# Ridge Tailed Monitor Enclosure Build



## Rogue5861 (May 2, 2013)

Dimensions- 1200x700x900mm (LxDxH).

Hoping to pickup a trio of hatchlings in about a month, this will be their life tank. I have made it 900mm high so that i could get 200mm of substrate and do a diy ledge rock wall. Ill let the pictures do the talking, im still in the process of finishing it off and probably 2-4 weeks away.















































Rick


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## Chondrobsessed (May 2, 2013)

looks great! Keep us updated


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## Rogue5861 (May 2, 2013)

Need to seal background, install vents, glass, ackie stack, sand and branches, heat lights and then some ridge tails 

Need opinions on background colour going with the red sand, background will richen up a bit once i seal it.


Rick


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## bohdi13 (May 2, 2013)

awesome! absolutely awesome  good job and keep us updated...


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## Rogue5861 (May 2, 2013)

Cheers guys, i will try an update as i go. Next few weeks will be slow, sealing background and installing vents then i will bring it inside so i can add sand.

Rick


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## spongebob (May 2, 2013)

For your sake I hope you are not in NSW as this will be under the minimum enclosure size for even one Ackie. 

It's a great looking enclosure though.


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## Rogue5861 (May 2, 2013)

Nope, im from SA. NSW rules on sizing are a joke.


Rick


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## Chondrobsessed (May 2, 2013)

I really like the end colour of the rock, what did u put on it from start to end? My next build will have a diy rock


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## Rogue5861 (May 2, 2013)

Chondrobsessed said:


> I really like the end colour of the rock, what did u put on it from start to end? My next build will have a diy rock



What ya mean? The rock is dunlop acrylic render, $12 from bunnings.


Rick


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## Chondrobsessed (May 2, 2013)

Ah because it looks grey, then really dark, then yellow. Is it just the lighting that make sit look different?


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## Rogue5861 (May 2, 2013)

Chondrobsessed said:


> Ah because it looks grey, then really dark, then yellow. Is it just the lighting that make sit look different?



Ah yep. Different oxides. First coat is no oxide but i mixed in some bondcrete, second was a black oxide and third was a sandstone. Diggers brand from bunnings. I used different colours so i knew that i had got full coverage.


Rick


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## Chondrobsessed (May 2, 2013)

nice! It looks really good, and good idea as well, ok must remember "sand stone" looks great


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## Rogue5861 (May 2, 2013)

Went to landscape yard at lunch, got 64kgs of plasters sand (red sand) for $3.85. So much cheaper then red desert sand at like $40 for 20kgs.


Rick


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## HerpNthusiast (May 2, 2013)

Very cool good luck with your Adkins my mum is still thinking about it.


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## Rogue5861 (May 2, 2013)

Just added some branches and a hollow log (wanting a longer hollow). They are wedged in and the monitors wont be able to move them, hopefully start on my stack on saturday then finish wiring it up.













Rick


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## Rogue5861 (May 4, 2013)

Tested lamp on background and its giving some good heat 









Wondering if this is too high as a secondary basking spot, primary will be a stack of about 6-8 boards stacked and hopefully 75c on top board.


Rick


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## jbest (May 4, 2013)

What sort of lights are they?


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## Rogue5861 (May 4, 2013)

150w Flex Flood, bunnings $12.


Rick


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## Rogue5861 (May 8, 2013)

Sparky mate came around to hookup power to see how it was going, cant wait for it to be setup.




I know how everyone loves pictures so this one is moving forward. Vents are in, background is getting siliconed in now, position of background basking light set (will replace timber slat with a round circle of melamine, double sided tape and silicone to hold to wall) and both fluros hooked up.





This is with only rear light on, a bit more shadow over the background and not as much overall light.





Phone auto balanced the light, but the little ledges all have shadow.


Rick


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## B_STATS (May 9, 2013)

Looks great but is way too small for three Ridgeys don't you think?


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## Rogue5861 (May 9, 2013)

B_STATS said:


> Looks great but is way too small for three Ridgeys don't you think?



Ya reckon? Its 1200x700x900mm (LWH). Most people im spoken to said that should be plenty big enough. 200mm of substrate and a background should give them enough room to get away if they want too.


