Newbie to monitor

[HoffOff]

Well I know I fair few people with monitors and they pick them up everyday and they just sit on there shoulders after 6 months of holding them everyday. Even the guy at the reptile store told me to do this everyday and they will love you like a dog

My god, are you serious?
If they took meth, and said it was a good idea, would you?

All my friends have deagons and monitors and snakes. So I know enough to look after one I just want to find out more about this breed.
I bought him from a well known reptile store here in Adelaide who have had them for over 20 years.
They told me to handle him everyday to get him to trust me. Iv held him about 4 times in the past day and he doesn't put up a fight or anything. He just crawls my hands then falls asleep while I watch tv. When I go to out him back he doesn't want to get off my hand.
I know there are all sorts of keyboard warriors on here but all I wanna know is if they like to swim and if he cab go on sand yet.
He is in a 4'x1.5'x3 fish tank. He has a large heat mat and has a nice hot spot of 32 degrees and a cold spot up the other end of 20 degrees. Has lots to climb and heaps of places to hide

Nice, maybe you need to research a LITTLE more.

 

[Teamls]

60 degrees you guys are dreaming. Every single reptile store in Adelaide even say that even breeders, it doesn't even get that hot in there natural habitat. Well clearly I have come to the wrong place for advice as you all seen like keyboard warriors. I think I'll just stick with what the store tells me as there monitors have been bred and kept at 30 degrees and are as active as anything. His monitor follows him around his shop and his smaller ones sits on his shoulder and is only a year old. All I wanted to know is if I can put him on sand and of they like to swim. But clearly you guys know nothing. Probably a bit silly on my behalf asking people o. A python forum

 

[monitordude]

yer much more research is needed, for a start, for panoptes sand isnt the best substrate, it is dry and doent hold enough humidity, mulch is better or mixed with some sand they dont like a lot of himidity but like some so mulch hold the right amount, they like to burrow and as juveniles they are very secretive, give them plenty to hide climb and even dig, dont grab him as you'll stress it you just need him to stust you and that is NOT by grabbing him, after he is a few months old and he trusts you try feeding from your hands or tweezers, if you keep them with lots of hides and they trust you they'll take to hand feeding much quicker, and then maybe start letting him come to you when he trusts you, dont go to him he must go to you, basking spot of 50-60 degrees is needed, they like a soak so large water bowl is good, ive got 5 of them real large adults about five foot all the way down to 25cm, 2 of the large ones are tame, another is not handlable but not scared one bit, the babys and subadults arn't handleable but dont run of when you first walk in, they're great monitors but wasnt the best first lizard, good luck and he'll out grow his tank very soon so have back up ready.

 

[JAS101]

Well I know I fair few people with monitors and they pick them up everyday and they just sit on there shoulders after 6 months of holding them everyday. Even the guy at the reptile store told me to do this everyday and they will love you like a dog

i have a question if u know a few pepole with monitors then why arnt u asking them ?
rather then arguing with pepole who are giving u good advice ?

 

[SamNabz]

60 degrees you guys are dreaming. Every single reptile store in Adelaide even say that even breeders, it doesn't even get that hot in there natural habitat. Well clearly I have come to the wrong place for advice as you all seen like keyboard warriors. I think I'll just stick with what the store tells me as there monitors have been bred and kept at 30 degrees and are as active as anything. His monitor follows him around his shop and his smaller ones sits on his shoulder and is only a year old. All I wanted to know is if I can put him on sand and of they like to swim. But clearly you guys know nothing. Probably a bit silly on my behalf asking people o. A python forum

Mate how about you stop being a keyboard warrior yourself and read to what people have written; this isn't a 'python forum', it's a reptile forum.

It may not get to 60C weather wise, but rocks etc. reach temps in excess of 60C when exposed to direct sun light.

As monitordude has said, mulch is a much better substrate than sand, and they do like to soak/dip in water.

This is your first reptile in general, yet you sit here and question peoples advice? Wake up to yourself mate.

 

[JAS101]

60 degrees you guys are dreaming. Every single reptile store in Adelaide even say that even breeders, it doesn't even get that hot in there natural habitat. Well clearly I have come to the wrong place for advice as you all seen like keyboard warriors. I think I'll just stick with what the store tells me as there monitors have been bred and kept at 30 degrees and are as active as anything. His monitor follows him around his shop and his smaller ones sits on his shoulder and is only a year old. All I wanted to know is if I can put him on sand and of they like to swim. But clearly you guys know nothing. Probably a bit silly on my behalf asking people o. A python forum

this has to be a wind up , but if its not . then u now know that u wont find answers YOU would like to HEAR on this forum .

 

[vampstorso]

Theyre telling you the BASKING spot should be 60 degrees, not the tank. Goddd this is painful.

