Baby water monitormight be sick???i need help please i need tips.

HI guys/girls my baby water monitor has been behaving wierd lately, i got him from the pet shop a day ago,that same night i noticed that he was like walking with hes eyes close and then he opens one eye then would take him time to open the other eye and that he sleeps alot,he ate 7 crikets lastnite and today he has not eaten anything so far, i whent to work and left him food i left him crikets and worms and he did not eat not even a singl one of them,i noticed that he sleeps alot and takes him a while to wake up he walks a few steps goes in the water and then gets out and goes to sleep again,hes been sleeping all day today, hes set up is a 40 gallon set up with spot light of 120 degrees and anbient temp of 82-87 never goes lower tan 82 on the colooer side of hes cage,hes got space,clean water and heat, i dunno whats wrong with him ,oh hes only about 8-9 inches long, i think i have bought my self a sick monitor from the pet shop, i picked this one because the other one on the pet shop seemed sick he had hes eyes shot and really cold and was not moving around, this little guy i have moves around and whend i got him i did not noticed the problem untill i saw him late at night that same day i got him,please help what might be wrong? is it normal for this tipe of monitor to sleep so long and to be with its eyes close most of times if he moves? is like the light bothers him or something its wierd, hes skin is fine, hes in good shape and fat,he has no mocus ,i cheked hes eyes and they seem fine i dont see em damaged in any way,its just plain wierd.

Sounds like his eyes may be infected. You can try getting some cheap saline solution and gently rinse his eyes. Ive had to do this with leos. They dont love it, but it does help. As for the temps, What are you measuring them with? The basking spot should be a surface temperature. And monitors need it HOT. A surface temp of 130-140 degrees should be obtained. There are some people that have basking spots of upwards of 180-200 degrees, not saying this is what you should have.

I know there are some very knowledgeable monitor people on here and im sure they'll answer it soon. Im sure Mumps will be chiming in, and they are one of the people you should deffinetly listen too.

Also, your monitor is most likely WC. Buying from pet stores is usually the worst idea. Trying to save a couple of bucks initially can cause you to spend hundreds later. Almost all monitors that are imported die within the first years of life. Buying from a reputable breeder is the best choice you can make. It also helps to curb the wild harvesting of the monitors.

Is that Tuna? I'd swear I smelled something fishy.

Anyway, we need the details of your set up and pictures if you can.

take him to your local reptile vet... NOW!

actually i did,turns out its a parasite it got in its eyes,hes ok now thanks to the vet and god! and u guys thank u guys,today hes been more alert and moving around and ate hes first pinkie mouse today at 6 pm,im so glad i came over here and asked for help,the petshop where i got it from payed the cost of the vet care,it was 56 dollars for the eye drops,this parasite keeps them from opening their eyes and therefor no monitor would try to eat or move this way, keep an eye out for ur monitors the vet said that somehow the oil spills are producing some tipe of bacteria in the sea that whend it hits land turns into parasites and all animals are getting it,DONT TAKE UR MONITORS NEAR ANY BEACH!!! that is all again thank u for ur help and info.

From Frank
and
Baby water monitor (Rex)

What is this parasite called?

Glad to hear about your lizard. Got any pics?

Man to be honest i dont even remember the name of it,its some long wierd scientific name,i was told that its found mostly in birds and lizards and crocs,its rare but its deadly if not stoped in time,im gona go look for my recipt and see if it says the name of the parasite and il let u know asap wilomn,bad waste and oil and other nasty things are what triggers the parasite ,its found near shore ,sea,lakes,canals,that means that the pet shop got the monitor near sea or other water land,well makes sense its a water monitor they are found near water, i cant take any pictures yet, i have the camara but i lost the usb cable that came with it on the moving, il go by best buy and get a new one soon, il trow pictures of the set up too that way u guys can guide me better if eveything its ok ,i love this water monitor i dont know but theres something about him/her , i stayed up all nite just looking at it and making sure it was not gona die on me,awfull feeling to see him there with hes eyes shut and him wanting to eat but could not cuss he ould not see, i helped him eat by putting the food close to him untill he grab it,im glad eveything worked out,he made it.

ok i found the recipt,its says here that it had to dif things wrong with its eyes,the parasite gave the monitor (uveitis) and (hypopyon) both are bacterial infection related parasites.

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Originally Posted by CubanAce

ok i found the recipt,its says here that it had to dif things wrong with its eyes,the parasite gave the monitor (uveitis) and (hypopyon) both are bacterial infection related parasites.

