Reptile Forum, Reptile Classifieds - CaptiveBred

arch · Posted: Tue Mar 06, 2007 11:49 pm Post subject: v rudicollis problems

Hi all hoped you guys could help, I've had a young black roughneck
for about two weeks now and I'm yet to see him/she eat anything, i keep
putting hoppers and crickets in with him but have found all but one hopper
dead, i have read they can be a problem to feed, can anyone help?
also he/she has only been seen walking round the Viv a few times the rest of the time it takes to sticking to the very top of the Viv is this normal?

martin day · Posted: Wed Mar 07, 2007 12:15 am Post subject:

if your enclosure is to big its proberly feeling stressed ,try partitioning off your viv if its to big and add lots of branches
roughnecks have tendencies to be very skittish when young just try and keeping stressing him out to a minimum ,dont handle him till hes eating ok and make the viv smaller if its to large
do you know if its captive bred or wild caught if its the latter you could do with takeing him and a sample of pooh to the vets to get him checked out for parisites

arch · Posted: Wed Mar 07, 2007 1:17 am Post subject:

Thanks i think/hope its the Viv size as its large and the animals still small
its probably freaked like you said, i think it was captive bread. I shall keep putting lots of food in with him and hope he finds it i might try screening a bit of the Viv off so its not so large and see if it helps.
thanks for your advice.

crocdoc · Posted: Wed Mar 07, 2007 5:45 am Post subject:

There's a 99% likelihood it is wildcaught, but that doesn't mean that parasites are the problem. Describe its enclosure in detail (include basking spot surface temperature, substrate, available hidespots etc) and we'll see if we can sort out the problem.

Sam Sweet · Contributing Member Joined: 30 Aug 2006 Posts: 69

Having a shy monitor like a roughneck "clinging to the top" all the time makes it sound like there aren't suitable conditions in the cage. The usual complaint is "I haven't seen it in a month", so I'm guessing that your cage is short on leaf litter, hollow logs and so forth. Fill it up with things the animal can get in to or under, and the situation should improve to the "I never see it" mode.

I'd advise against partitioning the cage. A big cage is not a problem (the outdoors is even larger), and even a tiny cage with no hides is not going to help. Put in 18" of damp leaves and half a dozen rotted logs.

Scott W · Posted: Wed Mar 07, 2007 9:43 am Post subject:

as Sam say's above, you should have the cage set up so that it's hard for you to see the monitor, plenty of cover including cork tubes etc. These should be under the basking spot, in the middle and at the cooler end. Give the lizards LOADS of choices where it can hide at different temps. Totally agree that cage size is NOT a problem just the way it is currently set up.

You may be disappointed that you never see your lizard but eventually it will settle down, feed well and become brave & accustomed to you.

I have a group of tristis tristis, they were extremely shy, fed well but would hardly ever be on show. I moved the viv to a high position (so the lizards could look down at me) plus filled it up with cork bark so they could travel all around the cage hidden. Several months later they are great, taking food straight from the moment I open the cage doors. Plus they are happy to bask while I'm in the room walking past etc.
_________________

Please DO NOT pm orders for reptiles, send email instead scott@captivebred.co.uk

arch · Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2007 12:32 am Post subject:

thanks guys for your support, the details of the set up are....
7ft high 5ft wide 3ft deep, I've got about 3 inch of large dark bark for substrate, branches of all sizes everywhere lots of fake plant, two shelves one high and one in the middle, the light (100 watt UV heat) is to the right side about 1ft from the roof the main basking limb is about 1ft under it and the temp there is about 85-90f Ive put a fair bit of cork bark around yesterday and hes been under the same bit all day, he came out to bask for abit but after about 5Min's of me being in the room he went straight up and under the bark. when I'm not in the room he seems to come out (which is a pain as hes in my bed room) so i will try and keep out for awhile. I'm still putting locusts and crickets in but to my knowledge he hasn't eaten any,although they have been disappearing (hopefully in the lizard and not
out the Viv) thanks again
Liam.

crocdoc · Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2007 1:10 am Post subject:

You'll need a much hotter basking temperature than that. The surface temperature of the basking spot should be around 120-130F.

Most monitors maintain a body temperature of around 96F for metabolism and activity and they like to be able to achieve that temperature fairly quickly (rather than bask for hours on end), which is why the basking temperature needs to be much higher than their preferred temperature. At your current temp of 'around 85-90' (buy a non-contact temperature gun!) the monitor is unable to achieve its preferred temperature even if it basked 24/7/365. That would explain it not eating.

Nervousness would also explain it. If it's in your room and it hides when you're there, you may consider only going in there to sleep for a while!

Sam Sweet · Contributing Member Joined: 30 Aug 2006 Posts: 69

Easier than banishing yourself from your room is to temporarily tape newsprint over the glass, and remove a bit at a time starting at one top corner.

arch · Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2007 1:50 am Post subject:

Thanks, what do recommend for boosting the heat on the basking spot?
will i need a new bulb? and dose anyone know were i can buy leaf litter in UK?