Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I noted I can only post one image per post. I will need to post a couple of posts just to show other users the extent of this. It started a few weeks back, maybe even as much as a month or more, but I thought it was just the belly changing color due to an impending shed. Now that it's spread considerably I'm quite worried. I suspect fungus infection but I'm not sure, anyone have any clue what this might be?

A little key information: Gaara is free roaming in my room only. The room is about 70 degrees and I'm getting a humidifier for it. He has a basking spot with a ground temp of about 120-130 degrees, and he sleeps with me at night. He is getting a thermal blanket this winter. He has a tub large enough to soak in and a litter box tub. He gets bathed 2x a day for 15-20 minutes. His diet consists of being fed every other day or sometimes, depending on meal size, once every three days. In his week he eats one rat, a dish of chicken hearts and gizzards/kidney/liver/beef heart, a dish of salmon and a hard boiled egg. Sometimes there's other things, like ground beef, shrimp, sardines in water, other fish, mussels, crab, clams...but mostly the aforementioned as roaches are illegal and he turns down anything smaller insect-wise. All foods are store bought, not outdoor caught. My room has a couple hides for him in it, and he loves basking in the sunlight that filters in through the window more than his basking spot, even. In winter it's always kept hot enough for him, and he's 2 years old.

He's eating normally, activity is great, drinking normally and he's not overweight in the least. Just the skin discoloration, this is the only problem. More pictures in the next few posts...

Hide Top View 2

Belly View 1

Belly Shot 2

Bottom Half Shot

70f is to cool if that is the overall room ambient temp, should around 80f really (75/80f coolest area), also what is your monitor basking on is it a slate or something, this could be causing sunburn type burns, but this is just a guess.

you don't need to bath them twice a day, to damp in cold conditions can add to your problems, these are lizards that need specialist environments so free roaming is not a good idea 24/7.

a thermal blanket for winter!! build your monitor a proper environment & this will cure most problems, other than that if your in doubt the vets always the best option.
this is a good site for info>

Link

I agree. They are Savannah monitors becuase they roam the hot arid grasslands of africa, not the cool dank bedrooms of ohio......lol

That montior appears grossly overweight as well.

Given that monitor only eats every other day coupled with that picture tells me no matter what you tell us as far as heat goes, it isn't hot enough for your lizard. I would worry more about that than the skin discoloration.

Check out some husbandry related content on here and other places,
Goodluck,
Mike.

He's not overweight in the least. What you're seeing is him inflating himself as much as possible because he's feeling defensive. He didn't like being held up for the photographs, nor did he like the flash, and got quite irate when I tried to get him to stay in place. He's fed once every other day, but it's not as if I let him just gorge himself full of food. I had a vet already tell me he's perfect weight, I just need to consult the only vet that deals specifically with monitors in my city about the skin problem.

It's probably not hot enough for him, no. But at the same time, there is a humidifier, there's a hot spot in a whole quarter of my room, there's a space heater in winter to keep it at 70-75 degrees in the room, and a huge tub to soak in. I've heard of people keeping iguanas and monitors in a room. I think it is /far/ kinder than shoving your monitor in a 6x3 foot cage (the dimensions given to me via his current size) so that he can do absolutely nothing but switch sides to suit the temperatures. The only issue is the one with the skin, not his weight, and perhaps I need to cut a few things (beef heart, liver, kidney) down but he has been eating these things for two years, his color is usually astounding and before now he has had zero health issues.

I may need to try and get the heat up 5 more degrees to make it around 80 degrees but when I spoke on the phone to the vet (specialist) she told me that since I have a very warm spot, if he were cool he could easily go there. It is frigid in Africa at night. Colder, by far than 70 degrees. They sleep underground in cold burrows at night. The humidity in the room is almost too much for me, and I've put a humidifier in there since he's been out. When I had it in his cage, with the temp at 85 and the humidity high, he was /always/ in the hide, or never directly underneath the basking spot. He has never been fond spending much time in the heat and will usually go to the cooler side of the room, or right in between. He prefers the natural sunlight coming into the window to the basking light, which also has UVB.