 

[monitordude]

teamls, your above comment is stupid! they need a basking spot over 40 degrees! um clearly you dont no anything them cause in theyre natural habitat the ground temps get to 50-60 degrees, so maybe you should listen to the right advise and stop being so ignorant. maybe 30degrees air temp but not likely, they need over 40degrees, and preferably 60, talk to Sonia Dewdney, im good mate with her shes in SA and shes bred them for years she'll tell you the exact same as us, contact her if you dont beleive us but she'll tell you the same at Sonia Dewdney [[email protected]] and you've been talking to the wrong people. your asking advice and not taking it, its your FIRST LIZARD! you need to listen to the wright advise mate we all have more experience them you and you need to listen for the write care for you monitor.

 

[vampstorso]

Im sure in a week or two there's gonna be a "help my monitor isnt eating" or "whats the clicking noise coming from my monitors mouth?" Thread.

 

[monitordude]

definaterly if he dosent listen to the right advise.

 

[Teamls]

your all wrong you guys know nothing about monitors.
I put my hand in my tank and he runs over and climbs up my arm if I wanted I could have him sit on my shoulder but I like to pat him so I hold him and he falls asleep. Anyway good luck with your monitors guys.

 

[monitordude]

what is this is this a joke or something?

 

[Teamls]

Why would I be joking. Are you jealous my monitor loves me and comes to me so easily. While you guys try train yours to love you. Maybe there good at sensing people's personality and they realize your all **** blokes

 

[monitordude]

ok have fun with your monitor being kept at 30 degrees when its hotter than that in Winter in there natural habitat. hey im not a "bloke" cause im not an adult!

 

[JAS101]

Why would I be joking. Are you jealous my monitor loves me and comes to me so easily. While you guys try train yours to love you. Maybe there good at sensing people's personality and they realize your all **** blokes

lol your funny your monitor lovves u looong time .

 

[Chris1]

Teamls,




That's in NSW only, Chris.

cool, well, i did do my research right tehn cos that was the monitor i was after,..!!
(in finding that i also found how to care for them, lol,....so i wouldnt have had to ask questions i should have known the answers to before i made a purchase,.)

Teamls, if you want people to know the rules for ur state, maybe state what state ur in,,...duh!!

And i have read that monitors can be handled jsut like beardies, feed and heat them incorrectly, and by the time theyre badly affected by MBD you should be able to sit him on ur shoulder and go shopping!
so keep heating him to 32, feed him a whole lot of mince, grab him for 30 mins a day to make sure he he's plenty stressed to go with the bad heat and food and he should be dog tame, (and sick as one) in no time!

 

[JAS101]

ok have fun with your monitor being kept at 30 degrees when its hotter than that in Winter in there natural habitat. hey im not a "bloke" cause im not an adult!

dont bother with that person because its clear to see they are an expert and we are all newbies . Teamls can u post something tomorrow as well ? cause a joke a day can keep the frown away :lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:

 

[saximus]

Trollololol

I knew this would get interesting

 

[abnrmal91]

TrollolololI knew this would get interesting

Beat me too it. I think the comment about being in the wrong forum gives it away. Definetly smells of troll

 

[Schnecke]

EDIT: The below was written before the OP became too much of a (insert insult here) to bother giving a reply to. So for anyone else wanting this information in the future, as this thread will be closed off shortly no doubt) then they will have access to it. For the OP, just go away and trust your pet shop mates. No-one here needs your know-it-all attitude, as you can't take a bit of flack appropriately (hell, we're new, we need to suck it up sometimes!!)

Okay, the info for people who ACTUALLY want to listen:

The problem with newbies (like myself) is we ask so many questions without reading enough first; or understanding what we are being told. If I had listened to all the advice I got from friends with reptiles - and family with reptiles and done as they had done, I really wouldn't be doing the right thing.

I think a lot of people get confised about basking spot temps. I thought measuring air temp was always the right thing to do, forgetting about what the reptile would actually be sitting on. That's the important bit. From what I have read (remembering I'm also new) is the thermo probe needs to be resting ON the basking spot to get a proper temp read. Even a few cm above it, will cause the air temp to be lower, thus not giving a correct read.

To break it down in plain terms as I understand it.... Outside, even if the air temp is 30 degrees, the rocks that are out in the sun are almost burning temp (eg. on a 38-40 degree day, there is NO WAY I'm going to walk on concrete outside, as it's 60-70 degrees +) so that's what people are talking about with a hotter basking spot.

There was a study done, to test surface temps in the middle of summer on concrete paths and they were reaching temps of 90 degrees + (so, almost hot enough to fry eggs, but not quite enough) and that was on mid 40 degree days... So before you go off on people telling you to keep a 60+ hot spot, they are NOT talking about air temp (naturally, we gon't get those temps here) they are talking about where the monitor will be sitting. If you have a heat lamp overhead with nothing to heat up underneath it, you will never get a basking spot that's truely hot enough.

I've found this to be a great forum and although your mates keep their reptiles a certain way, it doesn't mean that it's right. I found sometimes as well, if I was given the right information, I wasn't told how to put that into practice, which disn't help either....