argus home

[leobreeder]

im going to be buying a argus monitor here soon and want to get the cage setup and some blank areas filled in...

the cage is going to be 4'high 5'long and 4' deep...i am planning on having the lower 18" plexiglass and the dirt will be 12"deep...the enclosure will be made of plywood and the areas that can be exposed to moisture will be covered inpond liner or a similar plastic...the sides, back and top will be plywood...im planning on having a 4 fan on the top for ventilation(blowing out)then on one of the sides of the cage a simlar sized fan or two for the intake(fresh air)...for a water area i want to use a large rubbermaid...

for a cage this size what would u recommend for a spot light(basking area)when the lights are off i want to provide a 50watt ceramic bulb...will this be sufficient for maintaining a decent night temp?

does this sound good? im new to monitors but am confident...

[PadraigC]

First Id modify your plans one foot of dirt is nice but more is better, Also for the basking spot its all what you find through experimentation I use 50 watt halogen floods and produce 130+ sites in 4x2x2 but your cage maybe different so itll take some tooling around. Second, I suggest running a 24/7 light period. At all times the monitor has a choice of whether it wants to warm-up or cool down wether to go to sleep(through hiding) or be out and about. I only suggest this because with an enclosure that big it be hard to keep a stable temp at night and your argie might end up with an RI which is so counterproductive

[leobreeder]

ok...

if i understand corectly they do not need UV correct?

u suggested using a horse trough...i have the wood at my disposal so im planning on going with that...

are they pretty active monitors? i have seen one in person only once...i fell in love with them...it was when i was younger and my mom would not allow me to ge that big of a lizard...

[PadraigC]

no UV light 24/7 is employed by many monitor keepers as long as their is ample hides. Wood is not my favorite monitor material. One it doesnt wash well. Two for the big guys its gonna need to take a beating in terms of physical punishment and third its absorbs water even if you try your hardest fior it not to.........