Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i put my dumeriles monitor into a temporary tank while i cleaned his usual tank. while he was in there he consumed a lot of the substrate, a dry dirt style substrate, then went into his water bowl, and made a mudlike mixture in his mouth. i was able to get a lot out, but i dont know what else to do from here.. there is still some in his mouth and i want to get as much as possible out. ive been soaking him, and coaxing him to open his mouth, and knock some loose, then cleaning the outer part of his mouth with qtips... he is not impacted, he didnt swallow much, if any due to the fact that it got thick. i want to do as much as possible since i cant get to a vet until mid day tomorrow.. thanks a lot in advance.

I'm convinced that an important detail(details) is missing from this story as this is the first that I have heard of monitors consuming dirt to make mud in their mouth. If this animal is alive now, I would place it back into its original cage and leave it alone... Best to you- Mike

hes better now.. i got most of it out but he had eaten the dirt, or got it into his mouth some other way, then went into his water bowl, making literally mud, which he couldnt swallow, or get out of his mouth by himself. he is fine now though, all of the mud was removed

Glad to hear Mike. When in a panic they do tend to try to jump, climb and dig like crazy so getting some dirt in the face, mouth, etc. isn't unlikely. They usually sort this stuff out best on their own. Best to you- Mike

I had something similar happen with my one timor last week except she got a piece of cork stuck on her teeth while going after a cricket. Took awhile but I finally got it out then I had to wait for her to let go of the qtip( 10 minutes later). You should be ok with just getting it outand rinsing the mouth out. Best of luck!

next time mayby try putting him in a tub of water that is full to the point where the lizard is just standing water say half way up the back so the can rinse throughly.