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#2268221 War Machine View Profile	Little Monsters. 56k round’ here? lol Well, I’m new to this forum, I’ve lurked a few times, and Now i’d like to join the community. and what better way, then to introduce my guys. I’ve been keeping for almost 2 years now. I started off small, My first was a Sudan Plated Lizard, did TONS of research on which reptile would be best suited for me, and I for it. And found this girl QUICKLY realized, that setup would not do. (I’m the type of person to always try things myself, at least once) So I came up with this Finished Total dimension are 4x2x2, Total cost was around $300. Then after I finished that, I was hooked, Like Tattoos (anyone with one will understand my reference) So I did MORE research, And Decided on this little girl. I knew what I was getting into, but because of size, this did me well for 4 or 5 months Then She grew... So... lol Total size is 5.5’x5’x2.5’ I regret using MDF, but its working for now. Then I went to my first reptile expo. And Made an impulse buy, But I do not regret it. Picked up this "Female" And They went in The water hadn’t cycled in this pic, it has now lol THENNN LOL after a few months, I was feeling the need for something more "advanced" So I did, MAJOR research, and hunted down this little fellow, a 3 month old Captive born Sav. Just shy of 6" Kept him in this setup until now With a solid lid to trap moisture and humity. And that brings us to today. Its been 5 months with "Bowser" my sav. and I’m hoping to be done my enclosure for him next week or so. Everyone uses standard rectangles for enclosures, and I wanted something different. To me, building these are an opportunity for a healthy life for the lizard, and a piece of beautiful furniture/art lol So I built this Measures in a 7’ Longest, then 5’ down the shorter side, and 3’ width to meet the center. And thats INTERIOR space. and its 3’8" INTERIOR high space. Here he is as of two days ago, cracked 16" :) So cute lol NOW. That is a long as novel no? Still not done. I came across a lizard that was not taken care of at ALL. I mean, NO substrate, just some mulch, NO hide, a small waterbowl, mesh lid, and a HUGE cooking lamp :( This guy was a White Throat Monitor, Approx 5 months old. bought by a 16yr old Chinese kid (no pun) out of Shear novelty. Size, and the fact to watch it eat live mice. I couldn’t let him kill this monitor. So I gave a lot of thought over a few days. Mainly for space. and I came up with, dividing Bowsers tank into two sections, One being 4’x3’3’8" and another 5’x3’x3’8" Both of those sizes should get me through another 6-8 months. The bigger for the white throat of course. So I went to the kid, waved some cash at him, and I took her/him. A few weeks ago, a really good friend of mine was bugging me and bugging me about taking my plated lizard off my hands, He’s been dying for one for about a year now. He is an experienced keeper and has some really healthy snakes. So He took her off my hands (I still see her often) :) so I put the white throat in her tank. FOr two weeks till I complete the large ones! Nothing permanent here. Filled it with a good amount of Dirt/sand. 2:1 ratio, Rebuilt a solid lid, Setup heat (monitored surface temps in and around 140 via Pyrometer. High humidty because he’s in shed and there was No humidty in his prior tank, So I want to cycle that shed as easy as possible for him. Firstly His old setup. Like really? Thats so not right. and what he’s in now for a few weeks And HIM, I hope lol All puffed up for the camera lol He immediately went to the heat. Poor guy :( But on the bright side, he is incredibly smart, Already eating off my tongs, I have him on one pinky rat a day, paired with 20 or so crickets. Slowly introducing items slowly, dubias are next. Whats amazing to me is, he takes the food gently off the tongs :) I have no intentions of really interacting with him till he’s been in the larger enclosure for a few months, The tongs will do the bonding for now. Bowser and I are doing great together, after seeing how defensive the WT is, It makes me realize how far I’ve come with bowser, and how well the tongs and fist method work. I’m at the point where I can give him a few small pets down the back. And I can pick him up in the tank for a few seconds at a time... Baby steps. Thats about it for now, all criticism is welcome, thats what I’m here for, Just want to provide my guys with everything they need. Thanks for reading my novel!
05/30/12  09:48pm
#2268227 War Machine View Profile	Message To: War Machine   In reference to Message Id: 2268221  Little Monsters. 56k round’ here? lol Forgot to post pics of the two dragons as of last week, the female I bought turned out to be a male lol
05/30/12  10:03pm
#2268235 Milkweed666 View Profile	Message To: War Machine   In reference to Message Id: 2268227  Little Monsters. 56k round’ here? lol I like the ropes in the enclosure. Do u think a nile would climb on them if i did that in my cage? Or would it be a waste of time?
