Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hey guys, i bought a black throat monitor 3 days ago, and he still hasn't eaten. i've researched these guys very well, and i think i have his enclosure nailed down

basking spot 125 - 133
ambient temps 88 - 93 (hot side)/82 - 78 (cool side)
humidity 50% hot side/75% cool side
6 inches of packed down dirt
a hide
water bowl
and i have a black garbage bag at one end of the tank so people walking by do not disturb or stress him out.

i had to take him out of his cage friday to fix his hot spot so i put him in bath tub until i was done with his enclosure then put him back in and left him alone for the rest of the day. (offered him superworms with calcium d3)

saturday didnt touch him all day

and now its sunday and he still hasnt eaten, with crickets having been running around his enclosure for 2 days now, as well as being offered superworms.

i understand he needs to acclimate, but im just getting a little worried because he just lies there with his eyes closed for almost 24 hours a day, and barely walks around. he is about 14 inches long, so still very small.

just hoping to get some replies from experienced monitor keepers, thanks!

The cage sounds OK(and only OK. to hot, needs a cooler side), and with that in mind, an ok cage only works with an OK lizard. The research part should have told you that wild caught lizards, or tortured captive hatched lizards, can have all sorts of problems. So I would look there first, take it to the vet a good vet a reptile vet.

Next, This has been on my mind lately. When an animal is taken out of nature and everything in knows, however simple that is, it has no way to understand or deal with what is happening to it. Nothing in its genetic memory or nothing it could have learned would prepare it to live after being caught and kept alive by a predator. So it goes into default mode. It cannot run, burrow, fight, escape etc, so it pretend sleeps(not what its really doing, it just appears that way) As it does this, the stress of this is physically breaking the animal down.

Your cool side should be in the seventies, I idea of temp and humidity choices, is to allow a range, not hot all over. Room temps with a small(1/4 of the cage) hot area, that it can regulate its temps. Not sit and bake.

Of course you can argue this and that. And you could be right not all of them do that, such is behavior, behavior does not have to have the same reaction. The reality is, yours is doing that and that is what is important now. Off to a good vet.

In fact, a vet check should be part of buying any animal your not proficient with. Best of luck

Great I will lower the cool end temps and see how that works, thank you very much.

I think its a good idea to see a vet, most of the imports are compromised. Best wishes

[QUOTE]:
basking spot 125 - 133
ambient temps 88 - 93 (hot side)/82 - 78 (cool side)
humidity 50% hot side/75% cool side
6 inches of packed down dirt
a hide
water bowl
and i have a black garbage bag at one end of the tank so people walking by do not disturb or stress him out.

i had to take him out of his cage friday to fix his hot spot so i put him in bath tub until i was done with his enclosure then put him back in and left him alone for the rest of the day. (offered him superworms with calcium d3)
saturday didnt touch him all day and now its sunday and he still hasnt eaten, with crickets having been running around his enclosure for 2 days now, as well as being offered superworms.
i understand he needs to acclimate, but im just getting a little worried because he just lies there with his eyes closed for almost 24 hours a day, and barely walks around. he is about 14 inches long, so still very small.
just hoping to get some replies from experienced monitor keepers, thanks! [QUOTE].

Hi, it might help if you can put a few photos up of the whole enclosure.
You must stop all forced handling, the monitor must be allowed to fully acclimate to the enclosure, that can take many weeks, until then you should just be leaving food, water, etc.
Not feeding at this stage is not surprising nor is it anything to worry about, the main thing is that the animal remains hydrated, at this time it will be extremely stressed.
The enclosure must have lots of hiding places (cover), meaning the animal should be able to travel throughout almost without being seen (you can use large plastic plants, logs, etc, particularly around the feeding and basking areas).
You only need to know two temps; the surface at the basking site @ between approx. 50 to 60c (120 to 140f), then the coolest ambient (air) @ approx. 21 to 24c (72 to 75f).
What type of thermometer/hygrometer are you using to measure the temps and humidity, analogue or digital?
Even a hatchling can take a fuzzie mouse, if it`s too big to swallow, cut along the length while still frozen, then obviously defrost before feeding.

I have to disagree a tiny bit, the poster said, lays there with its eyes closed.

