Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have what I think is an Argus monitor, the pet store labeled it a "yellow spotted monitor".

While I was cleaning his cage today, he squirmed through the drain in my tub (there is no cover, it's an old house). I was able to get a plumber out to my house and he had to break the pipe in my bathtub, but I was able to recover him.

He was in something called the "trap" (looks kind of like a muffler), which was clogged with a bunch of nasty stuff. Although the plumber told me this nasty stuff is what kept him from escaping into the sewer.

So, as soon as I got him out of the pipe I gave him a bath in water and tear less baby shampoo, and I gently scrubbed him down with a soft bristled child's toothbrush. He is now back in his cage with an infrared heat emitter (I've turned off the nightly auto off).

Is there anything else I need to do?

I live in Lubbock Texas and don't know any good herp vets. Does he need an antibiotic shot or something?

I've heard they can get pneumonia, what do I need for this?

I'm just not sure what my next step should be, or how to find a decent vet who knows something about monitor lizards. He was in that pipe for about 3 and a half hours before we finally got him out.

This is Xander Crews.
He is about 17 Inches, and weighs 70 grams.
He currently resides in a 90 gallon aquarium(60"x18"x28".
There is just some normal animal bedding in there fro Wal-Mart. He normally has potting soil, but I wasn't sure about him getting sick from something in the dirt.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Killface

It sounds like you may want to invest in your animal by perhaps reading through the forums on this website and Varanus.net. It will help teach you some very basic things in regards to husbandry.

As for your lizard, it appears to be a V. Melinus which is not an Argus monitor, but a "Yellow Monitor".

If some more experianced keepers could let me know what they think on that observation, that would be great.

Thanks,
Mike.

Yep, do like Mike said; scroll down through 5-10 pages of this forum looking through all the caging, temps, diet, and substrate posts....LOTS of good info.

-----
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mike Heinrich,
Mike@amazontreeboa.org
www.amazontreeboa.org

I'm not unfamiliar with the basic care of my monitors, my question pertained more to the effects of him being trapped in a dirty drainage pipe connected to my bathtub for 3 hours.

The way I understand it:
Pneumonia can be caused by low temperatures for extended time.
However, the treatment can range from warmer temperatures for an extended period of time, all the way to antibiotics.

If an animal has pneumonia its immune system is very weak, which means it's prone to infection (hence the dirt,what kind of bacteria are in potting soil...can it hurt my monitor's weak immune system?)

What signs should I look for and such?
Also, how do I determine if a vet is any good?

I own a Savanna monitor who I had to take the vet when I got him, he had arrived in the mail severely dehydrated and very lethargic. When I called an asked about monitor lizards the nurse said they had a reptile vet. This guy had never seen a monitor lizard before and just gave him an oral shot of something for parasites (he said it worked on snakes).

However, you are correct about the species, when I looked up pictures of v. melinus it definitely looks much more like my animal than an Argus monitor.

I was working under the idea that this guy was terrestrial, but it looks like they are more arboreal and like to climb a lot. I definitely need to adjust his cage for that, and look to building a taller cage as opposed to a wider one for when he is older.

I'm sorry, but you are not familiar with the basic needs of that animal, you didn't even know what species it was. I feel bad for your monitor. Don't by on impulse. DO YOUR RESEARCH!!! Tyler.

Reptiles don't get Pneumonia, they get respiratory infections, usually from improper temps. 3 hours in the drain won't cause resp. infection; I don't even think 3 days would.
-----
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mike Heinrich,
Mike@amazontreeboa.org
www.amazontreeboa.org

Resp. infections can also be caused by improper humidity levels, (basically, any flaws in husbandry will cause a weakening in the immune system, and resp. infection is a common result). Your set-up looks way too dry.

>>Reptiles don't get Pneumonia, they get respiratory infections, usually from improper temps. 3 hours in the drain won't cause resp. infection; I don't even think 3 days would.
>>-----
>>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>>Mike Heinrich,
>>Mike@amazontreeboa.org
>>www.amazontreeboa.org
-----
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mike Heinrich,
Mike@amazontreeboa.org
www.amazontreeboa.org

None of you have the name correct still. Yes, it's a Varanus melinus. But they should be called Quince Monitors. The Yellow Monitor is V. flavescens. That's ticky-tack and not really the issue here except for the OP to get the correct species.

I agree that 3 hours in a drain and exposed to the muck in a drain is the least of your concerns. Monitors can and will eat some rancid things with no ill-effects and can tolerate brief periods of being cold. Keeping this shy, tropical, semiarboreal monitor on Carefresh bedding in a fishtank is much more likely to end this lizard's existence prematurely. I'm not being sarcastic. They like humid environments with lots of hiding areas and places to climb. Hollow tubes and corkbark tubes are actually a good thing for it (maybe not a hair/dirt/shampoo metal pipe hide ).

