Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello all,

I have been noticing small wounds on my Sav from time to time and I am wondering if anyone here might know what the cause could be. I am guessing he may not have high enough humidity which is making for difficult shedding which then causes the wound.

Could this be a burn? His basking spot is about 128 at the hottest spot.

thanks in advance,

Phiff
wound

That link is a dead link, try again. Also if the burns are on his back it is most likely from squeezing into spaces that his back rubs on.

Cheers,
Mike.

So this is okay and normal? Doesn't seem like it to me...

I didn't convey the message of Ok or normal.

image didn't work. Another try:

Another pic:

Image

Doesn't look like a rub burn. They randomly pop up you say?

Mike.

Yup. This is the worst one so far. other wounds have been much smaller. It's happened maybe 5 times before at most. Lately he refuses to burrow at night and I'm wondering if that is the problem.

Im not entirely sure what you mean by refuses to burrow. Do you have some pictures of your setup and perhaps you could tell us about it, temps and surface temps and humidity.

Cheers,
Mike.

I am using 7 " of hemlock mulch as substrate in a 4' x 2' acrylic tank. Will get bigger cage but can't right now. Animal is till under 2'. He used to burrow every night but is doing this less frequently.

Another question I have is how do you heat substrate in a monitor cage?

Don't have a pic right now

We use incandesant lights, like small flood lamps. Usually 30 to 50 watts. These project heat onto the surface from their placement above.

What kind of top is on the acrylic tank?
What are the air temps?
What are the surface temps, if you don't have the information for this one, you need to, so go buy a temperature gun they run around 20 bucks.

I am not familiar with your substrate so I will not comment on it.

Cheers,
Mike.

Looks an awful lot like a bite wound. Do you leave crickets or other insects (such as superworms) in the cage for him? Are there multiple monitors in the cage?

Check your cage for superworms or superworm beetles, especially since he's no longer burrowing like he was. I've seen this before in smaller reptiles but not in a monitor. He's small enough though that it's a possibility. Worth a shot!

~jen
-----
"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)

I have found lobster roaches in the past and wouldn't be suprised if there are still some in there. Will look now...

thanks

Jen,

I just found 5 subadult roaches in the cage. I bet they are the culprits!

thanks much!

No problem!
-----
"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)

Phiff,

You should take some time to think about this. You haven't responded with any info on your temps or humidity which leads me to believe you don't know them or aren’t concerned about them.
Now that isn't uncommon, but understanding what they are and what they do for the lizard is.

Let's say the monitor was bitten by insects. The underlying issue could be husbandry related, not insect related.
I leave many crickets and full size roaches in with my Adults and Juvis in many cages (Small juvie ackies get big roaches, lots of them). I have not ever noticed wounds related to such a thing in my enclosures/cages.

Now, that isn't to say they don't happen, but please put this in perspective, 5 “subadult” roaches in with a HEALTHY sav would NOT cause that, especially regularly and multiple times as you say it was .

So for your monitors sake, buy a few gadgets to examine the temperatures and humidity of your enclosure and perhaps rethink some of the husbandry you are implementing.

Cheers,
Mike.

Thanks for the advice. I currently have a halogen basking lamp and radiant heat panels on one side of the cage. The surface temps are still only in the low 70s at the floor of the cage during the winter. Humidity tends to be too low. I have a screen top but have it covered with a towel except for 8"x 18" for the light. I assume much of the humidity is escaping through this spot.

What I hope to do is get help making a new cage with bulbs mounted inside so the humidity is controlled and switch to dirt substrate.

Headed to the vet on Wed., added another halogen light, another heat panel in the mail and looking into building new cage..

thanks for the help.

Phiff,

The vet is a good idea, but in the mean time, answer this simple question.

What are the temperatures in your cage, both surface and air? If you can't answer that, you are in no position to be buying more heat panels and heat lights. Remember too much heat can be just as deadly as not enough.

Cheers,
Mike.

Mike,

"What are the temperatures in your cage, both surface and air?"

Right now at 6:40pm they are (using PE temp gun):

Basking spot hottest spot = 130

warm end of cage floor = 76
cold end of cage floor = 70

air temp = took readings from different spots in cage and average is about 76

Temps are a bit warmer during the day

I know these temps are too low hence the need for more heat.

Phiff,

That actually isn't bad at all. Infact several of my cages have areas that go to about 70-74 degrees, and you know what they uses it. Certainly you have some room to play around but don't get them too high, and be sure to maintain levels in the 70's.

Goodluck,
Mike.

Thanks for the reply. I think I am most concerned about the night temps. I think he may not be burrowing because it is not warm enough under the mulch.

Phiff,

Also think about why they burrow. Usually to escape conditions on the surface. In most cases it seems from my experiance, to escape often oppressive conditions related to heat. The ground is a constant for the most part, somewhere they can go that is usually the same temperature regardless of the season.

The temps in my dirt around 8 to 12 inches do not exceed about 82-84, on the coolest areas, they sink to the low 70's. The only reason I keep the temps up on the substrate is to allow nesting, if I wasn't looking to allow nesting then all of my enclosures would run 70's on the dirt.

Goodluck,
Mike.

Yeah, but I assume a large benefit to burrowing is hydration. Most of what I have read from successful monitor keepers mention this point. I assume the halogen bulbs will make it difficult to keep the enclosure's humidity at a high enough level, but perhaps the right cage would solve this problem and burrowing would not be important.
Vet put the little guy on antibiotics. Of course I feel super bad about this but hopefully he is on the way to recovery if I can tweak his living conditions. Another thing I will be doing is soaking him a couple times a week to help with shedding during these dry months up here in the north.

Just reread your last post and am guessing that you meant 70 was warm enough to still entice the monitor to burrow. Is that what you were saying?

thanks again for your help. You were right that the wound was a sign of a more serious problem.

No that isn't what I meant, that is just what my cage is. They still burrow, but believe me, if I raised the ambiet to match of the days in OZ they would do nothing but burrow. Therefore as far as ackies go, I think they burrow mainly for temps.

Cheers,
Mike.

Yes, food should be kept in any cage [for prey items to eat] to avoid prey items from eating your pet. Super worms can and will eat anything and everything.
Bob

Maybe a touch of neo sporin may help this guy heel a bit. Ive had great results useing it if need be.
Bob
www.herphatch.com