Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Not too long ago I noticed spots on my monitors head. the start out as lumps then bald scaleless spots. He is still very active and still has his appetite the only thing hes doing a lot of is soaking in his water which Dumerils do a lot anyway but more than usual. can mites cause this???? or is it possibly something else?

Im no vet so I really dont have anything to useful to say. Could it be burns? I would assume you have already thought of that possibility but figured I would ask anyways. Also as always a description of the cage and temps would be nice, even a cage pic if possible.

Yeah thats what im thinking because its just on the top of his head and no where else. He is in a temporary enclosure which is a large heavy duty tub probably 55 to 60 gallon with a plexiglass cover the lamp inside. I took the lamp out and put a lower wattage. Now i dont see anymore forming and he seems to be getting a bit better. So they must be blisters from heat?

Hi, can you give the temps etc, and could you put a couple of photos of the animal inside the set-up, also what type of thermometer/hygrometer are you using to check the temps etc, and how long have you had the monitor? (It makes it a little easier to comment on and understand the problems, if we have those details). Thanks!

I agree some temps are needed. If you took the lamp out and the blisters seem to be getting better thats great. But if you moved the light out of the cage and started using a lower wattage is he still getting the correct heat?

A 60 gallon tub is way too small for your monitor,as most dums that are imported at least 30 inches.Those marks on his head look more some kind of fungi infection.Please give some more details on how he is set up so we can better help you.

Greg
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1.1 Varanus Rudicollis
2.0.3 Varanus jobiesis
0.0.1 Ornate box turtle
0.1 Varanus Salvidorii
0.0.2 Varanus Salvator

The tub is temporary im still building his permenent enclousure. I will post some pics when my desktop is back up and running so ill try to give more details. I use a thermometer and a humitity gauge that you can get at any pet stire. I had coconut fiber as the bedding but recently switched to aspen. Temps are normally 80 to 85 basking spot 95. Humitity 70 to 75. The light is kinda low but he usually stays away from it. A screen is protecting him from the bulb. He has a huge water bowl a cat litter pan. He burrows alot and is always poking around the cage. I hope this helps a bit sorry about the pics ill post some soon. Thanks for your help. I dont understand whats going on. He acts completely normal. Very active eats tons of food but its still appearing on just the top of his head. Im trying antifungal cream. If that doesnt work hes going to the vet.

Hi again,
o.k, the temps you give for the basking area are FAR too cool, they need to be around 130f (that`s a SURFACE temp), and if the thermometer is an analogue type, they can be very inaccurate, you need a digital thermometer with a probe.
Photos will help. How long have you had the monitor?

Wow ok I will change the wattage now. Yes its the analog thermometer. I will be sure to get a digital. I have only had him for about a month.

Good for you for being willing to take advise!
I think if you raise the basking spot, the SURFACE temp may in fact be o.k, but make sure the monitor cannot get too close and burn itself if the heatbulb is anything more than 40 or 50watts (halogen).
Tell me which wattage and type you`re using just now?

For heat i have a 75 watt night heat bulb. For daytime he has a long uvb bulb that really dont give off heat its just for light. Is 75 too much? Its 90 in his cage now

Dumeriliis love to dig and will spend most of there time buried.Using aspen for bedding will not work.I dose not hold humidty or a burrow.Dumeriliis have a tendency to dry out rather quickly.They will spend time buried to help retain moisture.From you discription of your set up,your begging for a dehydrated monitor.Also as Stefon has said basking sit is a little low.If you can post pic of the entire set up.

Greg
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1.1 Varanus Rudicollis
2.0.3 Varanus jobiesis
0.0.1 Ornate box turtle
0.1 Varanus Salvidorii
0.0.2 Varanus Salvator

Hi,
90f sounds like air (ambient) temp? You need to check the surface of whatever you use as a basking place, a flat stone, piece of wood (piece of 3/4inch thick plywood is quite good for retaining heat). But you must have a cool side in the enclosure, too, it should be around 75f ambient(air).... You can move the basking piece either closer or further from the heat lamp, until you get a level of between approx 120 to 130f surface temp (it`s really trial and error).
As I already mentioned, make absolutely sure the monitor cannot get too close, the bulbs get extremely hot.
I think you can get the temp-guns online, but I`m living in the U.K just now, so can`t give you a link to where to buy one, just type "Temp-gun" into your search engine.

Actually his water bowl is huge he splashes and swims around getting the aspen soaked. There is no screen top its plexiglass so it stays wet. Hes good there. He does dig making tunnels underneath his hide box which is a plastic tote. He spends alot of time under there. Yes 90 is the air temp in the cage. I will get a better way of telling the temp. All of this is great info and thank you any info helps. Still not sure on those spots. They seem to be getting a little better slowly i still dont understand why they are only on the top of his head. I read fungal infections usually start on the belly. I dont see bugs on him either. I will post pics when my desktop is running again.

You definitely need to get rid of the aspen asap. Like stated above it needs a few feet of dirt really. If you cant do that at least give it a few inches of cypress mulch or dirt. It holds more moisture than aspen. Also in my experience with aspen it molds terribly when it get wet if there isnt enough ventilation.

If you could post a pic of the cage I believe it would really help us help you. When you say 75w bulb is it a halogen? incandescent? What kind of bulb? For smaller monitors I am usually able to get 130 basking temps with 1 or 2 50w flood bulbs. You just need to use an elevated basking spot. This allows you to get the basking temps you want without overheating the entire cage in the process. It is very important to be able to get exact temp measurements. I would recommend going to radioshack and getting a temp gun. They are pretty cheap. Or order one from proexotics.

Ok my mistake I do have cypress not aspen sorry i typed the wrong one. The light is a night bulb i can only describe it as a black light. I am guessing its incandecent but not sure. I think it may be too hot because hes hiding more than he usually does. So i put a 50 watt in i think thats better the temp reads 90 air temp on hot side 75 on cool. Basking is 100.. Still too low?
It seems like if i go any higher with the wattage ill bake him

I am not super familiar with dumerils so someone correct me if Im wrong. But I believe their basking should be around 130. Your ambient temps sound good. Like I stated before if you want your ambient temps to stay the same just raise the basking spot closer to the heat source. You just have to make sure as you raise it, that it still covers enough area for the monitor to heat its whole body. Its not good to only have one spot the size of a quarter that gets up to 130.