Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey there Bud have a question for you since you have all Tree varanid species but the purple red and yellow one to make the skittles bag ..............my black trees were just aquired how about did you come to rehydrating them w/o soaking them to get normal???????? just wondering I have a pair so let me know what you can grind up for me real quick

thanks

Hey you can always throw em in water for a few hours-days-. That would help your harely ask.

While giving them baths is not a bad idea, although I use other methods, leaving them in the same water for a couple of hours is a bad idea, for the water, although warm when administering them to it, quickly cools off to room temperature, which is downright cold for them...

When I get in a new tree monitor/s, I set them up individually, to make sure I can "monitor" their progress. I have just thought of a new idea for ICU/quarantine/hydration chamber, in which I am utilizing a 50ish gallon rubbermaid garbage can, with an acrylic cover to prevent escaping humidity. There is a dome lamp attached directly into the acrylic to provide ample heat for the monitor to achieve optimal basking temps. I currently have a tiny black tree monitor girl in there now, as she came in very dehydrated and thin(not much to do with lack of food, just water). I mist the enclosure several times a day, and keep note on whether or not she is drinking volountarily.

The first day I set her up in there, she began drinking immediately after spraying her(as if she hadn't drank in weeks), and, although I normally do not try offering food for at least a week or so, I felt that she might accept a chopped up hopper, and sure enough, it was gone within an hour of me putting it in there... So, in the quarantine "can" she stays, until I feel that she is healthy and hydrated enough to be set up in a more permanent enclosure.

I have also used equal volume(roughly the same volume) rubbermaid/sterlite containers in the same fashion, however, I prefer this new tactic, as for tree monitors, a garbage can has much more verticle space, which allows a better verticle temperature gradient, and oh yeah, of course, allows them to climb a bit more....

I hope this helps you out just a bit... But like I have recommended to other people, I would suggest separating the animals if you do have them together.. Worry about eachother's own health first, before worrying about them being together.... In my experience, this seems to be the best method as far as successfully acclimating tree monitors...

Take care,

treevaranus(odatriad)

The Odatriad

depending on how crappy the animals in question came in(I've seen some nightmarish beccari in my day...especially females), it will most likely take several months, or sometimes years to let them properly acclimate... The definition is arguable as well, Would an acclimated specimen be an animal who no longer shows signs of dehydration(ie. hipbones, saggy skin, etc..), or would it be an animal who no longer feels threatened by your prescense, or would it be when an animal is comfortable enough to decide to breed? I do not know the definition, but I guess my technique which I had just described would be a step towards the end product..

As for the animal becoming adjusted to human/s, that takes a significant amount of time. However, in my "experimenting", I have found that animals come around, and no longer fear you, when you keep cage decorations and hide spots to a minimum. Although at first, they usually freak out whenever you come into vicinity of them, but after a while, and after many food offerings, the animal/s become conditioned into realizing that you are merely a source of food. Although i do not participate in this strategy anymore, I did notice animals learn to tolerate my prescense significantly quicker than animals in my newer strategy of supplying them with as many hide areas/plants/areas of deep substrate as possible..

The rest is just experimenting with your own conditions...

But, as I always say to new tree monitor keepers, humidity is #1.

take care,

This is just in regards to the "definition" of being well acclimated. This is just my personally opinion (and my opinion doesn't count for much here since I've never owned a monitor), but I think that a well acclimated animal is one that has all three qualities you mentioned. I think that any of them by themselves is only a step in the right direction, but that's just my opinion.

ask, did the female eat those live rat pups?