Rick


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## B_STATS (May 9, 2013)

Hm if plenty of other learned people have said it's fine I wont argue. I just figured three roughly 70cm long adult Ridgeys might get a bit cramped as the enclosure didn't look that big from the pics. I'd house one in there but thats just me. Monitors especially seem to like big spaces.


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## Woma_Wild (May 9, 2013)

a really nice background. love the colouring. Doubt mine will turn out as good.


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## Rogue5861 (May 9, 2013)

B_STATS said:


> Hm if plenty of other learned people have said it's fine I wont argue. I just figured three roughly 70cm long adult Ridgeys might get a bit cramped as the enclosure didn't look that big from the pics. I'd house one in there but thats just me. Monitors especially seem to like big spaces.



70cm long Ridgey? They very rarely get that size as far as im aware, im getting WA reds and i think they max around 50cm total length.


Rick


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## Rogue5861 (May 9, 2013)

Woma_Wild said:


> a really nice background. love the colouring. Doubt mine will turn out as good.



Colour is only sandstone oxide, pretty happy with it and if i was to add paint i think i would of stuffed it lol. Mine doesnt have alot of small detail but it will do the trick 

Yours will turn out as well as you need it to, just like mine.


Rick


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## Rogue5861 (May 9, 2013)

Rear light only




Both lights


Rick


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## B_STATS (May 9, 2013)

Just said the max size they can get. It's all personal preference though  Someone earlier also mentioned N.S.W have bigger cage minimums too which might be why I found it small. I'm a New South Aussie myself ha ha.


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## Rogue5861 (May 9, 2013)

B_STATS said:


> Just said the max size they can get. It's all personal preference though  Someone earlier also mentioned N.S.W have bigger cage minimums too which might be why I found it small. I'm a New South Aussie myself ha ha.



That is the problem, not many get 70cm and the nsw cage sizes min cage size is huge for a 50cm monitor.!

I will be getting 3 hatchies and if they do get too big for the enclosure i will just build a bigger one. Only got space for a 1200 long at the moment but will be moving in the next 12 months into a new house so will have a space for a few big display enclosures then 


Rick


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## lithopian (May 13, 2013)

cant wait to see this finished!


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## Rogue5861 (May 13, 2013)

lithopian said:


> cant wait to see this finished!



Me either mate. Waiting on a few more vents to come in the post and then i can pretty much bring it inside and i can throw the sand in and test temps 

Im pretty happy with the background even tho the pictures make it look better then it is, i know the monitors will love it.


Rick


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## Rogue5861 (May 15, 2013)

Almost ready to go inside. Still waiting on front vents and need to purchase glass. Needs need to wipe it all out. 


Rick


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## Rogue5861 (May 15, 2013)

Thinking i like the second one the best.

Opinions?


Rick


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## B_STATS (May 15, 2013)

How will you attach those branches or do you just wedge them in? Looks really good mate  What temp does the heated side get up to with all four lights on? BTW no.2


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## NickGeee (May 15, 2013)

Number 2


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## Rogue5861 (May 15, 2013)

B_STATS said:


> How will you attach those branches or do you just wedge them in? Looks really good mate  What temp does the heated side get up to with all four lights on? BTW no.2



They are wedged in tigh in those positions. Im yet to get glass so i dont know how hot that side will be, will probably know in a week. After testing it inside.


Rick


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## Skitzmixer (May 16, 2013)

number 2 

I like the lights you used, any reason why you changed them around? Did these ones give better temps? They look a bit easier to position.


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## Rogue5861 (May 16, 2013)

Skitzmixer said:


> number 2
> 
> I like the lights you used, any reason why you changed them around? Did these ones give better temps? They look a bit easier to position.



The original ones had plastic bases, they decided to melt and not hold position or angle. Theses were 150w linear halogen globes.

New ones are all metal with teeth on the angle adjustment, so they dont move. These take 2 100w g9 globes, so i can remove just 1 globe or drop wattage on them all seperatly.

I did prefer the flood effect from the first ones but i couldnt find another linear halogen that looked appealing and was functional.

Best thing about the halogen is they are cheap and 100% dimmable, create alot of heat aswell.


Rick


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## Rogue5861 (May 21, 2013)

Just need to do final temperature testing and timer scheduels, it has turned out looking half decent.