05/30/12  10:56pm
#2268249 Scott_k View Profile	Message To: Milkweed666   In reference to Message Id: 2268235  Little Monsters. 56k round’ here? lol Great job on all the enclosures they look great. And tatoos and reptiles are very addicting as I have many.keeps my impulse controll on a 24/7 alert. Also had a plated as my first( super docile). By far one of the best water dragon tanks I’ve seen in a while. @milkweed your Nile will climb on the ropes, mine uses all the branches I put in there, the only way I’d say it’s a waste of time is you might get a few months out of it until he outgrows the rope other than that it shouldn’t be an issue.
05/31/12  03:29am
#2268277 Krusty View Profile	Message To: Scott_k   In reference to Message Id: 2268249  Little Monsters. 56k round’ here? lol Very cool ideas on caging DIY. The Blackthroat will end up needing a big cage in the end. Interested in how you tackle that one. Gorgeous WD’s too. Welcome.
05/31/12  11:38am
#2268281 Savannahmonitorlover View Profile	Message To: Krusty   In reference to Message Id: 2268277  Little Monsters. 56k round’ here? lol Great job . I agree I bought one sav and already want another lizard. A beardie I think :) but good job
05/31/12  12:03pm
#2268286 War Machine View Profile	Message To: Krusty   In reference to Message Id: 2268277  Little Monsters. 56k round’ here? lol Thanks Kristy, does he look like a black throat? Seller said white throat, so that’s the impression I’m under. And yeah, after I finished the water dragon tank, my mother keeps trying to convince me to put it in the living room lol so I told her I will build the white throat in the living room lol space for a.12x8x4x5 will be built. Another L tank. I know they grow fast so I will start drawings once he is in the medium tank :)
05/31/12  12:25pm
#2268297 Varanus_odom View Profile	Message To: War Machine   In reference to Message Id: 2268286  Little Monsters. 56k round’ here? lol It’s a white throat. The lighting/shading in your pic doesn’t do a great job showing detail but I can tell it’s a Varanus albigularis microstictus. They don’t get quite as large as the "black throats" but you’ve still got a feisty eventual 4+ ft albig on your hands. I have a male, same subspecies.
05/31/12  01:28pm
#2268304 War Machine View Profile	Message To: Varanus_odom   In reference to Message Id: 2268297  Little Monsters. 56k round’ here? lol Thanks Odom. What defines the sub species? How do you find your guys temperment? One more thing, when people give a lentgh of a monitor, 4ft for this example, is that body size? Or head to tail?
05/31/12  01:41pm
#2268315 Varanus_odom View Profile	Message To: War Machine   In reference to Message Id: 2268304  Little Monsters. 56k round’ here? lol There’s three official subspecies of albigularis. Varanus albigularis albigularis "cape rock monitor" (South Africa, southern Botswana, southern Mozambique) rarely get above 3-4ft. (female-male) Identifiable by freckled cheeks/sides of thraot, and deep pattern and spot "bandings" across the back and tail. Varanus albigularis angolensis (Angola, northern Namibia) seem to be the largest of the albig family along with the "black throats". Sort of a muddled patternless albig with a dark snout and dark tip of tail. and Varanus albigularis microstictus (Kenya, eastern Tanzania, Uganda, Northern Mozambique, Ethiopia) among the smaller albigs generally in the same size range as the south african subspecies. The "black throats" spoken of haven’t been recognized as an official subspecies but they have been tagged as "Varanus albigularis ionides". They are from west Tanzania. In the areas between the specific subspecies range, they do interbreed. By 4+ft I mean tip of snout to end of tail (not SVL). My male has some attitude... a feisty little guy but not overly defensive. Looks at me as food.
