Peackock Monitor Help

Hey bp.net i just acquired a peacock monitor or blue spotted timor monitor about 15 inches and maybe 6 months to a year old if i had to guess. I bought him/her from Outback Reptiles at the All Maryland reptile show on March 7th 2015. I'm assuming he is wild caught judging by a few small scars on his legs and back.

Now I have a few questions about it. He regularly walks around and basks in the open and rarely hides unless I put my arm in his enclosure to spray or change water. What is the best food to start him off on? I bought superworms but he just walks right passed them without acknowledgment. How long would it be until he starts eating for me? Also he is in a 6'x3'x3' with about 6 to 8 inches of eco earth but I want to build him a smaller yet taller enclosure. Do you guys think a 3'x2'x5' would be okay? Thank you in advance ☺

[IMG]http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15/03/08/f4cc1e6f012cd1682cc4109873647bf8.jpg

http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15...93a8bedda8.jpg

First day home. About 3 hours after I introduced him to the enclosure

And this is his enclosure

http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15...d67270ac57.jpg

Post this along with a few pics to varanustalk.com it is a monitor lizard specific forum. You will get way more professional help there specific to your lizard.

I don't know everything about your monitor in specific. but start tong feeding him freeze/thawed mice (that have bones etc, not just pinkies!!!)

I suggest feeding a mouse or two a day and after the mice, set in a bowl of worms or tong feed them too (a little too time consuming for me tho to tong feed bugs). make sure your basking is good and hot and your humidity is high. Look into bioactive substrate too. I'm not sure about tank size... the bare minimum is 2x the lizards length is as tall or wide the tank is (depending on vertical or horizontal oriented) and the lizards length as deep and wide/tall defending on orientation.

So let's say your lizard gets 4 feet long for example. Since its vertical oriented, it would be 8 feet tall and 4 feet wide and deep.

Nice little guy!!! Definitely jack up the humidity. And add a LOT more to climb on. These guys I know are climbers.

Also I hear they are a lot more skittish than other monitors.

Cover any screen with tinfoil, or rig the lights inside the enclosure so you don't have any loss of humidity. Sorry if I'm being annoying, just trying to help.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Daniel.michelle

Nice little guy!!! Definitely jack up the humidity. And add a LOT more to climb on. These guys I know are climbers.

Also I hear they are a lot more skittish than other monitors.

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My humidity fluctuates between about 60 and 90 percent but yeah i planned on going out through the would to get some more branches and get some live plants from the nursery

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Daniel.michelle

Cover any screen with tinfoil, or rig the lights inside the enclosure so you don't have any loss of humidity. Sorry if I'm being annoying, just trying to help.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Daniel.michelle

Post this along with a few pics to varanustalk.com it is a monitor lizard specific forum. You will get way more professional help there specific to your lizard.

I don't know everything about your monitor in specific. but start tong feeding him freeze/thawed mice (that have bones etc, not just pinkies!!!)

I suggest feeding a mouse or two a day and after the mice, set in a bowl of worms or tong feed them too (a little too time consuming for me tho to tong feed bugs). make sure your basking is good and hot and your humidity is high. Look into bioactive substrate too. I'm not sure about tank size... the bare minimum is 2x the lizards length is as tall or wide the tank is (depending on vertical or horizontal oriented) and the lizards length as deep and wide/tall defending on orientation.

So let's say your lizard gets 4 feet long for example. Since its vertical oriented, it would be 8 feet tall and 4 feet wide and deep.

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Woods*

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Daniel.michelle

Post this along with a few pics to varanustalk.com it is a monitor lizard specific forum. You will get way more professional help there specific to your lizard.

I don't know everything about your monitor in specific. but start tong feeding him freeze/thawed mice (that have bones etc, not just pinkies!!!)

I suggest feeding a mouse or two a day and after the mice, set in a bowl of worms or tong feed them too (a little too time consuming for me tho to tong feed bugs). make sure your basking is good and hot and your humidity is high. Look into bioactive substrate too. I'm not sure about tank size... the bare minimum is 2x the lizards length is as tall or wide the tank is (depending on vertical or horizontal oriented) and the lizards length as deep and wide/tall defending on orientation.

So let's say your lizard gets 4 feet long for example. Since its vertical oriented, it would be 8 feet tall and 4 feet wide and deep.

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Okay so he'll probably get around 2ft. I think a 3'x2'x5' tall would work as i wanted to put a varanus melinus in the 6x3x3 long

That should be fine. Again I'm not an expert on the species in particular, but that should be fine. Obviously bigger would be better.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Daniel.michelle

That should be fine. Again I'm not an expert on the species in particular, but that should be fine. Obviously bigger would be better.

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I awoke to find he had eaten 5 of the 8 superworms I put in there ☺

http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15...fc1da303b1.jpg

It's a start, but knowing monitors, they will eat a ton more than that. Keep offering more food. (Possibly put a feeding dish up higher because of them climbing)

Check this link out.

http://www.varanustalk.com/forum/sho...eacock+monitor

I really wanted one of these guys for a while but never got one. One thing that was stressed in all care articles and information is hiding places. They need a lot of vines. They have to be able to cross one side of the enclosure to the other without being seen or touching the ground. Try get ting more vines and covering the middle of the perch. They should also have a perch that goes from one side to the other, I recommend two or three of those fake wire vines that are about an inch thick.

They spend almost every second of their time in trees so try to imitate a tree top as much as possible. I would find a way to put the food dish up high also so that it doesn't have to leave the top. Make sure you don't handle too much as timors are skittish and stress a lot from handling.
Good luck!


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Citrus

I really wanted one of these guys for a while but never got one. One thing that was stressed in all care articles and information is hiding places. They need a lot of vines. They have to be able to cross one side of the enclosure to the other without being seen or touching the ground. Try get ting more vines and covering the middle of the perch. They should also have a perch that goes from one side to the other, I recommend two or three of those fake wire vines that are about an inch thick.

They spend almost every second of their time in trees so try to imitate a tree top as much as possible. I would find a way to put the food dish up high also so that it doesn't have to leave the top. Make sure you don't handle too much as timors are skittish and stress a lot from handling.
Good luck!


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This is only a temporary enclosure as I am building a 3'x2'x5' high with a foam rock background and branches all over with palm trees

Sounds awesome. Please post pictures when it's done. Would love to have something to mimic if I ever do get one of this guys


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