Reptile & Amphibian Forums

is it normal for them to be in there burrows for most of the day cuz i have 4 and 3 of them are always between the stacks i never see them come out to bask. I dont know if i should leave them there or take them out one has burrowed beneath the soil and stays in the stacks that i burried under the soil

you have GOT to settle down! : )

your monitors are brand new! they haven't had a chance to chill out (and certainly not acclimate) and you are worrying, poking, prodding, changing setups, yanking hidespots, and basically freaking them out! the problem is not with the monitors, it is with YOU!

that isn't necessarily a "bad" thing, but you gotta get some perspective, you don't need the monitors to learn to be monitors, they have that down stone cold, trust me. what needs to happen is YOU need to LEARN how to be a MONITOR KEEPER! you have to figure out YOUR end of the deal, leave them alone! we all go through it, but only the most worrisome keepers make posts every day freaking out about things "being right". things WILL be all right! : )

ALL YOU HAVE TO DO is provide a great setup and husbandry, period. we have given you that info in our caresheet, on our site, over the phone, and here on the forum. great temps, great substrate, great setup, proper diet, now let them be!

you had a fine setup, then yanked the hidespots, bad move. just get the setup right, as directed on the caresheet, just copy the pics on our site, and let them be for a few weeks. all you should worry about are the setup details. proper temps, moisture, and nutrition, and sense of security.

once that is set, leave it alone, the animals need to feel safe and secure, for a consistent time period, and THEN they will start to act like comfortable captives. at this point, they are just worried to death that the Goliath Giant is going to stick his obnoxious hands back in their world and tear it apart again, or force them to come out from a safe hiding spot, or give them the death grip and try and force feed some pinkies (i have heard of this happening too often! not with you though : )

your monitors are scared and defensive. changing the setup, handling, poking, all that does is stress them out, which CAN be life threatening, and it only prolongs your troubles.

IF (if if if!) your setup is good, temps are good, the animals will be fine. they may want to feed at night, in the dark, not in front of your predatory eyes, they may not be as active as you would like, but they will do the right monitor thing, because they are monitors : ) and healthy ones at that!

i KNOW that it is WAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY exciting, and also nerve wracking, but please take it to heart, the monitors are fine, it is the keeper that needs the modifying : )

i think you will be FINE, just don't worry about it so much. give them a couple of weeks, maybe even a couple of months (not likely for Ackies) and they will be your best little friends.

if you have questions, give me a call, i am always glad to help, and believe me, a year from now you will look back on this acclimation period and just laugh, and you will also be able to answer the next post by the freaked out new keeper that is poking his monitors to death : )
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robyn@proexotics.com

Pro Exotics Reptiles

Yea i know i havnt messed with them since i put in the stacks was just worried they werent getting enough food since they were always hiding. Thanks alot though i fell better now talk to u later the ackies are awesome too thanks again

count the crickets you put in so that you can monitor intake. or count the amount of rodents or whatever, just use controlled amounts so that you have some feedback as to what is really being eaten or not. in stressful situations, one of the first things affected is feeding response, and most scared monitors won't eat in front of another animal (whether it be you, your dog, or whatever) until they are really settled in and secure : )
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robyn@proexotics.com

Pro Exotics Reptiles