05/31/12  02:13pm
#2268320 War Machine View Profile	Message To: Varanus_odom   In reference to Message Id: 2268315  Little Monsters. 56k round’ here? lol Great info! Id love to see some pictures of yours Odom? If you wouldn’t mind? And his enclosure? Much appreciated. I’m excited to work with him and watch him grow
05/31/12  02:45pm
#2268367 Krusty View Profile	Message To: War Machine   In reference to Message Id: 2268320  Little Monsters. 56k round’ here? lol The V. albigularis ’subspecies’ determination is sort of muddled and confusing. Generally, if there are intergrade forms of these animals along their ranges, it’s NOT acceptable to break them off into distinct subspecies. They don’t have distinct types in distinct areas keeping apart with intergradation. Then to have two "forms" of what we commonly call "White Throats" as a subspecies, yet don’t validate the "Black Throat" type in any way, shape or form?..... It’s just a muddled taxonomy to me despite the very different sizes and markings of these animals. Idk. So forgive me, I call them all Black Throats in forum conversations, or just ’Albigs’.
05/31/12  11:30pm
#2268386 Varanus_odom View Profile	Message To: Krusty   In reference to Message Id: 2268367  Little Monsters. 56k round’ here? lol I agree, the V. albigularis taxonomy is confusing in some ways. Intergradation aside, If they recognize the other three as "official" subspecies (which have consistent distinct differences from each other), why not the "black throats" as well?
06/01/12  01:19am
#2268458 SalvatorREX View Profile	Message To: Krusty   In reference to Message Id: 2268367  Little Monsters. 56k round’ here? lol a herptlgist that comes into the local pet store where i get supplies from, always comes in and visits the monitors, and a group of us were involved in conversation one day, and she’s an older lady maby 60’s . and when she gets started she goes on and on and some how we ended up on the topic of albigs. and she suggests that black throats are the biggest subspecies of white throat . which i dont think it was factual speaking but just opinions that we were all throwing out .. evry now and then when the small group of us with monitors end up food shopping at the same time . we end up haveing these type of conversations. all the time
06/01/12  06:03pm
#2268500 War Machine View Profile	Message To: SalvatorREX   In reference to Message Id: 2268458  Little Monsters. 56k round’ here? lol Made some good progress tonight, I put up the interior walls, and sealed every inch of it with silicone. I’m lining the wood with thick poly sheets UNDER the FRP panels, just to be safe
06/01/12  10:40pm
#2268600 War Machine View Profile	Message To: War Machine   In reference to Message Id: 2268500  Little Monsters. 56k round’ here? lol Ready for FRP now :) Not the best cuts because I cant get the proper angles with the tools at home, but its straight and square lol My finishing panels will cover it anywho lol
06/02/12  07:51pm
#2268604 Krusty View Profile	Message To: War Machine   In reference to Message Id: 2268600  Little Monsters. 56k round’ here? lol I like the elbow design of the cage. You can really blast heat on one end yet have the other side be room temperature. Coming along nicely. Paint the wood with water-based protectant before the black plastic and FRP panels. You won’t be gluing the FRP to the walls if there is black plastic beneath it and just nailing/screwing FRP panels to wood allows water seepage and rotting wood in time.
06/02/12  08:28pm
#2268614 War Machine View Profile	Message To: Krusty   In reference to Message Id: 2268604  Little Monsters. 56k round’ here? lol Already done Krusty, Yes I will be screwing the FRP panels down, then siliconing the screws lol
06/02/12  09:55pm
#2269690 War Machine View Profile	Message To: War Machine   In reference to Message Id: 2268614  Little Monsters. 56k round’ here? lol Some updates FRP is in, threw some texture on the walls, Still alot more to add to give it a more depth feel to it. More to come
06/11/12  08:16pm
#2269723 Stephen foo View Profile	Message To: War Machine   In reference to Message Id: 2269690  Little Monsters. 56k round’ here? lol Nice work and interesting build , im following this one so keep posting , steve
06/12/12  06:25am
#2269949 War Machine View Profile	Message To: Stephen foo   In reference to Message Id: 2269723  Little Monsters. 56k round’ here? lol Thanks! Some good progress tonight, I was Having issues sorting out the door/glass situation. So I got real creative. I HATE the look of raw wood tanks, with cabinet door latches etc. No offense, its whats best for the monitor. But Why can’t it be nice looking outside? lol So I rigged up this. Paneled 1/2 strips of plywood and framed out the doors/windows, bought 3/16" channel from home depot, and voila, the glass slides UP and will be hidden behind my exterior panels. No latches, screws, bolts etc. So for example, use this 2x4 that my son has been so generously kind to color on it, for instance. my exterior panels will sit over the trim and will hide it, say 1/4" over, and the glass will slide up and out Enjoy almost done. Glass is getting cut tomorrow
06/13/12  09:09pm

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