Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have an Argus monitor about a year old who eats like a champ and is very active. He is well provided with ground turkey, rodents, crickets and the like. However, recently his length is outgrowing his girth. I took him to a well referred herp vet in my area and he has tested negative for parasites and has no intestinal blockage. I feed him every other day and some weeks twice a day to bring his weight back up per my vets suggestion. I have been doing this now for a month and have not seen any progress. His heat and lighting are charted and correct. Does anyone have some ideas or suggestions of what I can do to beef my little guy up? He has a great personality I would hate to loose him because I can't controle which way he is growing. I can't see his hip bones yet but he is really thinned out for an Argus. Please help.

any chance of posting a few pictures of your argus?

working on getting pictures of all my animals. Will have them up hopefully by the weekend. I am grateful for all the insite. Perhaps he is just going through a strange growth phase.
Let me know your opinions when his photo is up and running.

thanks

that it is thin for an argus, and you aren't comparing it to fat, under-metabolized pet store argus. Without seeing pics, what you describe (food towards growing) is kind of what you would want a young monitor to do.

Here is a pic from Sep of an 8-9 month old male, all the weight goes straight to growing and the tail. If I remember correctly just about 3' TL when this pic was taken.

As DK said pics would help alot.

--Robert

Same male, but from tonight so that makes it around 10 months old if my math is correct.

--Robert

When they are young, they grow length, then slow down, go side-ways awhile and then length-wise again. Perhaps he/she is just in bewteen growth spurts? Are you saying its girth is larger than its length? Is it crapping ok? If not, perhaps blockage? If you think this so, up the temp, humidity, plenty of clean water always, and a nice long soak in "warm" (not hot!) tub soak...
perhaps that will give him/her the montezuma it needs...

good luck!
mbayless