Reptile & Amphibian Forums

the new rough neck i bought we took it to dnj for nails to be cliped and they told up it was wild caught and probly had worms can some one cheer me up please i am only 14.

Did they run a fecal on it?? Why did they tell you it has worms? What indication did they have to make this conclusion?

Dont be sad. Just learn from it.

Hello fellow Varanophile,

Did D&J do a fecal float examination of this V. rudicollis? Did they see worms hanging out of the cloaca? Because they said it does not mean it is 100% accurate. Is it feeding ok? Pooping ok?
Make sure it a large clean water and basin - they are terrific swimmers! Try feeding assortment of food: pinkie mice, cockroaches (which they really like), shellfish (shrimps, prawns, crab), fish and stuff like that. You do not need to get a whole lot, maybe $2 - $3 of above food and offer it to him, mix it up and offer him small meals ($1 amounts) mixed and see if the weight stays on him; if it doesn't or it is losing weight take it to vet and ask them to do a fecal float and see if there are protozoans/parasites in the G.I. tract...
Good Luck!
markb

to "cheer you up" i can say that all is not lost, and with the proper care, setup, and vet support, the animal can do fairly well.

however, with only a little bit of effort, you should have been able to understand that 99.9999% of Roughnecks are wild caught, that is not a secret at all, it is VERY COMMON knowledge. and that is why they are not recommended for beginner or first time keepers.

perhaps your pet store lied to you (wouldn't be the first time), or whatever, but this is still on your shoulders, and your responsibility.

it's like going to a junkyard to buy a car, and then being mad because you find out the car is not new.

know the temperature and depth of the water before jumping in. make a better informed choice next time. and do whatever needs to be done to care for this animal properly, starting with a visit to the vet.

best of luck.
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robyn@proexotics.com

Pro Exotics Reptiles

they found out that is was probly wild caught bc it was verry thin tail and everything. the teps r right it has a large water bowl i put 12 crickts in and he fell asleep right in front of them. i am going to to a vet in a day i will let everyone noi what happens but if he can be saved i will be so happy.

thanks
lets us pray for my rough neck

you are probably feeling a bit tender with everyone on this forum jumping on you, but don't take it personally - they want what's best for your monitor, as you do.

sorry to do this to you, but I'm going to be jumping in as well, but not about the worms (the others have covered that). It's about the claw clipping. Rather than taking your monitor to the pet store to get its claws clipped, perhaps wear thick gloves when handling it. Bundling it off to the pet store to clip its claws every few weeks (and when it is feeding and growing quickly, its claws will grow back within a couple of weeks or less) is just an added stress to a young monitor. It will affect its health and feeding if you are not careful.

I confess that I used to clip my first monitor's claws (although I didn't take it anywhere to have it done). Now I leave their claws be, even though all of them are much bigger and can do a lot more damage. I often wear gloves when I handle the largest one, just in case he panics and digs his claws in.

Be wild caught. CBB animals are expensive, they usually are not sold in petstores or at shows because most of those dealers are looking for little investment and big returns. If an animal is rare to be bred in captivity the value therefore goes through the roof. Get the animal checked to verify if there any parasites by a good Herp Vet, check ARAV and herp vets.com. You could clip those claws and in less than a week they are just as long and sharper than before sometimes. If they dig in dirt they wear them down.