ridge tail monitors toes are disapearing?

[tonyb33]

hi i have ahd my baby ridgy for about 5 months nbow.and noticing its fingers look a bit curled up.and he is missing some didgets on his front feet,he acts normal runs hell fast catches all his food,what do u think this might be.and its perfect temp at both ends od rnclosure...worried he is in pain,,help

 

[Leeloofluff]

It may be a lack of proper uv light? Lizards need a stronger amount to develop properly. Are using uv lighting?
Hope that helps, poor lil guy

 

[jacobsend]

UV light has absolutely nothing to do with this. This is common with Acanthurus, and I almost gaurante it is due to dry living conditions. I have noticed this within a lot of Aussie keepers. What substrate is he on right now? Enclosure size? They NEED a deep substrate of a least 300mm, and one that can hold a burrow.

 

[dozerman]

Your accies digits are dropping off because of retained skin constricting the toes and cutting off the circulation to the digits. As Jacobsend said this is due to dry living conditions. Yes , Accies do live in desert conditions naturally but they have access to rock outcrops and other cover where humidity is higher. They also have the chance to burrow into moist sand.

The best thing to do now is to look for bands of retained shed on your accies toes / tail and if you find any , place your monitor in some warm water to soak and soften these bands, then remove them. You should also add more substrate and bury a few levels of your retes stack or bury some curved bark etc so your animal can have a choice of mini climates. I spray the substrate in my monitor enclosures to keep the top dry but moist underneath. If you have a screen top on your cage you should probably cover it to reduce water loss. You dont want to create a rainforest, just give your monitor some choices.

 

[ecosnake]

Got any photos?

 

[Constantine200]

I had that problem with my Ackies but now I have overcome this problem by wetting down the substrate (desert sand) at one end of the enclosure. They love burrowing into it and the juveniles have grown without the toe problem accuring.

 

[herptrader]

This is a common issue with young accies. We researched it a few years ago with the vets from Melbourne zoo and the firm diagnosis was a fungal infection triggered by damp living conditions.


I now keep juvenile accies on a thin layer of very dry sand and have not had the problem since... as anyone who bought accies from me at the VHS expo yesterday will no doubt agree.

I provide a shallow water bowl which they will happily drink from and get wet in but they do now stay wet for long and they never sleep in damp substrate.

This problem is nothing to do with retained sheds, lack of UV and is definitely nothing to do with being kept too dry!

The only time I will spray hatchlings is very lightly as they are coming up to their first slough.

As adults they obviously need a tunnelling substrate as an egg laying site. Even with this I only keep it damp while they are establishing their tunnels and when eggs are imminent.

Sometimes the public forums are a source of significant miss information which I find a bit sad.

 

[jacobsend]

This is a common issue with young accies. We researched it a few years ago with the vets from Melbourne zoo and the firm diagnosis was a fungal infection triggered by damp living conditions.


I now keep juvenile accies on a thin layer of very dry sand and have not had the problem since... as anyone who bought accies from me at the VHS expo yesterday will no doubt agree.

I provide a shallow water bowl which they will happily drink from and get wet in but they do now stay wet for long and they never sleep in damp substrate.

This problem is nothing to do with retained sheds, lack of UV and is definitely nothing to do with being kept too dry!

The only time I will spray hatchlings is very lightly as they are coming up to their first slough.

As adults they obviously need a tunnelling substrate as an egg laying site. Even with this I only keep it damp while they are establishing their tunnels and when eggs are imminent.

Sometimes the public forums are a source of significant miss information which I find a bit sad.

Damp living conditions are fine, dripping-wet conditions however are not.
Have you ever even offered your Acanthurus substrate to burrow in?
Extreme conditions of both can cause this problem, the key is to find your balance. Having a deep, moist substrate, yet having most of the enclosure relatively dry is what you'll want to be looking for.
Also, monitors in general do not drink from water bowls.
This is what I have come up with, and may be the cause of missing digits:
1) Often, the skin on the toes becomes too moist and will not "flake" off. Instead, it forms a constrictive ring around the digit acting like an elastic band which cuts circulation and eventually the toe dies. I haven't seen your setup but you might want to consider this as a cause.
2) The opposite of point 1), as previously mentioned very dry living conditions. A screen top, hot light and thin sand substrate essentially creates a "beef jerky" machine, and your Varanid is the Jerky.

 

[Radar]

I discussed something similar to this in pygmy mulga monitorrs with the head reptile and invert keeper at a major institution dealing with arid area animals while I was living at the place for a couple of months about 2 years ago. They had a couple of P.M.M's behind the scenes that had lost almost all their digits from being kept too moist by one of the less experienced staff while this person was away for a few weeks.

I have no doubt that not having access to moist substrate down a burrow would cause similar shedding problems to those seen in many species. Having said that, these are animals that are adapted to living, hunting and spending large amounts of their time above the ground in the harsh conditions or the arid zone. I wouldn't recommend keeping them in damp conditions, that's not what they are adapted to. They do shelter in somewhat humid and damp conditions, but upon leaving the burrow all traces of moisture are vaporized basically immediately in the desert sun, more likely than not killing of any fungal infection they would get if kept in permanently damp conditions.

 

[dozerman]

Whoa there Herptrader! Put that big old tar brush away! Years ago, monitors were kept like beardies ie low temps, no hot spot. Its not about keeping them damp, just giving them options .

Ive also been keeping and breeding monitors for a number of years now, Tony has a problem, I had this problem with my first clutch of Accies, I dont have this problem anymore so I posted what is now working for me. Public forums, especially this one, are about peoples experience and what works/ doesn't work for them! Im not going to engage in a arguement with you chief.

 

[trader]

Also, monitors in general do not drink from water bowls.

ours sure do! We love watching their gorgeous faces at the water bowl with the tips of their noses just in the water with their long tongues just lapping it up and then off they go!

 

[jacobsend]

Whoa there Herptrader! Put that big old tar brush away! Years ago, monitors were kept like beardies ie low temps, no hot spot. Its not about keeping them damp, just giving them options.

Well said.

 

[tonyb33]

wow thanks loads people.well the little critter is in red desert sand and its pretty deep.has uv lamp with fan inbuilt and a red heatlamp for night times.a water bowl,small snake water bowl.the enclosure is wooden and glass slideing frond doors and a mesh strip on the lid,where a light can go.i have rocks and some branches and a cool log with holes through it.it seems to burrow every night under the rock on the cool side.this will sound so stupid and i appolagise right now for it,but do the toes grow back,iam sory i no,and is it right that they snooze all day and come out at night like pythons,coz thats what its doing..hmmmm .arrrr and its not friendly what so ever,snapy little fella.but all in all is the toe thing going to kill it?what can i do now.and yes the sand is dry,exept for when it splashes around in the water....thanks again everyone.

hi ther sory about the other message,asking who u were,still working this compuer thing out.well the toes look no better what so ever,more like stumps now.but still munches heaps of food.i hate thinking its hurting it.thanks for all your info and concern.hope its going to be ok and not die from this?dam it my pythons are so easy to look after..

giving away ridgy to good home,has toe troubles,like they are missing,she feeds realy well and has no trouble running around.i just can no longer care for her.iam in currumbin.0432337895