Monitor lizard crash course please?

[graphitebeans]

Hey everyone,
I'm a wildlife Carer in Townsville, and the vet gave me a call today about a little lace monitor.
Apparently I'm the only person they could get ahold of today, and this little baby has a damaged hind leg.
Only problem is, I'm not really equipped for lizards. I have two enclosures, but they're not set up with UV.
Can anyone give me some recommendations on the husbandry requirements of a baby monitor. I'll see if I can post a pic for identification. I'm trying to see if anyone else in the area is properly equipped, but I'm not sure how it's gonna go down.
I'd like to take advantage of the sun if possible, and I'm going to see what sort of enclosures are available on a tight (uni student) budget.
Can anyone please give me some techniques and requirement descriptions?
It's about 25cm long including tail. I'm going to have to bring it back to the vet Thursday for a re-dress of the bandage, and after that I'll be on my own.
Halp?!


Cat

Cat

 

[MissFuller]

keep in mind darlin if you say ya low on cash people on here jump down ya throat and they will give ya **** for not researching be for you get it even tho you where givein it wish i could help but dont know much about them little bad asses

 

[tyson001]

large rabbit hutch just a suggestion never kept but just throwing ideas out there also is it hard to become a carer.

 

[Robo1]

Probably the most important thing for monitors is a hot basking spot, somewhere between 50-70°C. Keep in mind that this is a surface temperature not an air temperature. Food should be whole prey items, mice (pinkies or chopped), or insects. General consensus is that UV isn't required so long as the diet is correct.

There are several people here who will be able to help out a lot, crocdoc and imported_varanus come to mind off the top of my head.

 

[graphitebeans]

Thanks for the heads-up jesus - I'm all set for snakes (got enclosures and heating and food) but this was a bit of a "we called you last" situation. I'm checking with headquarters to see if anyone else is set up, but it tends to be a case of "get what you need after you know you need it and hope you can keep up!" with caring.
tyson001 - it's not hard to become a carer. You have to check which groups are in your area and check with them about training days and yearly fees. It helps if you have experience and room, but if you don't they're still happy to help you learn. I'm hoping they'll have some sort of outdoor enclosure for me to borrow, or I've got a 3 1/2 foot enclosure with the pegboard siding (as above) which I suppose I could place in a semi-shady area outdoors?
Would that be best? Putting a pegboard box (with glass front) outside? I've got a cave in there, it's an altered bird-breeding-box which he darted into as soon as I put it in.

 

[imported_Varanus]

Hi Cat,

Any further detail on the injury? Try not to panic, I've found Lacies to be amazingly resiliant and adaptable as long as you provide the basics (water, a hot basking spot and most importantly, plenty of hides at the cool/ warm ends of the enclosure). Basking spot of 60c plus and hides in the form of tight fitting hollow logs/branches. Give it a few days to settle and keep disturbance to a minimum, then attempt a feed. If it wont accept from forceps, leave it close to a hide spot for a day or so.

Should be viable for release with a leg injury IMO!

Beat me to it, Robo!

 

[-Andrew-]

That picture you have put up actually shows that the monitor is not a Lace monitor
but looks much more like a gould's monitor.
And the size of it would make a few years old as it isn't a baby at that size.
On the subject of care, just keep it under a good warm basking light and try feeding it
something like mice or chicken, even chicken necks would be good with some calcium
powder on them.
And make sure it has somewhere to hide away from view if it seems a bit nervous.

 

[serpenttongue]

Doesn't look like a lacie to me. The tail banding is too uniform.

In any case, this doesn't make the above advice any less valid

Andrew beat me to it!

 

[cement]

If you keep him warm enough he will be active, and therefore might eat, which will also benefit healing. If kept warm and quite with very little activity around it , it will heal well enough, regardless of feeding, to be released. They can go a fair while without food but fattening him up before release won't hurt. Don't worry about uv too much at this stage, just stabilise and keep warm and try not to keep looking in at it.

 

[graphitebeans]

Hey everyone - I'm 79% sure it's a yellow spotted monitor.

Robo - thank you for the diet advice, I'm in the dark about what to feed. Are there particular insects (crickets, roaches?) that will suit him?

Imported_varanus - thanks for the support! I've never kept lizards before, so I felt a bit like I was thrown into the deep end. Outdoors would be best, though? I'm trying to figure out the best way to handle this so the little guy recovers and goes back out where he belongs. Would you recommend a particular type of meat? I have some hopper and full grown mice that I can feed, but I'd like to mix it up with some meaty-meat, similar to what he would be able to scavenge in the bush.

I've uploaded pics of the setups I have, and any help you can offer will be greatly appreciated.



Cat

 

[SA_Goannas]

My guess would be Panoptes or Gouldii... a decent head & neck shot will do.

 

[imported_Varanus]

My bad, I should have taken a closer look before answering.

All great advice, as cement has said feeding is not a great priority, but would be nice, if possible. Heat and, most importantly hides and minimum distrubance and it should do well. If feeding's possible, small, whole or chopped vertebrate items are the go; adult mice and quail. I'd go the larger cage.

 

[Tsubakai]

If you're using one of those enclosures then inside (away from direct sunlight) is the best. They'll turn into an oven in the sun.

 

[whyme]

Looks like a Panoptes to me. I love 'em. All advice given is relevant for most monitors. Bottom cage is good for a hospital/temp. cage. Just watch the globe/s. Maybe wire them up, cause if they're low wattage globes, you'll find they will get as close as they can, to the point of touching if possible, and not move, resulting in burns and even more care. Good luck and please post more pics. As said, I love panoptes!!

 

[graphitebeans]

So we went to the vet yesterday - she's apparently not sure what's going to happen with his leg. I gave him a mouse last night, and decided to put him out in the sun for some UV today.

 

[SA_Goannas]

He's a Yellow Spotted Monitor (V.Panoptes). Did he take the mouse okay?

 

[Frozenmouse]

reptiles are extremely resilient they also take a very long time to heal, especially broken bones. the best thing you could do is pass this guy onto one of the experienced monitor keepers on aps.
It may take 6-12 months to heal correctly if there are any breaks and by that time he will be much bigger if feeding well. my 5 cents worth.
As mentioned make sure it has a very hot basking spot 45-70oC and a cooler area to retreat to.

 

[CamdeJong]

Hey Cat, give me a yell if I can help, I've rehabilitated a few monitors and looked after them of all ages at the park. My mobile is 0400852958.

 

[graphitebeans]

Yeah, he took the mouse fine - left in in the cage with him* and it was gone the next morning with a big-ole' poo in its place.
I'm pretty sure it's not a broken bone, but a wound on his leg (I've never seen it unbandaged). I realize that he's going to get quite large, but right now I think we've got it under control. If I can manage him for at least a while it's that much less time that someone else will have to look after him.
Hey Cameron - that sounds awesome. Hey, are you in BZ2705? I thought I saw you Thursday but wasn't sure...

* in lieu of an actual gender, I'm just gonna say "him"


Cat

 

[Tsubakai]

Can I ask which vet is treating him?