Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My BTs temperature is in the hot side at 110ºF (35-40ºC), and still 2 mice with first hair seems to be making his digestion take for now 2 days...He is a juv of 40 cms, is this tardy normal for the food and size and temperature? By the way, so far he urinates and doesnt defecate since i gave him these 2 mice.

110 is too hot for the air temp. What is the surface temp on the basking site? What is the temp on the cool side?
Your lizard needs a wide varient of temps to digest and be healthy. A basking temp, that's surface temp of between 130 and 150. Hot side should be around 90 and cool side closer to 70.
See what you can do to sdjust the temps and get back with your results.
Mine eats in the morning and pos in his water by late afternoon.

Scott
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Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup.

Hot side air is around 110 and cool side around 75-80, i switch of the heater at night so that it is equaled to the house temps. As basking surface i placed a piece of black ceramic stone under the lamp. But its ok, he started eating again...ate 3 big crics, and didnt want the mouse i took out for him maybe coz he sensed its lacking protein properties for defrosting and frosting all the time he didnt want it.(OUCH!) he and all monitors are just suprising

This is just info I am throwing out there. If anyone doesn't like it, then ignore it.

I have had a few monitors over the years, and I have never had one that only ate 3 crickets. Even a six inch Savanna I had would eat many more crickets each day. Small monitors like yours that I have had eat many many crickets or pinkies/fuzzies/hoppers.

The blackthroat I have was 24 inches long a month ago and eats 3 or 4 mice a day. I filled her up once with crickets and 4 or 5 mice (I dont remember which.) She constantly craps. I clean poop out the cage every day, sometimes numerouse times a day. She is doing great, putting on weight, and growing like a weed.

I keep the basking spot 130 degrees or more. The heat helps with digestion. If it takes days to digest and the blackthroat turns down food you may need to check the basking temperature with a heat gun. Blackthroats are not known to turn down food. Especially if they havent eaten in a day or two.
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Ed

These heat lamps make my electric bill to high.

I agree, Fluffy was always hungry once I got him healthy.
At a little over 18 inches he ate 8 adult mice in one sitting.
If it still isn't eating and going to the little lizards room. I would check all the temps twice.

Scott
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Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup.

^^^^ o and i think he wasnt ready for first hair mice or fuzzies evidenced post at the very top

Hell no it ain't to hot, it's actually to LOW. Raise it about 20-30 more degrees. Young Monitors from what I've seen crap everyday if kept right. Both Critter and now Apollo crapped everyday.
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if it is the ambient air temp then yes it is too hot. The surface temp is what you want to measure for basking if it is 110 it is too low 130-150 would work better. Again that is the surface temp. not the air temp.

Hmmmm the way i find it, gonna be hard raising basking temps without raising air temps with it:-? any suggestions? o and the Vet said that in this case, "basking temps are not important....yet", but still would like to know how to control these temps for the future
Cheers,
Sheri

First, find a new vet. Basking temps are important.
Then make adjustments to the basking light and basking spot. i use 50 watt halogen floods. These give me a basking spot temp between 130 and 155, depending on what cage I am measuring.
Your air temps need to go from high 80s or low 90s to mid to low 70s.

Scott
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Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup.