I have a mini echo system in my enclosure, the substrata is all palm mulch to about 4 inches thick, with the heat up to about 34 c I dampen the mulch and this creates a humidity congenial, to the breading of crickets, thus the lacies have a constant and endless supply of fresh food. This is not the only food I supply to them but it’s a supplement to there diet. There main diet consists of chicken mince, egg, mixed with calcium powder, pinkie mice and rats, lettuce and silver beet, roo mince and egg, also with the calcium powder. But the constant supply of crickets is a bonus. I don’t see them much at this stage only in the late afternoon when they venture out to see what happening. I don’t disturb them much as I wont them to feel safe in there hides, since getting them from crodoc 0n the 7th of the 8th 2006 they have almost tripled the weight and size, these where my first monitors and some may say I started at the wrong end of the monitor scale but if your going to do something read and learn first and do all the research you can to know exactly what your getting into. I have found them easy to care for at this stage and have plans for an enclosure out doors in the future, but that will be a long time off yet. The enclosure is about five feet long and two feet deep and two feet high, two large hides and a half log to move though the palm mulch is a great substrata as they berry them selves in it at times as and extra hide, I have posted before pics of the set up and of the lacies so you can look back on them, I don’t have a digital camera so I cant at this stage upgrade the pics. I hope that this is of some interest to others, as I find it a new and interesting discovery every day in there comical antics sitting so still they think you cant see them.

Cool stuff Rob, how do you find cleaning with the mulch? does the humidity cause mould at all? would love to see pics if you can borrow a camera or something. I would love a pair of small monitors myself, im looking into it, space wise I cant do it at the moment.
Thinking of building a large outdoor pit with pond eventually but im recovering from a heart attack or two and cant afford to pay tradesmen right now. I wonder if you could keep small species like gilleni or acckies in a communal outdoor pit (big enough) with other species like water dragons, turtles, beardys etc?

Cleaning is easy as you only have to spot clean and that goes straight onto the garden out side, with the humidity and the dampaning of the mulch it evaporates to quick to do any sort of mould problems and its not dampened every day so it doesn't sit I only dampen as required, the greens I put in suplement the moister for the crickets in time of the dry and they also feed of it so they have there humidity and there food and the lacies love the greens as well, the mulch is quite couse so there is almost no dust created and this has no effect on the repatory reqirements of the lacies, also by dampening the mulch its reduced even more. I dont wet it overly just enough to creat a humidity, if I see excess moister on the glass I know I have over done the water so I keep it down to a fine amount. as to what you can have in the pit out side there are more expirianced people out there that would be able to help you as to what you can keep as communal inhabitance, and depending on your location as to what you can put out side, most people start with achies but its really up to you as to what you think you can handle as I said I started at the other end of the scale and that just me.

Heart attack, you poor bugger!!

I have 2 gilleni myself, the main man breeder, John "Sdaji" Deutscher (spelling) said a 100cm long x 40cm deep x 40cm high is adequate for 4 or so adult gilleni, you wont regret getting them Inny, they are a blast!

That dosent sound very big for a pair let alone 4. how big do gilleni actually get? was he referring to hatchys? im thinking it would be pretty hard to create much of a gradient in that size, especially given monitors like high basking temps, from all accounts? can anyone clarify this?

At least i think those were the measurements, i know it was 100cm long.. forgot the rest, lol. Mine are small, very small, they aren't a big species, i think they get a little bit smaller than a full grown beardy in body size but have a long tail.


edit: after talking to him he said something like that could ahppily house an adult trio, but my pair will go in a 4x2x2 and if it is a pair or 2 females we will just get a few more to throw in depending on our's sex's. You should get some gilleni Inny!