Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Sorry for the dramatic title but I am scared and worried for my little monitor. I recieved him a few days ago and I believe he caught RI from shipping as he pounded down everything I threw at him which was 3 fuzzies and 17 dubia roaches. He has been sneezing and making noises all night opening and closing his mouth like he is having trouble breathing. He even had some bubbly mucus like saliva coming out from the side of his mouth. Is there anything I can do like get the medicine online or somewhere rather than seeing a vet? I am currently in hard times and out of a job so its hard to come up with the vet fees. Is there any medication I can get ahold of that the vets would prescribe? Please help thank you in advance...

First of all I would like to ask why you would get a monitor when you are in hard times? I really hate to sound like a dick but getting a big monitor that needs a huge cage and lots of food doesn't sound like a good choice for you. It would be more understandable if you had the monitor for years and just now came on hard times and cant afford to take it to the vet, but you just got it. Also you should always be prepared to take your animals to a vet. Do not buy animals if you cannot afford to take care of them, which includes vet visits. Respiratory Infections are very serious and can easily cause death if not taken care of.

Again I really hate to sound rude, but it is something you should think about in the future before buying a pet.

Having said that the best thing you can do is make sure he has proper temps and setup. Can you share your setup, in as much detail as possible. I have recieved several animals over the years that have come in with RI. If it is in its early stages it can usually be taken care of with proper temps. Usually with snakes I bump the temps up a little bit, but with a monitor normal basking temps of 130 to 140 should do the trick. I would maybe bump up the temps on the cool side a little, but not sure about that so I would get a second opinion. If it is in its later stages some kind of medicine, like baytrill, will be needed.

Also I will add I have heard of people using nebulisers to help treat it. I remember reading some stuff a while back about people making a home made one. Here is something I found when I googled it. Im sure you can find more. This is something I read briefly a while back so I have no clue if it works or if it should be tried. I just figured I would post it.
http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/forums/snakes/230721-diy-nebuliser-treating-ri.html

I am no expert so hopefully someone else with more experience can chyme in.

Hi, sorry, but I must agree with the first reply, why buy an animal you cannot afford to take proper care of??
If it is a RI, a vet is the only answer, you cannot get antibiotics online (as far as I know), neither can you guess what the correct dosage or particular medication should be.
I too think you must keep the temps at the high end of the recommended range, and don`t let the night temps drop below approx 90f, at least that might help keep the immune system ticking over.
Can you show a few pics of the monitor and the set-up, plus details of current temps etc?

I knew I would get some grief about the hard times part but it honestly is my choice to leave my old stressful job and currently in the process of bettering myself. Getting into a more rewarding and higher paying job I knew some of you would comment back with those kinds of replies but it was to be expected and not to sound rude or anything I shouldn't have to reply back with such a explanation. I am in the process of getting a better job and I must take classes and get licensed in order to do so. But yes, its only temporary and I know I will be able to take care of the animal to full growth and provide him with a room-sized enclosure one day. I should have rephrased and said it was only temporary that I cound'nt take him to a vet. I didn't expect him to catch RI and I spent most of my budget on his supplies alreay which was twice the amount I paid for him! Ok now that thats out the way ahem... haha

I have his basking spot at around 130 and low end of the side at around high 80's I have since then reduced humidity because I was correctedd by someone that no matter what I read on the internet you should not keep the waters enclosures humid or they will get sick. I also have flwexwatt belly heat at high 80s underneath the enclosure on the high end. Here's a picture(sorry, taken with my phone but you get the idea)

Is the basking spot easily accessible and does he use it often? I would definitely bump up all the temps a little. And as mentioned above Do not let the temps drop to low at night.

How can you say you will be able to take care of the monitor for the entirety of its life if you do are not even sure if it will live through this? It was your choice to quit your job and good luck getting the new one you want. But you should have waited until you had the new job. You cant say you can afford the monitor when the purpose of this post way saying you cannot afford to take it to the vet. The vet is the only real way to take care of the problem. LIke mentioned above the things mentioned like raising temps will only help make sure the immune system is in good shape to try and fight off the RI. It is a huge gamble hoping this will work. Could it work? yea it could, but it isn't worth the risk. Especially when the vet will only be $100 to $150.

You made a mistake getting the monitor and thats not a huge deal. People on this forum are here to help. And part of that help is pointing out your mistakes. Dont try to fight back, just man up and learn from it.

