Overly active monitor lizard?

dinosaurdammit · 11-25-12, 10:13 PM

My goulds/argus cross is super hyper. A bottomless pit. How do I know when enough food is enough. He eats SO much but I dont want to deny him food for fear he wouldnt get enough. Also, he is super hyper active, he walks and tripods to look around and just is always on the move. I feel like this might be normal but I just wanted to be sure. If I had to guess that little guy walks about 6 miles a day, if you were to be able to measure it. Also, he love stairs- like LOVES. Goes up and down for fun I suppose. Lizard jazzersize isnt an issue apparently as he must be the Richard Simmons of the reptile world. I dont think I will have to be worried about an overweight monitor but I dont want to over feed and make him sick :/

infernalis · 11-25-12, 10:33 PM

To me, really active means well supported.

For food, you have to be the judge. Just because a monitor can consume up to 80% of their own mass does not mean we should let them.

I feed my lizards generously, when they slow down chasing things, I stop.

dinosaurdammit · 11-25-12, 10:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by infernalis

To me, really active means well supported.

For food, you have to be the judge. Just because a monitor can consume up to 80% of their own mass does not mean we should let them.

I feed my lizards generously, when they slow down chasing things, I stop.

he just runs and runs and runs, it is quite funny but I wasnt sure if it was "normal". And he does start to slow down after a bit of eating so I may just stop feeding him when he starts to pause before scarfing things down. His fav food so far is squid. I am pretty sure he is a bit spoiled at this point. He gets a good diet of:

Night crawlers
crickets
superworms
crab legs as a treat, though i rarely get them
squid
anchovies (fresh ones, not frozen)
mice
baby rabbits (found a local breeder YES!!)
And other stuff

He is also tong fed everything, he tripods for the seafood, though just sits around and waits for everything else, get it close to him and move it quick enough and he skitters across to grab it. He is absolutely adorable.

BarelyBreathing · 11-26-12, 12:47 AM

No such thing as an animal that's too active. That means you're doing a great job.

Make sure all seafood is fresh and 100% organic. Those frozen with preservatives can actually poison your animal.

infernalis · 11-26-12, 12:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BarelyBreathing

No such thing as an animal that's too active. That means you're doing a great job.

Make sure all seafood is fresh and 100% organic. Those frozen with preservatives can actually poison your animal.

Phosphates in food!

Read the above link..

.......

jarich · 11-26-12, 06:47 AM

They are eating machines, for sure. Can you tell us how much you normally feed on a regular day?

dinosaurdammit · 11-26-12, 08:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BarelyBreathing

No such thing as an animal that's too active. That means you're doing a great job.

Make sure all seafood is fresh and 100% organic. Those frozen with preservatives can actually poison your animal.

all seafood is fresh on ice from the whole food store, never frozen. No additives.

Quote:

Originally Posted by infernalis

Phosphates in food!

Read the above link..

.......

I will be sure to check everything he can get into to make sure he never comes in contact with that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jarich

They are eating machines, for sure. Can you tell us how much you normally feed on a regular day?

I would guess he is some where in the area of 4 to 5 pounds so he would eat about the equivalent to 6 to 10 fuzzies or about one cup of crickets/dubia roaches. I put them in the fridge for about 2 hours (the roaches are flash frozen, i order those online- they are AWESOME) then put them in his bowl. He tends to scarf down a whole thing of night crawlers when I get them. There are maybe 40-60 in each cup.

(note he doesnt always eat mice but I never weigh his food so I am just guessing at the amount of intake of non mice food using them as a size/weight reference.)

