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Element Mightymouse06 Sdslancs Holygouda Lepdford Element Holygouda Element Element Sold82 Element Sold82 KAP10CAVY Element |
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Element View Profile |
We decided today was the day.
Well today was the day my Fiance and I decided to go to the S.P.C.A. and pick up our adopted Monitor. We figured we would help one out rather than purchase one. So we go up and they have 4 Bosc roughly 8-12" by looks alone. 2 Niles and 1 Black throat. All of them were a sickening sight and it was hard to help just one. We knew we could only take home one though. We based our decision off of budget, food cost, space and being new with monitors. We tried to pick the worst looking one. I know your not suppose to but we just couldn’t help it. We want to help the worst one we could find as it needed a home the most. Not that the others didn’t but it’s just the way we are I guess. The on staff Vet. told us there were no internal problems. In short a very dehydrated and underfed monitor. It was previously housed in a (get ready for this) wire bird cage. The poor thing didn’t have heat, light, water or correct food. The previous owner (a kid) turned it in due to his parents wishes. He/She wobbles a bit, seems to come from the back legs. Doesn’t appear to have any M.B.D. but I’m not sure what would cause this other than muscle deficiency? We had an immediate Vet. appointment with our normal Vet. scheduled right after. He pretty much said the same thing as the S.P.C.A. Vet. told us. He recommended putting Pedialyte into the water dish at a 2:1 ratio (water/Pedialyte) to help rehydrate the monitor. I dumped an extra gallon of water into the top soil/play sand mix and remixed it around just for added humidity, hope it helps. When we got home we placed he/she on the basking area and moved away and watched from afar. He/She could not see us but just sat there. At one point I thought he had either fell asleep or passed away. Within ten minutes he was already exploring and running around a bit, still had the wobbles though. It was just an amazing thing to watch this little guy/girl move around with such enthusiasm. Almost like watching something come to life. We must have watched him explore for 40 minutes before he sat down to bask some more. Still with all the signs of dehydration he never once took a drink or jumped in to soak. I was sure he would, rather I thought it would be good for him but would never force it upon him/her. We offered a small mouse, basically a full grown mouse but not quite. I’ve seen videos and pictures of monitors feeding but this was just amazing to me. This little one came to life once again and ran this sucker down like nothing I’ve ever seen before. He chased it into a wall, up a log to a shelf and back down again. He/She ran after this mouse for roughly 6 minutes. I felt compelled to aid or offer help but held back. I thought it was great he/she was moving around like this. Believe me if you would have seen him/her before hand you probably would have thought the same thing. I guess proper husbandry goes along way. That and this little one probably hasn’t seen the correct food in forever. He/She pawed and bit and shook the ever living life out of this mouse. It was quite the scene, blood everywhere on the basking section, on the log and well...let’s just cut it short and say the whole right side of the enclosure. It was something, I really do enjoy watching him/her in a proper enclosure. I think he/she will pull through. I didn’t get any pictures tonight because I really didn’t want to stress the little one any more than it already was. I wish I would have at least gotten one as this little one came to life before our eyes. I’ll be sure to post some in a week or two once he/she is more acclimated. I’d like to thank everyone who offered advice, criticism, experience, enclosure pictures and feeding pics plus so much more! It has all been extremely helpful and I hope to contribute back to this forum in a positive way just as much as you all have been to me. Thanks everyone, don’t worry I won’t be disappearing anytime soon now that I got a very few of the "basics" from the forum. I know I don’t know everything and I’ll probably never know everything there is to know of these wondrous reptiles. ~Element |
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| 04/30/08 02:11am |
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Mightymouse06 View Profile |
Message To: Element In reference to Message Id: 1720851 We decided today was the day.
But you kind of left us hanging... Which monitor did you pick?!?  |
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| 04/30/08 02:30am |
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Sdslancs View Profile |
Message To: Mightymouse06 In reference to Message Id: 1720861 We decided today was the day.
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| 04/30/08 07:55am |
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Holygouda View Profile |
Message To: Mightymouse06 In reference to Message Id: 1720861 We decided today was the day.
Quote: But you kind of left us hanging... Which monitor did you pick?!?
hahah! I got near the end of the story and kept thinking....so...which monitor did you get? Glad you are having such a great time with him. Surely there are many more to come. Hopefully next time it won’t take 6 minutes to run down the mouse. When I used to throw any live food in my cage, it wouldn’t last more than 10 seconds. :) |
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| 04/30/08 08:51am |
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Lepdford View Profile |
Message To: Holygouda In reference to Message Id: 1720965 We decided today was the day.
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| 04/30/08 09:25am |
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Element View Profile |
Message To: Lepdford In reference to Message Id: 1720990 We decided today was the day.
