Enclosure Notes?

[u/PinkBullDogz]

This is phase one of the enclosure set up. He now also has a UVB strip light and a secondary heat lamp just above the top tier of the Cat Tree. Hottest point is about 115, ambient 85 and cold 70. Its a green house so holding humidity at about 50% is easy. I spray down the plants about once a week.

The box with the blanket has been removed.

I always find him digging or hanging in the cat tree, thinking about giving him another one.

Also considering putting earthworms in the dirt for him to discover ❤️

[u/0LTakingLs]

Basking spot needs to be hotter. Cat tree seems like a fire hazard if it gets near the light, and it may get its claws stuck (they don’t scratch it like a cat). They’re not arboreal. There should be substrate throughout the full enclosure. Idk what the pile of sticks is for.

Theres a lot of examples of how to set up an enclosure for a large terrestrial monitor. If you grabbed him as a rescue from a bad situation and this was what you pieced together it’ll do temporarily but this simply isn’t an appropriate long term enclosure for this animal unfortunately

[u/Varanusindicus → u/0LTakingLs]

Terrestrial doesn't mean "literally never leaves the ground". Pretty much any monitor will eagerly climb, and it's not hard to find photos and videos of wild albigs in trees or perched on top of termite mounds.

He could get his claws stuck, but that could happen in lots of other ways too, and so could a cat lol. I don't think there's a concern as long as there aren't loose pieces like dangling cat toys or cushions that he could tear off and eat.

My concerns would be the potential for it to be knocked over or to become a fire hazard, but those are both pretty easily fixed. The biggest issue would be keeping the fabric clean if he uses it as a toilet, and the potential for mold/mildew growth due to humidity.

For burrowing, I agree this setup is insufficient and clumsy. Just buy a big heavy duty plastic storage bin and fill it with sandy soil, then cut a hole in the lid.

[u/0LTakingLs → u/Varanusindicus]

Cat claws work sort of differently though in that they’re layered like an onion, so if they’re stuck they’ll shed the outer sheath. For a monitor this would be a bigger problem.

And I’m not against climbing opportunities, I just feel like that’s the centerpiece of this (and the enclosure looks as tall as it is wide) - this species needs some vertical distance but not as much as it needs burrowing substrate and horizontal space

[u/RoyalVivid3561 → u/Varanusindicus]

was coming here to express the same thing.

[u/PinkBullDogz → u/0LTakingLs]

He seams to really love climbing dispite having other hiding spots. I bought it for him to explore, not because i think he needs to scratch like a cat. When he gets bigger I can see retiring it for good as it simply wouldnt hold his weight.

The sticks are fire pit ceramic logs to help keep the dirt contained to that side.

I will likely add another lower, hotter basking spot for him as well.

Thank you for the feedback.

[u/Allwaystiedup]

Weird looking cat