BarelyBreathing · 11-26-12, 10:48 AM

That is awesome, Dino.

jarich · 11-26-12, 11:20 AM

Ya that sounds pretty normal, if even a little light. Mine eats about that much at a sitting and is only a Bosc

dinosaurdammit · 11-26-12, 11:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BarelyBreathing

That is awesome, Dino.

whats great is if you are tong feeding him he will crawl right up in your lap, on in my husbands case, right up on your head. He doenst fear us. He does hiss a bit but he is pretty confident around us. You can pick him up for short periods of time but when he wants down we put him down. His fav thing to do is crawl up and sleep on your feet when he has his "explore everything time". I felt like he wasnt getting the right amount of exercise so he gets time out to roam around the house. Mostly he sticks around who ever is home and we always keep an eye out on him at all times. He will follow you around expecting food. We now can get him to tripod on command. Although its never without reward.

If you put your hand down on the ground he will try and crawl up your arm, which at first was PAINFUL, so i used an emery board and sanded the razor tips off. No clipping just a soft quick sand. He didnt seem to mind. I dont think the people before me fed him as much as they should have. I also bumped up his heats to what they had and have also raised humidity to around 75% because he seems to have some shed that is a bit hard or stuck on. He likes the bath and will actually crawl up the stairs and into the bathroom as if he is expecting a bath. Water is about 80-85 degrees and he has a good hour long nap and soak.

My friend is absolutely in love with lizard face. Came over for feeding time and rather than eat he wanted to crawl up and have a sit.

jarich · 11-26-12, 11:22 AM

Thats a beautiful monitor! Love the yellow/orange nails.

dinosaurdammit · 11-26-12, 11:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jarich

Thats a beautiful monitor! Love the yellow/orange nails.

I am sure after a few more months and a good shed he will be much brighter. I think he is so dull on his back and face because some skin never came off. My friend recommended I give him a good soak every day and bump up his humidity. So I've done that. His belly is also a bright color but he doesnt like to be lifted upwards for a belly shot so I leave him be.

jarich · 11-26-12, 11:28 AM

Ya the high humidity is absolutely a necessity. Its one of the reasons why its not good to have them out of their enclosures for too long. Sounds like with you its just a short term/occasional thing, which is good.

Thats cool about him going for the bath. Just goes to show how smart these guys are. If you give them the option of what they need, they will go for it all on their own!

dinosaurdammit · 11-26-12, 11:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jarich

Ya the high humidity is absolutely a necessity. Its one of the reasons why its not good to have them out of their enclosures for too long. Sounds like with you its just a short term/occasional thing, which is good.

Thats cool about him going for the bath. Just goes to show how smart these guys are. If you give them the option of what they need, they will go for it all on their own!

I limit it to an hour at a time outside his pad. We do have a humidifier for our house but the heat is the main thing I worry about as our house is about 73 at all times its far too cool for him to stay out long. Also this sucker digs. Like hard core digs- He dug so much when I first brought him home I didnt think he would ever stop. Ive got to make him a new enclosure as the old isnt tall enough. He needs a big ole log to climb on. He LOVES to climb, then get down, then climb again. I also made him a harness and he gets real sun as well. He cant get out of it but it is also comfortable. He walks about outside and digs like mad.

Think the main reason his nails were so ungodly long and curved is he didnt have anything to dig or climb on to wear them down. I got some hard clay spots I put in his set up. He likes to dig on them, like he is sanding his own nails down. I think they were too long and uncomfortable. He was kept in one of these before i got him.

The new set up I have planned is going to be 10 long 6 wide 6 tall to accommodate a large tree trunk so he can climb a bit. I am also thinking about getting different soil with some clay in it. You have never seen anything dig until you see this sucker dig. I think the clay might be better and give him a bit more of a challenge to dig. As right now he just breezes through dirt like one of those worms from tremors.

jarich · 11-26-12, 11:48 AM

Ya it sucks to see the garbage people do to these animals. I went to a guys house who was letting his monitor free roam except for at night when he put it in an old display case that had rubber matting in the bottom of it. Broke my heart to see such a beautiful creature so neglected.

10 by 6 sounds like a good size for him. It'll be loads of fun to set it up. Always love making new enclosures!