Sorry I forgot to mention which one we decided to choose. Yes it was a Bosc. We went with this choice based on room for an enclosure, food cost or breeding cost of the food. I can get mice dirt cheap from my supplier and the roaches, crickets and night crawlers we’ll be breeding. Might just remove crickets all together and stick with roaches. First we have to see if he/she will even accept them and if so, prefers them over the crickets. I know it took some time for this little one to get the mouse but remember he/she wasn’t in the best condition. We decided to name he/she Dicey mostly in the sense we didn’t know if he/she would pull through or not. Now we think we picked the best name for him/her due to what we saw happen to that mouse. Very entertaining that is for sure. Came home and saw tracks all over the enclosure, water all murky from the substrate so Dicey was in there. That was a relief for me! He/She decided to leave me a nice present right next to the bowl so it looks like it loosened up a bowel movement. I think Dicey will pull through. He/She is basking right now and seems complacent. We still have to add some more decor. I want to make full use of the height and length of the enclosure. Dicey is definitely exploring the enclosure and I want to provide as much as possible. I already have a built in Retes stack 2’ x 2’ with supports. A log goes from that up to a shelf on the other side. Then there is another log laying straight back from the Retes stack along the wall. He/She has been digging in that area. I have another log (really thick) that I want to cut into 3 sections, then in half and then hollow them out a bit. Hopefully Dicey will use those for hides or whatever. Also looks like the little one is about to shed. Sorry for the sort of jumbled post. Gotta head back to work. Thanks for all the nice and encouraging compliments everyone! ~Element |
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| 04/30/08 12:18pm |
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Holygouda View Profile |
Message To: Element In reference to Message Id: 1721101 We decided today was the day.
When my water monitor was small, she went crazy for crickets. Then one day she up and decided she was over them and wouldn’t touch em. Maybe it was that she realized she wouldn’t become an 8 foot beast by eating crickets, or maybe she felt they were more trouble than they were worth. Or maybe her pallet couldn’t appreciate the cricket flavor anymore. Who knows. Keep us updated. :) |
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| 04/30/08 12:28pm |
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Element View Profile |
Message To: Holygouda In reference to Message Id: 1721110 We decided today was the day.
I will do so. I plan on adding a few things. I was just down there checking out the enclosure. I’m going to add some stuff to the walls for general decor and should Dicey want to climb them he can. I also want to run a valve and pipe system to the water dish (2’ x 1.5’) so I can just drain it. I’ll try to sneak a few pics tonight when we offer him crickets. Thanks again! ~Element |
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| 04/30/08 12:37pm |
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Element View Profile |
Message To: Element In reference to Message Id: 1721120 We decided today was the day.
Just a little update on the Bosc. We offered about 20 crickets into the enclosure. S/he seemed quite bothered by them, ran from them even. I wasn’t really sure why or what to do. Rather than reach my arm in and try to chase them all down to remove them I decided to let them in for the time being. S/he has calmed down but hasn’t eaten any so far. I guess Dicey was never offered any before or just doesn’t like them. Possibly s/he was on an all rodent diet that might have caused this? Any thoughts on what to do? I placed some potatoes in along with them as they seemed to be eating on him. Now they are all flocked around those instead and S/he seems more at ease. I’ll be looking to order some roaches and night crawlers shortly after this post in hopes s/he will accept those at least. Anyone know of a preference of roach for the Bosc? I would really hate to leave them in there if they are bothering s/he and if they won’t be eaten. I was tempted to offer another fuzzy mouse tonight but I wanted to wait to see if s/he would try the crickets. That and I didn’t want to offer too many rodents due to Bosc having a weight problem from what I have read. Would an all rodent diet be bad for s/he? I know it probably is, I’m worried s/he is only interested in rodents and not a mix. What do you guys think I should do, wait it out and see or remove them and try something else? Any incite would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance! ~Element |
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| 05/01/08 11:48pm |
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Sold82 View Profile |
Message To: Element In reference to Message Id: 1722856 We decided today was the day.
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| 05/02/08 08:31am |
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Element View Profile |
Message To: Sold82 In reference to Message Id: 1723021 We decided today was the day.
Thanks Sold82. I’ll try getting those roaches, been checking out Kingsnake but the shipping prices are high since fuel prices raised. The most affordable thing would be to purchase some at the next reptile show in my area. One just passed but I couldn’t get out early or off to go. The next one is a month away so I’ll need to order some now it seems. I’ve heard all rodent diets could be bad but I guess in moderation and smaller amounts it will suffice for now. I don’t know why he won’t touch crickets. Could be anything but he sure goes after the mice. Thanks again, hopefully he’ll accept them. I’ll keep everyone updated. ~Element |
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| 05/02/08 10:10am |
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Sold82 View Profile |
Message To: Element In reference to Message Id: 1723087 We decided today was the day.
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| 05/02/08 05:51pm |
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KAP10CAVY View Profile |
Message To: Sold82 In reference to Message Id: 1723438 We decided today was the day.
Go to the store and get some nightcrawlers. I aint sure about there, but the Wally World here sells them in the sporting goods section. I have yet to see a monitor of any species turn down a big, fat, juicy worm. Scott |
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| 05/02/08 07:32pm |
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Element View Profile |
Message To: KAP10CAVY In reference to Message Id: 1723538 We decided today was the day.
I’m not sure if my Wal Mart sells them, then again I never did check before. I’ll have to look around. The only bait shop I’m even aware of in my area is over an hour away but worth it if s/he will accept them. I held off offering any mice tonight just to see if the hunger will get to him/her. I’ll feed tomorrow irregardless because it’s been three days and s/he is still skinny and frail. S/he is definitely moving around and exploring but has yet to burrow. Seems to like laying sandwiched underneath the log and the dirt/play sand mix. I’ll bug Mike about the roaches! Thanks again everyone! ~Element |
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| 05/02/08 11:21pm |
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