Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My Croc Monitor is now 1.5 years old and about 6' in length. Now that I have had him for about 6 months, I wanted to ask a few questions to enture that I am providing optimal husbandry. They are as follows:

1) I feed him nearly every day. Sometimes, he will go a few days without eating. His diet consists of medium rats, adult mice, chicks, guinea pigs, and sometimes quayle. He is in a 12' x 6' x 6' custom built shed with constant heat of 85 degrees and basking range from 95 to 125 degrees. I have a humidifier that keeps the humidity between 70 and 80%. Substrate is cypress mulch, about a foot deep in some areas. He has a hide box that he often uses as well as climbing branches. I have a heater that keeps the temps constant. My first question is how much and how often do you typically feed your adult croc monitors? Do they ever turn down a meal?

2) How long does it usually take to determine the sex from the size and length of the snout? I have heard that males have longer and wider snouts than females. My Croc monitor's snout does not seem very long at this point. However, he is only 1.5 years old. He has a fairly wide neck and body. He probably weighs about 15 lbs. He is fairly heavy.

3) How do you typically give them baths? I usually pick him up and take him to the bathtub once a week to soak him for 20-30 minutes. This helps him quite a bit with his shedding. However, he seems to be more skiddish each time I give him a bath. Afterwards, when I place him back in his cage, he goes crazy and does not eat for a day or so following his bath. It seems to really stress him out. I tried to spray him down with the hose, but he does not like that at all. I have a tub in his cage that has about 8" of water for him to soak, but he never seems to use it. The water temp is about 70%. The tub is big enough for him to sit in, should he want to.

4) How much growth should I expect from him for the next year to two years?

Any other tips you can provide would be very helpful.

I appreciate the advice.

Thank you.

I'm not really qualified to answer this and I don't know why nobody replied to this maybe they are just burned out....First the safety issues I don't think you should pick him up at all, croc monitors are dangerous especially the tame ones. There are plenty of bite pictures to prove this point. I'm not making it up. The basking temp should be constant 130F-135F. No more spraying with hoses just let him soak in his own tub on his own terms.

Like when you move a venomous snake or say a alligator you use certain tools and put them in another cage while you are cleaning. Too me thats how croc monitors should be cared for. JMO.

I could maybe help you with a few things. They are skittish animals and take a long time to trust you. As was said do not catch and handle them it terrifies it and they will remember it. Their escape distance and idea of being cornered is much larger a space than other species I think and this must be respected. They are not so much dangerous as they are scared and will defend themselves out of desparation. Sounds like he has a good house except for the basking temps, this has been said. They like multiple basking sites, middle and high. They like to be above your head where they feel safe so many perches and shelves up there are appreciated as well as several high up hides. For a pool they do not like cool water. I use a big cement mixing pan from Home Despot (cheap) with a heat lamp firmly fixed above it to warm it. Mine bathe almost every day. They like a deep dark box of soft damp peat moss to dig around in. When I do come in I always hum softly and do not look at them directly. Direct stare is a threat message to them. A good way to move them, if you have to, is have hide boxes you can pick up and cover the door with something when they are in there. That way they don't even see you doing it. As for diet it sounds good to me what you are feeding. Sometimes I give some scrambled eggs or fish also. I feed mine every day and they usually eat unless they are stuffed from the day before. Mine are 5.5' young and still growing so I feed them all they want. They will NOT ever eat if they are nervous. Perhaps that is why your animal does not eat every day.

I've read they are the only reptile who's teeth come together like scissors in a cutting fashion. Which is why their bite is not like any other monitor. You really don't want to get bit by these guys.

With the biggest, most potentially dangerous lizard in captivity, you really need to change your husbandry and habits now, before it is too late. The older and larger that animal gets, the scarier current habits are going to be. I don't want to see you lose an eye, or fingers.

Provide a burrowing substrate, or burrowing area. Provide plenty of hidespots, including containerized ones like Melissa suggested.

No more handling, and no more soaking. Provide a tub with clean water that the animal can use and submerge in as desired.

Provide a better and wider temp gradient, including higher basking temps, and multiple spots.

Pay close attention to Melissa's details about behavior and eye contact/interaction issues.

Track down JME here or over at varanus.net and chat him up about his croc setups, he also has lots of info.

Best of luck.
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robyn@proexotics.com

ShipYourReptiles.com
Pro Exotics Reptiles

Thanks for all the advice. I will definitely work to improve on my husbandry. All great suggestions!

I forgot. They need a high humidity, like 65% or greater. Do you keep that cypress mulch pretty wet?

Yes, I keep the humidity at least 70% with a humidifier that runs constantly. I also mist the mulch a few times a week.

I am not too worried about their bite, although I am very careful handling him. I have had a number of very dangerous animals in my life, including Cobras, large pythons, yellow fattail scorpions, rattlesnakes, among others. I have been bitten by one of my large male rhino iguanas that ripped my forefinger to shreds and he would not let go. I had to have my skin reattached. My finger still does not work well. I had my eye cut pretty badly by the same iguana and my female rhino took a good chunk off my left thumb. I totally understand that my croc could do much more damage and I handle him so he cannot do any damage. He is getting a lot heavier and probably weighs between 15 and 20 pounds.