I would raise the room temp 5 degrees and alter the diet and watch what I wash my floors with. But I doubt his room has much to do with the problem. I have people I know who have never caged their monitors as soon as they hit 1 foot to a foot and a half, and these monitors are in prime health, according to their vets...I'd prefer not to keep mine caged if I can do anything to help it. He's not a snake, and he's active, and I would even go so far as to make a big burrowing box for him, (though he has never burrowed no matter what I've tried, preferring the hides I made for him) to accommodate him.

I'm curious as to how no one knows about monitors puffing up with air when defensive or agitated...that's such a common knowledge thing. I'll take a picture of him when he's sleeping, so you can see. He's a lovely weight, much nicer than the overweight or too skinny ones I've seen...

You should listen to the advice given to you here if you want your monitor to survive.

Your monitor is overweight. Your monitor is not being kept even remotely close to the way it should be kept.

70-75 DEGREES? TRY 120-140 degrees F.

Do the math - those surface TEMPS are about 50-60F away from where they should be. Thinking of keeping a monitor in the type of conditions you have been using makes me sick to my stomach especially if you aren't willing to LEARN from people who know what they are talking about on this topic.

You have already proven you don't know much of anything and that you have absolutely zero knowledge on the subject of captive monitor husbandry, so it's better for you and your monitor if you take the advice offered and learn something.

You don't have an enclosure. A humidifier doesn't mean JACK without proper heat.

A PROPERLY built and set up 6x3x3 enclosure would be a thousand times better than keeping an AFRICAN monitor in a 70F room.

You need to understand that there have been thousands upon thousands of people just like you who think they know it all but then end up with a dead monitor in a couple years.

You need to understand that these monitors try their hardest to push on and survive in the horrible conditions people like you keep them in BUT AFTER A COUPLE YEARS THEY FINALLY SUCCUMB AND DIE.

You have much to learn, better get started now.

I just read a couple books on monitors. All of them said that 75-80 degrees on the cool side and 120-130 degrees in the basking spot along with 40% humidity is good. I'm going to get a temp gun. I know my cool side of the room is around 70-75 degrees...at night. I know my basking spot is about 125 degrees surface temp at minimum.

My monitor was a rescue, with two other dead ones in the cage. I've done the best I can reading up on what I could and nothing I'm doing is being put down anywhere else but here. I'm going to see the specialist, and if she tells me that he can be housed in the room without needing to be in a cage, I'm going to believe that. As for 'not knowing the first thing'? That's just rude, it has nothing to do with 'not wanting to listen or learn' and everything to do with comparing what I read and discover and doing my best to improve as best I can. I can raise the temperature of my room another 10 degrees, as for humidity I'm not beyond getting even a mister to do that. I want him to have as much space as he can while getting everything he needs. I see nothing wrong with that. I may be off on a few things, but I think you need to re-read. He is /not/ obese he is /puffing up/ full of air. I'm not sure what about that you didn't understand. I'm posting another picture so you can see for yourself. His stomach doesn't even touch the ground, he is very active, more probably than the ones who have about 6x3 feet to simply LAY there in. ><

Please listen to what people say, read what they write. He was /puffed up/ defensively. I am willing to try to raise the room temperature and humidity. His diet is solid, his weight is fine. I'm willing to listen, but you have to be too. I'm not pretending to know it all, I'm telling you what I /do/ know and what I'm going to try to change based on what others suggest.

I lossed my monitor recently & upto a few months before i thought my male was one of the fittest looking savs on the web, it meant nothing even in his fit looking condition he had signs of fatty liver disease.
Give your monitor a chance read a good care sheet like this one & make your savs life better & hopefully longer>

Link

You are off across the BOARD man, not just in a few places.

