Feeding new baby monitor

[AdamL8]

And what I meant was, assuming he makes the changes I've stated, his monitor will be ok in a cage that size for 3-4 months. To me it looks like a 20 gallon which is a bit small but a 30 gallon tank will last 5 months so long as it meets these requirements. Properly covered with plywood, misted regularly, inside accessories in tandem with 50wt floods and 5.0 uvb provide 115-130F basking, blacked out sides, and substrate is deep enough for monitor to fully burrow allowing them to regulate humidity as they see fit.

UVB isn't needed in any way. 115 is far too low of a basking temperature. 130-145 allows the monitor to digest nearly anything. Under heating means that the monitor will be needing extra time to digest food leaving it forced to stay under the heat longer and causing it to end up slow and lethargic. A tank does not give the proper heat gradient no matter how you slice it. The only way to truly get a proper heat gradient is with more size to the enclosure.

Also, monitors are tough as nails so I'm not sure where you are getting this idea that his animal is dieing from being in that setup. Don't get me wrong, I am in no way advocating he leaves the cage as is because the monitor "can" survive in those conditions. As keepers we need to be responsible for what we get into.

Monitors are not "tough as nails". They are a specialized animal that takes a long time to die in improper conditions. A healthy sav can live 10-15 years and yet the vast majority (99.9%) don't make it to the age of 5 because they are improperly housed and fed. Every moment in a bad setup reduces the life span of the animal. Is a single day going to take a year off of its life? No. Will 3-4 months be potentially damaging to it's long term health? Quite possibly.

A bosc at 4-5 months old if healthy will be over a foot long. You want to put a foot long monitor in a 20-30 gallon fish tank? You've proven me correct. You have no business giving monitor advice.

Approximately 1.5 months old.


5 months old.


6.5 months old.


Almost 15 months. (Current)


This is my female so understand that a male will be growing quicker and reaching a larger size.

If it's a glass aquarium- it's a fish tank. Fact.

I agree. The term "fish tank" is given to any glass tank. It doesn't actually have to hold water for the term to apply.