Rick


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## Skitzmixer (May 22, 2013)

that's looking fantastic


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## sharky (May 22, 2013)

Ackies are going to love it!


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## Rogue5861 (May 22, 2013)

Lots of spots to hide in and get away from heat if they want, top of back wall is about 35c an ground about 24c. In the logs are around 20c.


Rick


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## Rogue5861 (May 23, 2013)

Lights have been bumped down to 42w bulbs and im happy with temps. Will be running the stack lamps for 12hrs and 4-8hrs for the top ledge.

Gonna start playing with different time settings on the weekend, to give a little better transition for dawn an dusk.


Rick


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## Crazycow232 (May 24, 2013)

Now all you need are some ackies


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## Rogue5861 (May 24, 2013)

Crazycow232 said:


> Now all you need are some ackies



Yep. Hatched about a week ago so ill have them soon 


Rick


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## Rogue5861 (May 24, 2013)

A photo of one from the first clutch, cant wait till i have a couple of em running around.


Rick


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## intoxicated88 (May 26, 2013)

so that will house them as adults?. looks great.


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## Rogue5861 (May 26, 2013)

intoxicated88 said:


> so that will house them as adults?. looks great.



Should do, floor space is around 1200x600 with alot of usable space with branches and background.


Rick


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## intoxicated88 (May 28, 2013)

hey mate just want to ask a few more question's cause i am thinking of getting a monitor soon.
with the flood lights what type of bulbs did you use and do you need flueroecent for night times or would a CHE and a UVB light do the trick.?
and how thick should i have the gaps for the rete's stack and should it be re-built when there adults. 

sorry for all the questions just so much to know about caring for these thanks 
love your enclosure hope i get a result like that on mine


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## Rogue5861 (May 28, 2013)

intoxicated88 said:


> hey mate just want to ask a few more question's cause i am thinking of getting a monitor soon.
> with the flood lights what type of bulbs did you use and do you need flueroecent for night times or would a CHE and a UVB light do the trick.?
> and how thick should i have the gaps for the rete's stack and should it be re-built when there adults.



2x 42wg9 bulbs per lamp (168w of heating), giving a spot of 70c. 2x 18w fluros, ambient temps sit around 40c up top and 28c on ground level. 204w total.

Night time i wont be heating at all. If i did need to i would use a CHE. CHE are good for ambient temps but not so much as basking lamps.

I currently have stack gaps at 18mm, i will most probably have to increase the gaps as they grow but they do like tight spots so i will see how they go as they increase size.



Rick


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## intoxicated88 (May 28, 2013)

cheers a heap mate thanks.
is there anyway you could link me to were i can get the lights cant find them would they be at bunnings.


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## Rogue5861 (May 28, 2013)

intoxicated88 said:


> cheers a heap mate thanks.
> is there anyway you could link me to were i can get the lights cant find them would they be at bunnings.



Sent link via pm.


Rick


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## SnakeRanch (May 28, 2013)

Great thread Rick.

Very informative for anyone wishing to something simillar


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## andynic07 (May 28, 2013)

Rogue5861 said:


> Rick


I really like your enclosure but think I would prefer the background this colour. Very well done mate.


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## Rogue5861 (May 28, 2013)

andynic07 said:


> I really like your enclosure but think I would prefer the background this colour. Very well done mate.



Colour in the picture looks good but it was alot more black then it looks, i think it was the combination of iphone 4 camera and the yellow fluros that made it look that colour. I agree though that colour would of been great. 

Im slightly colour blind and have no skill with painting or shading (can paint a wall with a roller tho lol), ended up just using oxide colours.


Rick


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## andynic07 (May 28, 2013)

Rogue5861 said:


> Colour in the picture looks good but it was alot more black then it looks, i think it was the combination of iphone 4 camera and the yellow fluros that made it look that colour. I agree though that colour would of been great.
> 
> Im slightly colour blind and have no skill with painting or shading (can paint a wall with a roller tho lol), ended up just using oxide colours.
> 
> ...


Yeah it still turned out great and my rock wall is a similar colour but what i did with mine because I am no good at painting was lightly sprayed black paint over the wall and then put the last coat on and you can slightly see some of the black through. I also used stuff called liquid sandstone instead of render, not sure if that would be suitable for monitors though.


