Blind Mertens?

[richardsc]

thanks free rider,spot on

kirby yes thats the plus of heating the water to,helps with ambient temps,especially at night

aofie,your old cage was smaller,easier to heat,38 degrees basking spot is coolish for a monitor to,50 odd only at the basking spot is good,38 is good hot end ambient temp though

also when did u put the mertons in the bigger cage,have u noticed your issues develop over winter,also what are your night temps,im not having a go at you,trying to help thats all,pm me if u like,you really need to heat there water

kirby even in an aquarium shop with ambient temps around 26,have u been to darwin in the wet season,26 degree aquarim in comparison is like mt hotham in the middle of winter in comparison to a mertens natural habitat,trust me they need warmth ,keeping them cool is slowly killing them

 

[aoife]

*richardsc* i know your know your not having a go, I do need help. This is my first winter with Edward & i'm always learning. i really want him to have a good life so thank-you for helping.

I will be heating up the water with a spare underwater heater i have. The uv is off and i will bump up the temps to 50c (directly under the heat lamp). Also would heating the water creat more humidity? Just thinking maybe that could get higher aswell.

Cheers

 

[Kirby]

richardsc, even today the temperature in Darwin got down to 18C. with a highest of 30. averaging 27. this isnt to say that a warm rock couldnt get to 50C... but it is to say that they can live happily at cooler temperature. yes, it is still winter. but it goes to show it does.

i think your exaggerating there temps. yes i agree the 50C+ basking spot is beneficial to monitors, but i dont believe the cool side NEEDS to stay warm. obviously they live happily in the wild with evening to night cool temperatures.. they will choose instinctively appropriate temps.

 

[richardsc]

kirby,got down to 18 in darwin yes,thats there over night low,today melbourne didnt even have a high of 16 degrees and night time low was 4 odd degrees,very different to darwin mate,also on a 30 degree day,have u measure the temperate of the ground in the sun,its a heck of a lot hotter than 30 degrees mate,if u understood how to keep monitors you would understand, a basking spot of 30 odd degrees is cold as for a monitor,especially a tropical type,on a 20 degree day if u measure the ground of an area getting sun it can be 35 or more degrees,are u getting my drift,monitors function at higher temps than other reptiles,there not blue tongues,and u offer them the extra heat so they can use it to get to the temp they want,then they can nick off and do there thing,but if u dont keep them hot enough to reach there preferred body temps,they fail to thrive,its pretty simple when u think about it,i never said the cool end cant be low,but to be low you definatly need to have heated water and a really hot basking spot

i like giving them a cool end, i give all my monitors a cool end,the thing is they have a hot end,the mertens have a heated pond to,you need to give them variety,but most important is to give them access to heat at a basking spot at least 50 odd degrees,they dont use it all the time,but use it enough to warrant it,most of my monitors have basking temps of 75 degrees celcius at the hottest spot,but they have lots of different temps to choose from,funny thing is they stick to the hotter areas most of the time

 

[Kirby]

so your agreeing there is nothing wrong with a 25C cool side? as long as you have a 50C hot spot?

if you had read my posts properly i have been agreeing all along that the hot spot is needed. simply arguing the fact they can and will handle to coolness of a normal cool side.

im not at all saying your wrong, just discussing suitable cool sides. as you seem to go against your last post and contradict.

 

[aoife]

I checked Edward out last night, I opened the Lid his eyes were shut and he was hissing at me. I think tmorrow i will put the uv back on with the extra light aswell and give that a shot.

 

[freerider]

I checked Edward out last night, I opened the Lid his eyes were shut and he was hissing at me. I think tmorrow i will put the uv back on with the extra light aswell and give that a shot.

Have you heated the water and raised his basking temp to at least 50degrees yet?

 

[aoife]

i havn't heated the water as i don't see how that would be affecting his eyes.
The basking temp is around 45-48c. It always has been.
Not being rude just want to know what to do.

 

[Tristis]

up the backing spot tom 70c and have lots of spots for him to hide under the basking site.
its a tropical monitor and if the waters not warn he will get respiritry problems. what have you been feeding it and how much?

 

[freerider]

i havn't heated the water as i don't see how that would be affecting his eyes.
The basking temp is around 45-48c. It always has been.
Not being rude just want to know what to do.

Tristis, myself and richard told you what we think you should do and we all have experience with monitors. Check out www.varanus.nl they will tell you what we have as well but there are some very experienced people that may be able to explain better why these things need to be done.
Hope that helps!

 

[richardsc]

kirby yes im agreeing mate,if u provide a hot enough warm end,at least 50 degree basking site,24 degree cool end is fine,my cool end gets heaps cooler than that at night over winter,probably a bit during the day as well,but i have heated water and provide the heated basking spots so they stay near the heat,cool ends are important but if u dont give them the hot end with that and the heated water they seek your husbandry is wrong,if u kept crocs,would u keep them in unheated water in melb,when there used to water temps around 27 28 degrees,if u dont give them the chance to get to there prefered body temps,they get sick,dont eat or at best dont eat much,they get lethargic and slowly die

aofie,i really think u should try heating your mertens water,im not just saying it,also i dont think theres anything wrong with using your uv light,i still say your young mertens is suffering a respitory infection,when they get that it spreads though the nasal cavity and affects there eyes to,also u wont get fast results if your monitor has developed a respitory infection,it takes time for them to recover and if its advanced,u may need to see a reptile vet for baytril to clear it,

my suggestion for you is heat the water to 26 to 28 degrees,measure the temps to be sure its at that,also have the basking spot at least 50 degrees,50 to 60 degrees even,thats just the area directly under the basking lite,eg branch or a stack like tristis suggested,i use a rock and a branch for my lot,the light hits the branch offering a basking spot in the 60 degree region,the rock is lower and gets most of the lights rays and stays around 50 degrees,also u need to keep them warm at night,a freezing cold nigh in winter for a mertens is maybe 16 degrees,in there natural habitat,but you have a health comprimised youngster and u dont want it that cool as thats there shut down temp so u need to keep it warm at night,u can use a red basking light like your day light to use at night offering the same temps,id highly recommend that,also mine sleep in there water,not occaisionally,they are highly aquatic animals,so u really need to heat there water and let them do whats natural to them,spending lots of time in the water to