Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have acquired a Sumatran water monitor. It is approximately 1.5-2 years old and only 36" long. Previous owner had it in a small tank (30-40gallons) but fed it pretty well. However, this animal is way under sized for its age, I have had it for about 2 months and it has put on weight (it wasn't ever thin, just thicker now). Its a great animal, eats like it should, basks, hides, and swims like normal. It is very strong, if I didn't know better, I would say its a very healthy juvenile. This animal was one of my customers so I have witnessed its whole captive existence, I gave them advice and they listened. They tried their best but simply could not afford to properly house it and now they are scared of it so were willing to finally gave it up. It was given supplements in the beginning, then stopped when it went to a full rodent diet; is this a big deal? It had some exposure to UV, but not constant or consistent. It eats 1 adult mouse 5-6 times a weeks and has been that way for half a year or so. I'm feeding 1-2 a day now.

Has any one had experience with undersized animals? Will it still grow once its needs are met properly, or just get fat? Do you think its growth has been severely stunted? I thought it would be cool if I had one that didn't turn into a monster though I am ready if it does. I have raised a pair from newborns and the female is just over six foot and the male is well over that in 3 years. I will not attempt to introduce the new one to them, just wanted to know what I'm getting into with this guy/ girl.

Im by no means a water monitor expert but you definitely dont want to pack it full of food in order to make it gain wait. 2 a day definitely seems like it could be a bit much. LIke I said though Im not a water monitor expert. I would just be careful. A lot of times with feeding quality is more important than quantity.

Thanks for the reply. It eats one large mouse a day, 5-6 times a week. Sometimes I give it 2 if I can't feed the following day or they are smaller for whatever reason. I am not feeding to make him gain weight, I'm feeding him the same as I fed my other waters when they were that size. (he is not fat or thin, rather looks perfect) The main reason I posted was to find out if he will keep growing, or just get fat. My 2 waters could practically eat none stop and not get fat until they reached 6 foot, then their growing slowed, so I fed them based on body shape/ fitness.

a 3ft water monitor at 1.5 to 2 years isn't 'that' small for its age. I'm sure it'll catch up somewhat and hit 4 to 5 ft. It could also be a female, which grow at a slightly slower rate.

Yea i think it will keep growing. A few years back I rescued a savannah monitor that was 2 years old and less than half the size it could be. After I got it on a normal feeding schedule it seemed to just resume its normal growth rate and ended up the size of a normal adult. I figured it would always be small.

This is kinda what I was guessing will happen. It is possible that its a female although its traits are some what ambiguous. Lower jaw is slightly curved, not quite like a male, but slightly more than my female. It has a pretty big tail crest, but once again, not enough to say its one or the other. At its size, who knows, only time will tell.

If it only got 4-5 foot that would be great, small compared to what I'm used to. Thanks for the help.

well monitors are a funny animal to keep but in my experience when needs are met they grow quick now as for it being kept in to small of an enclosure it will stay abnormally small i wouldnt keep any monitor in a cage smaller than 4 ft by 4 ft by 6 ft long since it is a water monitor a water feature with clean water every other day you probably new that due to the advice given to the client monitor size always depends on four things mainly cage being number one diet being number two heat and humidity being number three to speed up digestion hotter temps desirable and fourth but not least is dietary needs not just quantity of food but quality
baby mix is good for putting on size and a primary staple this mix is egg ground turkey and alligator chow this should be offered daily second is live food i dont recommend rats till they have enough mass to take down a large rat and always stun or pre kill rat before feeding and keep bugs in their diet it is the easiest way of giving them the vite d 3 unless you have no qualms about stuffing a syringe of d3 dust down the throat of a mouse or a rat lol
size will come back to the animal in time and it will grow quickly might also want to find out what sex it is lol
i know you probably knew all this but there are alot of things people over look even i have done it lol
monitors are eating machines as you well know so food equals size in monitors
might want to get him off of mice though and give him pre-killed rats
the gator chow is the only commercially produced food that actually has the vitamins that a water monitor would get in the wild (gator chow should not be given to desert habitat animals) remember they are carrion eaters and dog food should never be given to a monitor due to the dyes they use red dye has been linked to fatalities in some reptile species
you know what it needs and how much i just through a little extra in there to give you some insight and maybe help out a little more
i know people are going to disagree with this but it is what they do in zoo's and it is things ive learned over time from a few select people who keep these awesome reptiles

Ray
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1 motley with attitude awesome girl
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