when
- Thread starter large_cichlids
- Start date
They can't digest potting soil if they consumed it. It can lead to impactation, which means they will be backed up and unable to pass anything and eventually death.
IMO also add a smaller bowl of water that will be kept clean for drinking. I would too change the substrate. With all that in there you clearly see how that cage is cramped already at his size.
It's time to start working on a larger enclosure. If you need assistance in all seriousness anyone would be glad to help with instructions I'm sure.
It's time to start working on a larger enclosure. If you need assistance in all seriousness anyone would be glad to help with instructions I'm sure.
Here LC: http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=71687
Use that to build a temporary enclosure for your lizard. You need:
1 4X2 peice of plexi glass.
4 2X4's cut to 28 inches
4 2X4's cut to 21 inches
4 2X4's cut to the lenght of the plexi glass
2 peices of wafer board cut for 24X28
1 peice of wafer board cut to 56X28
2 peices of wafer board cut to 24X56
Pound of screws(lenght of your choice, or use wood glue)
Drill(if you dont use glue)
Hinges and Locks
1 Gallon of Polyurethane and brushes.
its all layed out in my thread. If this is to hard to do, well, you need to get rid of your monitor.
Z
Use that to build a temporary enclosure for your lizard. You need:
1 4X2 peice of plexi glass.
4 2X4's cut to 28 inches
4 2X4's cut to 21 inches
4 2X4's cut to the lenght of the plexi glass
2 peices of wafer board cut for 24X28
1 peice of wafer board cut to 56X28
2 peices of wafer board cut to 24X56
Pound of screws(lenght of your choice, or use wood glue)
Drill(if you dont use glue)
Hinges and Locks
1 Gallon of Polyurethane and brushes.
its all layed out in my thread. If this is to hard to do, well, you need to get rid of your monitor.
Z
large_cichlids;902910; said:
LC, you'll also notice that your water bowl will stay cleaner longer as a result of eliminating the fine dust and dirt that comes in potting soil.
Potting soil WILL start to harbor bacteria and fungus and mold as time goes by and your monitor will feed that growth every time he defecates. By the looks of your tanks, it doesn't appear that you clean them very often so this WILL create a problem for your monitor in a very short period of time.
Please clean that tank and switch to something else...its like BEGGING at this point with you....
walls;903075; said:
I wonder how much his bug bill is? Surely with 4 geckos, he is paying quite a bit of money to feed them.
OK now I've seen the enclosure, here's some tips:
Ditch the dirt. Drop $2-3 at Home Depot/Lowe's/Wal-mart/Kmart and buy a bag of cypress mulch. DO NOT get the red or cedar stuff, get cypress. One bag will do for a couple cage cleanings in that setup
Put the basking light opposite the water pan, with the climbing limb underneath. Leave the hide there too. If you don't want to add another hide at least he can hide behind the water pan and stay cool if he wants.
If you don't have one already, get a night heat bulb or a ceramic heat emitter. Try to keep it around 80F or so in there at night. You could probably have it a bit lower, but the warmth is for...
Getting him eating. Get some frozen hopper-sized mice. Thaw one out and put it in there at night, on top of the wood or hide, someplace where he'll find it and it won't get nasty. The juvi water monitor I was keeping was a Petco rescue (what the hell is Petco doing selling water monitors anyway? that's worse than pacus, by far) and I got him eating by bumping the night heat and feeding in the dark.
Add a small dish for clean drinking water. Scrub out that water pan daily, twice a day if you have to. If you have a large water pan monitors (and iguanas and other lizards too) are sure to crap in it. Makes cage cleaning easier of course, but incredibly unsanitary.
Try putting a piece of glass or plastic over the screen to bump the humidity up.
And get that cage built. He's borderline OK in there...in about 2 months he won't be. Use Z's plans or buy one of the kits (custom cages, cagesbydesign, whatever). Not Vision, they're not tall enough.
Ditch the dirt. Drop $2-3 at Home Depot/Lowe's/Wal-mart/Kmart and buy a bag of cypress mulch. DO NOT get the red or cedar stuff, get cypress. One bag will do for a couple cage cleanings in that setup
Put the basking light opposite the water pan, with the climbing limb underneath. Leave the hide there too. If you don't want to add another hide at least he can hide behind the water pan and stay cool if he wants.
If you don't have one already, get a night heat bulb or a ceramic heat emitter. Try to keep it around 80F or so in there at night. You could probably have it a bit lower, but the warmth is for...
Getting him eating. Get some frozen hopper-sized mice. Thaw one out and put it in there at night, on top of the wood or hide, someplace where he'll find it and it won't get nasty. The juvi water monitor I was keeping was a Petco rescue (what the hell is Petco doing selling water monitors anyway? that's worse than pacus, by far) and I got him eating by bumping the night heat and feeding in the dark.
Add a small dish for clean drinking water. Scrub out that water pan daily, twice a day if you have to. If you have a large water pan monitors (and iguanas and other lizards too) are sure to crap in it. Makes cage cleaning easier of course, but incredibly unsanitary.
Try putting a piece of glass or plastic over the screen to bump the humidity up.
And get that cage built. He's borderline OK in there...in about 2 months he won't be. Use Z's plans or buy one of the kits (custom cages, cagesbydesign, whatever). Not Vision, they're not tall enough.