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Interesting. Are you certain you have this correct?

yes that is what the vet said ,after putting the eye drops the monitor has being behaving much better they are really powerfull drops its amazing.

Both of those things you suggested are not parasites, they both are infections/pus of and in the eyes. I've never heard of a reptile that had it, mainly people, but some animals do get it, but, I've really never heard of herps getting this. The whole ocean beach thing sounds wayyy off.

See first it starts with the swelling (uveitis) which causes fluid/pus to build up in the eye(hypopyon).

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DONT TAKE UR MONITORS NEAR ANY BEACH!!!

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You shouldnt take your herps out on any public property without permission from the government that owns the property. And there are beaches all over that are not effected by this oil spill, though a huge portion of the US's ecosystems have been effected, thanks to the inability to cap a spill by BP.

Also why would this be affecting any herps that are being sold? I know alot of monitors are WC imports but the water monitors we have are from Africa. Which has not been directly effected by the spill to my knowledge.

And you may want to contact the vet and ask the specific name of the parasite. Knowing that yourself can't hurt, and may even help you in the future. Is the vet a certified herp vet? Do you know if they deal with herps on a regular basis? Unfortuneatly some vets will diagnose when they dont truly know what is going on, and may just blindly give you a prescription and doing shotgun anti-biotics can sometimes be even worse.

And as asked before, do you have details on your setup? Temps, substrate, humidity and the way you are measuring the temps/humidity. Monitors like is HOT. A 130-140 degree SURFACE temperature is what is required and sometimes keepers will have their surface temps upwards of 200 degrees. Note this is a surface temperature. If you do not have one already, buy a infra-red temp gun. This will save stress on your and more importantly help your monitor to thrive.

Yup, most definitely a fishy aroma in this thread.

The part with the oil and the beaches seems wierd ,i havent even checked on the news to see how far that thing has gone,i been working and havent had time to check on all that,my monitor set up is about 5 feet long and 4 feet high and 3 feet wide,i have a basking spot of about 120 degrees ,anbient temp its around 82 never goes below that,i dont have a temp gun i have those cheap things sold at petco,petsmart they are round and says the temp and the other one says the huminity,i know they are not 100% acurate,i use dirt so he can dig and have fun ,il get a temp gun as soon as i can, i just moved to miami florida and i just got the baby water monitor and i was suprized with hes problem,this has never hapend to me b4,i have a kingsnake and a corn snake im no rookie at reptiles but i know the monitors are way dif thats y i came here for help,i whant the same as u guys a happy monitor.

The basking spot needs to be higher. 130-140 degrees. You need a temp gun asap. Your temps are most likely WAY off since your just using the cheap junk from petsmart or petco. Those thermometers and hygrometers dont work, especially for the surface temps that you need for your monitor. And Im sure the temps are off with those. Im betting the ambient is about 10 degrees off in either way.

No offense, but going from a corn and king to a water monitor is a HUGE leap. Even monitor keepers wont keep niles because they are very demanding. As an adult the enclosure will be huge and he'll eat you out of house and home. That 5x4 you have now wont last very long. He'll be growing like crazy. As of now, I wouldnt ever dream of getting a water monitor and dont think I ever will. This is because I dont think I could really properly care for such a large monitor.

You say this hasn't happened to you before. This is because you've entered a whole new realm of herps. Im betting this water monitor was WC, which your king and corn, im betting, werent. This means he could be carrying a whole host of parasites, so I would recommend a full vet check up. I would treat him with panacur. It is a very common parasite treatment and covers a pretty broad range of endoparasites.

i agree and thank u for all the tips,im willing to learn and give the monitor all that it needs for it to be happy and in good shape,im aware of how hard it is to keep such a reptile, i used to have a 40 gallon tank and thats y i made hes new enclosure , i knew it would out grow that little 40 gallon tank in no time,and where can i get the temp gun?? i dont see them in pet smart or petco , i seen them online i guess il have to get it online, what do u guys recomend? what brand can i trust the most?

reptilebasics.com has alot of great supplies. Or you can check out proexotics.com. They are very experienced and you can even ask them some questions about your monitor. Deffinetly some of the best people to trust.

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Originally Posted by redstormlax12

I know alot of monitors are WC imports but the water monitors we have are from Africa.

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????? Water monitors are from Asia...

Chris

arent the ones in africa NILE MONITORS? i didnt know africa had salvator waters lol.