New Black Throat Monitor question

My boyfriend has been wanting a monitor for some time now so when we saw one at the reptile show on Sunday we picked her(we are guessing here) up.

She's just a little thing right now, probably 5-6in from nose to vent. We have her in a 20gal while we build her large enclosure. She ate 3 superworms on Sunday when we got her home but since then she hasn't eaten anything. Her temps are perfect for what we've read, 85 on the cool side, 98 hot side and 141 is the basking temp on the top of her rock hide/basking place.

She seems really lethargic though, she hasn't really moved much at all and feels kind of limp if you pick her up. Any ideas what could be the problem? Since I've never had a monitor before, I'm a little lost on what their daily activity is, I wouldn't think twice about my ball's not ever moving, but seeing her laying in the same spot for over 12 hours seems odd to me.

Thanks for your help

do you know if she is CB or wild caught? I would get her treated for external and internal parasites asap.

She was sold to us as CB.

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Originally Posted by jbean7916

She was sold to us as CB.

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I would get in touch with the breeder at this point then. At least to inform them that there may be a problem, or to see if they can help tweak your set up. From what you described it sounds good; basking spot, temps, etc.

Have you tried crickets or maybe something that moves a little more? I know some of my lizards don't eat meal worms because they don't move enough. That doesn't address the lethargy though.

I hope its just relocation stress or something and she'll snap out of it for you.

yeah we put about a dozen crix in yesterday and she didn't seem to care. We planned on contacting the seller tonight but I thought I'd check on here first and see if anyone has some ideas.

I'm getting mixed information on feeding them too. Some are saying hard boiled eggs and ground turkey can be used to supplement the rodents as they get older but others say (and frankly I tend to agree) that their bodies aren't made to handle cooked foods. Any thoughts?

Bump

sent from my EVO

I read today that the cold may have sent her into a short hibernation? Does this sound logical to anyone?

sent from my EVO

They don't hibernate like tegus do. If she's laying around without moving, there's most likely something going on.

The temps sound high enough. If you paid under $150 for her, I doubt she was actually CB, since there's a lot of folks selling captive hatch or even WC as CB. I'm not saying definitely.. but it's a possibility. I'd see about getting her treated for parasites, at least see if you can get a poo sample to get it checked.

I feed mine ground turkey, eggs, rodents, chicks, fish.. they are remarkably indiscrimate in their eating habits. I do NOT cook any of it. Sorry, I know folks saying you have to cook the eggs.. but I have yet to see a monitor roaming the savannahs of AFrica with a cookpot and a lighter to cook the eggs they find and eat. Same for ground turkey and fish. We don't cook the rodents to feed our pythons do we? Why do so for monitors?

That said, for babies, the best is insects. If you have a picture, we might be able to tell if she's underweight. But she should be more perky than laying in one spot for 12 hours. I hope she turns around for you.

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Originally Posted by wolfy-hound

They don't hibernate like tegus do. If she's laying around without moving, there's most likely something going on.

The temps sound high enough. If you paid under $150 for her, I doubt she was actually CB, since there's a lot of folks selling captive hatch or even WC as CB. I'm not saying definitely.. but it's a possibility. I'd see about getting her treated for parasites, at least see if you can get a poo sample to get it checked.

I feed mine ground turkey, eggs, rodents, chicks, fish.. they are remarkably indiscrimate in their eating habits. I do NOT cook any of it. Sorry, I know folks saying you have to cook the eggs.. but I have yet to see a monitor roaming the savannahs of AFrica with a cookpot and a lighter to cook the eggs they find and eat. Same for ground turkey and fish. We don't cook the rodents to feed our pythons do we? Why do so for monitors?

That said, for babies, the best is insects. If you have a picture, we might be able to tell if she's underweight. But she should be more perky than laying in one spot for 12 hours. I hope she turns around for you.

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Thanks wolfy, I've been hoping someone would be able to answer me. All I'm getting from the guy i purchased her from is "well she was fine when she was here." He was asking $175 but there was another there and we kind of had them bidding against eachother. Though you're right, it's hard to trust someone you don't know unfortunately. Here's a couple pics of her.

http://i1126.photobucket.com/albums/...y/IMAG0015.jpg

http://i1126.photobucket.com/albums/...y/IMAG0017.jpg

http://i1126.photobucket.com/albums/...y/IMAG0022.jpg

It's like she's always asleep. She will be alert if you pick her up, eyes look clear and she'll wander around a bit until she finds a comfortable spot (like in that last pic) and just falls back asleep.

We tried some monitor food tonight since she's not taking any interest in any insects we have offered (crickets and superworms). I got her to lick on it a little and spoon fed her some.

As soon as she poos I'll take it to the vet, can they do any testing without a fecal? I'm afraid if she doesn't eat, she won't poo. She is drinking though so that's a good sign.

If she's drinking, that's a good sign. Maybe give her some time to settle in without being messed with much, try to get a poo sample for a fecal.

Make sure she's got a lot of hide spots too, in case she's just stressed. Monitors don't do well with stress.