That's a sign of real stress. Remember, albigs are tuff as nails, so by the time they reach that point, its serious.

In other words, its not normal for an albig to not feed. Period, even the day you get them, if they are healthy.

Your advise is good, with the exception of this species.

You have heard my saying, monitors will feed for days after they die. Well albigs will feed for months after they are dead. Best wishes and he really show take it to a vet. Cheers

so it has ate two days in a row, first day i left 3 tiny pinkies in and they were gone in the morning, second day i left 5 and they were gone in the morning, and i also left 20 superworms covered in calcium with d3, but none were eaten. and both times when i came home later in the day, the enclosure was a complete mess covered in small holes and dirt with plastic vines and leaves thrown everywhere (good sign)?

i am going to put 10 pinkies in tonight, as i just want him to eat so hopefully it helps his body get him through the stress of a new environment. humidity has been kept in the 80s, but his eyes have changed. they dont look sunken, but wrinkles are forming on the bottom eyelid and one wrinkle on top, im thinking its a sign of dehydration, although it doesnt make sense due to how moist the hair has been. when i put my hand in to clean/change water, my arm feels sticky because its so humid, any thoughts on this..?

tonight im going to fill some of the pinkies with water, to get even more water into this guy. if i cant get any advice or answers on the computer from knowledgable and experienced monitor keepers, then it will be off to the vets, so im hoping FR can help with the situation.

125 - 135 basking spot
86 hot ambient
74 - 76 cool ambient

Do not fill pinkys with water, that will make it puke. That just dilutes the digestive fluids.

Limit air loss, have clean drinking water available, and provide the ability for the monitor to dig his own shelters. Best wishes

alright great, thanks for the reply.

also, ive had crickets and superworms available to him for 4 days now and he wont touch them, but will eat all of the pinkies. the only strategies ive seen recommended to get monitors past not eating crickets or superworms is roaches, is that what you would recommend?

A blackthroat is a very large monitor. In fact, huge. Weight and mass wise.

Small ones, want to get big as fast as possible. Rodents is by far the best way to do that. They are a superior food for progressive monitors, you know, one that are growing and reproducing. So don't worry about the insects, if you want your monitor to grow.

Rodents are not a good food for static, non growing, do nothing but sit in a cage their whole lives, MONITOR. If you have one of these type monitors, then insects are what you want.

If your blackthroat is telling you what it wants, then I suggest listening. Best of luck

oh and move on to fuzzies then small mice. Even a hatchling can take these when healthy and In decent conditions. Cheers

alright great, yeah i just wasnt sure about sticking with just the rodents at the moment, nutritionally speaking (as you probably know there's so many articles preaching they should only be on insects ect). until the size of the mice/rats get a little bigger and a more mature skeleton im guessing i should keep dusting them with calcium d3. behaviour is still lying around for most of the day, and from about 11:30 - 1:30 he basks and turns his cage into a mess and seems to enjoy trying to burrow, so i put much more dirt in now so hopefully he can get a good burrow going, but he does not seem so much on death row now as he did in his previous shape. thanks a lot

With whole rodents, there is no need WHAT SO EVER to dust with any suppliments.

Also, what your talking about, tearing the cage apart, attempting to burrow, is not a good understanding of what is occurring.

All monitors first and main task in life, wild or captive, is to find a home. Whether its a burrow, crevice, hollow, etc. They REQUIRE the security of a home. This is the most important thing you can do, give it a home.

Once you do that, they do not tear up the cage, every day. They use the burrow like you use your house. If you see a captive tearing up the cage, its simply telling you its looking for something. Unless its starving, its looking for a home.

Please understand, you most people buy these animals, they somehow think, they are giving it a home. All I ask is, give it a home. Something it considers a home, not what you call a home, you being most keepers.

Now for the problem, a home is a shelter that the animal can go inside, a burrow is not a burrow until its a few times the length of the monitor. That's simple to understand. So your cage and your substrate, must be deep enough and big enough to allow that. Neonate blackthroats, well that's easy to support. Adults, hmmmmmmmmm not so easy. Best of luck

alright thank you for explaining that then, ive never thought of that behaviour indicating that, i thought destructive was a typical monitor personality, ill be sure try to find something to meet its needs

Normally good substrate and the ability to burrow will take care of that. Good luck