[varanus_mad]

Big subject this one first ill start with the basics:

The types of temperatures and there differences:

First ambient temperatures:

The temperature of the environment surrounding an object measured using a bog standard thermometer.

Surface temperatures the temperature of the face of an object the actual temperature of an object these need to be measured using an infra-red temperature gun a bog standard thermometer with a probe will measure the ambient temperature surrounding the object not the actual temperature of said object.

Typically an ambient temperature will be lower than a surface temperature, e.g. sand on a beach on a very hot day can be hot enough to burn your skin instantly yet your body doesnt cook from merely walking around in the surrounding air.

Substrate temperatures - simply the temperature of your substrate and thus the temperature surrounding your monitor when in a burrow.

Basking temperature well self explanatory really


Monitors are not like other lizards in some ways they are amongst some of the most simple and the most complicated.

Where they differ from most lizards is there ability to exceed other lizards metabolic rates and activity levels they have a couple of adaptions which allows them to do this.

So higher metabolic rates have higher demands than other lizards.

As a result of this monitors utilise higher basking temperatures than the majority of lizard species.

That being said like other lizards they still need a range of temperatures to operate normally.

Basking temperature a good range is 130f to 150f cooler than this and you wont see it straight away but they are unable to metabolise food proberly and leads to a slow death in these animals.

Ambient temperatures:

90f hot end
cool end 80f

Substrate temperatures now these are often overlooked because as humans we only walk on the ground we dont live in it where as monitors live in and out of burrows.

These substrate temperatures are of perticular importance in the UK simply because our climate does not get warm enough to sustain mass temperatures so they drop of very fast perticularly in un-insulated large enclosures with a large substrate mass so when heating a large cage we need to pay attention to these temperatures as well and to try and create a vertical temperature gradient more than likely this will naturally occur anyway but care must be taken to manage the cooler temperatures anything below 70f and most monitors wont bother leaving there burrow they simply wont have the energy to do so.

A good practice is to insulate the bottom of the cage to prevent the ground temperatures from leaching away the heat your trying to built up in the substrate.

A good range of substrate temperatures are similar to ambients but a bit cooler in certain spots. 70f to 90f.

Substrate temperatures are important for another reason nesting female monitors take a great deal of care selecting a nest site so maintaining these temperatures are paramount for the female to succesfully choose a nesting site.


There are many methods of heating vivariums

Ceramics
Lights
Tube heaters

In smaller vivariums you can get away with just using basking lights.

In most homes however a secondary heat source is required.

Personally my preferred method is to use a heating tube positioned just above the substrate usually heating tube and basking light at the same end of the vivarium a heating tube roughly 2/3rds of the size of the cage is a good bet larger cages may need two or more tube heaters to achieve the desired temperatures.

This area does require a lot of experimentation i would advice setting up the vivaria a month before moving the monitor in and experiment with heating the vivaria adding or removing heat sources as needed.