Hi all,

This is my first post on this forum and I am about to start a big debate.

I have been doing a lot of research on monitors firstly because I have an African Rock Monitor (Varanus albigularis albigularis) and secondly for my web site that I am putting together. I do regard myself as an expert, but I would like to make the following comments.

What I have noticed is that most African monitors are being kept in conditions that are too hot and too humid, and are being fed too often as a result.

The African Savanna is a dry place, some parts of which have as little rain as 1 day a year, and others 37 rainy days a year which would then be considered a fair rainfall area.

I have only found one care sheet for the Savanna Monitor which gets this correct. i.e. CALZOO'S REFERENCE SHEET > Savannah Monitors

Then again this only serves to show that one should not rely on only one source. Daniel Bennett suggests that a suitable thermal gradient can be established (i.e. 17-43C (62 - 109 F) during the day). (Read this artcile carefully and in detail).

This means that the the enclosure needs to be big enough to create a basking spot at the above hot temp,(still a shade too hot) and while the rest of the enclosure varies in Temp. down to lets say 26C(78f). Not easy to get is a tank under 200 gal, unless ones wastes a lot of energy.

When a monitor decides to sit in the water bowl does this mean that they are doing this because they want humidity?. Maybe they are trying to cool off!.

When they start digging in any substrate provided, is this natural behavour or again they are enjoying the cooling effect of the substrate and just trying to find a more comfortable, cooler area within their enclosure?

By the way the soil is so hard in Africa one could hardly dig a hole with a pick and shovel in most places. I suspect that monitors use other animals burrows, but I am not sure of this.(Does not apply to Nile Monitor) If the soil is soft the rainfall is more likely than not less than average. (semi desert).

Also lets take a look at their size in nature and the size we are growing them to. We are turbo charging or supercharging the animal(which ever you prefer) at these un-natural tempratures, as the higher the temp., the faster the digestion.

Anyway, take great care of your monitor and keep them happy and entertained. On a lighter note check this out.Monitors and Play Behavior .

I had a better link but I see VaranusWeb.com is no longer.

Regards
Bjorn
Cape Town SA

Hi and welcome to the HCN...my experience with monitors is limited to the small water monitor and Savannah Monitor and I only cared for them over short periods of time so I really dont have an opinion on this subject. But I will say that for the humidity and temps for all of my animals I go by their natural habitat raher then caresheets

Welcome to hc I have no experience with monitors but would like to even though there is no rain.Doesn't the desert get quite cold and damp in the evenings with such quick drops in temp over the evneings.

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Live for today Not tomorrow.

I have no experience with the African monitors and you being from Africa probably would no more about their natural environment than most. You say that digging they would be trying to get to the cooler soil and that I agree. Is there a significant humidity level in the burrows as well? I assume they can dig their own burrows with extremely sharp claws that they have. And welcome to the forum.

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Mike
"Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time, and always start with the person nearest you." - Mother Teresa

Bjorn, I agree with some of your comments (such as people feeding their monitors too much and growing them too quickly), but not with some of your other comments.

For example, although some African savannahs may get one day of rain per year, are those particular savannahs prime monitor areas? It may be irrelevant if you go out there to have a look and find that monitors are found in very low numbers, but prefer more humid areas. There is also microhabitat to consider - looking at weather charts of average rainfall and temperature is quite different from going to an area and checking out the temperature and humidity levels of the ground, in patches of vegetation etc.

Lastly, why do you think 43C is a high basking spot temperature? As you live in Africa and can do this relatively easily, try this simple experiment (I have done this here, in Australia): Take a non-contact temperature gun out in the bush, find a basking monitor and take temperature readings of surfaces directly in the sun and at the angle at which the monitor is basking (or, when the monitor moves, take readings off the surface it has been resting on - but not exactly where it was lying as its belly would have shielded that surface from the sun). What I found is that even on a mild, clear, sunny day the surface basking temperature was much higher than anticipated, usually much higher than 43C.

Firstly , suprized by mild responses so far. In reply to
Yes but climate is generally dry, where monitors are found. But you are correct. One can not relate a single set of factors and make a decision based on that. But this applies both ways and for all points of view.

Also cooler temps at night (earlier post) will yield moisture but when both moisture and temperatures are high the "turbo charged" effect comes into play.

43c in nature and 43c in a small enclosure are too different things. In nature the animal can heat up, go hunting for food and rest in the shade if he wants. In a small enclosure, a basking spot of 43c will raise the temp of the whole enclosure and therefore reduce the cooler temps available within the enclosure.

They have nothing else to do so let them bask for longer at lower temps. Give your monitor the choice and then let them decide.

No one sensible would ever advocate a high basking spot without a proper temperature gradient - in fact the source you got that from (Daniel's book) pretty much says exactly that. Of course here should always be cooler parts of the enclosure as well. That's a given. You want to throw the baby out with the bathwater - because you think you can't get a good gradient with a high basking spot in a small enclosure (which, by the way, you can. My juvenile enclosures have exactly that), you'd rather forgo high basking temperatures altogether. That doesn't make much sense


Hot basking spots are much better for the health of the monitor. Of all of the monitors I've bred and sold over the past few years, the buyers that get back to me with feeding and health issues are the ones that have their monitors set up with lower basking temperatures. The care information that I send out with hatchling lace monitors stresses that a hot basking spot is probably the most important bit of information out of all the information in there. Lace monitors are one of the most temperate of the monitors, too, so this is even more important for desert species.

Giving your monitor a low basking spot isn't giving it a choice, it's taking the choice away from it (ie it HAS to bask for longer to achieve the right temperatures). Long term, you'll find that monitors with lower basking spots have less resistance to infections etc.

As I said, I'm not in favour of getting monitors to grow as fast as they can, but I would never support lower basking temperatures.

Bjorn, I noticed in your first post that you only keep 1 monitor (and considered yourself an expert, although this may have been a typo). Is this your first monitor?

Ooops that was a typo by leaving out the "not". Yes I am keeping one monitor at the moment.

I think we basically agree on the point. You wrote "As I said, I'm not in favour of getting monitors to grow as fast as they can," but also both agree on the importance of temptrature gradient that is achieved, within the enclosure.

"I would never support lower basking temperatures" What temp do you consider as lower? My monitor basking spot is 40c and cold side 23c, but my enclosure is above average size with a closed top.

Having clarified that I do NOT regard myself as an expert, how do you get the temp gradient right in an open top container verse a closed container?.

Or a baby monitor that is housed in a 20 gal. enclosure?

Regards
Bjorn

The minimum basking temperature I'd use (for hatchling monitors) is 45C. Adults get a much hotter basking surface temperature (55C+).

I never use 20 gal (or any size) open top aquaria for monitors and if you have a look around the fora you'll see that I usually recommend against using aquaria. I much prefer home-made wooden enclosures with a sealed top and sliding glass front. Even my smallest has an adequate temperature gradient.