# Bosc monitor help



## Paul Yates (Oct 26, 2013)

Hi all, sorry if this thread is a bit similar to others but anyway...

After a lifetime fascination with reptiles managed to seize on the opportunity to get a lizard when my seven year old son asked for a gecko after seeing one in our hotel room in Greece. So got a couple of crested geckos housed in his room which are beautiful little creatures. 


But me being me decided to adopt an 18 month old 2 ft long Bosc monitor off my girlfriends mate! Now I'm a complete novice with these fine creatures and while he seems fine, very tame eating well etc. he's a bit overweight after being fed a diet of mice and economy burgers by the previous owner. I am not joking there btw for all you serious rep lovers who are shrieking at my last!


So I've changed his diet to locusts and grasshoppers with the obvious dustings and made him a bigger viv which is 4x2x2 (still a bit small for him but so much better than the one I got with him.)


So advice needed to trim him down and basically better his quality of life.


(Seems so much happier already but want to make sure I'm not missing anything)


Thanks in advance


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## cavan (Mar 2, 2009)

Paul Yates said:


> Hi all, sorry if this thread is a bit similar to others but anyway...
> 
> After a lifetime fascination with reptiles managed to seize on the opportunity to get a lizard when my seven year old son asked for a gecko after seeing one in our hotel room in Greece. So got a couple of crested geckos housed in his room which are beautiful little creatures.
> 
> ...


there really is no point building a 4x2x2 its too small and wont be able to thermo regulate. adult boscs need an 8x4x4 viv with a deep substrate (mix of soil and sand) read this http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/forums/lizard-care-sheets/839624-monitor-faq.html


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## Paul Yates (Oct 26, 2013)

Agreed cav, I do agree but unfortunately don't have the space at the minute and when I saw what the poor thing was being kept in I had to help. (3x18x18 ) I do intend to make a bigger viv in the next twelve months but the missus is adamant I'm taking the mick as it is! But she's slowly coming around to him so will get there soon!


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## cavan (Mar 2, 2009)

i understand that you wanna help mate and i applaud that but really does need a bigger viv than that, i can only suggest you rehome that monitor to somewhere with an appropriate size viv, i know it sounds harsh but the amount of boscs that die because of poor husbandry is horrible. the problem is that they are very hardy so die slowly


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## Paul Yates (Oct 26, 2013)

Sorry also, he has nearly six inches of a topsoil/playsand mix covered with orchid bark and tortoise terrain soil. Which he likes to dig in, before he had a quarter inch sand and that was it! See am not trynna be cruel just need help with what I've got


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## Paul Yates (Oct 26, 2013)

cavan said:


> i understand that you wanna help mate and i applaud that but really does need a bigger viv than that, i can only suggest you rehome that monitor to somewhere with an appropriate size viv, i know it sounds harsh but the amount of boscs that die because of poor husbandry is horrible. the problem is that they are very hardy so die slowly


I get you mate, hopefully he'll be rehomed very soon, it's not a financial restraint it's just the boss wasn't keen to start with but he's growing on her. So more space should be available soon. He does seem happier in the viv he's in now but suppose that's just cos the old one was so small


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## cavan (Mar 2, 2009)

i don't doubt that you're trying to help, and the person who kept it before you needs a slap...but because of the poor husbandry from that keeper irreversable damage may have already been done to the bosc. i honestly think you should consider rehoming it to someone who can house it properly and if you still want a bosc and can house it properly research it and get a hatchling then you give yourself time to build its adult enclosure mate.. again i know you're not trying to be cruel and trying to do whats best but it really needs a proper sized enclosure


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## Paul Yates (Oct 26, 2013)

See that's why I joined this site, honest advice from experience and knowledge gained from years of research etc. will consider it or build a bigger viv! (Got a long wall in the living room that looks bare..) I appreciate the feedback really do


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## cavan (Mar 2, 2009)

you will find that this forum is full of genuine helpful hobbyists i suggest reading the link in my first reply and also the monitor and tegu thread in the lizard section:2thumb:


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## Paul Yates (Oct 26, 2013)

Couldn't help to mention, your quote about the snake,I know someone this happened to, it is true they are dangerous !!  (Note to snake lovers: I'm. Sure they're great but it was true... Said snake is in Chester zoo, not sure what it was, they were given it after the death of a relative and it obv didn't see them as a friend... , ). (Still love snakes tho )


