Rescued Nile Monitor. Need advice. - Page 4

infernalis · 01-15-13, 02:34 PM

Any seafood items must be certified organic, chemical free.

(Much like your concern with the Wal Mart worms)

Frozen seafood is commonly treated with a nasty chemical called SodiumTripolyPhosphate, the same chemical used in dish detergents, laundry soap and car washing fluid.

That's right, I won't even eat that rubbish.

The abbreviation for this chemical is STPP, it's listed right on the bag.

Too bad, I can get a huge bag of shrimp at Wal Mart for $5, but it causes organ damage in reptiles. Soooo I am forced to buy the $13 per pound organic stuff.

Phosphates in food!

I have lost a few reptiles over this in the past, and it's a horrible way to die.

I agree, ask all you want, it's for the best.

infernalis · 01-15-13, 02:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DiscoPat

I wouldn't risk trying to feed him frozen shrimp meant for human consumption. The preservatives may be a problem for the monitor.

Unless someone can tell you for sure that it is safe I wouldn't risk it.

Kudos to you for paying attention.

DiscoPat · 01-15-13, 02:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by infernalis

Kudos to you for paying attention.

Thanks. Also what brand is the organic brand that you would recommend? Or will pretty much any organic brand work?

infernalis · 01-15-13, 02:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DiscoPat

Thanks. Also what brand is the organic brand that you would recommend? Or will pretty much any organic brand work?

There is no branding, I buy it at a seafood counter off the shaved ice on display. (BTW $11 a pound, oops)

Vegasarah · 01-15-13, 02:52 PM

What about if I buy the shrimp from whole foods or somewhere that they will be organic? And should I be looking for shrimp and crayfish that still have all their legs and head and all that stuff? Or are the ones with just the human-edible parts okay? I think there is a place that sells whole seafood stuff near my house. What other kind of fish should I be looking for? Would fresh sardines on ice be okay?

jarich · 01-15-13, 03:00 PM

You ideally want the ones with their organs, legs, heads, etc. All those extras contain a lot of the good nutrients of those food items. The meat itself is just ok... the meat with the shell, head, organs, etc is great!

infernalis · 01-15-13, 03:05 PM

Sadly the only ones I can get are decapitated, everything else is there.

But at $11 a pound, I only give them as treats.

Not real sure about fresh sardines, I never tried them.

jarich · 01-15-13, 03:08 PM

Ya, $11 a pound is pretty pricey reptile food! I imagine your two would mow down a bag pretty fast as well.

Do you feed fish regularly to yours Wayne? Ive never actually fed mine fish.

infernalis · 01-15-13, 03:13 PM

Whenever I have leftovers from feeding my Thamnophis, I offer whats left to the lizards, and they scoop it right up. (Organic trout is not cheap either, but after watching snakes convulse to death from STPP poisoning, I refuse to feed anything else but organic.)

Littlefoot will dive into the water dish and grab live fish right up, Cera ignores them.

Cut up, they both take it... But I bet I could get them to try and eat leggos if I offered them on tongs.

jarich · 01-15-13, 03:20 PM

Ha! Ya, definitely true! Its more of the "eat first, ask questions later" kind of thing with monitors.

Vegasarah · 01-15-13, 03:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by infernalis

Cut up, they both take it... But I bet I could get them to try and eat leggos if I offered them on tongs.

That is hilarious, my bearded dragons are like that. They hate eating their greens but if I do one dubia, one bit of green, one dubia, one green. Back and forth like that and I can trick them into it lol.

I don't even know if he's going to eat the fish, which is weird because that is one of the only things he ate for a month (goldfish)... Just offered those minnows and he would not take them. Maybe I should try live minnows instead, they could live in his water dish for probably a few days, maybe more if I feed them and oxygenate the water. Could provide some mental stimulation as well.

In the wild they can stay submerged under water for like an hour, I bet they are great fish hunters!

