# Spencer’s monitor



## Neil j (Dec 21, 2017)

New member, I’m Getting a Spencer’s monitor. I’d love to post pics without a URL but I don’t know how. Anyway can’t wait.


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## Stompsy (Dec 21, 2017)

Click upload a file and choose your picture. Can’t wait to see!!


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## pinefamily (Dec 21, 2017)

Welcome to APS. Is this your first reptile?
Post your pics here: https://www.aussiepythons.com/forum/threads/monitor-pictures-thread.112585/


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## Neil j (Dec 22, 2017)

Thanks stompsy and pine family. I should wait till I get him to take more photos. Yes his my first monitor.


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## Stompsy (Dec 22, 2017)

I love their squished up little faces! Would love one of these guys..


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## pinefamily (Dec 22, 2017)

You know you want one, Stompsy, lol. Are you allowed to have them in Victoria?
Neil j, he/she is a good size. How old is it?


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## Neil j (Dec 22, 2017)

Pinefamily I haven’t actually asked the age yet. Perfect size to me nice full belly on him. Can’t wait to handle it. It was sold to them as a girl but the seller thinks it might be a boy. Rate of grow dominance ect compared to another one. I got a 180cm pvc cage for the little fella. Picked it up 300 bucks with heat dome che and thermostat.


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## pinefamily (Dec 22, 2017)

Good pick up. Will it be big enough as a forever home for him?
Spencers are great. Next to Mertens they have to be one of the most placid monitors. We got ours as a hatchling, and believe it or not, was a problem feeder at first. Making up for lost time now.


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## Neil j (Dec 22, 2017)

No he will out grow it eventually but watching some YouTube clips won’t be for awhile. Should be easier to get out of the cage for handling. 
I heard that about the mertens.
[doublepost=1513894027,1513893743][/doublepost]Got some jungles hatching. Just waiting for them to come out of egg to make a call on exactly what they are as I used to two males. Tiger x tiger then axanthic x tiger. Hoping to get some hets. Dare say I will.


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## Stompsy (Dec 22, 2017)

pinefamily said:


> You know you want one, Stompsy, lol. Are you allowed to have them in Victoria?
> Neil j, he/she is a good size. How old is it?


Maybe one day. I’m quickly running out of space.


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## Tobe404 (Dec 22, 2017)

Lovely Spencers you have there. Man I gotta stop looking at pics of Monitors. Pine's sig hits the nail on the head. Haha.


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## Imported_tuatara (Dec 22, 2017)

yes spencers are legal here. didn't think having a potentially 6 foot monitor would be a good first choice honestly, it'll need a very large most likely outside enclosure once an adult...


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## Neil j (Jan 5, 2018)

I got a little harness for goanna. Does anybody else harness??


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## Imported_tuatara (Jan 5, 2018)

that's for dwarf rabbits lol..would most likely be uncomfortable too, in which even then the harness for an adult(if you even have a hand to use it after trying to equip it) would need to be for a very very large flemish giant, that harness would not fit a six month old, which is the minimum i'd even dare put a harness on. not worth it, just dumb for a large monitor imo, no matter how "placid" the species is.
[doublepost=1515145996,1515145871][/doublepost]unless you can get a 12 foot enclosure or lots of power outside this is a bad idea too, along with food, etc, you're looking at a very pricey animal all up.


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## Wally (Jan 5, 2018)

Neil j said:


> I got a little harness for goanna. Does anybody else harness??
> 
> View attachment 322662



Depending on what state you live in it may contravene wildlife regulations. I know here in Vic it was frowned upon by the licensing body.

What you do in the privacy of your own home is your own business though.


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## Imported_tuatara (Jan 5, 2018)

dragonlover1 said:


> no you're not,just kick the kids out into the caravan lol


 They should be fine fending for themselves in the back shed, right? that's just what all kids did before the internet.


