y isnt he growing?

Discussion in 'Monitors & Tegus' started by dino&geico, Mar 21, 2005.

  1. dino&geico

    dino&geico Embryo

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    hey i hav another questin about dino my 7 month old sav, 8 months in a week. i have been feeding him/her 2 fuzzies every other day with crickets inbetween. my problem is it is barely over a foot long. i remember klikk saying that his was a little over 2 feet at 7 months or something like tyhat. his basking spot is 105. could sum1 help me with this. i would post pics but i dont no how. could u posts some pics of urs tho? thanx
     
  2. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  3. varanidfan

    varanidfan New Member

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    128
    too cool is my guess

    Your basking temp is low, and in turn probably causes your over all ambient temperatures to be low as well. Your basking temp should be between, 120-140, some of mine go up to 150+ with out ill effects. Your ambients should be between 75-85 for proper metabolism. What kind of lid do you have to your enclosure? If you have a screen lid ditch it as you are losing all y our heat and dehydrating the enclosure, cover it with aluminum foil, plexi glass, bath mat material, whatever be creative, as long as it is a barrier against heat and humidity loss. Once your monitor properly metabolizes it will beging to grow faster, and more visibly.
    It also varies from animal to animal, not all monitors grow that fast, just because he did. I had two blackthroats male and female bought at the same size, ate the same amount, and grew totally different, my male blasted past her, then she had a later growth spurt but was always behind the male.
    hope this helps, and good luck
    scott
     
  4. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  5. dino&geico

    dino&geico Embryo

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    could i just cover the screen top with fiol? how would i set up the lights n stuff without the screen. dont they need proper ventillation as well? is it ok if i just cover the whole screen with foil xcept around the lights?
     
  6. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  7. KLiK

    KLiK Well-Known Member

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    basking spot should be 120 or 130 this will aid in proper digestion. i had a screen top on my tank and it still kept in the heat. try to raise the basking spot closer to the light. also is yours a male or female? females tend to grow a lot slower then males do.
     
  8. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  9. varanidfan

    varanidfan New Member

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    128
    foil is fine

    i use this sometimes in quarantine cages before i build a custom. screen tops suck, plain and simple. You can mist him ten times a day, and he will not be getting humid, he will get wet but it will quickly dissapate. Dehydration can be a silent killer (i know from exp) you can have a fat happy monitor that you mist frequently, but it stores water, then it gets wet and uses its reserves, this cycle go's on and on again and again, this causes the liver to create crystals, which slowly, and quietly kill your monitors. Savanahs kept properly can and will live way into their teens, yet most peoples die way before then, and they think its natural? weird eh? I learned this as a teenager with savs and niles dying, finally when another sav died in four years, i saved the money and had a necropsy, what i mentioned above were the results. Take it hwo you want to take it.
    take care
    scott
     
  10. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  11. dino&geico

    dino&geico Embryo

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    thanx for all the info it was rly helpful but i still need to no if wut i did was ok. above i asked if i could couver as much of the screen as possible with foil without coming ciontact with the heat lamps. could u guys post some picas of ur setups so i can see wut lids u hav and how u setup ur lights
     
  12. KLiK

    KLiK Well-Known Member

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    2,384
    all you have to do is put the lamp on the screen top and then put some seran (sp?) wrap over it and leave where the lamp is sitting uncovered
     
  13. lacerta

    lacerta Member

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    313
    Question for you Varanidman -- What kind of substrate do you use? Your earlier pictures looked like some type of mulch. I raise my young tegus in open top 100gal steel stock tanks with a thick layer of cypress mulch. I hang a UVB mercury vapor lamp on one end for basking and attached to the inside wall is an infrared heat panel to keep ambients up. The far end with the deeper mulch stays cooler and that is where they sleep a good part of the day (They are dug in by mid afternoon usually). Yeah, your right that maintaining humidity can be a problem. After one of my lizards developed disecdysis I resorted to using a water can every day to rewet the mulch. Seems to work well now. Its surprising how much water I go through every week to keep things slightly damp (not wet). Like a morning shower each day. I considered partially covering the top but I like to keep it open for maintanance and ease of hanging the UVB lamp. Will have to reconsider my present set up. Thanks for tips. You are a veritable fount of herpetological knowledge. :wink:
    George
     
  14. varanidfan

    varanidfan New Member

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    128
    thanks again

    aside from completely covering the top daily misting is about all you can do, i have troughs as well adn use plywood or acrylic lids to them with all the lights mounted inside, as for my aquarium set ups i make plywood lids or modify the screen lids with something to cover all that screen up. It is crucial with smaller monitors as it will affect the shed and then they tend to lose digits rather quickly. You could always just add a small cheap misting system or make one for your open top trough? I just build most of all my cages closed in with adjustable vents for humidity and temperatue retention as my collection is in a cold basement. with the troughs i mount the lights to the lid as i open the top the light comes up and out of my way still making it very accessable and easy to maintain.
    hope this helps.
    scott
    www.varanusweb.com
     
  15. lacerta

    lacerta Member

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    313
    Thanks Scott for the ideas. Will probaby use plywood to cover at least half the top. Along with daily watercan showers it should get the humidity situation under control. These tegus are quickly outgrowing the stock tanks and hope to move them out next month in 20ft x 20ft outdoor enclosure. These are temperate climate lizards and winters here in Georgia are pretty mild. Next fall and winter will be their first hibernation. Kept them indoors this winter to give them a jump on growth. Like your enclosures. I have my own wood shop/cabinet shop so do all my own custom cages also. Woodworking and herpetology-- life don't get any better than that!.
    George
     
  16. varanidfan

    varanidfan New Member

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    128
    lucky

    man a cabinet shop, unlimited tools and wood!!! wow that is awesome, unfortunatley i have no luck with that.. these were the first cages i have built and im getting better, they are by no means fancy but functional, i am hoping to get good enough to make a custom in the living area of my house built in to the wall for my lone male "pet" blackthroat as he is truly my best and favorite monitor in terms of personality. but im not quite there as of yet, it shouldnt be long.
    take care
    scott
    www.varanusweb.com
     

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