Juvenile black rough neck feeding?

florida 87 · #1 (**permalink**) 04-30-2008, 03:14 AM

Hey guys. So i've had my baby black rough neck since last october-ish. He's my first monitor, so I did a lot of internet reading before I got him. I decided to feed him mostly crickets (dusted) with a pinky once or twice a week for a boost of protein because he was really young. He hasn't grown very much at all though, so I'm starting to get concerned. He's not skinny, and he's not fat. He's a healthy weight, hes just not getting bigger, and I feel like he should have grown a little bit at least. I started asking people around me what I should be feeding him, and I'm getting various responses. My boss who raises nile's says i should feed him a pinky/fuzzy every other day or every couple of days plus crickets. A local ball python breeder says to feed him pinkys/fuzzies every day plus crickets, and i can give him cat food and egg whites.

So to make a long story short, how often should he be getting baby mice, and is there anything else i should/can be feeding him? He's got a good set up (UVA/UVB and heat, branches, large bowl, etc), so I'm not concerned with that. I just want to make sure I'm not starving him.

razeraze · #2 (**permalink**) 04-30-2008, 03:25 AM

I think their husbandry is pretty similar to Dumerilii So I will lead you to this site:
Care Sheet V. dumerilii

DRZRider · #3 (**permalink**) 04-30-2008, 02:50 PM

That does seem strange that it has not grown since October. Is the basking spot hot enough and the temperature gradient ok? Feed it all it will eat every day until it grows. If it will eat fuzzys, chopped up shrimp, crawfish, roaches, or something else like that. I think MRCOTA knows more about black roughnecks than anyone else here.

CAn you post a picture of it and its enclosure?

Ed

razeraze · #4 (**permalink**) 05-01-2008, 12:14 AM

Has it been to a vet?

carpondro17 · #5 (**permalink**) 05-01-2008, 12:42 AM

Any pics?
Ive heard people use diets of 4 times a week insects and 2 times a week mice( this is in one week )... I also heard of 3 days crickets and 3 days mice ( when their babys they should eat 6 times a week) and take a break on one day of the week...Also the tail should be getting thicker and the stomache shouldent be very big...Hope this helps...

Deafbum · #6 (**permalink**) 05-01-2008, 06:09 AM

Do not give him catfood, it is extreamly high in fat an can cause your monitor to have liver problems

florida 87 · #7 (**permalink**) 05-01-2008, 06:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by carpondro17

Any pics?
Ive heard people use diets of 4 times a week insects and 2 times a week mice( this is in one week )... I also heard of 3 days crickets and 3 days mice ( when their babys they should eat 6 times a week) and take a break on one day of the week...Also the tail should be getting thicker and the stomache shouldent be very big...Hope this helps...

Yea, i'm pretty much giving him crickets 4 times a week and and pinkys/fuzzies 2 times a week. My boyfriend chimed in after I made this post and insisted that he has grown. I dunno, he just doesn't seem like it to me... I'll get some pics tomorrow if I have a chance, and no Raze, he hasn't been to a vet. His stomach isn't huge but he's not skinny, and his tail is what I would call average? I'll let you guys see pics tomorrow and judge that for me...

Oh, and thanks defbum. I'll avoid the cat food. Figured I should ask before I tried it. The shellfish is a new one to me, but I've deffinately tried roaches (i tricked him into eating one and then he wanted to have nothing to do with the rest) and that didn't go over too well.

Here's a picture of his enclosure:

A lot of the caresheets that I read before I got him said that juveniles were somewhat arboreal to highly arboreal, hence my choice in cage. I never notice him rubbing his nose (he mostly sits behind his bark or lays out on one of his branches/vines to bask). I think I had a brief discussion with Mcota about whether they were arboreal or not though...

florida 87 · #8 (**permalink**) 05-01-2008, 07:47 PM

I tried to snap a few pictures of him but a) It is intensely hard to photograph a baby monitor who keeps trying to climb on the camera, and b) my camera sucks. Here's a close up:

This was the only decent one I got...he was running away after he realized I had no food to offer. He's a little bit puffy...he's so cute. I love him to death. I know you cant really tell how big he is, but I didn't want to harass him to the point of throwing up his food from last night.

carpondro17 · #9 (**permalink**) 05-02-2008, 02:21 AM

Hmm he looks real small....
I wouldent really use that kind of cageing for monitors, monitor nails dont grow back if boken off or something.. I would build a homemade cage.. As for feeding maybe your not feeding enought..

DRZRider · #10 (**permalink**) 05-02-2008, 02:27 AM

To me it looks like it has not been fed enough. It is not real skinny, but it could gain some weight. I would also cover the enclosure with plastic or build a solid enclosure. They need high humidity and a lots of areas that are hidden to feel secure. I doubt you would be able to get the humidity high enough in that screen enclosure.
I bet it would start to grow fast with more food, humidity, and security.
Here is a cool link, if you have not seen it. Mampam Conservation - Varanus rudicollis

florida 87 · #11 (**permalink**) 05-02-2008, 03:19 AM

I felt like I wasn't feeding him enough. I've bumped up his mouse intake quite a bit since I posted this fromall of the initial feedback. For the last 3 days he's gotten a pinky/fuzzy each day with some crickets. I offered him an egg, but he wasn't having it. Thanks for all the feedback, its much appreciated. I think I'm going to go with the crickets every day and a fuzzy every other day diet. I'm going to try offering him some of the stuff I read about on the various care sheets and see if he likes any of it. Oh, and that link was pretty interesting. I really like all of the caresheets you guys have been providing... the only ones I could find a while back was one on R:e

:t:i:l:i:a and a few other ones that weren't very helpful. I'll post more pics as he grows up. Thanks!

razeraze · #12 (**permalink**) 05-05-2008, 10:17 PM

What is the basking surface temperature, perhaps it is not metabolizing properly. I would fix the enclosure and if you don't recognize a change, get it to a vet. I knew a girl who's sav did not grow for months and it was because of internal parasites.

razeraze · #13 (**permalink**) 05-05-2008, 10:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by carpondro17

Hmm he looks real small....
I wouldent really use that kind of cageing for monitors, monitor nails dont grow back if boken off or something.. I would build a homemade cage.. As for feeding maybe your not feeding enought..

Monitor nails do grow back, missing toes do not.

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