Black Throat Monitor

[ZooRex]

I use cypress for most of my herps and its what I'd recommend. If you haven't already checkout www.proexotics.com they will answer any questions you have about your new varanid ~ Rex

 

[P. Novak]

Awesome! That link helped alot. Does anyone know of any place to get some good Cypress Mulch?

 

[Nivek]

You can pick it up at a Lowes or any garden center. Especially with spring here. Make sure no fertilizers, blah blah blah. Some people bake it, to kill any critters.

 

[P. Novak]

Sweet, thanks. I'm going to do a 50/50 mix between cypress mulch and the ecoearth stuff.

 

[Meaningless End]

i would stay away from coco fiber simply for the cost. one of the best substraites is 50% top soil 25% play sand and 25% vermiculite. it makes a very burrowable substraite that is the most benifitial to the monitor and you can get it for litteraly dirt cheep from home depot.. also if you cover the top with leaf litter theyll love you for it.

you realy dont need to worry aout impations with monitors as long as your husbantry is correct. the propper basking temps mixed with good hummidity and hydration will turn your monitor into a eating mashine no problom... ill throw up a few cage pics latter once i have some more time.

 

[rafiqos]

Sweet looking albigularis you got there!

Have you tried a mix of dirt and substrate? Here in Malaysia, dirt is preferred by monitor keepers over other substrates for monitors that like to dig. And if you're worried about impaction, consider this..these monitors hunt and forage in the wild by digging up burrows and tearing apart dried-rotten wood barks, looking for their meal. They should do pretty well in a nicely set enclosure. Or feeding can be done out of the cage. Providing a bark for the sweet thing to climb on and move about would also be good. Both dirt and bark will also help naturally trim the nails a little. LOL!

 

[dtknow]

On Wiki it says these guys get to 4 feet as males. Just checking but that is SL right?

 

[P. Novak]

I have a infrared bulb right now for my black throat monitor, but I was thinking about getting one of these(http://www.reptileuv.com/megaray-sb-100-watt-self-ballasted-flood-uvb-lamp.php) for my black throat monitor since I should be getting one for my tegu soon.

Would a 100 watt be good for a 32"x16"x16" enclosure? Or do I need more?

Also, since I'm using wooden enclosures, what would be a good product to make the cages water proof?

 

[MizM]

So how is your monitor? My 3' girl bit a neighbor a few months ago and he told me his muscles started aching, he broke out in a cold sweat and he had trouble swallowing. I brushed it off as a panic attack. Well, she nailed me tonight, and within 1/2 hour, I started feeling nauseous, dizzy, and broke out in a cold sweat!! I am now laying on my bed trying not to move because every muscle in my body hurts. Even taking a breath hurts my chest muscles. I did a little research and found that they DO possess venom, but can't find any more info about the effects or type of venom. If I felt better, I would look further, but it hurts to type!!!

Anyone know anything valuable about black throat venom?

 

[Big Red TJ]

Hope you are ok Terri??? I took a bad bite from a water montior several years back and I had a bad infection had to be put on strong medicine.. hope you feel better

 

[MizM]

The wound itself is practically invisible. She accidentally got ahold of a knuckle and just held on. No chewing or anything. Feeling much better this morning, muscles just a bit sore. The venom seems to be short acting and pretty mild. Mostly affected all my muscles, even hurt to take a breath. Whew, glad that's over!

 

[ErinKelley]

MizM, Im glad I'm not the only one! I am sorry you had to go through some pain though!! Everyone thought I was nuts I think, I got bit by a small savanah(like 2.5ft) when I worked in this local pet store and totally got flushed and achey after I removed her from my hand haha. The effects only lasted for about 10-15 minutes and then I was fine.. I've told people and they were like, "hmm, that's wierd.." I figured it was just some nasty saliva with crazy bacteria or something.

Glad to hear you feel better

 

[MizM]

Yeah, I kinda laughed at my neighbor, thought he was blowing it out of proportion. So far, in my extensive search on the subject, this is what I've found, interesting reading:

http://eebweb.arizona.edu/courses/Ecol437/FryEA2005_Nature_VenomEvolution.pdf

 

[Avicularia Man]

I use to have a Savannah that was about 20" bite me and held on. It had me bleeding good. But I didn't have any weird effects from it's bite. I ran cold water over it's head and my finger to get it to let go. Maybe the water washed it away before it could do anything. I miss that Lizard. Was so docile. When it bite me, it was my fault.

 

[LeilaNami]

Don't forget you can also feed them ground turkey mixed with egg. Just heat it up until warm. Also here is a guy that seems to know his stuff on black throats. Watch some vids of his.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NznlSZfRWMQ

 

[Jmugleston]

The wound itself is practically invisible. She accidentally got ahold of a knuckle and just held on. No chewing or anything. Feeling much better this morning, muscles just a bit sore. The venom seems to be short acting and pretty mild. Mostly affected all my muscles, even hurt to take a breath. Whew, glad that's over!

Don't be so quick to jump on the venom bandwagon. The same earlier studies that mention the venom in monitors also mentioned venom in bearded dragons. So far the venom in monitors has been loosely tied with excessive bleeding. Not much more. Many of us who have been keeping them for years have experienced bites. I've been to the ER twice about a decade ago from 2 stupid mistakes I made with my adult croc monitors. Venom was the least of our worries. It seems the Odatria monitors cause quite a bit of bleeding considering their size, but with V. albigularis you should worry more about the mechanical damage. The teeth will do much more than any venom. With bites you have to take other things into account. Was there bacteria present in the animals mouth (this one is a definite yes for most if not all varanids). Was there something on the person's skin that could have caused the reaction? Possibly you and your neighbor have similar allergies and you both had a reaction that is very unusual for a monitor bite. I doubt that though. Probability too low. With a bite expect damage to the immediate area and soreness. Just like if you slammed it with a hammer.

My concern if people will read things like this bite report and it will help to spur a movement against the not so common "venemous" animals. With HSUS trying to ban as many pet herps as possible. This can be hazardous to our community. Don't look too much into varanid venom. If you want copies of the papers that discuss their venom, let me know and I'll see if I can find the .pdf. Good luck with your albig. They are a favorite of mine. Beautiful monitors if housed and cared for properly.