Beginner Pygmy Mulga Keeper Needing Advice

[Ashby]

Hello
I have had a group of 4 wonderful Pygmy mulga monitors for nearly 14 mths now. I think I have a 2:2 group but I'm not 100% sure of that-I could take some good close up photos to post when I have an extra pair of hands
I'm in North America and I don't know of anyone else with them so I hope you can advise me on any improvements and offer any tips etc.
They have all gained weight in the time I have had them and I wonder what the mature weights are roughly?
Also I have seen quite a bit of breeding behaviour(for over a year) and had put in a tall plastic box with a hole cut into the lid filled to the top with sandy soil mix (mostly sand) slightly moist.There has been tunnels dug into there once in a while but I have never seen any eggs. (I thought I would have had eggs in 14 mths providing their conditions are good and they are mature?) One smaller one appears to me to be male and is always thinner looking than the other 3, he does eat lots too though-do you ever worry about parasites or treat them? They seem so small and fragile I tend to not routinely de-worm my other reptiles and just watch their behaviour and condition instead.
diet is mainly dusted (calcium) crickets (their favorite)
meal worms, meal worm larva
the odd super worm, super worm larva
raw egg and scrambled egg
roaches but they don't seem as keen
Ive tried a little fish, liver, kidney etc once in a while as well as sliced up pinky mice etc-they are not always keen on any of these-just once in a while they take the odd piece.
They seem a bit picky and if they could choose their food-they would just eat crickets I think but I wanted them to have a varied diet so I persevere.
weights one month after I got them January 2016 18g, 29g, 29g, 42g
I was told they were a few years old?
Most recent weight I took was January 2017 24g, 36g, 40g, 54g

They are currently in a 40 gallon Exo terra terrarium with lots of logs, cork, hides, nest box, hot bask area(MVB), small water dish on a sandy /soil substrate.
The MVB is above the mesh of the pen so is creating high temps but I wonder how much UV is stopped through wire mesh? Is it safe to place a bulb within their pen?(I see some folks do allow an exposed bulb in monitor pens but my guys do some silly things so Id hate for them to jump on the bulb etc)

We are currently looking into designs, ideas for building an arboreal and much larger set up for them as I want to incorporate lots of plants and tree branches and levels for them as they love to climb and run.

Sorry this is a long introduction-I have had these questions for quite some time and really want to ensure they are very well cared for and I'm not missing anything important in regard to helping them thrive.
any advice, suggestions much appreciated.
Thanks so much

-

 

[pinefamily]

Welcome to APS, and the world of Aussie reptiles. Are these the only reptiles you keep? They are great little monitors, and are quite social too.
Trying to answer your questions in order, are there any other areas they can dig tunnels, and have they? This will determine if there is any maternal digging behaviour. If they have dug, and decided the box is unsuitable for some reason, they may lay elsewhere in the tank.
Re parasites, you would have to look at their poop to see if there is any indications. Judging by their diet, I wouldn't have thought so. Are you using that bio-dirt stuff that is so popular over there? Does that contain micro-organisms?
Weight wise, I'm not sure; photos will be a better guide to their health. I wouldn't be too concerned with their diet, you can only keep trying different things, but crickets as the staple are fine. What are you dusting with, and how often? Chicken or turkey mince is another option; check to see if the pet mince has the bones minced in it as it does here. That will be better for them.
Yes, you will lose UV through the mesh. If you are concerned about them touching the light or hood, you could try a cage around it. We have both small and large monitors, and have never used a cage on their lights/UV.
Hopefully this answers some of your questions.
Looking forward to photos.

 

[Ashby]

Hi
Thanks so much for the response I appreciate it.

I'm not new to reptiles I keep many species of tortoise, snakes, geckos, etc but these are my only monitors so I'm still learning lots .

The substrate isn't deep enough that they can form tunnels elsewhere-there has been discarded tunnels in the nest box many times. I could add more substrate to the rest of the pen but then I'd need to moisten it-would that create too much humidity? I throw the crickets into calcium carbonate powder most days some escape that before being dusted but most end up dusted.I occasionally use a vitamin and calcium powder that is combined too but I worry about too many vitamins so mostly I use the Limestone flour.

The substrate is a bagged soil mixed heavily with sand and is dry. They have a water dish at all times which they run through until its mud

I know some folks don't provide UV I read both opinions-any thoughts on the UV lighting-I guess we used it just in case it was better so have the one MVB bulb for both heat and UV and it goes off at night.
Ill see if I can load photos on here shortly. The smallest male has not really grown in the year I have had him so he is quite small compared to the others-I may separate him from the others to see if he gains weight by himself (or I could split 2 pairs??). I have a 2:2 group.

