Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ok I have been on other sites so if you recognize the problem just disregard

I have a 15 month old dumerils that is 18-20 inches in total length.

4.5x 2.3x 2x dimensions of cage
basking 120-130
ambient mid 80's
dirt sand mix substrate 9" for digging(he doesn't dig)?
large water dish for submerging
moss on ground covering dirt mix
multiple hide spots, multiple climbing areas

will only eat crickets(rarely a crawfish)2-month maybe
offered crawfish,shrimp,earthworms,pinkies, fuzzies
food offered in whole bodied form and in cut up form.
has been eating crickets only since he was about 10" not long after birth. food offered daily, more than he will take

looks healthy fat tail base, clear eyes, strong arms
looks great for a 6 month old but he is 15 months old.

he spits out any food other than crickets

all comments appreciated

Hello Joeyjoh,
I see that you have supplied some info. I do have some questions for you but they would probably easily answered if you would be willing to post a picture of the animal and the enclosure in which it is being managed. You are saying that your animal is eating... but not eating enough(for your comfort) or enough of a variety (everything that is offered) which it should given everything else was optimum. If you would, post a pick- I bet this group here will nail it down immediately (unlike the other forums)- Best to you- Mike

Not sure how to post a pic? i already have some of the setup and the dumerils just don't see where to attach them on this forum?

Hi, several things come to mind from your post. First, TOO HOT, the hot spot is marginal, could be hotter, but the ambient is too hot. Room temps are wonderful for ambient temps. If your monitor wants something hotter, it will do what comes natural, it will go to the hotter area.

Most reptiles spend most of their lifes are cool temps(to conserve energy) and a small amount of time at various degrees of heat, as needed. Cool temps is their base, their lifeline, their safty zone. Heat is a tool to accomplish metabolic tasks.

Nest, sand is not the substrate of choice for dums. Try leaflitter, deep leaflitter is used in a way that tells you, they know what it is. Also Dums are mostly a bog still water type monitors. They will spend lots and lots of time in water filled with leaflitter. Man do they blend in with that. You may notice that leaflitter emitts tanic acid which colors the water brown. The SAME brown of a dum. That coupled with lines between leaves and branches, makes dums very difficult to see.

About the diet, crickets are great, and do not worry about the monitor eating other items, YET. Keep adjusting the conditions based on the monitors feeding responce. Healthy monitors, with "normal" cage conditions, eat anything anytime and almost beyond reason.

Many people get upset when a monitor attempts to eat the hand holding the food item. They in some weird way think the monitor is out to get them. ITS NOT, its merely telling you it wants to eat something of size, not a stupid little fuzzie or cricket. It wants the big part. Its merely hungry. Your job is to create conditions that cause your monitor to become hungry, but don't get mad if it trys to eat you.

Lastly if there is something physially work, like organ damage(common with imports) there is nothing you can do about it. The only thing you CAN do is create the best possible enviornment for its survival. If the damage is bad enough, it will perish, no matter what you do. Vets can help with minor problems such as mouth rot or Respitory infections, but they cannot do a darn thing about organ damage.

Lastly, don't worry about what you cannot do, just do what you can. Cheers

thanks,

I have already reduced the amb temps. Thanks for confirming it was the right thing to do. I figured that one out by watching him.

I do have moss in the cage but you say leaf litter. I will change that. also I do have a water dish that he submerges in, are you suggesting that i have 2 one for submerging and one with leaf litter in it for hiding and soaking?

I have a box that does have moss in it that is kept very moist that he hides in. I 'll change that to leaf litter.

question on leaf litter. get it from a store or in my backyard?
will backyard litter have a problem with parasites.

In 2 days of lowering the amb i have noticed more movement on his part.

one last question, how bad is his size for his age
18-20" total length in 15 months. and he is a captive bred
will he reach full potential or have I dwarfed him somewhat

thanks

All these questions are easy for me. The answer is, to do them right is to do with for the best results, at your house with your monitor. How you do them is up to you, and to be determined by your monitor. If you do things right, it will eat like a pig(normal for monitors) and grow like a weed(normal for monitors) If not, you suck and applied it wrong. Don't get mad at me, its your monitor thats telling you, you suck. Don't take it so hard, was all suck, get over it, you suck. You SUCK.

The truth is, we do all suck, so your not alone, our task is to not suck. Work at it.

About captive hatched, who gives a flying doorknob. That term is only of benefit before you incure problems. After you have problems, it does not matter. As in, if you had good husbandry, you have a lower chance of unforseen problems with captive hatched(fewer pre-exsisting problems) Not so with wild caught. Even with good husbandry, bad things can happen. You can avoid most of that with great husbandry, sadly, not much great husbandry around these days.

That you have problems means, its does not matter. You see, your having the problems captive hatched is suppose to avoid. So, IT DOES NOT MATTER, GET OVER IT( Two nights ago, while herping my good friends son played a type of this New York comic, I am copying him, with the yelling stuff, its FUNNY. FUNNY, get over it.

Or, wild caught vs. captive hatched, an ethical delimma. Which is not what we are talking about.

Worrying about if you dwarfed it or not is naive, or worse, worthless, stupid, ignorant, or combinations of all those and more. Why not simply do the best you can and live with the results. If you actually learn something, then next time, you can allow better results, then the next time better, etc.

What monitors do in captivity and the wild is, they grow up and produce lots of offspring OR NOT. Most likely you will not keep the monitor long enough to allow the growth and recruitment, or any degree of their potential, so, no matter what you have already done, its going to be the "or not" part. I say that because, thats what happens 99% of the time, OR MORE, with captive monitors. ITS THE TRUTH.

You challange is to beat those odds. So I recomend, just beat those odds, at first by a little, then maybe by a lot later.

Most of the "experts" on these forums do not beat those odds. So be careful who you listen to. Cheers

great response!

I know I suck! working on sucking less

thanks

Hello FR & Joey,
I always have to laugh when I see people ask about collecting cage scrap, litter, etc. and the possibility of introducing parasites... It's not a bad question- as in, one time while collecting some for one of my cages- I got a nasty tick...left an itchy sore for a couple of weeks! So I guess one proper answer would be: it depends on where you live and from whose perspective you are asking... Best to you- Mike