Reptile & Amphibian Forums

When my monitor slides through my hand his tail cracks very softly. Kinda like when you crack your fingers. I am not putting hard pressure on the tail but just holding it firmly. Is this anything to worry about. A guy on the chat said it is just like when you crack your fingers and nothin to worry about. Anybody ever expierience this with their monitors. He is in perfect health, fed on a largely rodent diet, with lots of whole foods and is supplemented with calcium. He has a basking spot of 150 and an ambient of 82 with a cool og 75. Any body have any idea

what kind of montor ar we dealing with here

argus. does it matter, i have heard from a few that say it is natural with most lizards and it happens in snakes also. any idea

Yeah, it's pretty common with snakes and it doesn't seem to harm them at all. I have an Amazon Tree Boa that is pretty mellow when held, but if you restrain him at all BAM!! he nail you! If I hold him loosely and allow him to run through my hands freely he's very calm and I can feel his spine crack sometimes. If this was causeing him any discomfort I'm positive he'd let me know! My Mangrove Monitors tail does the same thing, I wouldn't worry about it, unless it's causeing noticeable discomfort

Thanks alot, i didn't think it was anything, he is fine, eating, moves his tail. Nothing seems wrong. Thanks MK

I have no idea what your talking about.

You posted this on our forum, and this one, I have tried to come up with something helpful but I cannot other then to say, what your discribing is not normal. There tails are not suppose to crack in any way, form or fashion. So I suppose a vet is the only help. Unless you have funny knuckles. hhahahahahahaha Cheers FR