monitor question

i just got me a mangrove monitor about 3 weeks ago and she keeps her 55 gallon "home" a mess i cant keep her water bowl clean and all she does is try to get out all day is this just a thing that these monitors do or am i doing something wrong

remember that this is an imported animal that does not understand the glass barrier. mangrove monitors are great animals- but you have to realize that they are "semi-aquatic" and "semi arboreal" in nature..what that means to you is that it will want to climb and it will try to spend alot of time in the water, and in the process both defecate in the water and spill it all over the place. you don't say how big it is, but anything over 2 1/2 feet is really too big (IMO) for a 55 gal tank. it will be flighty - trying to get away when handled, but are less prone to biting than many other species (get used to getting scratched, though - or wear gloves). basic husbandry issues - give her a plastic dishpan, or similar, for water. let her soak (yes, it requires alot of cleaning). how high are the cage temps? in my experience, it is not necessary to get mangroves as hot as some of the other monitors. the warmer it is, the more active it will be (I'm not suggesting using temps as behavioral controls). feeding: monitors are opportunistic - they eat what they can, when they can. you can get away with feeding adults 1-2 times weekly, babies and juvies should be fed every 1-2 days. feed smaller meals more often to avoid obesity (a common problem in captive monitors). they're great animals, as long as you know what you are getting into and are willing to deal with it. good luck, have fun, and enjoy your new pet.

Originally Posted by ohiohotboy

i just got me a mangrove monitor about 3 weeks ago and she keeps her 55 gallon "home" a mess i cant keep her water bowl clean and all she does is try to get out all day is this just a thing that these monitors do or am i doing something wrong

Probably yes to both ...

Monitors are very active reptiles, constantly moving things around and rearranging stuff in their enclosure. Expect them to dirty things up.

However, constantly trying to get out is usually a sign that not all of the lizard's needs are being met. Depending on the size of your mangrove, a 55 might be too small to provide everything the monitor needs to thrive (or even just survive over the long term). However, even a huge enclosure can be unsuitable if it does not have what the monitor understands are its needs. A recent aquisition put in a new cage will typically go to ground for a week to a month if the cage provides all the essentials, until it gets used to its new home.

First, consider heat. Monitors have an active body temperature of between 30 and 40 degrees C, with about 35 to 37 their preferred temperature (note that 37 is our normal body temperature). This means that part of the cage needs to be significantly cooler than 30 C (I aim for 20 to 25 C) and part of it needs to be warmer than 40 C (I try to get 45 to 50 C), and both sections need to be larger than the lizard's body.

Next, consider humidity. This means considering shelter. Monitors use shelter to regulate their moisture loss as well as for security and temperature regulation. A good hidey hole must provide all three of these needs to be acceptable. One way to do this is to put down a layer of dirt that can hold a burrow, and let the monitor dig its own shelter where it chooses. For mangroves, you can also get a hollow log (a piece of cork bark round would probably work as well) and stuff it full of slightly moist (not wet!) material like leaf litter or potting moss. Put several of these in the enclosure at different temperatures, elevations, and so on. Make sure the monitor can squeeze itself in tightly and securely, and avoid the tempation to disturb it when it is hiding (since then its hide would not be very secure, now would it? It would need to go searching for a better one ...). One hint - if you ever see your monitor sleeping in its water dish, it does not have a suitably humid shelter.

Hmmm, heat, security, humidity, ... that's all that comes to mind at the moment. Without seeing your setup, it is hard to say for sure what (if anything) you should change.

Good luck,

Luke

thanks for all the good info i think right now i need to work on building her a bigger enclosure and maybe getting a different light source because her overall temp in her tank is about 100 degrees but her humity is always like 65 to 70% i spray her tank every day. Is that ok or should it be hotter? Also do any of you know where i can get a good idea on her enclosure i dont want anything that wont fit in my house lol but i want her to have more than enough room for her to be confortable.

you still haven't said how big it is - hard to discuss caging without that. as I previously mentioned, my personal practice with mangroves was not to keep them as hot as some of my other monitors - gradient from about 80 to 100ish. if the temp is 100 throughout the cage, that may well be part of the problem - it just can't get away from the heat. since mangroves will climb, it is easy to increase cage size and improve temp gradients by using a taller cage. you'll still want sufficient floor space, but making a "big enough" cage doesn't have to entail giving up half of your living room. I don't completely agree with luke on one point, though - your mangrove sleeping in water is not necessarily indicative of husbandry deficiencies. they like the water, and will spend time in it

she is about 2 feet head to tail

she is about 2 feet total length

the poor lizard... You need to get her into a much larger enclosure... The 55gallon that you have her in is only twice her length, and she is longer than the cage is wide... Monitor lizards are probably the most active type of lizard, as they have fast metabolisms when compared to most lizards, and they will cover great distances in a single day- sometimes several miles. The animal has absolutely no room to move around.. It would be compareable to yourself living in a 4x4x6' closet...

An overall temp of 100F will kill your lizard if you do not correct the situation.
While monitors do prefer a hot basking site-150F, they also need a cool area to retreat to. I would shoot for achieving a cool spot of about 70-75F, and a basking spot of 140-150F. It is also important to give your monitor a substrate that he can burrow into, V. indicus seem to do well with oak leaves as a substrate. Another important thing to provide is plenty of hide spots. Monitors(all reptiles) feel insecure and defenseless when they do not have tight fitting areas to conceal themselves in. You should position several hide areas around the enclosure, where the animal himself can choose which temperature he wants to hide at-remember thermal gradients are important.

Finally, the other thing that I feel you should correct is the humidiity issue. I would suggest ditching the screen top(actually the aquarium should go). Screen tops are for hampsters, not reptiles. It does not hold humidity whatsoever. No matter how much you spray the tank down, you are constantly going to be fighting physics, and you are eventually going to lose. Solid topped enclosures are much better, as it holds humidity in.

IMO Aquariums are terrible choices for reptiles. It is sad that pet shops swear by them, and then their customers swear by them. Aquariums are for fish, not reptiles.. Perhaps you can get away with one for a hampster, but when it comes to reptiles they make poor choices..

Also keep in mind, your mangrove monitor is going to grow to be about 5' long. This will demand a large, spacious enclosure.. Something you will never be able to provide with an aquarium.

I hope this helps a bit..

Cheers, have a wonderful day,

Bob
TREEMONITORS.COM

yea that helps alot thanks for the info i am working on building her enclosure as we speak . i am trying to have it done by next week it is going to be 6 feet long 5 feet high and 3 feet deep or should it be bigger?

Originally Posted by ohiohotboy

yea that helps alot thanks for the info i am working on building her enclosure as we speak . i am trying to have it done by next week it is going to be 6 feet long 5 feet high and 3 feet deep or should it be bigger?

Considering the eventual size of this lizard, I would shoot for 8 to 10 feet long and at least 4 feet deep. Then you will not have to worry about building yet another larger cage down the road.

Good luck,

Luke