# Sand monitor care



## brandreptiles (Aug 20, 2016)

Hey. Myself and my father have been thinking of a keeping a sand monitor as our next herp. I would love to see some of your enclosures and any tips and tricks you may have. 

I would also appreciate a full care sheet cause i cant seem to find one anywhere on the internet!


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## pinefamily (Aug 21, 2016)

There is plenty of information on the net, you just need to use the right search words, and there are quite a few threads on here that can help, if you use the search function top right.
Depending where you are in Oz, you either will end up keeping them outside in an enclosure, or a very large indoor one, 6ft by 4ft would be a minimum for one adult. A 4ft by 2ft tank would be fine for a juvenile. The key to tanks for these guys is they need a deeper substrate, because they love to dig, and how!
Heating: all monitors love it hot, the hotter the better. The basking spot needs to be 50-70 degrees. Rocks or tiles under the globe help to achieve the desired temp. As they get bigger, the trick is to have a basking spot with several lights, so they can warm up their whole body; too often people use one globe, and the monitor gets a burn.
As juveniles they will eat crickets, woodies, pinkies, chopped chicken necks and chicken or turkey mince (the pet chicken mince is best as it has bones minced up in it). As they grow, they can eat larger prey, velvet rats and larger, chicken necks, etc.
UV is not necessary for monitors, but it doesn't hurt to have it for juveniles, while they get big enough to eat whole prey. Dusting with multical is good as well.
Hope this helps, and I hope I haven't missed anything.


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## Smittiferous (Aug 21, 2016)

What are you currently keeping? Sandies in my own limited experience seem to be fairly simple to keep happy provided their basic needs are met (space, hides, digging substrate, a decent hot spot and loads of patience and personal space for the animal). That being said, they're quite the commitment. They start out small and adorable but will grow up to and over a metre long, five of their six ends are death (with the sixth capable of giving a painful tail whip) and some individuals can have a pretty crazy feeding response. Yesterday one of mine decided my phone was possibly food and rocketed out of his enclosure while I was attempting to take a photo of him! He mostly bit my phone. Mostly.

They also are not like bearded dragons, interaction with them takes a lot of patience and building of trust between the both of you. All monitors will tell you where to go if they feel threatened or are not in the mood. 

I'd really recommend a book by Dr Danny Brown, called "A Guide to Australian Monitors in Captivity". It's invaluable, and has loads of info on most locally-available species, including common medical conditions etc.

Also check this thread and this one. Loads of good stuff on interaction here, and also some good discussion about beginner species, should help to give you an idea on what you are in for.

They're really quite rewarding to keep but need patience and room.


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## brandreptiles (Aug 21, 2016)

Smittiferous said:


> What are you currently keeping?


Im currently keeping 2 beardies and 2 eastern water dragons and am wanting to enter the monitor world. Are they harder or easier to tame then water dragons? Can i keep them in pairs or trios?


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## HerpNthusiast (Aug 21, 2016)

Smittiferous said:


> What are you currently keeping? Sandies in my own limited experience seem to be fairly simple to keep happy provided their basic needs are met (space, hides, digging substrate, a decent hot spot and loads of patience and personal space for the animal). That being said, they're quite the commitment. They start out small and adorable but will grow up to and over a metre long, five of their six ends are death (with the sixth capable of giving a painful tail whip) and some individuals can have a pretty crazy feeding response. Yesterday one of mine decided my phone was possibly food and rocketed out of his enclosure while I was attempting to take a photo of him! He mostly bit my phone. Mostly.
> 
> They also are not like bearded dragons, interaction with them takes a lot of patience and building of trust between the both of you. All monitors will tell you where to go if they feel threatened or are not in the mood.
> 
> ...



Here here @Smittiferous,
I keep an ackie which is a really easy monitor to keep and all monitors do need very similar care requirements first of all is a HOT, HOT basking spot of 50-70. I have never kept a Sand goanna but i did research them whilst looking through monitors to keep the reason i didnt get one is because i just don't have the room for it :cry:. 