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## cavan (Mar 2, 2009)

Paul Yates said:


> Couldn't help to mention, your quote about the snake,I know someone this happened to, it is true they are dangerous !!  (Note to snake lovers: I'm. Sure they're great but it was true... Said snake is in Chester zoo, not sure what it was, they were given it after the death of a relative and it obv didn't see them as a friend... , ). (Still love snakes tho )


its a myth mate


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## Paul Yates (Oct 26, 2013)

I'm not kidding. May be a myth but she was seriously told that and they took the thing away.


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## Paul Yates (Oct 26, 2013)

Maybe they just wanted her snake....


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## cavan (Mar 2, 2009)

i think pretty much every snake owner has heard this story


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## Paul Yates (Oct 26, 2013)

Well you've just kicked my cool thing to tell people in the spuds


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## Paul Yates (Oct 26, 2013)

Another thought, if I made an L shaped viv with an overall 8' length would that be ok? Or do they like the straight length to run? (Have the tools to do it just a question of wether it suits the boy)


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## cavan (Mar 2, 2009)

i personally think it needs to be 8ft long:2thumb:


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## Paul Yates (Oct 26, 2013)

Cheers, thought so, suppose practical needs are more important than visually pleasing needs. Want to do well for his big guy so all feedback appreciated. 

Pointer for others in my situation: tried lining the bottom of the viv with insulating polystyrene sheet to add warmth and help reduce damaging the boards I made the viv with; he dug it out and made the thing look like a blizzard had hit it! Had to clear it out but at least he never eat it and made himself sick.. Result! Of sorts..


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## mitsi (Feb 1, 2012)

Paul Yates said:


> Another thought, if I made an L shaped viv with an overall 8' length would that be ok? Or do they like the straight length to run? (Have the tools to do it just a question of wether it suits the boy)


 
as long as its 8ft in total length an l shaped one would be fine, ive seen a few like this and it gives the bosc some more movement rather than having to move in a straight line and back all the time. Put some shelves in for him to climb onto as well or use some good strong branches for him to climb.


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## Paul Yates (Oct 26, 2013)

Oh he loves to climb, I put a shelf in the viv I made for him for now and as he's begun to trim down a little over the last ten days (amazing what cutting out burgers can do to the guy.. ) he's been throwing himself round like he's a pup again! Definitely gonna keep him and build a bigger home for him.


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## Dibles (Nov 7, 2011)

Totally agree with all the other posts, he will love a big custom viv. Loads of substraight as others have described and he will dig about and make a real mess in there.....he will love it! They are fantastic animals, ours just loves to be out his viv with us, he has become a real family pet who we could not be with out. Just make sure whatever you build him its strong, secure and safe. Good heat gradiants, right substraight.
getting back onto his diet and size, handle him loads and let him out his viv, give him plenty of exercise. Feed him a low fat diet. Lean meats, turkey mince, fish etc. Use tongs or it hurts! Obviously the occassional rodent is fine. Just try not to overfeed.


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## Paul Yates (Oct 26, 2013)

Thanks dibles.
Must say I'm really happy with him over last few days he's really come on, noticeably lost weight (but not going hungry doesn't eat too much and doesn't lunge at food when given to him now) moving around a lot too. Looks very sure of himself now and would swear he smiles when I open his viv up :flrt: 
But bigger viv definitely needed, thinking of putting a hill/mound in one corner for him to dig into (thinking of using really compacted soil to make it sturdy enough to dig in with a shelf buried to hold the soil up. Also wondering if something like grass would help knit soil together?). Really excited about this build but may take a few weeks to plan, any questions I have regarding terrain and heating of viv that size etc will be asked here with great faith in answers I'm given thanks guys!
(and will be sure to catalogue progress with pics)


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## Dibles (Nov 7, 2011)

