Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Just got in a newly imported water monitor baby. 16" long and about 50g. Just wanted some ideas on getting it started feeding. My last one I ended up opening it's mouth, putting a pinky mouse in, and it realized it was food. This worked fine without hurting or stressing the monitor out but are there any other simple methods? It's not interested in superworms, a pinky mouse offered with hemostats or even crickets. It's only been a week, but I'd rather not waste time.
Thanks in advance,
Matt

They will eat when their temperatures are right. Monitors are outgoing when it comes to food. Especially water monitors.

Try cutting the mouse in half.... It might make it smell better and look more appetizing.... Hope things work out for ya!

Oh, I forgot.... The first things you should be concern about is hydrating the monitor. If they are emaciated, the chances are: they are probably also dehydrated.

Hi, first, I need to say you must NOT force feed these animals, grabbing hold and opening their mouths and putting food in IS very stressful, they are already terrified of anything that moves!
You must give the monitor time to fully acclimate to the enclosure, until it feels completely safe in there, it won`t feel safe with you, that can take from weeks to many months.
I`d also like to ask for details of enclosure; size, type, temps and humidity, type of substrate etc. The ambient (air), temps should range between approx 80 to 95f (daytime, cool to warm end), with a basking area (surface temp) between approx 120 to 130f (they heat up very quickly at this size/age), as the animal grows, you can increase the basking temps somewhat. Nighttime temp not below 72f, I prefer around 75f or so. Humidity between approx 60 to 90%, it will vary, being lower around the basking spot, but that`s o.k. Make sure the monitor has lots of hiding places, they are very secretive in the wild (they have to be to survive), and unless you allow them that in captivity, it will cause many problems for the monitor. Can I also ask what happened to your other Water monitor you mentioned? Thanks!

the most important thing is to make sure the monitor is hydrated,but it has to have conditions which support it limiting dehydration.one of the greatest temptations is to stress yourself by stressing the monitor-give it lots of hiding spaces and a good deep substrate-and leave it alone and resist handling.good temps are less useful without the other factors so ask lots of questions and like murrindindi says describe your cage and conditions.if the monitor has good weight you can leave food around -hydration and security are more important right now.

I was told the whole batch was soaked the day they came in. I got this one the day after it was imported. The other one I was referring to had not eaten for a couple of weeks which is why I put the pinky in its mouth. Just to be clear, I did not force feed it. I put a pinky in its mouth, sat it down, and it ate it. After that it realized that the pinky was food when I offered it on hemostats. I wasn’t planning to do the same with this one which is why I decided to write this post to see if anyone had better ideas. It’s also a pretty calm animal and I don’t handle it much at all, but when I do I’m letting it freely walk around and it’s not afraid of humans.

I have it in a 10 gallon tank with a partially covered screen lid to keep in humidity. It’s heated with a small UTH and basking lamp with a 50w red bulb for day and night heat. Also, during the day I have a strip light on. I don’t have all the temp info as I was out of town all weekend but my black throat monitor is right next to the water monitor and has no problems. The substrate in roughly ¼” reptile mulch I had left over in a bag. It’s furnished with 2 thick wood branches (one which leads to the basking spot so it can more efficiently thermoregulate), fake plants, and snake hides so it should definitely feel secure. I have a water bowl located on the cooler side which it large enough for it to get into and soak (including its tail). The other monitor is fine.

Hi, you need to know I`m NOT criticising just for the sake of it, rather, I`m trying to give you some information that will help keep this animal alive and healthy.
A 10 gallon tank is NOT suitable in any way; first, it`s too small to get the range of temps the monitor needs to function efficiently, and even a partial screen lid is useless for holding in the humidity, as well as not stabilising the temps.
These animals grow extremely fast under optimum conditions, the sooner you can get the monitor into a proper enclosure, both in size and internal conditions, the better the chance it will have to actually stay alive and be healthy for any length of time...
You say the monitor isn`t afraid of "humans", I think it`s just stressed and afraid, with literally nowhere to hide.
What are the basking (surface temp), and ambient (air) temps throughout the tank? And 1/4 inch layer of anything is NOT a "substrate".
I care very much for these animals, I think they deserve the absolute best we can offer!

Sorry, I missed another point; you say they were "soaked" the day before you got the animal, can you explain how soaking the monitor would hydrate it (if it didn`t actually take a drink)? And do you have any photos you can put up of the monitor and tank? Thanks!

