temperature and humidity

Question
QUESTION: Hi Tracie this Monday I purchased a Juvenile Timor Monitor. Right now i have him in a 20 long tank. For now it has enough floor space but it lacks the hight so i was planing on getting a 36 gallon tank. would that be ok? Also what substrate should i use? right now i have him on calcium sand. Finally he is eating one small mouse per week. Is there anything else a can give him like feeder insects or fish? I red in another forum that some people give boiled eggs or even canned dog food to their monitors. I doubt the dog food is good for a monitor,  and obviously i know i can give him the insects as long as he takes them. But are the boiled eggs and fish a good food for a Timor monitor? He is very healthy and active, and gets really angry when i handle him, he is really ferocious but  he settles down after i pick him up. He also seems to be defecating well. I haven't noticed any problems yet, but a just wanted to get any helpful tips to prevent any mistakes by my part and to keep my Timor healthy. Hope to hear from you soon.

ANSWER: Hello Victor,

Well, a 36 gallon would be ok, but you can go a little larger if you would like to.
 
No dogfood really is not recommended, it just is not designed for their kidneys.  Boiled eggs can be fed pretty frequently, but be careful not to overfeed, as monitors can become overweight being fed too much fatty foods.  

I would not feed fish on a regular basis because it can cause thiamin deficiencies if you feed frozen fish.  If you want to feed fresh fish ocassionally, that is ok.  Feeders such as crickets, & roaches can be fed daily, with mice, & quail or other fattier foods fed less often such as every 3 days or so.  

It sounds like you are off to a good start.  Are your temps good right now?


Tracie




---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hey Tracie, the temperature is a between 80 and 90 degrees. Sometimes it gets to 95 degrees in my room but I have a large bowl for him to cool off if it gets to hot. Today I started to make a rocky back ground for the tank with platforms at different heights for him to climb around. Also trying to find a 55 gallon, the problem is that i have only found a 55 gal. tank with all the accessories for a fish tank for about $250.00. I'm no to happy with paying that much for a lot of stuff I'm not going to use, but if a find an empty tank with a lid for a good price ( not necessarily cheap) but a reasonable price I will get a 55 gallon. Finally i want to vary his diet because an adult Timor cant be kept healthy on insects alone and the mice cant be to large for him. Obviously the dog food was out of the picture. I'm not planning on feeding him to many fish but if I had to they would be live and fresh. The problem is the availability of food. Food is always available, but sometimes the mice are really large and fat. I haven't given him boiled eggs yet, right now i just go to the pet store and by the smallest mouse i can find, when their to big I get him crickets and some worms. Thanks for the help and any tips or advice is very appreciated. Thanks a lot Tracie.

ANSWER: Hello Victor,

What are you measuring the temps with?  You do need to increase your basking temps by a little bit.  The recommended basking temps are 130-140 so you will need to get that adjusted for him to help him digest better.  The ambient temps should be around 75-80 so he can thermoregulate so he will need a cooler side, too. The humidity can be around 40-50% or so.  
Since it gets so hot in your room, be careful that he does not overheat.  
Well, right now then, the 55 gallon tank is fine.  It will take awhile for him to grow anyway.  
It sounds like you have gone to a good amount of planning for his diet for him.  That is wonderful & he should be healthy because of it.  
You are right, varying his diet will help him immensely, so I am glad that you are looking into other options too.  


You could post a picture of him for me.  :-))

Tracie

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hey Tracie. Yesterday I put in the tank a rocky background i made with platforms at different heights for him to climb. The background included a big water dish i made for him to soak in. The problem is that he dug into the acrylic  paint and it kind of got a little dissolved in it. He didn't drink the water but he slept in it. I did not remove it last night because i didn't want to stress him out because he slept like the dead. I touched his tail and body and he did not wake so i let him be. This morning he was up and about and i noticed he had some paint on him. I picked him up and bathed him to remove the paint. Can he get poisoned? He seems fine, he is active, very alert and got really mad when i picked him up. He was hissing a lot but he has no bitten me yet. My immediate concern is, Could he be poisoned? also, How often should i feed him? I know that feeder insects can be fed in small amounts every day or as much as he eats every 2 or 3 days. But how often can i feed him mice? And where can i post pictures of him? I'm still kind of new to this page. Thanks Tracie

Answer
Hello Victor,

Hm, well, I would watch him very closely for signs of lethargy, & loss of appetite.  He should be fine.  If he had of drank alot of water then he could have some trouble, yes.  
He could have absorbed a little bit into his system just because they absorb things through their skin.  If it was very little, then he should be fine.
I would feed mice only every few days, just because of the fat content.  You can feed him small feeders like crickets or roaches, daily.  He is still growing so he needs food.  However, the higher fat items he does not need nearly as often.  
I believe you can post an attachment that contains a picture somewhere when you hit reply.  You know, I have never done it before on this page.  I will see if I can look around a bit to figure it out!  LOL

Tracie