Wrong diet? Check!

Wrong housing? Check!

Wrong temps? Check!

substrate? Check!

Skin problems? Check!

READ the link MDFMONITOR gave you and enlighten yourself a bit. You and your monitor will benefit.

I'm not 'wrong across the board'. You should at least attempt to be polite when giving advice, it wouldn't kill you any.

Wrong diet? Not wrong diet. Salmon, beef heart, oysters, seafood, rats, hard boiled egg as TREAT 1x every couple weeks, vitamin d3 calcium supplements 1x every 2 weeks, liver/kidney/hearts/gizzard mix 1x every 2 weeks. Diet is varied, I can't get insects bigger than crickets/super worms which he won't accept. Diet is not OFF diet is great.

Skin condition? NOT. He burnt himself on a tight beam light four or so months ago that I tried, the burn marks are just showing up now, minimal scarring, it's shedding out.

Wrong substrate? Check. I can't fill up my room with soil, but what I /can/ do is provide him a large soil box, with 2ft of soil. He never used any substrate to dig in provided. Of EVERY kind I tried, but I'm willing to keep trying.

Enclosure? This is open for debate.

If I wanted to have a /suitable/ enclosure built for my Sav, I would be looking at 8ft x 4ft because that's about where he's going to need in a year or so. I can't even FIT That in my room. Not even through the door. Hell, that's about the size of some room's, maybe a little smaller. So, I'm keeping him in the room. I have talked to three specialists in monitors and other large lizards, and been to a herpetologist vet. Many keepers give a lizard a room, because they grow too big to have a custom tank. Many have to find out what works to best imitate the lizard's home environment. In my case, I need to purchase 2 humidifiers, and guess what?

Basking spot? PERFECT. The temp is at 120 degrees, and besides four months ago when I listened to some pet shop person who had a monitor and then took it down after a month, my basking spot of lower temp flood lights is great. Plus, during summer I have an open window that is open during the time the sunlight comes in, so not through glass, and he loves it.

Weight issues? He's 6 1/2 pounds, and slightly overweight. Not 'horribly' and not due to his diet, but due to feeding him every other day. I have to cut back 10% of the food, and liver/kidney only 1x a month since a lot of fat is processed through it.

What else are you going to be rude about? I read that entire thing, and besides 'not free roaming' everything was perfect bang on, great. He has a huge tub to soak in, the humidity is a bit too low but his basking spots and room temp (up to 75-80 degrees with the addition of a space heater) is great. I've done everything I can to make a happy, healthy monitor and I've read what you asked and found minimal issues. Diet, skin, etc. are good. Temps are good. Next time you advise someone, try politeness.

PS. I'm not a man, I'm a woman. And go tell 3 specialists and a vet they're wrong. I'm sure they'll agree.

To everyone who politely responded, thanks! Because of you I'm making some changes and soon he'll have the proper humidity and burrowing place...if he won't use I'm open to suggestions?

This is going to seem a bit mad, but you have to play around with the soil abit to get the right mix, try 50/50 soil over play sand & go from there.

Your looking for a mix that remains moist not wet & will hold a tunnel, but the soil has to have warm areas in it's depth in various areas, maybe created by shinning a basking lamp on the soil.

Good luck!!

That doesn't seem at all mad, and it's certainly something I will try! I did have play sand and dirt at one time, but it kept drying out and perhaps it was not mixed with the right amounts. Thanks for the idea, I can also try shining a basking light on it. Do I need to periodically add water perhaps? I know I misted in there but water would be easier to add by far in a large 'sandbox' for him.

Thanks and will be trying this! ^_^

as it dries out yes you'll need to add water, but if it's a good depth it will take a long time to dry out, 18" plus is best.

enjoy!!

That can easily be done, no problem. ^^ If you don't mind my asking, how much water is recommended to add or should I continue to go by feel? I don't wish to add too much or too little and make unpleasantness for the poor guy.