PICTURES! [finally] of my sav, leela [dialup beware]

OK, this is my 'inbetwn' setup before i build her adults setup, that's going to be in our new house or in the lving room [whichever happens first, etc] I have the top basking spot that is an MVB, which she prefers, and the bottom is just a halogen. I have heat tape that you can't see under the dirt and waterbowl. That's a one of my 'turkey balls' on the plate.

i have this nifty bamboo shades.


i have the lights strung up [reinforced with ducktape] so no chance of hot bulb injuries.

grate with the liner pulled up. she has yet to escape!


I know that's not enough dirt for her, but i'm trying to get some decomposed granite proexotics recommened. seems cleaner. Leela is always filty afer digging! [thus, all the dirt in the water and floor]

that's a power squid, prevents power surges/outtages from blowing my high-wattage bulbs. it's not on a timer, her lights are 24/7.


She was shedding all over so i gave her a bathe and let her get some exercise around the house.


bathtime!



toweltime!

She showed her appreciation by tearing a couple bricks down.


basking:



who's there??!?!

wandering

soaking:



let me know what you think!

 

1 word
RESOURCEFULL
been there with my tegu before. i had to convert my bathroom to a lizard house for a week. during the worlds worst ant infestation. im talkng 1000's it sucks having to go to the bathroom in a room that is above 90 at all times. lol

 

lol. noticed all the stolen boxes from my work? lol. one time my BF had my xbox parts alll over the bed, putting lights and chips in it to make it better. but i had no where to read! so i sat in leela's tank. she looked at me like i was crazy. ants. BLEH. we had some mice and escaped roaches and crickets, but the winter killed them off [and the glue traps] sometimes i'm glad to live on the 3rd floor.

 

also, a question. when [at what length] do you guys think she will outgrow this tank? it's about 5 long and 5' deep and about 5-6' is being used tall. [i am planning on a plywood second landing, not just the makeshift one i have now]
I need a bigger water tub, but all the ones i see are too tall, but just big enough wide and long. i might have to invest in a hacksaw and just take the top foot off of my extra roach tub.

 

nice monitor, but interesting enclosure..... I guess ill be complimented on that once i post a picture

 

thanks it keeps her interested enough not to try to escape ALL the time, lol

 

Wow, nice moniter, she's gorgeous! And yes, that cage is very resourcefull. I know how that is, having to throw together some decent houseing. But hey, as long as all of her needs are met then I'm sure she doesn't care how pretty it is!

 

Could you post photos of the side of your monitor's head and tail base, close up? From those photos, it looks like a male.

 

I agree with Crocdoc, in that your Sav looks to be a male, not a female. It does not appear to have any female attributes which are associated with this taxa, or varanids in general. What leads you to believe that it is a female, out of curiosity?

 

You have a nice looking V. exanthematicus. After seeing the enclosure, I understand the baths/soakings. With no top, you can not control humidity, which must be very low at this time of the year where you live. With no control of humidity, it will need the extra soakings and water. When you make a more permanent enclosure, keep the humidity in mind. The changing of a large water basin is not pleasant (most of my species use the water as a toilet- possible predator avoidance behavior) and must be done often, but it is for the monitor's well being.

The name change from "Leela" to "Lee" could be in order. The more I look at the different pictures, the more I think along the lines of crocdoc and treemonitors, that it could be a male.

 

My vet lead me to believe she was a female, but mistakes can happen and I would take a knowledgeable person over a vet personally.
Thanks for all the compliments, it means a lot to me that i'm doing a good job. My herps mean the world to me. It's actually quite humid here, it's raining right now and her hydrometer says 78% by the dirt and 65% by the tarp. Right here by the computer it stays a steady 40-45% year round. one of the reasons i was concerned about my beardies.

bf needs computer for school, will be back for more pics of leela. or should i say lee?

 

here's some video just for fun of her eating a fish.
Click here to watch

some pics

 

wow that makes me wanna have a monitor now but wow clean house lol i guess having a monitor and providing it with everything it needs it pretty expensive isnt it?

 

Clarinet,

Your monitor's tail base definitely looks female in those photos. It may just be a female with a masculine looking head!

 

food and electricty are the main costs, not including the larger and larger initial setups [which can be considerable] and 'maintenience' costs like new bulbs and clean dirt and larger and larger water bowls. Vet bills can be insane too. Leela had broken her leg the DAY i got her, about 150-200$ right there for xrays and liquid calcium and vet checkups. but i was willing to pay it. now you can't even tell.
as for the sexing, i am going to assume she's female until i see something otherwise. I've seen her poo waaaay too many times and never seen anything. Will a male extend his hemepenes for any other reason but mating?

 

Males will often evert when they are excited, like if they are not handled often and then picked up. I discovered my Green Tree Monitor was a male when it was still very young; he stretched/arched his back and they just popped out.

 

I don't agree with the way mutt put it, but I do agree with his view of the enclosure. I decided not to even touch the subject in the post because you implied that it was temporary, but someone has already got the idea that it would be great to just partition a room off rather than build an enclosure. http://www.reptilerooms.com/forumtopic-30280.html

The problem with the internet is that people see things and learn by example, so it's important to set good examples. Your sav is healthy now, clarinet, but you're new to monitors and long term your sav would slowly die under those conditions.

 

Why isn't making a room or part of a room an enclosure a good idea? all i need is deeper dirt and top so it hold humdity. [and a solid front with hinged doors]. what i see in my mind is half a room enclosed in melamine and plexiglass. Most of it decomposed granite, some tile, and a kiddie pool with it's own filter and waterfall. maybe even a couple small trees and a rock formation for hides/basking. I could easily put this is my living room and make it 14' long X 5' wide X as high as i want.

 

I do not know ANYTHING about monitors but if the viv meets all the needs of the monitor surely it does not need to be pretty. Also I have read in another post that clarinet will be building a new viv as soon as poss, I was the one in the link crocdoc posted and I am not going to be getting a monitor I was just curious on how people get/make vivs the size needed. Plus even if clarinets care is not right maybe mutt could have made it a more constructive reply, this way instead of causing arguements within the forum you could have helped clarinet correct her mistakes, although it seems she knows what she is doing and is soon to sort out the few problems present. This is just my opinion as I think Mutt put his opinion across in the wrong way.

 

Clarinet, melamine is good for a short term enclosure for a juvenile if you only want to get a year or so out of it. Eventually moisture gets under the surface and the particle board within rots away.

Partitioning off part of a room is no good simply because you can't control the environment well enough. As soon as you add sides and a top to the partition, you've just built an enclosure. In the photos you supplied, nothing like that was visible, just a claptrap pile of 'stuff' partitioned from the rest of the room by bits of wire caging, plastic sheeting and a wooden blind. No top to keep the humidity in, no real sides, no dirt to bury in.