My big worry is that he does not soak himself in his tub of water. He drinks, but does not soak. The median temp in his cage is a constant 85 degrees with basking bulbes that take it from 95 to 125 degrees (ground temps). It is probably over 130 degrees when he is sitting under them. I don't want him to have trouble shedding and he looks much better when he has a bath.

I am going to mount a bulb above the water to heat it it up. Currently, the water is about 70 degrees. I am assuming he needs about 80 degrees to feel comfortable. Can you tell me what bulb you use and how high it is above the water? My tub is about 26" x 25" x 8" high. I am looking at putting in a larger tub that is round and 30" all the way around. I went and looked at the cement mixing pan at Home Depot, but it is not any larger than the one I have (I am currently using a plastic pond from Home Depot) I saw a 100 gallon and 65 gallon pond at Home Depot, but they were very deep, about 17". I am not sure he would be able to climb in and out very well.

He typically eats an equivalent of a medium rat on average every day. I am not sure if this is typical of a croc monitor that is over 6' now and somewhat large girth wise. There are times where he will go an extra day without eating.

I am not a huge fan of cypress mulch, but it cleans well and holds moisture fairly well.

Thanks for all your help.

Why do you feel that he needs to soak? I would figure getting humidity options right would be far more important to a tropical, arboreal lizard than a pan to soak in. Giving him the option of choosing some hides with varying degrees of humidity as well as temperature. Provide the tub of water as a choice but let him chose what he needs.
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Steve

I was always under the impression that Croc Monitors needed a good size area of water which to soak and submerge in.

August9, I use a 250W infrared firmly mounted about a foot above my cement mixing pan and it warms that much and that depth of water OK but I dought it would warm deeper water. I used to use aquarium heaters and they dragged them out and hot heaters lying on the substrate. he should use the bath if it is about 80F or so. Still needs a dish of fresh water for drinking.

I do really care about your skin, nerves, tendons, arteries and blood supply. But this is not about your safety, it is about your relationship with the monitor. This is nothing like and iguana or any kind of snake. This a super intelligent wild animal that is sensitive, high strung and has a long memory. By handling it you are making it never tolerate you and always be afraid. Please remebe how frightened it is. If you must catch it please use the hide box method. Also, your carrying and restraining its head are hurting it's delicate gular bones.

I won't be picking him up anymore. I mounted a heat lamp above his tub yesterday and I hope he will end up using it. The water is now just a bit over 80 degrees. It was 79 degrees before I mounted the heat lamp so I am not sure if the temp has anything to do with it.

I do care about him and I want to ensure that he has the least stress possible.

Lately, he has refused food from me a number of times, so I have left it in his cage. However, he does not eat it when left in his cage. Maybe I just need to let him be for a few days

Mine seldom eat in front of me, I always leave it in the cage. I have to feed them when the male and female are in different locations or the female will eat it all.

I'll bet if you do not handle him anymore and do the others things advised, he will eventually tolerate you without panic and being put off feed. But remember to watch him out of the corner of your eyes when in there for your own safety. I would not worry too much if he does not use the bath for a while, maybe not ever. But it is a source of warm humidity for him. It is better to have a calm Croc that a nervous one with beautiful skin. Usually when the skin looks funky on mine it is because they are going into a shed or they have too low humidity. Good luck with him.

Thanks for the advice! It is greatly appreciated. How do you keep your humidity up in your cage? I use a humidifier that keeps it over 60%, most of the time it is over 70%.

There is a foot deep cypress mulch I spray down everytime I pump out the pool water,about every three days. That and the heat lamp pool keeps it above 65% with no humidifyer. Lots of times those humidity gauges are not correct. If its warm and humid in there such as I about die after 5 minutes, thats how they like it hahahahaha

Don't worry about soaking. Crocs do not typically soak when offered a pool of water. If a hot basking light is placed over the pool they may lie in the water to bask.

My enclosure has a radiant heat system buried under four feet of substrate. I can keep water at 90F but they ignore it except to drink. Crocs are not built for the water and, if humidity levels are proper, have no need for soaking.

I've also owned several potentially dangerous species of lizards including Cyclura, lace monitors, croc monitors, boas, pythons, etc. Yet I've never been bitten by the big stuff. The worst bite that I've received was from a Bearded Dragon. Those guys can tear up a finger when provoked! You need to work on not getting bitten. I'd be more impressed if you had mentioned that you've never been bitten by any of the species mentioned.

My crocs are ravenous feeders. As soon as I open their enclosure door they are waiting for me. I feed them from tongs. Their feeding response can get out of control if I'm not careful.

Give your croc some space and it will start feeding. They find security in height and hides. Focus on vertical space, good hides, and stop worrying about a soaking tub. Provide it with fresh water in a shallow bowl for drinking. You may also need to spray a small stream of water at its mouth to get it to drink. Not all crocs like drinking from water bowls. If hydration is a concern you can inject rats/mice with water before feeding.

Here are a bunch of pics. Hopefully they might give you a few ideas of things to try. Please feel free to contact me on the forum or via PM if you have any questions. I'll do what I can to help.

Thanks for the advice and pics. Very nice pictures.

Thanks for the advice and pics! Very nice looking crocs.

Thanks for the advice and pics! very nice looking crocs.