Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was given a very sick peach throat monitor. He (or she) has an eye infection, possibly in both eyes, was kept in very bad conditions overall and could have worms. I have taken him to the vet and am giving him the medications that they gave me. I am keeping him housed in a separate room from my other reptiles. Does anyone have an advice on this situation?

You need to give us more information. What are the temps and humidity like? Is the animal hydrating/has the vet done anything to directly hydrate the animal? Are you providing a secure environment? etc

He is in a 40 gal breeder tank with a screen lid. I was told to keep him in a dry environment so I have the screen lid and paper towels as substrate. He has a rubbermade bin of water to soak in, and the temp is around 90 during the day and 80-84 at night. He is not very big (around 3 1/2 ft including a long slender tail). I was told he is full grown, i don't know if he is just this small due to bad nurtrition or if he is younger.

Are you able to take some photos of the cage and animal so we can figure out what your problems are. Just by the description of your tank, I can tell you its all wrong for acclimating a peachthroat monitor. Poor setup for just about every reptile even.

As for your vet, he/she gave you meds without figuring out the true nature as to why your animal is the way it is. Peachies come from very hot and humid places,so the conditions of your cage will play a big part into 'fixing' your monitor. Right now, your lizard is like a fish out of water.

3ft to 3.5 ft is about right for a peachie. They can get bigger though. You will need a pretty big enlcosure by the time you are done with your research. I hope you know what you got into.

Right now, I would cover the open mesh so the little heat and humidity that you do have doesn't escape so fast, dehydrating and causing your animal to get even more sick. Foil, wood, glass, plexi are all good 'blanket' fixups for now.

Get the hotside of the 40 gal to be in the 90's and coolside of high70's and low 80's. If you don't have a temperature gun, you will need one to figure out the surface temps of the basking site. You want the surface area to be 120 .
The humidity in your cage will range from 50 to 60% around the basking area, all the way to 70 and 80% in other places. Providing options is very important in reptile husbandry, and though it'll seem a little difficult in a 40 gal(very hard for me,anyways) you will be able to rig the cage a little bit.

You will for sure need to give it moist bedding as well and a bunch of hides.

does the animal eat?

Hope to see some pics. Good luck.

I don't know if a 40 gallon is going to work even as a quarantine enclosure. V.jobiensis burns pretty easy in my experience (they are thinner skinned than something like an ackie) In order to give an adult animal (3'+) a proper basking site you will need at the leas a bank of two bulbs. This is going to keep an enclosure that small too hot. If you try to get away with one bulb you are asking for a burned peachie in my opinion. As mentioned the screen top will not allow for conditions that will help you peachie get well.

Good luck,
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Steve

Yes I understand the cage is rather small for him, as I said I was not expecting to get this monitor and this was the largest tank I had available. He is quite small for a peach throat and I am still wondering if he is just a full-grown malnursihed adult (which I was told he was an adult) or not quite full grown. I am in the process of getting a larger enclosure (6 long x 2 high x 2 wide). I have been applying the medicine as directed and have seen minor improvements in his eyes. Yes he has been eating, I have been giving him frozen instead of live (he was on live) to reduce his aggression. As far as substrate what would be best? I was told to use paper towels to reduce humidity but if humidity is what he needs I'm guessing paper towels are not the best idea. Would cypress mulch work? I will work on getting pics up. He has water to soak in and uses it often. Thank you for all of your help.

A sandy soil works. Its the consistancy that the soil needs to be. Clumped up in your fist, it should make and hold a ball shape. Leaf litter helps keep the humidity up as well. A bunch of eco earth mixed with sand will work too.

Aleast its eating. Thats good.

Please do a quick search as to where peachthroat monitors come from on google.

Even the 6'x2'x2' cage will be a little small for him. My peach throat is in the same size right now and roughly about the same size as the one you have. He has outgrown the enclosure and will be going into his adult enclosure shortly (8'x4'x8'). I keep him as humid as I can (spray his enclosure down every day), he's kept on soil, his basking site has a 135º surface temperature (he could probably use a hotter one) and the cool end gets down to about 75-80º. He eats a chick and two adult mice every 2-3 days (it's roughly about 90g of food). Varanus jobiensis need an environment that is hot, humid, and has multiple places for them to hide to feel secure. Also, feeding the animal frozen thawed won't change their demeanor as far as "aggression" goes. You should be more worried about keeping the animal hydrated and getting it's system running like it should be.

Follow swilson86's advice and you'll have a nice healthy Peachie in the near future. The golden rules; basking temps (aim for 140 ), high humidity, large enough housing, plenty of hiding areas, moist sand/soil substrate deep enough for burrowing, and low stress (restrain from handling and attempting to tame him).

>>Even the 6'x2'x2' cage will be a little small for him. My peach throat is in the same size right now and roughly about the same size as the one you have. He has outgrown the enclosure and will be going into his adult enclosure shortly (8'x4'x8'). I keep him as humid as I can (spray his enclosure down every day), he's kept on soil, his basking site has a 135º surface temperature (he could probably use a hotter one) and the cool end gets down to about 75-80º. He eats a chick and two adult mice every 2-3 days (it's roughly about 90g of food). Varanus jobiensis need an environment that is hot, humid, and has multiple places for them to hide to feel secure. Also, feeding the animal frozen thawed won't change their demeanor as far as "aggression" goes. You should be more worried about keeping the animal hydrated and getting it's system running like it should be.
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Mike Heinrich,
Mike@amazontreeboa.org
www.amazontreeboa.org

Thanks bro. How have you been? Long time no talk. Get any nifty ATB's color morphs?

>>Thanks bro. How have you been? Long time no talk. Get any nifty ATB's color morphs?

OH.....of course!

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Mike Heinrich,
Mike@amazontreeboa.org
www.amazontreeboa.org

Any update on this situation?