I wasnt fighting back, I was simply informing the misinformed. People obviously don't know the situation or things that happen out of the blue. Why do people have to always assume things and have to have the last word? haha I KNOW this monitor will live because I have a warranty on this guy. He was SUPPOSED to be without any infection but in the shipping process caught RI. I Carefully took months to start a colony of roaches before deciding to get a BABY so I will have plenty of food until I get on my feet and get employed after schooling. Have I known it would come with RI, I would have saved the $150-200 on his accessories that were not necessary. But again, things happen and yea, once again im explaining myself to you all when the question on this forum should just be answered to the best of your abilities. In any case, I repect and expected your opinions.

ASnd by the way, the respected and reputable breeder I purchesed him from told me that these guys would be put through more stress than anything by going to a vet. If the temps dont help before the garantee date I will be sending him back where there is a vet to have him checked. At least I'm not completely "careless" now am I.

The "reputable" guy you got the animal from is clearly NOT reputable; to suggest taking the monitor to a vet would cause too much stress is quite ridiculous, if the animal does have a RI, without proper PROFESSIONAL treatment, it will probably DIE!!

Wow you really think a warranty is going to keep this animal alive? If it is the breeders fault then go ahead and send it back. No one has placed the blame on you for the RI, but if you aren't going to send it back then take care of it. You bought a monitor when you shouldn't have and thats the bottom line. Your right things do happen out of the blue, that doesnt mean you dont have to properly take care of it! And thats great of you to start a dubia colony bc you don't think you will have money for food. Then what happens when out of the blue the colony dies?!?! I tried to point out a mistake you made without being a huge dick about it, but you couldn't just accept it.

I have 2 last bites of advice. 1- send the monitor back. Why keep it longer to wait and see if it gets worse. That will just make it harder for the monitor to turn back around. 2- find a reptile rescue and turn it over to them. There is no shame in turning your reptile over to someone who can take care of it if you cant.

Feel free to have the last word, because I am done. I apologize to everyone else for these posts.

To "twillis10"; I agree with much of what you say, except the part about it not being a "huge deal"... It`s a VERY huge deal for the animal (possible death). Obviously, the keeper will come to no harm!

Sorry for being unclear. I did not mean the RI wasnt a big deal. I really meant everyone makes a few mistakes, and its not a big deal as long as you man up and try fix it.

Hi again, the glass fish tank is NOT suitable, they are very bad insulators, no privacy, and much too small. You will not be able to get a suitable stable temp range, and without a solid lid, no way to control the humidity. You mention "water", is this a Water monitor?

Anyway, on to the topic at hand. Yes its a water monitor and small cages are better for babies. This is until he grows bigger. And maybe I wasnt clear enough when I said he contracted the RI from shipping as it started from a sneeze to him starting to open his mouth and close to breathe. You said it yourself, if caught early enough and the right temps are met it can be fixed on its own. And I don't think the dubias are gunna die off out of the blue when I've planned and kept them for over 6 months! I have thousands.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjFYVvfhAbo&feature=channel_video_title

Obviously, you think you have the answers, why come on a forum and ask advise?
Who told you a small glass fish tank is best for babies? Can I ask how many years experience with these animals you have? Thanks!

part of proper husbandry is planning for the future this is one of the misrepresented parts of husbandry.Things happen that's why initial planning is so important.this thread is a catch twenty two to answer-but the monitor pays in the end.you need proper husbandry to help the animal fight RI if infact that's what he has-and if you give him proper husbandry he will outgrow your time frame.as far as i know monitors don't follow our schedule of expectations.you pick one of the largest monitors when you have no control of it's future or yours.

Well I have been told my several breeders on here that smaller enclosures are actually better for BABIES. I am not keeping him in there forever geeze... but yea, he seems to be getting better as it was caught early. Less sneezing and gasping for air. But he regurgitated his food(dubia roaches) and has since not eaten. My question is for preferably FR on here who seems knowledgeable. Do you think I over fed him and last question, I'm getting conflicting info on how humid I should keep his enclosure. whats the humidity you raise your waters in?