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## dragonlover1 (Jan 5, 2018)

Stompsy said:


> Maybe one day. I’m quickly running out of space.


no you're not,just kick the kids out into the caravan lol
[doublepost=1515147678,1515147548][/doublepost]


Imported_tuatara said:


> yes spencers are legal here. didn't think having a potentially 6 foot monitor would be a good first choice honestly, it'll need a very large most likely outside enclosure once an adult...


nah just give it one of the bedrooms


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## dragonlover1 (Jan 5, 2018)

Imported_tuatara said:


> They should be fine fending for themselves in the back shed, right? that's just what all kids did before the internet.


we survived


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## Richard Biffin (Jan 6, 2018)

I had a pair outside in western Vic as adults, kept in a disused 5M diameter concrete water tank. Only supplemental heating over winter and a dry hide spot. They spent more time down 3M long tunnels than in their winter hides. Aaha, wont load a bmp file, Soz


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## Neil j (Jan 6, 2018)

Imported_tuatara said:


> that's for dwarf rabbits lol..would most likely be uncomfortable too, in which even then the harness for an adult(if you even have a hand to use it after trying to equip it) would need to be for a very very large flemish giant, that harness would not fit a six month old, which is the minimum i'd even dare put a harness on. not worth it, just dumb for a large monitor imo, no matter how "placid" the species is.
> [doublepost=1515145996,1515145871][/doublepost]unless you can get a 12 foot enclosure or lots of power outside this is a bad idea too, along with food, etc, you're looking at a very pricey animal all up.



His not that big and the harness is adjustable and they do have a larger one. If he will tolerate me putting it on. Lol 

I’m happy to dive in the deep end with a spencer. You know I stuffed around with carpets and rough scales for so long before I could dare to get a green tree python. So I’m going straight for the spenc


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## Imported_tuatara (Jan 6, 2018)

if it's what you truly want sure, i can see why you want to skip all of the stuff you don't want(ei dwarf monitors, then mertens, etc), just a bit weird for someones first monitor to be one that can grow 6 foot.


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## Scutellatus (Jan 6, 2018)

Imported_tuatara said:


> if it's what you truly want sure, i can see why you want to skip all of the stuff you don't want(ei dwarf monitors, then mertens, etc), just a bit weird for someones first monitor to be one that can grow 6 foot.


Where are you getting 6 foot from? They have an average 120cm total length. That is 4 foot and add above average on to that and you've got the most of 5 foot.


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## Stompsy (Jan 6, 2018)

dragonlover1 said:


> we survived


And it was wayyyy more fun.


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## Tobe404 (Jan 6, 2018)

Scutellatus said:


> Where are you getting 6 foot from? They have an average 120cm total length. That is 4 foot and add above average on to that and you've got the most of 5 foot.



I was thinking the same.


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## Imported_tuatara (Jan 6, 2018)

Tobe404 said:


> I was thinking the same.


 i've heard from quite well known monitor keepers before that they can reach lengths of 6 feet, then again you also hear of six foot stimmies now and again


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## dragonlover1 (Jan 6, 2018)

Imported_tuatara said:


> if it's what you truly want sure, i can see why you want to skip all of the stuff you don't want(ei dwarf monitors, then mertens, etc), just a bit weird for someones first monitor to be one that can grow 6 foot.


we did something similar,went from a Gillens to a pair of Lacies,pretty big jump hey? But then we have more than 15 years reptile experience


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## Richard Biffin (Jan 6, 2018)

Personally, I think get what you're keen on first. A gillens wont teach you much about Lace monitor husbandry, so you may as well start at the pointy end as long as you've done your husbandry research first and have chatted with others who keep the species in question. just my two cents.


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## Neil j (Jan 27, 2018)

Unable to upload pics but got my spencer and his amazing. Feed him two large mice and and a chicken heart. Handles beautifully. His great.


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## Tobe404 (Jan 27, 2018)

How old is he and how big? I might of missed it, but I don't think I saw that anywhere.

I'd probably feed cut up chicken necks over chicken heart pieces as the necks have bone/cartilage in them. My Yellow Spotted absolutely loves them.

Also dusted Roaches and/or Crickets are a good source of food too.


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## dragonlover1 (Jan 27, 2018)

Richard Biffin said:


> Personally, I think get what you're keen on first. A gillens wont teach you much about Lace monitor husbandry, so you may as well start at the pointy end as long as you've done your husbandry research first and have chatted with others who keep the species in question. just my two cents.


I'm not sure you get the point Richard.You really need to understand small monitor behaviour before you understand large monitor behaviour,same thing but on a bigger scale.Lacies do not behave the same as a Gillens,we have both,but I don't trust the lacies as I trust the gillens


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## Imported_tuatara (Jan 27, 2018)

You don't need to understand the behavior by getting one though, either. Lucky for me if I ever was to get a large species I'd probably already have a few dwarf species, I prefer them over most larger species.


