This is my brand new setup for my 3 yr old Timor Monitor.. I just got this monitor a few days before Christmas.. Why did i get it you ask? Well me being brand new to monitor lizards and not knowing a damn thing, i was told this is an affordable, easy to care for monitor.. I can't get a picture of him at this time because hes sleeping, but hes about 14" long.. I'll post a pic for you all to see within the next few days.. The enclosure is approx. 3 feet length x 2 feet wide x 26 inches height.. Its actually an unused kitchen cabinet my buddy took off his work site.. As you can see inside there is various logs/trees and bushes for him to climb on.. Also i made it 2 floors! I made it easily accessable to the upper level by a log and a ramp, there he can bask in the sun.. At first he was running up and sliding down the ramp because it was just plywood.. Now i have the ramp covered in a thin carpet for easy climbing and also so he won't cut himself on the plywood.. On the upper floor is a real thin layer of bark mulch, as for the lower floor is almost 2 inches think.. Of course i have water bowl under the top floor with water deep enough for him to submerge his entire body under.. But i am missing a cave for under the ramp for him to hide and sleep under, ill add that in soon.. The front is plexiglass that is held on by cocking (the duct tape is for show to cover up white cocking under the glass).. The top has the flip-up cabinet door with chicken wire attached and stapled down all the way around.. It being Winter time in New England I have that 150watt light on 24/7.. I also have an extra piece of plywood on top to keep the temp right.. I have a digital thermometer that usually stays around 80-84 in the middle of the tank.. Is that piece of plywood there alrite, or should i take it off for more air? I'm not sure what i should do in the summer with the light? 12-12 cycle maybe? Hes a feisty one and doesnt like to be held (of course!).. I have just read in other posts on this forum not to force hold him! Well thaks for letting me know, i have been doing that almost everyday since i got him.. I'm defianlly going to leave him alone and let him do his thing for the next few weeks.. Actually the other night he wasnt too happy when i was holding him with one hand and patting his back with the other.. Good thing i had a glove on that hand or else im sure he would have left a mark! lol This is where i am really confused.. The feeding process.. I hear all different things and i dont know what to go with.. First i heard leaving crickets in there at all times and feed him 2-3 frozen pinky mice a week.. so i did that and 2 weeks later there is 9 crickets in there and 2 dead in the water.. lol He does eat the frozen pinky mice though right when they go in the tank.. So i have been feeding him 2 frozen pinky mice at the sametime everyother day.. Is this too much? Actually yesterday i feed him 2 frozen ones in the morning and i picked up a live one in the afternoon .. He ate them all right away.. But for some reason he doesnt eat the crickets? What else could i feed this guy? Would 2 frozen pinkys everyday be too much? I was kind of dissapointed when i went back to the reptile store the other day and saw that they had 4 baby Timor Monitors and they were selling them cheaper than what i bought mine for!! I wanted to get rid of the guy i bought and pick up male and female babies! Of course i would never but I asked the guy and he said with the enclosure i've made that even if i put 2 babies in there that should be ok.. I didnt want to risk it, but what do you all think? Well theres my custom enclosure.. I'm open to all suggestions, comments and questions! Like i said within a few days i should have a pic of my monitor! thanks!
Since no one else is answering, I'll add my two cents. For starters, see if you can use a lower wattage bulb and mount it inside the enclosure, so that the top is sealed (no screen). Put a vent lower down on one of the sides or the back instead. With that arrangement you'll probably be able to get away with one or two 45-50Watt halogen bulbs instead of that 150W bulb. This will also help you maintain humidity, for at the moment it will all rise out of the top and your monitor will develop problems. Secondly, get some sort of mulch rather than the bark chips (can you get tea tree mulch there?) and make it much deeper. That also helps to hold humidity. Then put some hide spots in for the monitor. Curved bits of cork bark or small hollow logs for it to squeeze into. The more the merrier, to give your monitor security. Are you able to check the surface basking temperature? Buy a temperature gun if you don't already have one, they're invaluable when keeping monitors, and use it to measure the surface temperature below the basking light.
I finally have pics of my monitor.. Check him out... Also i did fix my enclosure to put the heat lamp inside the tank.. Crocdoc thanks for your reply.. I've mounted the 150watt heat light inside the tank and it seems to work great! I have been looking for tea tree mulch and havent had any luck.. I've added a hiding rock for him and he loves it! I havent picked up a temperature gun yet but will do soon.. Thanks for the advice.. I am buying a baby female Timor in a few days.. I was told the one i have now shouldnt do any harm to her because there is plenty of room for them both.. I think it is 3 months old and about 5 inches long... Do any of you think that will be a problem having them both in there? Let me know.. Thank you
Id make sure you have a some kind of cover for your heat lamp so you monitor cant touch it and burn itself. If its a 150 watt bulb, it will get way to hot for him to touch the bulb or even the steel re-flector without getting burned. Pretty nice set-up anyways ;-)
Timor enclosure VinCe, you seem to have only partially read my post and missed the point behind moving the lamp into the enclosure. Rather than repeat myself, I'll just copy and paste it again You can try putting a baby in there with the adult, but you'll probably run into problems. If not through direct bullying and aggression, through trying to get both of them fed.
RE: Timor enclosure Just in case it didn't come through clearly, it is VERY important that you get that temperature gun NOW, not 'soon', not 'gonna', not 'will'. Just get it. Until you do, you are going by guesswork and will have no idea whether your basking spot is too hot or too cool. Also, please re read what I said about sealing the top of the enclosure and putting the vents lower down to maintain humidity.
Kevin, Having been to Timor during the dry season, I do not believe it ever was that dry; they do not come from the desert. Timor is a tropical island. For a minimum, shoot for 60% or more. For an average, keep it in the 70's, that should keep it comfortably near it is in its home. You must remember that with the change of seasons it will go as high as the 90%'s in the wet season and only occasionally drop below the 60%. Cheers, Michael