I am not a vet nor am I going to give actual veterinary advice on here. I do have lots of experience with asian water monitors however. Both good and bad.
You do need to pay attention to your caging (basking temps, humidity, etc.) set up as while this may not be the initial problem it can be a contributing factor. You will want to pay close attention to your monitors water and keep it meticulously clean at this point.
All that said it is not uncommon for baby waters to come in and have respiratory problems. They are very simple to treat with a vet visit and most likely a course of antibiotics. I am intentionally being vague on that as I do not want to give out veterinary advice to someone who may have very little experience with their monitor. this not meant to be offensive to you in any way.
I will tell you that this problem is not only very common with wild caught baby waters (particularly in the colder months.) but it is very easily treated with an excellent success rate if you get on top of it quickly. Without knowing what vets in your area charge I can tell you that here in central Fl. assuming it is a simple RI I could get this problem dealt with for around $60 to $70 between the vet visit, just being an idiot of the street. I have a good relationship with a herp vet here and could get this problem dealt with for much less. In terms of having a water for a long term pet that is relatively cheap. The best advice is to find a vet and inquire about the cost of a visit.

Ok so my monitor is getting better seems like but he isnt eating as much as when I first got him. He would eat 2-3 fuzzy mice and roaches on top of that but now he barely eats 1 mouse... I am getting conflicting info on humidity from people. Some telling me to keep it possible and that a simple water bowl on the cool side will do. How much humidity should a water need? Preferably some answers from the vets on here....

I live in Fl. and I keep my monitors in a section of my house (large fl. room.) that does not receive air conditioning, as well as outside part of the year. I have also worked with Chameleons, day geckos and Uroplatus geckos as well as other high humidity herps for many years. As result of those combinations and doing a lot of work with plants I have gotten a bit lazy about humidity over the years as I have gotten a good "feel" for where it needs to be and adjust caging and watering appropriately. I haven't owned a hygrometer in probably over 12 years I just gauge it according to experience.
That said the relative humidity in the area I keep my waters in inside varies from about 60 to 80 percent depending on the weather.
All of my waters have large pools incorporated into their enclosures and the air inside their cages can get quite humid at times sometimes into the 90% range but it does vary according to weather.
I can tell you that if you are keeping your water in a glass tank as you said, you will want to cut off as much airflow as possible. Try putting a piece of plexiglass or hardiplank or something like that on a good portion of the screen top to minimalize the air flow.
The problem with glass tanks and screen tops in the average home is that the humidity in most homes is too low for most monitors to begin with and adding basking lights on top of the tank increase air flow and makes the tank even drier. thus you want to cut off airflow to the top. Humidity wise I would suggest getting a hygrometer and try keeping it at a minimum of about 75% and higher is better.
I can tell you however that the respiratory issue is going to need treatment and once they stop eating its getting worse that is going to be a much bigger immediate factor right now. As I said before this problem can be easily dealt with if you get on top of it.

Why are people telling me not to keep the enclosure humid and keep it as dry as possible for babies no matter what I read on the internet? THe baby was sneezing and gasping for air when I first got him. Now its not sneezing or gasping whatsoever leading me to believe hes ok. Just not eating as much as he did when I first got him.

Hi, sorry, but I don`t see anyone telling you to keep the enclosure very dry (low humidity)?
I advised at the beginning of this topic to keep the temps raised even during the night; around 85 to 90f (ambient), just to help keep the immune sytem working efficiently, if the monitor does have a RI (which you still don`t know for sure)?
Naturally, the humidity will be significantly lower around the basking spot, but the rest of the enclosure should be around 70% or so, as already advised by Calparsoni.
Can you build a solid wooden tank any time soon (building yourself can be very cheap), it will make things so much better for the monitor, and easier for you to keep control of the conditions inside?

Im not saying anyone on here told me because most of the comments here have been useless thats why I asked if a vet like FR would respond on the humidity question because someone from prehistoric pets told me to keep the humidity to a minimum or baby water monitors will get sick from that. ANd his overall temperatures have been bumped up about 10 degreess 140bassking spot and 90 gradients

We are currently treating an adult kimberly rock monitor for R.I. and she seems to be responding well to fortax injectable anti biotic's and nebulization with a product called F10 [diluted] which is really considered a safe disinfectant used mainly in hen houses in the UK. It has been used alot on ball pythons with good results as well. If you decide to buy a nebulizer make sure it puts out 5 microns or less [particle size] to be effective. Problem with anti biotics alone is they dont always penitrate the mucus membrane in the lungs and that is where nebulization works well. Good luck
Bob