Seriously, look at keeping the lizard in different conditions - no joke.

[ you are correct about the species, when I looked up pictures of v. melinus]

Very nice little Melinus!! aka-Quince monitor, not yellow spotted or yellow tree, but seems they do get called 'yellow' whatevers (I think more of a marketting thing?)

These are one of my favorite monitors, but you'd be more on the right track to set it up and keep it like a 'Mangrove' than Argus or any type of 'tree' monitor.

Potting soil isn't as good as moist topsoil mixed with playsand topped with leaf litter to help keep the humidity.
BTW-I'm fairly new to monitors, but the advice given by the more experienced keepers here, is sound and will help set you up for success with your Melinus/Quince- Keep us updated and
Good luck!
ps- unless he's acting sick, I'd forget about the drainpipe incident and focus on his set-up.

listen for irregular breathing weezing poping gurgeling but like the guys below have said you should focus on your enclosure
every one on here has good advice most of the people on here have bread monitors sucssesfully and know what there talking about
ask questions do research
im on here everyday for hours sometimes just going back and forth even on topics that have nothing to do whith my species you cant die from to much knowlege

I'm sorry I didn't know what species of monitor I had, all I had to go on is what the guy at the pet store told me.

All of you who responded to my post in a helpful manned thank you so much, I was just really worked up about him being stuck in that pipe for so long and didn't know how severe it was. You've definitely made me feel better. I've got a vet appointment with a "supposedly" good local her vet on Tuesday.

I've been noticing a lot of what I can only describe as sneezing, and he gapes his mouth open sometimes when I'm handling him, but not when he is in his cage.Didn;t know if this was a defense mechanism or sign of trouble.

When I checked on him this morning he was active and alert. I'm going to modify his cage furnishings today since I found out he wasn't and Argus, and I'm putting the potting soil back in there.

Thanks for the support, most of you were very helpful and nice.

I DID NOT buy him on an impulse. I saw him at the store and had been watching him for about a week. And I did my research. under the false impression that he was an argus monitor....I'm not an expert on these animals, and I assumed the pet store owner knows. even though the pic's I saw didn't look quite right, some of these species seem to have wide color variations.

As I said before he normally has potting soil in his cage, and the room he stays in has a big 36 hour humidifier running all the time. I'm familiar with their humidity requirements, I only used the regular bedding...(last night was the first time) because I was afraid of infection.

I will admit to being an amateur keeper, compared to a lot of you other guys, the only other monitor I have is a Savannah (his name is Killface). When I did my research it seemed like they had a lot of the same requirements. High Humidity, 110 to 75 degree temperature gradient, and a very large enclosure for the adults.

When I got him home for the first time, he had a 90 gallon aquarium with potting soil and a gradient just like I described above. The humidity in the room stays at about 35-40 in the winter here, and in the summer the humidifier automatically shuts off at around 65. I have acrylic tops covering the cage, with a hole (covered by strong metal mesh) for his heat emitter. This keeps the humidity around 50-60, although I have noticed a significant drop since I added the dry bedding from Wal-mart.

Anyway, instead of chastising me for "buying on impulse", or not knowing anything about their husbandry It would have been nice if you just pointed out my mistake and tried to help me correct it. Like some of the very helpful other posters did.

Edited on January 18, 2009 at 16:22:52 by PHGinger.

I'm just curious what you're feeding him and how much?

A good indicator of how he's feeling, would be if his eating habits changed at all since the drainpipe thing.

As for his mouth gaping when you're handling him- First off, I'd say don't handle him unless it's absolutely necessary, try letting him get established. THEN- when he shows interest in you, let him come to you on his own terms. If you force handle him, it will more than likely, stress him out, rather than thrive.
If set up right, you needn't take them out to clean their cage.

I've only had him about 3 weeks so far, and I generally feed him 2 small pinkies every 2 - 3 days. The book I have ("Popular Monitors and Tegus" ISBN 1-882770-39-0) on monitors says this is the correct strategy for hatchings/juveniles.

I also have a Savannah monitor who I feed about 20 large crickets every 2 to 3 days, and on the weekend I usually like to give him a couple of medium sized fuzzy's. Currently he is about 20" and weighs almost 400 grams. I know that they do fine on diet of just mice alone, but the crickets tend to hide in his cage furnishing and he spends most of his days, stalking around looking for them.

Generally I try to handle the new one as little as possible, but I didn't think there was a way to setup his cage where I didn't have to pull him out. I spot clean both their cages everyday, but once a week I pull them out and replace the repti carpet and wash any of the furnishing they may have pooped on. I also use lysol to clean the bottom of their enclosure (all glass), and then wipe it down with clean water too remove any chemical residue.

