Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ok so I came upon proexotics FAQ page the other day (pretty good read) and it said when soaking your monitor to never soak it in cold water (duh) and to not soak em in hot water either, just room temp. WTF DID I DO TO MY LIZARD!?! I had my nile for a month shy of a year now, and every day I would give him a bath in pretty hot water, not scalding hot or anything, but I wouldn't have mind taking a bath in it. I assumed that his bask spot is really hot (135) that he should be fine, he really seems to like it too, he would sprawl all out, defecate, then sit in chill. What the heck kind of damage was I doing to him? Should I take him to the vet? He seems healthy but, what did I do!?!

If your Monitor appears healthy, then why are you in a panic?

what about the rest of your setup?

If you give more details about what is going on, then people can look into this better.
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Regards,
Wayne A. Harvey
Thamnophis US
Varanus US
too many darn snakes to list anymore...

idk why i'm freaking out, he's healthy as far I can tell. It said not to bathe em in hot water, and i've been doing that every day of his his life since i got him for a year. I didnt know if that would harm him or not. I also started noticing an increase in his urates which is concerning me. I didnt know if the two were related or not. His humidity is at a the good end of 60-70 area for the most. He's in a 48x30x30 thats divided in half, he's been in that he's been in forever, almost time to upgrade lol. I'm just really paranoid about him, my irresponsible dad gave me a green iguana when I was five years old, and under my care only (no thanks to my idiot father), managed to survive 6 years in pretty abhorrent conditions. I just want to do everything right for my not-so-lil guy ya know?

Hi, I actually thought the first time I read your post it was a sick joke, how could anyone bath an animal in hot water??
You then state you think there should be a permit system to stop impulse buyers, but isn`t that what you are, clearly, you haven`t bothered to learn much in almost a year!?
Now for the advise; you need to put a few photos up so we can see just what the enclosure and monitor look like.
At over one year of age, the animal should be at least a metre (3+ feet) total length, in which case the enclosure is far too small.
And at that size the monitor will probably be sexually mature, it has nothing to do with age in Varanids, it`s more to do with total length...
Tell me what you`ve been feeding, what type of heat/light bulbs you use, type of substrate etc... Please understand I AM trying to help, it just never ceases to amaze me what so many of these animals have to go through....

Besides that, a properly supported monitor should not need soaking in the tub.

Sure an occasional swim can be good, but a proper setup eliminates the need for soaking.
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Regards,
Wayne A. Harvey
Thamnophis US
Varanus US
too many darn snakes to list anymore...

Wayne, this is a Nile monitor, a semi aquatic species, they should have a pond/water bowl to soak in, better heated to approx mid 80`s F.
It`s not true that you cannot soak monitors, even Savannah monitors, it does NOT do a fully acclimated animal harm at all, just one more ridiculous myth put about because from what I`ve heard, one monitor accidently drowned, now they`re all going to drown.... Quite ridiculous!

That a properly supported Nile monitor should have a large water tub inside the enclosure.
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Regards,
Wayne A. Harvey
Thamnophis US
Varanus US
too many darn snakes to list anymore...

Wayne, I have no idea what you`re talking about, was your reply for me? You said there`s no need to soak monitors, my respoonse was initially to the OP who has a semi aquatic species, a Nile monitor, they should be allowed to soak!

Response, not respoonse!!

murrindindi:"It`s not true that you cannot soak monitors, even Savannah monitors, it does NOT do a fully acclimated animal harm at all, just one more ridiculous myth put about because from what I`ve heard, one monitor accidently drowned, now they`re all going to drown.... Quite ridiculous!"

When you put it that way, it does sound ridiculous. However, you're the first person I've seen to put it that way. What most people say, or have said (including Wayne, in the post to which you've responded), is that it shouldn't be necessary to soak a monitor if it is given the right options in its enclosure. It has nothing to do with 'cannot soak' or 'may drown'. It is about 'shouldn't need to soak'.

Hi David, I thought Wayne was replying to me, so I answered him!?