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## Rogue5861 (May 28, 2013)

andynic07 said:


> Yeah it still turned out great and my rock wall is a similar colour but what i did with mine because I am no good at painting was lightly sprayed black paint over the wall and then put the last coat on and you can slightly see some of the black through. I also used stuff called liquid sandstone instead of render, not sure if that would be suitable for monitors though.



Just did a quick google on "liquid sandstone", says it stays cool to touch? Probably not the best if you wanted to heat up a ledge made out of it but seems like an easy product to use.

I was going to spray on black to add shadow and then add colour (i had silver, gold, brown, green, oche, black and white) but was to affraid i would stuff it all up and it would come out horrible.


Rick


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## andynic07 (May 28, 2013)

Rogue5861 said:


> Just did a quick google on "liquid sandstone", says it stays cool to touch? Probably not the best if you wanted to heat up a ledge made out of it but seems like an easy product to use.
> 
> I was going to spray on black to add shadow and then add colour (i had silver, gold, brown, green, oche, black and white) but was to affraid i would stuff it all up and it would come out horrible.
> 
> ...


I didn't want to get too fancy with the colours either as I am not too arty. I use a piece of black slate on the basking shelf for my bearded dragon. It doesn't really look like part of the wall but is a lot better for my lizard. It could probably be integrated a bit better if I had planned it from the start.


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## Rogue5861 (May 28, 2013)

Just notice this thread has had 2k views... Wow


Rick


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## intoxicated88 (May 30, 2013)

will i have to build it bigger due to living in NSW.??


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## phatty (May 30, 2013)

if you colour blind it doesn't matter about the colours used as long is it looks good to you your the one looking at it every day


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## Rogue5861 (May 30, 2013)

phatty said:


> if you colour blind it doesn't matter about the colours used as long is it looks good to you your the one looking at it every day



True, but im really just shocking with artsy stuff. Thanks for the vote of confidence.


Rick


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## Rogue5861 (May 30, 2013)

intoxicated88 said:


> will i have to build it bigger due to living in NSW.??



Maybe look up you state laws, took me around 2 mins on google to find the nsw regulations document....


Rick


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## Rogue5861 (Jun 3, 2013)

Pick up 3 ridge tails on saturday, if they arent too shy i will throw up some pictures.


Rick


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## Grimace (Jun 3, 2013)

cant wait to see them in that enclosure. looks good mate. good job


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## Rogue5861 (Jun 8, 2013)

Rick


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## Rogue5861 (Jun 9, 2013)

Rick


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## andynic07 (Jun 9, 2013)

Love your little lizards mate , they seem to be taking to their new home. How many do you have in their?


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## Rogue5861 (Jun 9, 2013)

andynic07 said:


> Love your little lizards mate , they seem to be taking to their new home. How many do you have in their?



Got 3, hoping for a pair or trio to come out of them. Currently just over 2 weeks old.

They have explored every inch of the enclosure an running around like ants, alot more settled then yesterday when they first went in there.


Rick


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## andynic07 (Jun 9, 2013)

Rogue5861 said:


> Got 3, hoping for a pair or trio to come out of them. Currently just over 2 weeks old.
> 
> They have explored every inch of the enclosure an running around like ants, alot more settled then yesterday when they first went in there.
> 
> ...


I had my heart set on a Spencers monitor for my first when I am ready but I am starting to fall for these guys lately. You will have to keep me informed about how they are to keep. I think the wife would probably go for these easier than a Spencers.


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## NickGeee (Jun 9, 2013)

Damn, they are awesome!


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## justin91 (Jun 12, 2013)

Bloody hell.. There tiny lol. Makes the enclosure look so much bigger in the photos. After seeing them I really do want a trio of my own =/ Maybe one day.. Are they expensive to buy?


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## Rogue5861 (Jun 12, 2013)

justin91 said:


> Bloody hell.. There tiny lol. Makes the enclosure look so much bigger in the photos. After seeing them I really do want a trio of my own =/ Maybe one day.. Are they expensive to buy?



These guys will be 3 weeks tomorrow, so yes they are tiny lol. 

