Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a pair of timor monitors and I have one that is not able to use his back legs. she has been fine up until about 1 week ago. I have noticed blood in my cage so I believe the male was either fighting with her or trying to mate. Either way she has got problems. There is no appearent damage to her exterior, no cuts or anything, but her back legs have become swollen. Can somebody help me. I dont have a herp vet close to me Any Suggestions??

you have to lay out your husbandry info before anyone can respond reasonably to your post. cage size, temps, substrates, details details details.
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robyn@proexotics.com

Pro Exotics Reptiles

They are in a 3 1/2 ft long 2 ft deep and 3ft tall cage. Substrate is 60% sand 40% dirt. They are kept at one side 85-89 and the other 78-80 degrees. they have a basking spot of 95-100 They have hides on both side of the cage Alot of tree branches, fake plants, large water bowl. They are not lacking any places to hide. They have been housed together for over 2 yrs now. Night time temps stay around 70. I looked closer at her and she has a bite mark on her back leg. She seems to have some mobility in her legs but not a lot right now. They are fed pinkies, crickets, lobster roaches, catfish nuggets, beef heart. Is that enough Husbandry info for you.

They get fed once every 2-3 days.

1.0 Cape Banded White Throat monitor-3ft
1.0 Common Nile Monitor-6ft
1.0 Ornate Nile Monitor-4ft
1.0 Yellow Ackie-22 in
1.1 Timor Monitors-2ft and 21in
0.1 Savannah Monitor-3.5ft
1.0 Argus Monitor 4.5 ft

That is a list of just my monitor lizards that are part of my family :}

As you're probably already aware, if she's regaining some mobility then it's most likely due to an injury. Even though they've been housed for so long without problems I'd watch 'em like a hawk for awhile.

Unattended feeding is probably the leading cause of aggressive behavior among monitors that are typically compatible.

One thing that kind of concerns me is I don't see enough calcium in their diets. You may well be using calcium products but you didn't mention it. Lack of calcium can lead to MBD. MBD = mobility issues. May I suggest adding more whole prey items, in the way of rodents.

You didn't mention humidity level. Low humidity can lead to impaction, which in turn can lead to mobility issues.

One other thing - Is that basking temperature high enough?

Have a good one!
HH
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Due to political correctness run amuck,
this ol' hillbilly is now referred to as an:
Appalachian American

www.natures-signature.com

HH, for a forest species such as timors, I'd personally use a basking spot of 120-130º F (surface temps).

Thanks! That's what I was thinking.

I didn't know exactly what the typical recommended basking temp is for Timors and I don't mind the world knowing that. I suspected that it should be higher and I even began researching it while making that post, but all of the sudden I realized that I've got hundreds of things I need to be doin' relating to the care of my own animals. So, without throwing out any misinformation I tried to use a thought-provoker. The answer, I'm sure, can be found by searching this forum. Especially now that you've just given it. Ha! Ha!

Thanks again!

Catch ya later!
Mike
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Due to political correctness run amuck,
this ol' hillbilly is now referred to as an:
Appalachian American

www.natures-signature.com

Given the info, it does seem like an injury, but with such low basking temps, it is very difficult for the monitor to find the resources to heal up in a quick and healthy fashion.

I would watch for further social issues, and then fine tune husbandry in general, basking temps (130F would be the surface temp target) and take a look at moisture levels.

Best of luck.
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robyn@proexotics.com

Pro Exotics Reptiles

just as a precaution I would also recommend cleaning the cage well and replacing the substrate, go thru the soil very carefully as you throw it out and look for any ticks. I don't know that a deer tick would have the same affect on a lizard as it does on other animals but I don't know that it wouldn't either and the back legs being out of use can be a sign of a deer tick. They can come from many places so it's best to just be on the safe side. Also is there anything heavy in the cage that could have fallen and hurt her. I once saw a beardie with its back legs paralyzed due to digging underneath a heavy log that fell on it's lower back.
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This Red Neck refuses to go out of his way to be politically correct so what you see is what you get. You may not like my sense of humor but at least I've got one. I breed bearded dragons and will soon be breeding monitor lizards.