Aanayab1 · 01-16-13, 09:38 PM

Um.... You rock for taking on the task of raising this little guy!!!! Won't be little for long and are you sure you're not keeping him his whole life

you seem quite fond of monitor behaviors

My Ackies are my equivilant to some people's crack addiction haha
I can't hardly be gone an hour and I'm curious as to what they may be up to now.

Vegasarah · 01-16-13, 09:44 PM

I would love to keep him forever but I'm just not sure that I have the space to give him a really great enclosure for his adult life. I want to do what is best for the animal, and the rescue that I am working with has a very large enclosure that can be modified to suit his needs. But for right now he's just a little guy so I'm enjoying him and his behavior! Only time will tell

Vegasarah · 01-18-13, 04:38 PM

Well, the roaches and the fuzzies seem to be the big winners for Django. (Yeah, we named him after we went and saw that movie lol)

He's refusing minnows alive, dead, from tongs, or in his water pan. It's kind of frustrating, I was hoping he would be more into them if he got to hunt them. He also totally is ignoring those expensive 'monitor bites', even off the tongs.

He likes the dubias and any mice offered, and will eat a bunch in a row without losing interest. I'm feeding him twice a day, usually 8-10 dubias and a fuzzy around noon. Then two more fuzzies and as many dubias as he wants till he seems full (about 5 more or so).

Temps and humidity are where they should be, but he is still in the 55 gallon till Sunday when I'm not working or going to school. Text book were bought this week so I'm out like $350 till I get paid tomorrow. So come Sunday he will be in the 8x2x2 with 50/50 sand/soil, 150 watt bulb, large water dish, and as much food as he can eat.

A few more questions:

Does he need a uva/uvb bulb? I would assume yes, but would just one single coil bulb work or should I think about a strip light or even a mercury vapor with heat?

Should I be worried about putting some kind of guard on the heat light? I think he can reach it, it's inside a dome fixture hanging inside his tank. Is there are risk of him burning himself or will he have the smarts not to touch it?

Thanks everyone, hope to get some answers soon!

infernalis · 01-18-13, 04:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vegasarah

Well, the roaches and the fuzzies seem to be the big winners for Django. (Yeah, we named him after we went and saw that movie lol)

He's refusing minnows alive, dead, from tongs, or in his water pan. It's kind of frustrating, I was hoping he would be more into them if he got to hunt them. He also totally is ignoring those expensive 'monitor bites', even off the tongs.

He likes the dubias and any mice offered, and will eat a bunch in a row without losing interest. I'm feeding him twice a day, usually 8-10 dubias and a fuzzy around noon. Then two more fuzzies and as many dubias as he wants till he seems full (about 5 more or so).

Temps and humidity are where they should be, but he is still in the 55 gallon till Sunday when I'm not working or going to school. Text book were bought this week so I'm out like $350 till I get paid tomorrow. So come Sunday he will be in the 8x2x2 with 50/50 sand/soil, 150 watt bulb, large water dish, and as much food as he can eat.

A few more questions:

Does he need a uva/uvb bulb? I would assume yes, but would just one single coil bulb work or should I think about a strip light or even a mercury vapor with heat?

Should I be worried about putting some kind of guard on the heat light? I think he can reach it, it's inside a dome fixture hanging inside his tank. Is there are risk of him burning himself or will he have the smarts not to touch it?

Thanks everyone, hope to get some answers soon!

Oh well, no interest in fish..
Monitor bites are junk.
UV not needed
a Mercury vapour lamp will way overheat a cage of thw dimensions you described.

simple halogen flood lights like they sell at Wal Mart.

Standard practice is to hang lights like mine are, example below.

Reason being, Monitors will fiddle with the lights no matter what you do, and a bulb guard gives them something to get hold of, so you want to omit any hoods, guards or cages around the bulb.

This way, when the lizard attempts to mess with it, the bulb just swings out of the way.