Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Howdy everybody
I recently got an Argus/Flavi cross on Friday from Ben Siegle reptiles. He (not sure of the sex) looks great and seems to have taken a liking to his new enclosure but when i tried to feed him some fuzzys (he's only about 13 inches long), he just shrugged them off. He's eaten about 10 crickets everyday since i got him, but nothing with the fuzzys. I handled him a little today, definatley wasn't to fond of that but once i picked him up, he seemed to calm down. I'm a little concerned but i think it could be him just getting used to his new enclosure. My question is, has this happened to anyone else when they first got their monitor? Any suggestions that might help him eat the fuzzys? The temperatures humididty are in the proper range. Thanks very much for any responses

Keith S

Please describe your enclosure as much detail as possible. First I would not handle him/her until it is eating well and is more comfortable with you and its new home(maybe a month or so). I woud make sure it has a temp gradient of 130F basking site, 85F ambiet air temp and 75F on the coldest spot in the enclosure. Also make sure it has more than one hidespot and that the hidespots are tight so it feels more secure. Make sure it can burrow and dig like crazy(they love to dig)in the substrate try a mix of dirt/sand/cypress. If you provide all this and the enclosure it adequate size then you should have no problems.

Good luck

Doug

I wouldn't handle for the first week or two, just a personal pref. If your temps are really where they need to be, I'd take a look at the hidespots and your substrate. Dirt/sand/cypress has worked out well for me in my Argus's new enclosure.
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hbailey

0.0.1 argus monitor
1.1 butterfly agama (L. Reevesi)

The enclosure size is 4ft X 3'6"ft X 4 ft. I put in dirt that i dug up from outside my house, about 10 inches. When I put him into the enclosure, he started digging around immediatley, in the corners and along the walls. It doesn't seem that he has dug a burrow yet but he is always scraping the dirt and digging little holes. I checked the temperatures and they are all in the proper range. Due to the height of the enclosure, the basking spot is an elevated shelf about 1 1/2 feet from the flood lights (there is wire screen in front of the lights so he can't come in direct contact with them). The basking spot temp. is 128 degrees. Now that you point it out Civa, there is only one hidespot. When I get home tonight, I will make up some-more. As I said, he eats crickets like there’s no tommorow so he is eating. Now that you all have mentioned it, I should not have handled him and should have gave him more time to adjust.

Thanks again

Keith S

I just recently bought a cross from there too and I have the same problem Ive had mine for about a month now and when I first got him he would eat crickets but not fuzzies or pinkeys,then I introduced the ground turkey diet and now he only eats the ground turkey and shows little interest in crickets.I live just down the street from Ben Siegles and they keep a well respected shop and the employees are very helpful,they told me that there crosses they have right now eat well but for what ever reason they just dont seemed to be interested in mice.I hope this helps a little as Im going through the same thing.

Hi
I just recently called Ben Siegel reptiles and the person i talked to was the same one who sold me the monitor and he told me the same thing as you, that they aren't the best mice eaters yet, but he said with time they should get better. Today , my cross ate a fuzzy along with a bunch of crickets. The guy i talked to at Ben Siegel said that the monitors like Iam's Chicken Cat food. Good luck with your cross.

Keith S