Water monitor questions?????

[denial]

hey guys me and my girlfriend had decided that we were going to go with a blackthroat monitor. But we bought a collection from a guy this weekend and she went to pick it up and when she got home we unloaded the car and there sat a water and I was confused lol But the guy wanted the water gone to so my girlfriend went ahead and picked him up we didnt even have to pay more or anything now he is very jumpy and whippy and he actually threw up last night but I was wondering he isnt really a baby hes around a year old I think so what should his diet consist of? I know now it should mostly consist of rodents right? With some eggs and meat occasionally?

[The Snake Guru]

I don't have any experience with Water Monitors man, sorry. I can research though if no one else answers.

Regurge could be from being a little over excited, hopefully nothing else. May be a good idea to take a stool sample in to the vet and just have checked out.


~B~

[Reaper1187]

From what ive understood that just rodents would do fine. I was thinking about getting a water monitor instead of the savannah but they were just too wild for me, lol. He told me just an appropriate sized rodent every 7-10 days and maybe dust it with something like calcium once a month or so and they would be fine. Not an expert on monitors but just what ive heard.

[TailsWithScales]

Do you have any monitor experience at all????

I need to know what the monitors snout to vent lenght and the lizards total lenght is.
The regurging is normal. It's a defensive tactic to get you to let it go or not pick it up at all.

There's a lot more you're going to need to know other then diet if you plan to keep this Varanid if you have zero experience. By knowing the animals length(s) I can tell you how to set him/her up.

[SteveW]

Hi Danny, Like the others said, I would say the regurge is due to stress. I have kept a lot of waters in the past and have seen this before. I would set him/her up with a few hides and leave it alone. Do your research. Pro exotics has a pretty good care sheet on waters. Give it time to settle in and get used to the surroundings. Good luck. Steve

[Dylan]

Could you give me a run down of how you have it set up? Specifics would be best with as much detail as possible.

Monitors should be fed daily, or every other day. Feeding them weekly is bad. They also require alot of heat. Make sure you have a basking site set up for 120/130 degrees. Heat, and peace are VERY important. You can lay off feeding it for a day or so to let it get settled but get it eating soon. Use your judgement for prey size if you can give me an accurate measurement I'll suggest a few food options.

[TailsWithScales]

For the enclosure, a yearling of proper size (3 -4 foot plus) will require a cage that's easily 8' L x 4' D x 5' T . Water monitors get huge so this cage will not normally carry a full grown adult. Climbing logs and multiple hides are great. Mine always made full use of theirs. You want a cypress mulch and dirt mixed substrate.
You want a basking spot of 120 -130o (as said above) with the cool being 83-85o and an ambient of 88-90o. You want humidity to be about 65 -75% but also provide a LARGE water tub for the monitor to submerge.
Food is whole prey items ONLY. Meaning mice, rats, and chicks. Feeding should be done everyday on the Indo /Asian species. Water monitors are big eaters too at full adult size.

That's a basic break down. Give a length of your new Varanid and an appropriate food can be told. Also if you have a gram scale please weigh the lizard.

[denial]

Hey guy sim guessing hes about 2-3 feet with his tail he wont really let me measure him. he does have plenty of hides and things to climb on. And he actually just took a f/t medium rat for me. He has a basking spot that is right at 126 right now and a radient heat panel that keeps the whole cage around 80 + his substrate is mulch and he really seems to love digging threw it and making holes and he has a big water tub in there but I havent seen him in it at all. The only thing he has been doing is digging threw the mulch. I just got him out of the bath tub I let him soak for a little while. I know to feed them at least every other day. Just didnt know if it was suppose to be just rodents or if I needed to switch it up with something else. Hes a strange little guy though lol one minute he is fine with your presence then the next hes snapping at you with his mouth wide opened lol. And steve I read the pro exotics and that was a great caresheet hes actually from pro exotics lol. Hes staring at me now as I type lol. yea reaper we actually decided we didnt want a water we were going with a blackthroat instead but she only took this one because he didnt have any where else to go but he is gorgeous and extremely hyper