Depends whos selling them and what local an colour, these guys are WA reds that i got from a private breeder. I got a pretty decend price on the trio. Our local reptile stores are asking $300 for the same blood lines (breeder i got from purchased his 7yrs ago from them), ive seen prices between $200-$400.


Rick


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## Rogue5861 (Jun 12, 2013)

Rick


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## justin91 (Jun 13, 2013)

Rogue5861 said:


> These guys will be 3 weeks tomorrow, so yes they are tiny lol.
> 
> Depends whos selling them and what local an colour, these guys are WA reds that i got from a private breeder. I got a pretty decend price on the trio. Our local reptile stores are asking $300 for the same blood lines (breeder i got from purchased his 7yrs ago from them), ive seen prices between $200-$400.
> 
> ...



Ah ok. Is that each of for the lot? Depending on how my career goes I might think about looking into them. I know if I started researching now I'd be to determined
to get one lol.


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## Rogue5861 (Jun 13, 2013)

$200-$400 each.


Rick


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## B_STATS (Jun 13, 2013)

Congratulations on your enclosure being finished! Your new animals are adorable too.


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## Pythonlovers (Jun 13, 2013)

This is awesome!! So amazingm  very jealous of the build and your little babies!


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## buckziggy (Jun 14, 2013)

nice enclosure


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## Rogue5861 (Jun 18, 2013)

My possible male going through shed, i think he has visable spurs but havent handled them at all. This one doesnt mind a quick rub on the back but if he starts to move away i stop, another one doesnt mind a rub either but is alot more flighty.

I move slowly and place my hand down near them, they come over for a smell but will normally just go back to basking or sleeping once they know who it is. 

Did have one climb up my arm and try to get away along my back, had to handle him back into his enclosure. He was a bit excited to go for a run.


Rick


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## Rogue5861 (Jul 16, 2013)

Took some new photos of them yesterday, changed around there enclosure a bit to suit a bigger water bowl that they can lay in if they want.




















Rick


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## Sami-Lochy (Jul 16, 2013)

Hey rick, love your setup, your hard works definitely payed off. Having read and followed this thread previously i cant believe i didn't even realise that our little ones may be/probably are brother and sister. I got mine shipped from SA a bout a month or 2 ago. I can see the little white dot in one of the previous photos, that the lady put that on mine as well to identify which is which. I got 2 little ones. I believe one of mine is a boy, after owning quite a few ridge taileds, I can tell the similarities in the face quite well. And they say there is only usually 2 males in every clutch to about 5/6 females. One usually being the sub dominant male and the other being the more dominant. It would be awesome if you could post some photos of your little boys face. Here's my little one and there tank I up sized 2 square feet today. might be going to get this 8ft by 2 ft by 2 ft tank for the little guys, will do it as soon as I can transport it!


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## Sami-Lochy (Jul 16, 2013)

That sucks all the photos are upside down.. Ill try again I guess.


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## Rogue5861 (Jul 16, 2013)

Se2741 said:


> Hey rick, love your setup, your hard works definitely payed off. Having read and followed this thread previously i cant believe i didn't even realise that our little ones may be/probably are brother and sister. I got mine shipped from SA a bout a month or 2 ago. I can see the little white dot in one of the previous photos, that the lady put that on mine as well to identify which is which. I got 2 little ones. I believe one of mine is a boy, after owning quite a few ridge taileds, I can tell the similarities in the face quite well. And they say there is only usually 2 males in every clutch to about 5/6 females. One usually being the sub dominant male and the other being the more dominant. It would be awesome if you could post some photos of your little boys face. Here's my little one and there tank I up sized 2 square feet today. might be going to get this 8ft by 2 ft by 2 ft tank for the little guys, will do it as soon as I can transport it!



Thanks mate. Mine come from a local breeder that advertised a few on gumtree, I got mine from his second clutch of 6 eggs (5 made full term). 

I have also read that Ridge Tailed Monitors determine sex after hatching, normally with fewer males then females (normally a 2f/1m ratio). I mate of mine one from this breeder and said he believed his to be female and the other a male, which should give me 2f 1m.
















Rick


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## Sami-Lochy (Jul 16, 2013)

Sorry I don't know why it's showing them upside down.