He was probably replying to the original poster, but that shouldn't change the answer.

It's still not about whether monitors can be soaked or not (for fear of them drowning), but whether or not they should need to be soaked in the first place.

To Stefan, Acid Lizard and anyone else who reads this post..

If you have a semi aquatic Nile monitor, there should be a large enough water source in the cage that it would not be necessary to take the monitor out of it's enclosure and soak in the bath tub.

It has been brought to my attention by reputable sources that simply plopping them into a bathtub full of water is not going to sufficiently rehydrate a lizard kept in a sub par environment.

I know the story of the drowned Sav, The keeper left that animal unattended in a bath tub for 45 minutes, I feel very sorry for that animal, I can envision it clawing desperately at the walls of the tub trying to get out until if finally collapsed from exhaustion.

Why anyone would leave an animal in a tub with that much water in it and forget that it was there is beyond me.

Even if I was going to advocate soaking monitors, I would only say use an inch or two of water, so the animal can sit comfortably with it's head well above the waterline, certainly not with so much water that the animal is forced to swim to keep breathing, that's just irresponsible and cruel.

If you look here, I even placed rocks in the water dish so my babies have something to climb on, even though the water pan is shallow enough to prevent any drowning..

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Regards,
Wayne A. Harvey
Thamnophis US
Varanus US
too many darn snakes to list anymore...

Hello Dekaybrown,

I can appreciate the time that the drowned sav spent in the tub without any footing, but I run, swim, mountain bike and more. The point being, I can tread water for 45 minutes. It is not that hard. These lizards may not use tools, but they do use the tools that they are hatched with extremely well. They are designed to resist floods, cross running rivers(over and under the water) and pass from island to island if need be. What is missing from the drowning story is that the lizard was left stressed in too hot or too cold of water. Even crocodiles have been known to drown in water too cool for them to respond. I agree, the enclosure should provide for anything you would want a tub for- or move the tub in the cage... But, to express what I am saying, even as shallow as your lower picture will kill if too cold or hot and not from freezing or cooking, drowning. Best to You- Mike S

See I don't feel the fellow who drowned his lizard was forthright with his posting on the matter.

Now anyone who has taken a bath knows, if you start out with a bathtub with nice cozy water in it, within half an hour the water is cold.

By nature, bathtubs wick away the thermal energy in the water like a massive heat-sink.

So yes, I must agree with your logic, as the animal struggled to get out (and likely an overweight lizard at that) the water temperature continued to drop, this also would take away from the Monitor's metabolism and slow down it's ability to swim.

Now in regards to my water pan, Yes drowning is possible, however highly unlikely, as it is inside the cage and located approximately a foot from the basking platform, the absolute coolest that water will ever get is right around 80 degrees (F) and again, the staircase flat stones ensure the animals have a foothold to walk back out on their own when they are done.
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Regards,
Wayne A. Harvey
Thamnophis US
Varanus US
too many darn snakes to list anymore...

I thought the whole purpose of soaking the monitors (or any other reptiles for that matter) is to loosen any stuck shed that might still be on the lizards.

Some people believe that soaking Monitors is an acceptable substitute for maintaining proper humidity.

Even with snakes, if the sheds are getting stuck, it's too dry in the enclosure.
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Regards,
Wayne A. Harvey
Thamnophis US
Varanus US
too many darn snakes to list anymore...

That's true.

I know that my Black Throat doesn't require soaking but it does help with his shed. Their natural environment is seasonally arid or quite wet in the rainy season. I mist his cage daily by the way.
He enjoys the heck out his soak as well. I stay in the bathroom with him 100% of the time. The water is kept in the high 80's by adding either hot or cold water occasionally.
I have rubber bath mats in the tub and one hung over the side so he can get out whenever he wants to or back in. I usually feed him a bit in the bathroom as well.
After his warm bath and a snack, he wanders around and usually climbs into my lap or up onto my chest.
The whole bath routine is great as far as I am concerned. He is healthy, active and likes the bath and while it isn't required, I don't see the problem with it.