaches!)

[formica]

and yes....his final home is currently under construction, 6.5ft by 4ft by 4ft

[murrindindi]

Hi, it might be helpful if you could show a few photos of the setup. Why are you using a heat mat? If this is a male it`s possible he might reach 4.5feet ToL, I don`t think a 6.5 feet long enclosure is big enough, 8ft long is generally advised as being the minimum for an adult of this species.
I would imagine the reason the ambient temps in the burrow are so high is because of the relatively small size of the enclosure and the room temps being what they are, how deep is the hole?

[formica]

He seems to love the heat mat, even with good ambient temps around 30C, and nice hot basking spot, wherever I put it, he relaxes there, except for some time basking, he never goes to the cooler areas, dont know why, even 24C aint that cool tbh

I dont have any way to show you a pic at the moment unfortunetly, my phone is old and broken! but i will have a new one soon.


I'll try and describe it for you:

Tank has soil in the base on both sides of the tank (length ways), soil is approx 5-6inches deep, 2 large pieces of drift wood serve as dividers which hold up the soil. in between the two pieces of drift wood, there is just a few cm of soil, and a large water bowl. Also in the middle is another piece of drift wood, which provides hiding areas underneath and inside - originally I had the heat matt placed directly under this spot, and this is where he slept, despite relativly low humidity - he didnt attempt to burrow at all - but today I moved the heat matt underneath the cool side of the tank, under the soil, and within a few hours he'd dug himself a burrow and is now happily sleepin off his dinner there. tempreture on the surface of the soil is around 25C...but inside his burrow, its 36C

On one side of the tank, there is a raised platform, which is his basking area, approx 3inches above the soil area below. the soil area below is not heated at night, temps approx 24-26C

he hasnt dug in very deep, i've used a piece of foam wrapped around the glass, and delirtly angled the wood so that he could get at the soil and start digging, and I'd be able to see inside his burrow by removing the foam if i needed to (I wont unless i dont see him for a long time - this is a trick i use with my ant colonies, otherwise they build a screen on the glass and you cant see in!) - so anyway, he's dug probly 12inches into the soil, on the floor of the enclosure, ie sleeping on the heat matt which is underneath the enclosure not inside it

I have no idea what sex he is, Vet will tell me when he goes for registration and check ups in a couple of weeks - on which point, any idea how old they are before they show their sex?

If he turns out to be a male, I will make adjustments to the size of his final home, I'd happily build a 10ft if thats better, just seemed 6x4x4 was the common size, at the moment just collecting materials and designing, and getting advice from you fine people hell I'd build him a savanna in a whole room if i could haha

[murrindindi]

Hi, how will the vet check the sex of the monitor?

[formica]

aint got a clue

[varanus_mad]

Originally Posted by formica

aint got a clue

probing - dunt work & very dangerous in monitors.

poping - dangerous in monitors.

x-rays - no cartilage yet that develops as they get older.

blood work again unreliable as testerone levels rise and fall in monitors.

visual clues - unreliable as hell even in adults.

Only sure way is they either lay eggs or they evert a hemi-***** generally after sexual maturity.

in short your vets telling porky pies...

[Pirarucu]

Originally Posted by varanus_mad

probing - dunt work & very dangerous in monitors.

poping - dangerous in monitors.

x-rays - no cartilage yet that develops as they get older.

blood work again unreliable as testerone levels rise and fall in monitors.

visual clues - unreliable as hell even in adults.

Only sure way is they either lay eggs or they evert a hemi-***** generally after sexual maturity.

in short your vets telling porky pies...

^Yep. No way to sex monitors unless they show you.

[murrindindi]

Hi, there`s the transillumination technique, I`m not sure if it`s been tried with V. exanthematicus, but I would imagine it might be possible with a hatchling/juvenile, as they are quite small.

[Pirarucu]

Originally Posted by murrindindi

Hi, there`s the transillumination technique, I`m not sure if it`s been tried with V. exanthematicus, but I would imagine it might be possible with a hatchling/juvenile, as they are quite small.

Ah yes, that one slipped my mind. I know it works well with Odatria and such, but I haven't seen a Sav sexed like that. I think I remember Gregg M. saying it worked with them, but I'm not sure.

[formica]

I suspect my Sav is too old for that tbh, this essentially involves shining a super bright light thru the body essentially yes?

way off topic sumhow...back to substrate/burrow temps please

[murrindindi]

Originally Posted by formica

I suspect my Sav is too old for that tbh, this essentially involves shining a super bright light thru the body essentially yes?

way off topic sumhow...back to substrate/burrow temps please

The substrate temps may be somewhat different depending on whether you have a male or female, therefore it`s extremely useful/important to know that, especially as they can mature quite quickly under supportive conditions (months, not years)!
As already stated, the lowest ambient temps in the enclosure above or below ground should not be below around 21c (72f), I would prefer 24c (75f).

[infernalis]

Not that it's right or wrong.. My dirt temp guns at 80 degrees. (F)

However, I keep my reptile room at 80 degrees, so it's illogical to assume that the dirt could be any colder than the room it's in.

[formica]

Originally Posted by murrindindi

The substrate temps may be somewhat different depending on whether you have a male or female, therefore it`s extremely useful/important to know that, especially as they can mature quite quickly under supportive conditions (months, not years)!
As already stated, the lowest ambient temps in the enclosure above or below ground should not be below around 21c (72f), I would prefer 24c (75f).

awsome thanks! My new setup is 23C inside his burrow, he now has a new place to sleep, he will discover tomorrow, which is 26C when lamps are on full and very humid (100%, sphagnum moss), not sure what temp it will be tonight, we'll find out!

[varanus_mad]

Originally Posted by murrindindi

Hi, there`s the transillumination technique, I`m not sure if it`s been tried with V. exanthematicus, but I would imagine it might be possible with a hatchling/juvenile, as they are quite small.

aside from gregg no one i know whose used has had great success with larger varanids