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## Sami-Lochy (Jul 16, 2013)

*Greg*

This is another male I currently own, Greg Hughes..god love him.. Haha he is a special little one and will never stop running up my jumper sleeves.. He is always happy to handled but is also just as happy slipping down the crevices of the couch.. Haha. He is the only one from the original crew that I had and I love him dearly. He is fully grown and only 29 centimetres long and he must be about 3 years old.. Poor thing didn't get much love from his previous owner, could be why he is so small.. I've had him for about a year and I thought he was only about a year old when I got him but he hasn't grown an inch in the past year. But what he lacks in size he makes for in character.


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## Sami-Lochy (Jul 16, 2013)

Rogue5861 said:


> Thanks mate. Mine come from a local breeder that advertised a few on gumtree, I got mine from his second clutch of 6 eggs (5 made full term).
> 
> I have also read that Ridge Tailed Monitors determine sex after hatching, normally with fewer males then females (normally a 2f/1m ratio). I mate of mine one from this breeder and said he believed his to be female and the other a male, which should give me 2f 1m.
> 
> ...



Nice photos rick, they look like a happy bunch. Sometimes mine have small scruffs, mainly the 
little female going for the male, I don't know if I should separate them, but If I see them fighting again I'm going to have to, I would hate losing a second monitor to that sort of thing. Ridgeys seem to be very territorial about their space, I'm hoping this bigger enclosure will help them find some sort of peace..


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## Rogue5861 (Jul 16, 2013)

The biggest in the group allows me to pick it up for a bit for a pat (held inside enclosure), the other 2 are getting there but I'm in no rush to handle them. 2 small ones are still a bit flighty if I get to close but don't mind me opening the doors or cleaning out enclosure, more then happy to continue basking or eating an keeping an eye on me.

I have noticed a bit of dominance mating going on but only seems to be the mid sized one jumping the other two, he gets right into biting the others head or legs. Doesnt seem to be causing an damage yet but time will tell, i have seen chickens do similar things but inflict alot of damage to one another. 


Rick


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## BDkeeper (Jul 16, 2013)

Rogue5861 said:


> Took some new photos of them yesterday, changed around there enclosure a bit to suit a bigger water bowl that they can lay in if they want.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Hey rick what sort of light do you use to light up your whole enclosure i know you use the two spot lamps but what is the other light source?


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## Rogue5861 (Jul 16, 2013)

BDkeeper said:


> Hey rick what sort of light do you use to light up your whole i know you use the two spot lamps but what is the other light source



Just 2x 60cm fluros.


Rick


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## BDkeeper (Jul 16, 2013)

Rogue5861 said:


> Just 2x 60cm fluros.
> 
> 
> Rick


Ok i was going to use them but was thinking of useing the spot lamps but was a bit worried if they would get to hot so yeah will probly be using the flouros now 
thanks


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## Rogue5861 (Jul 16, 2013)

BDkeeper said:


> Ok i was going to use them but was thinking of useing the spot lamps but was a bit worried if they would get to hot so yeah will probly be using the flouros now
> thanks



Spot lamps won't give a lot of light for the enclosure in a room that isn't well lit. I'm considering changing them out for led strips due to heat build up, come summer when my room temp is a lot higher I don't want to be seeing 40c+ in the enclosure. I get around 34c days at the moment an room temps are around 18-22c.


Rick


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## BDkeeper (Jul 16, 2013)

Rogue5861 said:


> Spot lamps won't give a lot of light for the enclosure in a room that isn't well lit. I'm considering changing them out for led strips due to heat build up, come summer when my room temp is a lot higher I don't want to be seeing 40c+ in the enclosure. I get around 34c days at the moment an room temps are around 18-22c.
> 
> 
> Rick


Actuelly thats a really good idea im going to have a look on ebay once i get my enclosure built


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## Sami-Lochy (Jul 16, 2013)

Rogue5861 said:


> The biggest in the group allows me to pick it up for a bit for a pat (held inside enclosure), the other 2 are getting there but I'm in no rush to handle them. 2 small ones are still a bit flighty if I get to close but don't mind me opening the doors or cleaning out enclosure, more then happy to continue basking or eating an keeping an eye on me.
> 
> I have noticed a bit of dominance mating going on but only seems to be the mid sized one jumping the other two, he gets right into biting the others head or legs. Doesnt seem to be causing an damage yet but time will tell, i have seen chickens do similar things but inflict alot of damage to one another.
> 
> ...