The one thing that varies is enclosure size. This is because goannas vary so much in size. For a Sandie you'll need a sizeable tank or you'll defs need to upgrade as he grows were you planning on getting a hatchling or fully developed adult?. Just type into the search bar on this forum "Sand Monitor" and you'll get some care threads, some picture threads (those threads don't have much in terms of care but they usually have pics of the enclosure which can give you some idea on what needs to be done). 

Handling well like Smittiferous said they're not like Beardies they'll roam around and just won't stay still for long they're very curious and some will take to handling quickly whilst others you need to get them used to "the hand". Goannas are very cool pets i hope you can get one 

P.S. I call monitors goannas because well i think 'goanna' sounds cooler.


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## pinefamily (Aug 21, 2016)

Probably on a par with EWD's. Having kept both, they both require a lot of patience. The main difference between them is a sand monitor can hurt you a lot more than a water dragon. Even an adult water dragon's bite is nothing compared to that of an adult monitor. Patience is the key, as well as lots of handling as juveniles, when they let you. Our two flavi's are puppy dog tame, but sometimes let you know they don't want to be handled. And the food response of a hungry monitor is far worse than that of a water dragon.
They can be kept together sometimes, but it depends on the individuals, and you'll need a VERY big enclosure.


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## Smittiferous (Aug 21, 2016)

I guess it depends on the individual animal's temperament as well as species. I have one gouldii who often makes quite the statement about the invasion of his personal space, my gouldii flavirufus who is often quite amicable and calm, and @stompsie 's gouldii flavirufus lives here also who is usually equally calm, but has one hell of a feeding response. 

I would not say they are easy to 'tame' like a cat or a dog, it's all down to how well you build trust with the individual and what their temperament is like, in my experience. Some seem to be almost friendly whereas with some others the best you can hope for is they don't lose their marbles when you walk by. There are plenty of others on here who have vastly more knowledge than I who are better equipped to tell you more.

Naturally they are solitary animals. The three I have here are all housed individually, even though two are from the same parentage they're from different clutches. Some people will obtain a pair or trio from the same clutch and house them together, but more space will be required so the individuals can not feel crowded.


Edit: [MENTION=38465]pinefamily[/MENTION] keeps beating me to it!


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## HerpNthusiast (Aug 21, 2016)

brandreptiles said:


> Im currently keeping 2 beardies and 2 eastern water dragons and am wanting to enter the monitor world. Are they harder or easier to tame then water dragons? Can i keep them in pairs or trios?



Taming well like i said if you're lucky some take to it well others will need time and patience and maybe some bitten hands or fingers along the way. You can keep them in pairs i believe but you'll need to be certain ABSOLUTELY certain one's a male and the other (or others) are female other wise things get a bit dangerous with two males. Enclosure will need to be quite big for a pair or trio. You'll be needing a large cabinet type enclosure that is used for snakes has a wide, long floor space with room to climb and access the basking spot. Also like Smittiferous said they're usually solitary so id get a pair (trio is pushing it) and a large enclosure so they can get away from each other. A good idea is maybe getting an enclosure with a divider so it's two enclosures then during breeding season you can pull out the divider and they can be comfortably around each other/


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## brandreptiles (Aug 21, 2016)

Thanks for all the help. Very much appreciated! I've seen some enclosures and they seem to be quite simple to setup, I've talked to a breeder and hes giving me some tips.


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## Murph_BTK (Aug 21, 2016)

brandreptiles said:


> Thanks for all the help. Very much appreciated! I've seen some enclosures and they seem to be quite simple to setup, I've talked to a breeder and hes giving me some tips.


Info is the key.. i too am getting into Monitors and i have been a keen reader on all these topics. Good luckwith your endeavors


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## brandreptiles (Aug 22, 2016)

Murph_BTK said:


> Info is the key.. i too am getting into Monitors and i have been a keen reader on all these topics. Good luckwith your endeavors


You too!


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