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## Nero Egernia (Jan 28, 2018)

Why does everyone have to decide what another person should keep? We're not in their shoes. We don't know their background. The person in question is the only one who can decide whether or not they're capable of caring for said animal. There's no point acquiring something you never wanted. If I "played it safe" when I first got into pythons and started with a hatchling Stimson's instead of jumping into the deep end with a temperamental adult carpet python I would've had a very disappointing keeping experience. Passion, research, and common sense can go a long way.


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## Flaviemys purvisi (Jan 28, 2018)

Nero Egernia said:


> There's no point acquiring something you never wanted.


Exactly right. I believe if I had of started out with something simple, say like Murray River turtles, I'd have wasted a decade of precious time to achieve nothing before getting into a species that actually needs research and conservation effort. I know it's not exactly the same with monitors and snakes, but time is something you don't want to take for granted with turtles who can easily outlive us and some species take 20+ years just to sexually mature. Only a person can decide for themselves what they truly like/want/desire, what they ultimately want to achieve and they should go for it, commit to it and strive to succeed. Nobody should tell someone else "you should get this or perhaps not get that" next minute you're asking a stranger what car should I buy and what breakfast cereal is the best. 

And passion... that's probably the key word... If you don't truly want something, the passion won't be there, the experience won't be positive and you won't put 110% into it, it'll feel like a chore, a mistake, you'll have regrets and just end up pulling the pin, you and your animals will ultimately suffer. 

Deep down everybody knows what they really want, it's simply about how much ticker you have and supreme dedication.


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## Smittiferous (Jan 28, 2018)

dragonlover1 said:


> I'm not sure you get the point Richard.You really need to understand small monitor behaviour before you understand large monitor behaviour,same thing but on a bigger scale.Lacies do not behave the same as a Gillens,we have both,but I don't trust the lacies as I trust the gillens


Colour me confused, that reads in a rather contradictory fashion....


Lots of people start on larger monitors first. I did, and I found my sandies to be more of an open book than the tristis I got later on. Its the idiots who go and get a big feller without understanding what they're getting themselves into that end up coming undone.


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## dragonlover1 (Jan 28, 2018)

Smittiferous said:


> Colour me confused, that reads in a rather contradictory fashion....


you got me there mate,I may written that after a few bevvies


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## Smittiferous (Jan 29, 2018)

dragonlover1 said:


> you got me there mate,I may written that after a few bevvies


Don’t drink and forum mate, I used to do it somewhere else, bad things happened. They made me senior admin... it was terrible!


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## pinefamily (Jan 29, 2018)

Either that, or we all post after a few. That way we'll understand each other, lol.


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## Neil j (Jan 30, 2018)

Tobe404 said:


> How old is he and how big? I might of missed it, but I don't think I saw.


His not huge for 1.5 but healthy. I feed him chicken hearts turkey mice and large mice. Will be sure to use some chopped chicken necks as well.

His so easy to pick up out of cage but a little skittish in hands. I’m finding he just wants to be left alone hiding underneath his artificial grass mat. I’m going to partion of his cage and add some digging substrate for him after I see him shed out nice white.


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## pinefamily (Jan 30, 2018)

I'd ditch the grass for sand. Our Spencer's is on the playsand from Bunnings, with a few rocks and a tile stack. If you want yours to tunnel, you can buy special sand that holds its shape. Alternatively, put in a piece of pvc pipe buried in the sand, with an elbow at each end poking out.


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## bluedragon (Jan 30, 2018)

pinefamily said:


> I'd ditch the grass for sand. Our Spencer's is on the playsand from Bunnings, with a few rocks and a tile stack. If you want yours to tunnel, you can buy special sand that holds its shape. Alternatively, put in a piece of pvc pipe buried in the sand, with an elbow at each end poking out.


with the bunnings play sand when it drys what does it look like ive always seen play sand like in clumps


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## pinefamily (Jan 30, 2018)

The stuff from Bunnings dries into fine sand. You might have to stir it around to break any little clumps, but it doesn't clump again (until pooped in, lol).


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## Neil j (Feb 1, 2018)

Samphore the great I named him


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## Foozil (Feb 1, 2018)

Neil j said:


> Samphore the great I named him


I say this way too often but this is such an awesome monitor and i'm super jealous


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## Neil j (Feb 1, 2018)

His awesome can’t wait till he sheds out all that dirt stained skin


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## Foozil (Feb 1, 2018)

Nooooo thats too adorable!! I love him!!