By the way, I bbelieve I remember reading some articles on whether or not the sex is determined in the egg and I think I recall that most people agree that it is.
Apparantly it happens when sperm meets the egg, the sex chromosomes of the gametes determine whether it will go on to be male or female.
i handle the little male sometimes, but not the female as much as she doesn't like being handled.


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## BDkeeper (Jul 16, 2013)

Rogue5861 said:


> Just 2x 60cm fluros.
> 
> 
> Rick


Wait if youre using 2x60cm fluros i was only planing to use 1 and surely that wouldnt give of as much heat would it?


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## MathewB (Jul 16, 2013)

Se2741 said:


> By the way, I bbelieve I remember reading some articles on whether or not the sex is determined in the egg and I think I recall that most people agree that it is.
> Apparantly it happens when sperm meets the egg, the sex chromosomes of the gametes determine whether it will go on to be male or female.
> i handle the little male sometimes, but not the female as much as she doesn't like being handled.



I thought it was to do with incubation temp? I swear I read that somewhere. I know that's what happens with crocodiles, maybe I'm getting the 2 mixed up haha


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## Rogue5861 (Jul 17, 2013)

BDkeeper said:


> Wait if youre using 2x60cm fluros i was only planing to use 1 and surely that wouldnt give of as much heat would it?



Yes. 2 will not produce as much heat as 1. Most of my heat is up high so ground temps are around 25ish at the moment, will probably see them at 30c during summer which is fine but I wouldn't want it much higher. As ya can see it was 8:40pm and temps on the background were 34c. 


Rick


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## Rogue5861 (Jul 17, 2013)

MathewB said:


> I thought it was to do with incubation temp? I swear I read that somewhere. I know that's what happens with crocodiles, maybe I'm getting the 2 mixed up haha



Not all reptiles are TDS (temperature determined sex). I did see a dissection of a ridge tail that was a hermaphrodite. I not sure on how exactly they determine sex but do know the ratio is normally more females then males in a clutch.


Rick


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## Rogue5861 (Jul 17, 2013)

A bit of dominance between two of them.


Rick


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## MathewB (Jul 17, 2013)

Nice shots, they seem to be pretty active little guys.

Do you by any chance know what age they reach breeding maturity? I'm looking at getting some myself some and haven't been able to find that in my readings.


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## Sami-Lochy (Jul 17, 2013)

MathewB said:


> Nice shots, they seem to be pretty active little guys.
> 
> Do you by any chance know what age they reach breeding maturity? I'm looking at getting some myself some and haven't been able to find that in my readings.


Depending on whether or not they are being power fed, I think they can breed around 18 months but it is much better for the female to be older/around 2+ as premature breeding can be detrimental to the female and she could die while the eggs develop.
it all really matters on the size of the female, if she is looking healthy and robust and nearly fully grown (about 50cm), she should be alright to breed.


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## Sami-Lochy (Jul 17, 2013)

I hate it when they fight, I separate them when they do fight. The female bites the other on the neck and it could be a very serious injury, it could even choke the little male out. Do you reckon it's better just to leave them to sort it out for themselves? The male never fights back...
Heres a pic i just took of the two, the male is on the right. And female is on the left..


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## Rogue5861 (Jul 17, 2013)

MathewB said:


> Nice shots, they seem to be pretty active little guys.
> 
> Do you by any chance know what age they reach breeding maturity? I'm looking at getting some myself some and haven't been able to find that in my readings.



I believe they can breed at around 15cm snout to vent, around 8 months. If it happens it happens. A lot of people just let them be an if they do at this age it is normally fine. This is just what I have heard so don't quote me.


Rick


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## Rogue5861 (Jul 17, 2013)

Se2741 said:


> I hate it when they fight, I separate them when they do fight. The female bites the other on the neck and it could be a very serious injury, it could even choke the little male out. Do you reckon it's better just to leave them to sort it out for themselves? The male never fights back...
> Heres a pic i just took of the two, the male is on the right. And female is on the left..



I wouldn't separate unless they are causing major damage. It is just how they work out who is boss. 

It is only one of mine that dominates the other two at the moment, I'm sure this is likely to change come breeding size and age.


Rick


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