So I got a Mangrove Monitor...

[Oxylepy]

I ordered it from backwater reptiles. I became immediately worried about it considering the reviews that I saw later.

However, the worry was for nothing. They delayed shipment due to weather, then mailed it to me as overnight shipping. When the lozard came the temperature was worryingly low, but the hot pack and contents of the box were still warm and there was my monitor in a mesh bag. At first I was worried that it would be dead or the wrong species (because of the reviews). But I was wrong, it's definitely a mangrove monitor, it was flickering its tongue and it was great.

So, I gave it a warm bath to get it in better condition, rebagged it, and then introduced it to its new enclosure. It's definitely not well fed (which I was certain would be the case after I saw and read reviews), but isn't showing any negative signs. It ran around, swam a lot, explored, and finally ate a rodent.

By the way, they don't swallow prey like a Savannah, they rip it to pieces. Just as a heads up to anyone getting a monitor, keep in mind that different species eat differently. I don't plan on offering it any more live baby rats, because that was a horrifying thing to see.

I got home from work tonight and noticed that I couldn't see it anywhere in its enclosure. So I opened the enclosure up and looked around the water area and the land area. Then I put on my phone light to look around closer...

Mangrove Monitors burrow. There was a beatifully circular burrow in the middle and of course it's in there. That's awesome.

So, anyway. Great order from Backwater Reptiles. I'm really happy despite some bad reviews freaking me out. Mangrove Monitors eat in a horrifying way and they burrow

[Oxylepy]

Follow up:
I finally caught it and was able to take a few photos. I must say, it is far faster and more active than my savannah, as after I released it back into it's enclosure it was out basking and roaming within a couple hours.

[distaff]

Congrats!
Pretty animal.

[Ax01]

By the way, they don't swallow prey like a Savannah, they rip it to pieces. Just as a heads up to anyone getting a monitor, keep in mind that different species eat differently. I don't plan on offering it any more live baby rats, because that was a horrifying thing to see.

omg that's horrifying and kinda cool!

BTW what size enclosure do u have it in currently and what's it's heat source?

[Oxylepy]

It's 2 55gal sterilite tubs. One side (the one that is slightly larger) has about 5" of water that runs through a sump in it and is heated with a water heater in the sump. The other tub has about 4-5" of bioactive substrate with grass growing in it, rocks for heat retention and nail filing, and sticks for climbing. The lids of the 2 tubs are propped up both by the tub itself and a half piece of pipe, the land side lid has a ceramic heat lamp, 65w flood light, and a UVB bulb on it.

The end result is a 5' x 2' x 18" enclosure. With a lot of water (which will in time house fish), soil, and some climbing area. It was relatively cheap to make and works well until the lizard is too large for the setup. I did something similar for my savannah but made a whole lot of stupid choices (way more air flow than the tub needs, installed a fogger which is essentially useless considering the lizard is under the substrate), where as the mangrove's setup is much better... if only it spent more time in the water

[Oxylepy]

Update:

So the mangrove had been killing young rats that I left in there for it, but not eating much of them.

I kept removing them, but for the most recent one I left it in there for a day. I checked again that night and it had eaten more of the rat. Nothing has changed since, but I'll see if it eats any more by tonight

So, it's eating its own kills.

[Oxylepy]

Ungh, can't edit posts. Anyway, I did a photo shoot today






And finally, this is my reward for a photo shoot, lol

[Ba11er]

have you decided on what the adult setup is going to be for the monitor? I love the look of monitors but those teeth, claws, and tail are formidable, haha looks like you know that.

[Oxylepy]

Nope. Still kicking a lot around the noodle. I brought up my current ideas in the DIY section, and they think a 100 gallon aquarium as a base with 200lbs of dirt over it is a bad idea. Sooooo, we'll see

[Oxylepy]

Uuuuungh. I hate not being able to edit my posts.

I've found what amounts to an acceptable already constructed enclosure. It's DAS's "Mangrove Monitor" Terrarium. There are a few minor issues with it, but it will work as a concept to go off.