Reptile & Amphibian Forums

The other day, when I put my monitor in the shower, he wandered about, passed urates, and then proceded to hork up a wierd little ball of gook. It was a ball about the size of a quarter, and stuck firmly together but squishy. It was a translucent color, not really clear but not really opaque either. It honestly looked a lot like cooked fat.

His diet before I got him was ground turkey and egg, and since June 3rd, his diet has consisted of lots of hissing roaches, occasionally mice, a can of exoterra shrimp, some crickets, and some monitor chow. My recipe includes 1/4 lb of beef liver and 1/4 lb of shrimp per 1 lb of lean turkey in addition to 2 eggs. He gets the chow once or twice a week (about two big tablespoons), and gets roaches every couple days and mice when I have leftovers from snake feeding day.

The hottest spot in the cage is about 125 in the morning, rising to at least 135 by the end of the day, if not hotter. His favorite warm side hide spot sits at about 100 in the morning, with a similar 10 degree increase to 110 ish or more by the end of the day. Cool side is about 75 in the morning, up to whatever my bedroom sits at by the end of the day (on hot days, that means 85 ).

Aside from the weird goop, he's acting normally. Solid poo, good appetite, bright eyed and curious. He basks immediately after eating, but if he hasn't just eaten he warms up in the warm side hidey hole and then spends his time alternating between his water bowl and burying himself in various spots on the cool side. I wondered at first if it was snot but his nose is clear and there's no raspy breathing.

Didn't take a picture, just poked at the goop and let it go down the drain. Before I called the vet I wanted to get some ideas.

Thanks!

~jen
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"We call them dumb animals, and so they are, for they cannot tell us how they feel, but they do not suffer less because they have no words."
- Anna Sewell (1820-1878)

Hello Jenny,

It is probably snot. If you get another sample, you should photograph or collect it for the vet. She sounds like she is doing well. I would get rid of the leash and pool gig- not trying to insult you, rather inform you that these kinds of activities can be much more stressful than we can determine. I said she, because Dumerils males have very pronounced hemipenal bulges, which is why if you are guessing it is probably a girl. Because they are relatively easy to sex, I hope in the future there will be more solid pairs out there.

Wishing you all the best with your pet and hope you succeed in pairing and breeding them.

Best to you- Mike

Thanks for the info, sorry for the delay responding. I'm 99% sure mine's a boy, actually (he's got a pretty distinct tail bulge) - I was just hoping to find a female eventually. Everything I've read seems to indicate that males are way more commonly imported because they're more active than females (presumably in the hunt for a mate), so I'm just trying to make sure that when I do find a "female", I really find one - not just an ambiguous boy.

I say this with respect, but if we don't know the possible stress of activities like being in the pool (although I don't doubt that the leash isn't his favorite thing ever), he initiates the activity, and he doesn't exhibit any of his 'stress' behaviors after the activity... why assume it's a bad activity for him to do? The pool is extremely low saline and has no chlorine in it - it's pretty much a huge bathtub in the summer, getting up to the mid 80s right now and even as hot as 90 later on. Not refreshing to swim in, but he seems to love it. I've never physically forced him into the water - he's just walked over, sniffed it, and then climbed/dove right in. He gets the shower every morning, but since we don't have a bathtub/shower combo, he doesn't get to swim much.
I've become familiar with what he does when he's stressed out, and while the nail-trimming at work definately upset him, the leash annoys him, getting outside and swimming in the pool/basking next to it doesn't phase him in the slightest. If anything, his appetite seems greater and he'll willingly eat things he doesn't normally prefer (like superworms). I think he enjoys the opportunity to swim if he wants to, and some days he doesn't go in the pool, but some days he's in and out constantly.

Again, though, I don't doubt that he is bothered by the leash. I haven't been using it lately; we seem to be getting along better and after biting both me and the dogs he doesn't mind our presence anymore. The dogs are actually too scared to come close now, which is best all around.

Thanks for the response, hopefully he doesn't hork up another snot wad but if he does I'll take pictures.

~Jenny
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"We call them dumb animals, and so they are, for they cannot tell us how they feel, but they do not suffer less because they have no words."
- Anna Sewell (1820-1878)

Hello Jenny,

Is the pool the best that you have to offer the animal right now for activities? I would start planning an enclosure that allows for a clean swimming area with drainage and plumbing. I would almost bet on it that your monitor would like more to have a large spacious well heated enclosure with a substrate that allows tunneling and a clean water pond for swimming - with out a human (you) around.
Monitors do not thrive long term outside of a proper environment. It does not seem like as much fun to provide for them right as opposed to having them engage in human activities but it is in fact much more fun, interesting, and the animals are far healthier for it. Try it! Best to you- Mike