Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Looking for suggestions. I got her last Saturday Got her in a seperate Quarantine ENclosure. Plenty of cover Humidity and have really left her alone. Placed a frozen Pinky in, Then a bowl of Super Worms and lastly some crickets. the past two days. SO far she drinks when I mist. ANy suggestions? I was going to take her to the vet for a eating stimulus shot???

She looks great and is very active just not eating just yet. SHould I be more patient?? AT 875.00 bucks I am getting nervous.

Thanks
Tony
batlizard.com

just give it time... make sure u leve her alone as much as possible where did she come from? what was she eating there? has she been wormed? i once got a male to start eating on hissing cockroaches, and one time i cover the glass of the cage with brown parer bags so not to distrb at all but this was for breeding but could give it a try. and im sure u know no handling.

I agree to hang in there and give some time. I like the roach idea and have used roaches to stimulate both black and green tree monitors to feed.

Good luck,
AH

Bought her last week at the raleigh show. Was so excited to get her I did not ask anything about what she was eating DUH!!!!

Didn't you get the guys card or information? I meant to get his info, but I got sidetracked on Sunday after seeing your argus.

Ed
-----
Ed

His name may have been Daniel. Sorry I am not much help.

Ed
-----
Ed

Like they were gonna be completely honest anyway..... they just want the sell at those places (typically). Good luck with her though.

i would say giving it a shot to induce hunger is one of the last things you want to do, if at all

Hello Bat,
If you have set up the animal in a suitable environment and are offering it something that is recognizeable as food then your part is done. Step back and allow the lizard to have control... Best to you- Mike

A favorite food of wild green tree monitors are lizards. I'll bet if you turn some anoles or geckos in there it will feed immediately. Over the years I've had hundreds and when I received a reluctant feeder lizards always solved the problem as long as enviromental conditions are right. Tom Crutchfield

Depending where you live field collected lizards may be toxic. Quick case in point...had a pricei in dire need of food(she had recently dropped)...collected a skink on a resort Island(constantly being sprayed with pesticide) she ate it immediatly and died within 24 hours...fed another skink from the Island to another snake (knew this was not smart,but had to check) and same results. Good luck, Zak.

Theres always an inherent danger in feeding animals that are taken from "the wild". They are possibly exposed to pesticides, fertilizers, god only knows what other chemicals, and their food is just as exposed.

If you wanted to go this route (not saying you should, dont know enough about this species) anoles/house geckos sell for like $8 in most pet stores. $24 to possibly help an animal costing over $800? Dosnt seem such a big deal.

Still would be better if you could quarantine the feeders abit, but seeing as your trying to get this thing to eat, its not really an option.

Guys,
Go back to the roaches... besides if you want to worry about pesticides and parasites (they live with both in nature- not that they are good) where do you think that the pet store lizards come from? I can recall collecting house geckos and brown anoles for the feeder market, pets, etc... Remember, this is another species that if wild collected- and set up properly, you may not see on a regular basis. Feed water and observe when it allows you to. best to you- Mike

Hey Tom,
Missed your post up there herpsltd- you have had hundreds of these lizards and in fact the Riverbanks Zoo has F3's off of animals that you have supplied... If Tom says lizards- I suggest trying them- best to you all- Mike

That is why i say "may be toxic". Not all wild lizards are toxic of course. I have no idea where "acid" lives...I learned a painful lesson with a tip top animal. If you live "in the sticks" role the dice. Comparing parasites to chemical is apples to oranges. TC has a ton of expirience with herps no doubt... take his advice. I simply posted a quick caveat to the keeper to be aware of the origin of the lizards or the results can really suck. Zak.

As an old guy like Tom, monitors are a bit different then snakes and some other reptiles. They feed up until and often including death. If they are alive and with halfway decent temps they feed.

As in, I have never had a monitor not feed, but I have had a number of imports die. In fact, really weak individuals feed and then die. hahahahahahahahaha. But not feeding is a direct sign something is way way way off. Not a little off like with snakes.

Of course, this is about taking some decent care, like housed by itself and offered decent conditions. Many stressed individuals stop feeding in a cage with many monitors. Cheers

Lots of good advice here. Dubia cockroaches have worked great with my green trees. There has always been an excellent feeding response, way more meat than crickets, and very easy to breed.

A few of my monitors, not green trees, almost seem intimidated by a hard exoskeleton and the dubias seem to have a less protective (hard/thick) exoskeleton than hissers.

I bought mine from http://www.nyworms.com/dubiacare.htm.

Good luck!

Considering the price, your female is most likely a recently-imported female. Subsequently, it is likely that she is dehydrated in one way or another, females usually arrive in pretty poor shape and take a while to regain full health. In the past, while acclimating ca. 15 or so wild-caught tree monitors, I have revered hydration as the most important aspect to the acclimation process.

I have found that dehydrated animals are often reluctant to feed (for good reason). Correcting the dehydration is often a sure way to having the animal come around and start feeding.

In overall 'stubborn' feeders, including well-hydrated, established animals, I have found that raw ground turkey has worked well in getting such individuals to eat. Of course, once the animal starts eating the ground turkey, it is best to wean them over to other more healthy and whole prey items such as insects and rodents. This usually isn't that difficult, it just requires patience.

Good luck with her. Kindest regards,

Bob

Hey Bob...
I agree with Bob from personal experiance. My female beccarii wouldn't feed until I took his advice and offered ground turkey. I first made sure she was drinking and looked hydrated and then offerd the turkey. I slowly started chopping F/T mice in mixing them in the turkey. After a while, it was less turkey and more mice until it was all mice. She now takes mice of tongs from me. I got her a year ago this month. Good Luck BAT..
RoadSpawn