No problem, if I didn’t appreciate constructive criticism I wouldn’t have posted the thread. If others’ advice helps my animals it’s welcomed. I put it in a 10 gallon as I was reading about juvie care and it stated that newly imported Water monitors should be kept in a smaller enclosure for security reasons. I have other empty enclosures up to 75 gallons. Years ago I made incubators with 20 gallon long tanks where I taped the screen. These held 90-100% humidity so I know you can effectively keep humidity very high by doing this. As I stated in my last message it has hides in the enclosure, wooden branches and plants which should give it security. It comes out and basks, soaks in its water, and sleeps in its hide. The air temps range 75-85° night-day and the basking spot is about 115°. I said it has ¼” mulch as a substrate, not ¼” OF substrate. The size of the mulch is ¼” and it’s about 2” deep.

I wasn’t there when they were soaked. So, I can’t say whether they did or did not drink. They were all pretty active and none had stuck shed or skin that looked wrinkled (for lack of a better word) appearing that they might be dehydrated. I do not have any pics of its enclosure. What size enclosure would you recommend? The monitor's S/V length is about 6".

Hi again,
as I stated in the last response, there`s just no way to get a good temp gradient in such a small tank. The ambient (air) temps should range between approx 80 to 95f (daytime), cool to warm side, with a basking (surface temp) between approx 120 to 130f, they heat up very quickly at the size, as the monitor grows, you can increase the basking temp somewhat, (add another 10f or so), but only basking spot, NOT ambient (air)). Nighttime, no lower than approx 72f, (I prefer 75f or a little higher).
The humidity should be between approx 60 to 90%, it will vary, being lowest around the basking area, but that`s o.k.
I do understand you get conflicting info and it`s often very difficult to know which is the most reliable!
I personally give them as large an enclosure as possible; how big is the wild? Another point is; if they stay in the same enclosure, there`s no stress from keep moving them to bigger tanks every few months (just the way I do it, feel free to disagree).
Providing they have optimum conditions inside, including lots of hiding places, they will be fine. I promise you the monitor WILL find the heat, cool, water and foods, he/she might need to "work" a little harder to catch the prey, but that`s not a bad thing!`

I'm at work right now, but here are some picks of my monitors set up and my almost 3 year old Savannah.

Hi again, thanks for the photos. I take it the top tank with the foliage is for the Water monitor? It looks very nice, but unfortunately, looking nice doesn`t make it good for the animal. I can see there`s amost no substrate, which isn`t good for the high humidity this species requires, maybe as a very temporary measure, you can add a few inches of soil, or a sand/soil mix; try 50/50 see how it holds a burrow, tamp it down well and make it slightly moist to hold together, that will help keep it humid, also allows the monitor to burrow if it wants.
I notice the analogue thermometer and hygrometer, they can be out by 10 to 20% in some cases, so I hope you can get a digital asap?
I need to tell you your Bosc`s monitor is overweight, it`s really very unhealthy for them (no offence, I`m just trying to give you some decent info to help you help the monitor/s). Can I ask what prey items you`re feeding the animal, and how much and how often, also, give me the temps and humidity, and tank size. An adult (and at three years of age the monitor IS adult), needs at least an 8 x 4 x 4 (ft) enclosure. Thanks!

I agree with what your saying, the water monitor cage needs a couple tweaks. Deep soil or soil/sand substrate that holds moisture and a burrow is needed. I'd say once you've tested some different types, place about 3-4 inches in the cage if not more. Its gonna need even deeper substrate as it grows. Use stone for a basking spot as it holds heat better, or provide a "Retes Stack" under the basking spot. A Retes Stack is a stack of boards with 1 inch spacers inbetween each board to create shelfs. When used under a basking spot, the other levels have cooler temps as it goes down, providing multiple temps the monitor can choose from.

The Savannah is also going to need a larger cage. You can build a cage quite easily by using a livestock water tank as a bottom and building a wooden cage on top. The tank will allow a very deep substrate, which should be at the very least 12", but more is advised. Of course, you can build a cage completely of thick plywood, whatever works and you prefer. As monitors grow and they're motabilisims slow, increasing basking temps can help. You can use up to 150 degrees, maybe even more. I would personally use 140-150 though. The monitor MUST have a cooler place in the cage which shouldn't go over 80, nobody wants a cooked monitor! Humditiy should be moderate to high for the savannah. But if your monitor is shedding fine, theres no need to change it.

Hope this helps!
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Jason