mangrove monitor setup suggestions please.

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
the little **** tagged me yesterday. i had him in the tub soaking and hd my leg in there with him so he would have somethin to climb out of the water on. so he climbed up my leg and i was rubbing his neck and he was fine. then he jumped off and went back in the water. and when i went to pick him up he latched onto my ring finger!! oh well.....part of taming a monitor. i think maybe gloves are needed.... maybe. not a fan of gloves tho.
i think im goin to give him 2 weeks to settle in before i try bothering him. he gets his first meal today. of rat pinks and crickets.
n varanio, thats a big food bill!!
n sorry guy i got pics but they are on my rebel at home :/
tom for sure i will get pics up. i have alot of pics on that camera i want to upload
 
rebel 420.JPGrebel 421.JPG
this is him. he ate some crickets yesterday

rebel 421.JPG

rebel 420.JPG
 
Dude,
If you are serious about caring for your monitor correctly, go onto the monitor forums at kingsnake.com.
Read all the posts by FR you can, current and past, You will learn alot.
 
I reread my post this mourning, and didnt like the way the first sentence sounded, had a few to many last night.
I wasnt trying to make it sound like fr is the only one who knows how to care for monitor lizards correctly.
There are alot of knowledgeable people out there, like varanio on this forum.

Really though, anybody keeping a monitor should check out the posts by fr. Good luck
 
i have read a few of his posts. i have done a ton of research. for the past 3 years i have been researching diff monitors and homing them while they are in my care.
 
well update i guess... he is eating rat pinks and fuzzies stedily. still very skitish but i think once he is in his cage he will be much better im still waiting on track for the door of the cage :(
 
He looks really good. To be honest though if you set him up correctly you will rarely see him. I have a young Varanus Melinus and I only see him if I sneak into the herp room in the morning, but as soon as he sees me he runs and hides. I would recommend getting about 18-24" of sand/soil mix in there, it holds a great burrow and humidity. You shouldn't have to soak at all if your husbandry is correct, and handling will only cause stress and distrust. Him pooping and biting are signs that he is not in the mood to be handled.

Just an example, but here is how I keep my Melinus - 4x2x4 enclosure, 18" of sand/soil in the bottom, ambient temps of 75-95, and a basking spot of 110-130. I have a second level that is about 1/3 of the cage and it has about 3" of sand/soil. 2 large water bowls, one at about 75 degrees and one about 85 degrees. I haven't handled him since I put him in this cage about 5-6 months ago, all I do is spot clean, add fresh water daily and feed daily (crickets, dubia roaches, and mice).
 
incredible diff between a glass cage and wooden cage. i put him in my 6x2x2 yesterday and he is way camler. fell asleep in his water bowl while i was laying down watching him. i took some close up pics as well with flash and he just opened his eyes and looked and went back to sleep. and when we walk in and out of the room he runs a little but nothing like he did in the glass cage. hopefully he will start eating from tongs so i can start working with him more
 
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