Thank you again

 

[Stompsy]

I believe these guys display mating behaviour from a very early age but until they reach sexual maturity, they will not produce eggs.

In regards to feeding, we feed ours a staple of crickets (with calcium powder), eggs, chopped up rat (rat tails and feet which fall off during thawing), pet mince and chopped liver/heart.

We have two basking lamps and a uv bulb in the enclosure and we don't use a cage. I've never seen them climbing on the lights and have heard that if they ever do, they learn pretty quickly not to touch it again.

I must add that they are my favourite monitors to watch, especially during feeding time.... such little characters!

 

[Ashby]

Welcome to APS, and the world of Aussie reptiles. Are these the only reptiles you keep? They are great little monitors, and are quite social too.
Trying to answer your questions in order, are there any other areas they can dig tunnels, and have they? This will determine if there is any maternal digging behaviour. If they have dug, and decided the box is unsuitable for some reason, they may lay elsewhere in the tank.
Re parasites, you would have to look at their poop to see if there is any indications. Judging by their diet, I wouldn't have thought so. Are you using that bio-dirt stuff that is so popular over there? Does that contain micro-organisms?
Weight wise, I'm not sure; photos will be a better guide to their health. I wouldn't be too concerned with their diet, you can only keep trying different things, but crickets as the staple are fine. What are you dusting with, and how often? Chicken or turkey mince is another option; check to see if the pet mince has the bones minced in it as it does here. That will be better for them.
Yes, you will lose UV through the mesh. If you are concerned about them touching the light or hood, you could try a cage around it. We have both small and large monitors, and have never used a cage on their lights/UV.
Hopefully this answers some of your questions.
Looking forward to photos.

I added photos to my original post-group shots are not great as they wouldn't sit still lol

 

[Ashby]

I believe these guys display mating behaviour from a very early age but until they reach sexual maturity, they will not produce eggs.

In regards to feeding, we feed ours a staple of crickets (with calcium powder), eggs, chopped up rat (rat tails and feet which fall off during thawing), pet mince and chopped liver/heart.

We have two basking lamps and a uv bulb in the enclosure and we don't use a cage. I've never seen them climbing on the lights and have heard that if they ever do, they learn pretty quickly not to touch it again.

I must add that they are my favourite monitors to watch, especially during feeding time.... such little characters!

Thanks very much for the advice-I posted photos on my original post now Group shots not great as they were running lots as I moved them out of their pen.

 

[Stompsy]

They're gorgeous! And so far, I've not been able to get a decent picture of them either! They are far too quick!

 

[pinefamily]

You probably need to turn off the heat for an hour or two, and then take a photo. Or at least wait until your spring, it might be a bit cold to turn off their heat at the moment, lol.
Instead of straight calcium, try one of the multivitamin powders that have calcium as well. We use multi-cal, which might be available over there. You also only need to dust two or three times a week. There was a recent study done about the over-use of calcium in monitors, too much can cause health problems.
Re the substrate, there is a special sand product for tunnelling reptiles, or you could use builder's sand, or river sand. These last two hold together pretty well for tunnelling. Just make sure you sift it before use.
There has been enough evidence to show that UV isn't necessary for monitors , as long as they are given whole prey. It won't hurt either, so why not?
Cute little buggers.

 

[Ashby]

They're gorgeous! And so far, I've not been able to get a decent picture of them either! They are far too quick!

Thank you-yes its fun and games taking photos unless they are distracted by something lol I appreciate the input thanks

 

[Ashby]

Thanks

You probably need to turn off the heat for an hour or two, and then take a photo. Or at least wait until your spring, it might be a bit cold to turn off their heat at the moment, lol.
Instead of straight calcium, try one of the multivitamin powders that have calcium as well. We use multi-cal, which might be available over there. You also only need to dust two or three times a week. There was a recent study done about the over-use of calcium in monitors, too much can cause health problems.
Re the substrate, there is a special sand product for tunnelling reptiles, or you could use builder's sand, or river sand. These last two hold together pretty well for tunnelling. Just make sure you sift it before use.
There has been enough evidence to show that UV isn't necessary for monitors , as long as they are given whole prey. It won't hurt either, so why not?
Cute little buggers.

Thanks for the advice-I do have a mixed calcium and vitamin powder too I was just unsure of how often to use it-hence using mainly the calcium but yes I can do 2-3 times a week with that no problem-thanks for the recommendation on that-Id hate to overdose anything as I suppose its a fine balance both ways.