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## richyboa72 (Feb 1, 2018)

Looks like Dino from flint stones in that red harness lol, so cool 


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## Neil j (Feb 17, 2018)

Put a 125 w Mercury vapour bulb today and it’s like the hottest time of summer. O my god how much heat can they withstand. Pardon the poo but I’m not in a hurry to stuck my hand in there while his basking. And o yes I need to find a substrate solution. I took his artificial grass to the dump. He has a tub of play sand. Climbs in it by doesn’t dig


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## pinefamily (Feb 17, 2018)

Put your hand in, unless he's super hungry. That's the only time I'm nervous about putting my hand in with our Spencer's. Any other time, she's placid and quiet.
Our yellow spotted, that's another story. He's permanently hungry seemingly. I have to be careful just changing his water, lol.


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## Neil j (Feb 17, 2018)

Pine family when ever his basking I know not to stick my hand in there. He tries to attack me through the glass. I can pull him out of hiding fine though.

On an other note I love monitor so much now I’d love a pair of gillieni monitors to try and breed.


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## cris (Feb 17, 2018)

Neil j said:


> And o yes I need to find a substrate solution. I took his artificial grass to the dump. He has a tub of play sand. Climbs in it by doesn’t dig



Get some clay soil, you can find it in most areas if you dig a bit (except on the beach or other really sandy places). It will set like a rock and they can dig a tunnel system in it.


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## Neil j (Feb 17, 2018)

Yeah pine family I couldn’t handle a sand monitor V panoptes or whatever they are. 

Thanks Chris the people got it off recommended clay soil. But I’m going to have to check out the plant nursery and see if they have it. Fill his cage with that
[doublepost=1518851633,1518851583][/doublepost]I actually live at the beach


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## Stompsy (Feb 17, 2018)

pinefamily said:


> Put your hand in, unless he's super hungry. That's the only time I'm nervous about putting my hand in with our Spencer's. Any other time, she's placid and quiet.
> Our yellow spotted, that's another story. He's permanently hungry seemingly. I have to be careful just changing his water, lol.


My flavi is the same. I wear gloves every time I handle him because he thinks everything is food. He’s a lovely boy though, just food crazy.


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## cris (Feb 17, 2018)

Neil j said:


> Yeah pine family I couldn’t handle a sand monitor V panoptes or whatever they are.
> 
> Thanks Chris the people got it off recommended clay soil. But I’m going to have to check out the plant nursery and see if they have it. Fill his cage with that
> [doublepost=1518851633,1518851583][/doublepost]I actually live at the beach


Not sure if it the sort of thing you can buy, it isn't good for most plants or other normal uses. You can steal it from all sorts of places lol...


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## Neil j (Feb 17, 2018)

Wow Chris amazing video. I guess the soil I imagined wasn’t as high a consistency of clay as the clay soil your talking about. I don’t now where to find that unless I just fill his cage with play sand for now. So he has better footing.
[doublepost=1518853296,1518853128][/doublepost]I understand they live the black soil country and spend most their time hiding in the deep cracks so clay is something I’ll look into.


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## cris (Feb 17, 2018)

Neil j said:


> Wow Chris amazing video. I guess the soil I imagined wasn’t as high a consistency of clay as the clay soil your talking about. I don’t now where to find that unless I just fill his cage with play sand for now. So he has better footing.
> [doublepost=1518853296,1518853128][/doublepost]I understand they they live the black soil country and spend most their time hiding in the deep cracks so clay is something I’ll look into.



It doesn't have to have that much clay in it. I was actually looking for another video of his, but just posted that one anyway. An ideal soil for them is pretty much anything that holds together when it is dry. In a large enough enclosure they will build tunnels and typically will not crap in their home.


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## Neil j (Feb 17, 2018)

Ok thanks I’ll see what I can find


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## pinefamily (Feb 17, 2018)

One of the sands you can buy from sand and metal places will hold its shape, especially if damp. Can't remember which one, maybe builder's sand?


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## HSVGTP (May 22, 2018)

Love these guys, I’m trying to source a Spencer’s right now, I’ve designed my big enclosure that will house it as an adult, seems they are very hard to find at present.


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## Tobe404 (May 22, 2018)

I swear I must of got a docile as Monitor. I put my hand in front of him and fully covered his face to stop him from jumping out his enclosure and he didn't give two sh!ts, I can full on pat him on the back without him caring. Change his water, pick up his poo, etc.