As for handling I would like any information about his, i've read multiple forums that all have different strategies on handling your animals. Generally, I try the let them come to you strategy, which works nicely with the small one, but once he gets near my hand he just tries to run up my arm and escape. I let him run around my office for a while and he will cruise by me while exploring, but runs away if I try to touch him.

My Savannah monitor is much different, he doesn't really enjoy being handled all that much. I tried with him when he was younger, but he always hissed and whipped his tail. Slowly, I've gotten him more used to me, but he generally doesn't like to be touched. Occasionally when he isn't feeling like a bad ass he will let me pick him up and chill on my lap for a bit. He never bites, only the hissing and tail whipping which is an easy sign of distress.

When he does this I generally just back off, but when I need to clean or something I kind of have to force the issue. Most of the time he doesn't mind that much, but someday's he will not tolerate it and I have to wait until later to do whatever.

I would love some more detailed advice on how to get both of them more used to handling, Ive heard you can sit in a bathtub with them and etc. I also heard that some of them just won't ever get used to it and you won't be able to handle them. I've got plenty of time and money so I'm up for about anything.

The other thing I heard was that they don't like being on the floor, coming from above I look more like a predator.....I guess. I've thought about moving them higher, but Killface lives in a 160 gallon aquarium (6'x3'), and it's heavy as [bleep].

Thanks Again

Have you tried giving your Melinus crickets/roaches in addition to pinkies? He should be eating as much as he wants and they need the mental stimulation of hunting and chasing bugs, esp' at that young age.
Rather than trying to handle them, you might want to buy some feeding tongs and get them used to eating from them. That way they should start to associate you with 'good' things, instead of being something that intrudes on them. Again- if you have them set up right, you shouldn't have to disinfect, rip out the substrate, or otherwise turn 'their' world upside down.
quote-
[He never bites, only the hissing and tail whipping which is an easy sign of distress.]

I'd take that as a good sign, rather than distress. I have a large blackthroat who does that and basically, runs the show, but we're working on it, on his terms!)

Yeah, he's a bossy little guy, but I love him.

I've tried to feed the quincy monitor crickets but he didn't seem to go after them, however it may be because his cage isn't setup for climbing and such (I'm fixing that soon with 2 30" sand blasted grapevines, and 3 of those 2" flexi branches. I also ordered a couple of hide spots for both ends of the cage), since originally I just setup two litter boxes full of potting soil on both ends.

I mildly worried about escape, the majority of his cage is covered with a piece of acrylic (this helps keeps the humidity in...i hear), but the bottom left corner has a 10"x12" hole cut for ventilation, and the heat source. What's a good solution for making sure he doesn't escape?

I like the tong idea, my Savannah gets very excited when I come home with his bag of crickets. I never try to hand feed him, but the tongs seem perfect.

Note: I was completely baffled the first time he stood up like this. I wasn't aware that this was possible, but the Internet said tripodding was common among some species.

even if you did get flamed for this atleast your trying to get help
but yea dont force handel i had to find that out from these guys also but now i just open the door for my black throat and hell come right now for feeding then he just walks around and lays around.

also about your sav i feed my bt 6 mice aday or as many as he will take im 90% sure feeding is the same with savs and white throats.you might whant to check out proexotics.com they have some good care sheets

good luck

-Potting soil helps plants grow. It includes stuff like fertilizer and manure. Base your substrate around dirt, or topsoil. Not just any dirt will work though...

-Your basking spot is way too low. You already have respiratory concerns. Your basking spot should be 130F minimum. Proper temps will solve that issue, no meds necessary.

-Secure your cage. There shouldn't even be a 1 inch by 1 inch open hole. Use screen to cover the opening where your lights go, definitely NO open cracks or holes.

-Feed that monitor! Baby and juvie monitors eat every day! Feeding 3-4 days a week just doesn't cut it. Offer older mice, not just pinkies. Offer crawlers and hoppers. Better gut content, great bone content, good fur content for roughage. Balance out your diet with feeder insects, crickets or roaches. Rodents, insects, done. Use a good supplement with the insects.

-Get rid of that book. If you can find the Savannah book by Ravi and Bennett (now out of print), use that for general husbandry reference. Barring that, use the basics of our Water monitor caresheet and article on our site.

-You are keeping the monitor in the same substandard way that the "real good" pet stores keep theirs. That is much better than the horrible way that most pet stores do it, but it is still 15 years behind the times. Bring your basking temps up, along with your feeding schedule, and get a good soil substrate.

Best of luck.
-----
robyn@proexotics.com

Pro Exotics Reptiles