Sounds good! I like your ideas with grass and shelf etc, just remember these guys are strong and to be honest the likely hood is that whatever you decide to put in there will more than likely get wiped out lol. A wooden shelf might be ok but grass...well it may look nice for a couple of days lol. If your building a new one try and budget into using Habistats new digital stat. Not trying to plug the product, but I have started slowly but surely swapping all my stats over to these new ones. They are fantastic. Clear digital display, you can set day temps, night temps and when the lights go on and off. Just make life sooooo easy! At £80 a pop they are not cheap, hence my gradual swapping process but I haven't looked back. Makes the old stats seem prehistoric! There are other stats out on the market and they may be just as good but I haven't used them so cant comment. Defo go for it if you can it will really help. For substraight I use 3 bags of Homebase top soil, and 1 bag of play sand. All mixed up and he loves it! Im sure others add some vermiculite too and this helps hold moisture. Any questions PM me if you get stuck


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## mitsi (Feb 1, 2012)

just be aware of how much soil/sand you will need for his big viv, I used 54 bags of top soil and 20 bags of play sand to get a depth just under 2ft in my 8x4x4 viv, and use tube heaters to keep warm, these are cheaper to run than ceramics and do the job really well, I have two in my viv and temps are spot on, grass wont last long in there as they tend to destroy any decorations, but if you can find some savannah grass its a little tougher.


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## cavan (Mar 2, 2009)

Totally agree about the tube heaters, I got. My saint and soil delivered by the tonne


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## Paul Yates (Oct 26, 2013)

Savannah grass good idea.. Way ahead of you with live decoration and general flimsy stuff he's already destroyed everything I put in with him! Lesson learned  

Will have to take a look at those tube heaters never seen em, will check them out thanks.

And the substrate, was expecting that, he's got over a hundred kg in his viv now and i need to go way deeper and longer, was thinking about a ton or so actually cav, scary really... Could easy lose the missus if she upsets me.. (although he'd probly dig her up in about five mins.. )


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## mitsi (Feb 1, 2012)

the tube heaters are just the ones you get for greenhouses, work really well.


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## Paul Yates (Oct 26, 2013)

Thanks mitsi 
Wandering around b&q before had turf on clearance for £1 per yd... Wondering if it's worth stickin some in just for him to tear up? Seems pointless I know but was wondering if he'd enjoy it and wouldn't harm him?


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## mitsi (Feb 1, 2012)

yes hed enjoy ripping it to bits and it wont do him any harm,


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## Paul Yates (Oct 26, 2013)

Sounds like a plan then! Gonna empty his viv tomorrow to waterproof it with PVC sheet so think I will stick some turf in by ways of apology. ( getting him out now gonna see wha the dogs think of him *fingers crossed* )


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## Paul Yates (Oct 26, 2013)

The meet.. Jess likes him


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## Paul Yates (Oct 26, 2013)

So does Oscar...


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## Paul Yates (Oct 26, 2013)




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## mitsi (Feb 1, 2012)

good pics, just make sure you keep a really close eye on him, mine go in the garden in summer for a couple of hours when its hot, but now I have to put them in a run as they decided the cats looked like fair game, don't want to have to try and get one off them, they used to just prowl around in the grass together.


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## Paul Yates (Oct 26, 2013)

yeah that's a good point, my dogs are pretty good so ive a bit of trust but you never know, plus croc could decide his next meal is chow mein.... sorry i'll get my coat... anyway, like the idea of a run, we do get the odd warm day in Liverpool and have plenty of room in the back garden. (one of the perks of living in a council house, big garden just have to live with the crackheads living in the street )


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## Paul Yates (Oct 26, 2013)

the more I read about these wonderful creatures the more heartbreaking it is to realise just how many are badly kept. I know that mine is in less than ideal conditions at the minute but that will change soon, the only thing that's makes me feel ok about that is that he is in a much better environment than he was a few weeks back. May only be in a 4x2x2 but at least he has some soil to dig in now and has a bath and such. (was being kept on a scratch covering of playsand and woodchip. )

Luckily I'm in a position where I have the means to rehouse him somewhere bigger and make his quality of life much better very soon.

Only hope its not too late. 

To people out there thinking of getting a bosc, please think hard about whether you can actually give him the quality of life he deserves and if you cant please don't buy one!

(something that makes me feel better tho, the pet shop I go to for anything I need -lounge room lizards, in Liverpool - seem pretty clued up on them, whilst they do sell them the guys who own it actually know what theyre talking about when it comes to boscs, unlike most pet shops ive come across lately :censor: )


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