Even hand feed him Chicken Necks and put it there straight after and he wont bite it. Don't really want to try that with Mice though as they're that small he might miss and nab my hand.

Only time he shows any real sight of aggression is if I disturb him during sleep.


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## HSVGTP (May 22, 2018)

Tobe404 said:


> I swear I must of got a docile as Monitor. I put my hand in front of him and fully covered his face to stop him from jumping out his enclosure and he didn't give two sh!ts, I can full on pat him on the back without him caring. Change his water, pick up his poo, etc.
> 
> Even hand feed him Chicken Necks and put it there straight after and he wont bite it. Don't really want to try that with Mice though as they're that small he might miss and nab my hand.
> 
> Only time he shows any real sight of aggression is if I disturb him during sleep.




From most people I’ve spoken to who have them they are a great monitor to own, obviously there’s always the exception to every rule


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## Tobe404 (May 22, 2018)

HSVGTP said:


> From most people I’ve spoken to who have them they are a great monitor to own, obviously there’s always the exception to every rule



Yeah but I'm talking about a Yellow Spotted. Not a Specer's. Lol.


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## HSVGTP (May 23, 2018)

Tobe404 said:


> Yeah but I'm talking about a Yellow Spotted. Not a Specer's. Lol.



Nice, they are a great looking monitor too.


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## Neil j (Jun 1, 2018)

So instead of starting a new thread 

Burmation- His not coming out of his hide anymore and there is no point turning his heat on anymore cause he just goes back to bed. 

Should I be worried?

I just took him out in the sun he just sat between my legs nodding off. He warmed up abit so I stuck back under his lamp but once again he retreated to his cold hide.


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## Tobe404 (Jun 1, 2018)

I'd still keep the heat on so he can come out and warm up if he chooses to. Plus I imagine the night time temps get rather cold when there's no residual heat left over from the day time heat.

How old and in what size / type of enclosure is he in? My Yellow Spotted still comes out to bask and eats every second to third day. His night time temps drop to about 20c (or at least I'm guessing that, at about midnight it's still around 25 in his enclosure).


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## Neil j (Jun 1, 2018)

It’s getting much colder here. His a yearling and his in a large plastic 8 footer with a 120w Mercury vapour bulb. He does come out occasionally and I quickly switch his bulb on but check back and his hiding again. 
I could construct a small wooden hide box for him with 7w heat mat and stat. Could also put him in my 3x2x2 to prevent hibernation. But I won’t be adding another bulb to the cold end.



[doublepost=1527827264,1527826542][/doublepost]I will try leaving his light light on thanks mate just seems like a waste of power



[doublepost=1527827830][/doublepost]All sorted I moved his hide down the hot end. Simply in hindsight I turn the heat off at night time still though.


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## Tobe404 (Jun 1, 2018)

Actually that isn't THAT cool. It was 3 here last night. Haha. 18 today.


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## Flaviemys purvisi (Jun 1, 2018)

Tobe404 said:


> Actually that isn't THAT cool. It was 3 here last night. Haha. 18 today.


-2 here this morning and getting colder by the day.


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## HSVGTP (Jun 1, 2018)

I’ve got one on the way from QLD on Monday to cold old Canberra. He’ll be getting heat all winter 24/7. UVB during the day and Ceramic at night.


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## Neil j (Jun 2, 2018)

My main man


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## Bl69aze (Jun 2, 2018)

Neil j said:


> My main man
> 
> https://ibb.co/dfhRAy



U can wrap the image with [ img] [/ img] no spaces

And it posts the image for u  awesome mainman


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## Neil j (Jun 2, 2018)

never works for me.
[doublepost=1527919987,1527919664][/doublepost]


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## Bl69aze (Jun 2, 2018)

Neil j said:


> never works for me.
> [doublepost=1527919987,1527919664][/doublepost]


When u grab the link, there should be a dropdown menu look for the one that says “with bbcode”


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## Neil j (Jun 2, 2018)

https://ibb.co/dfhRAy On a pc? I’m on I phone. I can’t I’m a dummy lol
[doublepost=1527923443,1527922580][/doublepost]Thanks thou


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## Bl69aze (Jun 2, 2018)

@Neil j


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## Neil j (Jun 2, 2018)

[doublepost=1527925516,1527925382][/doublepost]There we go thank you


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## richyboa72 (Jun 2, 2018)

Looks so cool 


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