Help with my Asian Water Monitor?

Hello everyone... I have been looking around for an active monitor forum... doesn't seem to be too many out there. I hope that you will be able to help me out with my baby Asian Water Monitor. I have been trying to find caresheets on Google and stuff but I havent been able to find much for AWMs specifically, and all I've gotten are for savs and niles.

(ok im gonna use "he" cos im more used to it even tho its unsexed >< currently all male animals in my house)

First! Some background! I am living in Malaysia. My AWM is a wild caught animal and has been with me for about 2 weeks+. It was caught at a farm for stealing fish, and was given to me. I took it in as I was worried they might kill it (AWMs are pests in certain areas here) and I do love these lizards very much. Right now, it is living in a 2ft x 2ft enclosure with about 2 inches of dirt + coco peat substrate. The daytime temps in the hot side are about 110 degrees (im worried about using a more powerful bulb than this cos some days it gets terribly hot in Malaysia and might overheat), and at night the temps are 90-95 in the hot side. Humidity is kept high at 79-80%. He has a hidebox, and a water bowl large enough to soak in. Temperament wise he is skittish, bites occasionally, whips and scratches, but i think its perfectly fine since he's a WC animal.

#1: My monitor is extremely picky with food. He will take nothing, and absolutely nothing except for live feeder goldfish. I think this is probly cos he has been stealing and eating fish at the farm from birth so thats what he recognises as food. I have tried pinkies, crickets, mealworms, mince chicken, beef, moistened dog food, eggs... he won't have any of it. He refuses to eat any of these foods and will end up looking lethargic. I tried for four days to feed him anything BUT feeder fish and he will just starve himself. When I give in and put in feeder fish, he perks up and eats ravenously. Scenting (with fresh mince fish) hasnt worked either so far Does anyone have tips on getting a stubborn monitor to eat other foods?

#2: My monitor sneezes repeatedly when he soaks himself in the water bowl. Should I be worried? I thought he could be too cold at first, but then again he seems to be spending most of his time in the cool side. He sleeps soaking inside his water bowl at night too, and will continue to sneeze. The water is warm tho, as I position his infrared night-lamp partially over the bowl. I thought he could be cold again and moved him out of his bowl into his hide, but he crawls back into the water to sleep, and resumes sneezing. =/ He does not sneeze when he is out in other parts of the enclosure. Could this be just water getting into his nose? Or the start of an RI? He has no discharge or mucus coming out of his nose or mouth.

Also.... does anyone know how to sex a monitor? How old do they have to be before you can determine their gender?

Here are some pics of him and his enclosure. He has a hidebox but i took it out so u can have a better look at him.






Thanks in advance!! <3

I don't know anything about monitors, (except he's a beauty!), but I have a question: As you live in his natural environment, why are you using heat lamps? I keep Fiji Boas in Fiji, and just have an unheated enclosure in my (un-A/C) living room, so that they are at natural temps and humidity. Just wondering whether you really need to provide supplemental heat.

Also with my wild caught boas, they insisted on feeding on geckos for the first year of their lives, then I started to add chicken pieces just as they were swallowing the gecko. Over time I managed to "wean" them onto taking chicken voluntarily. Maybe over time you could do the same thing to get your monitor onto other foods.

I mist emphasize I have never kept monitors, just talking from the perspective of keeping reptiles in their native country.

Hi Helen! thanks for the response!

I've been reading some caresheets, and in every single one of them it says that monitors require a hotspot of at least 110 degrees. inside my house it is very much cooler. without AC it is about 85 degrees indoors, 90 at maximum. so ive learnt never to take "natural temps" for granted... and according to most sources, this is not sufficient for an AWM. i wouldnt keep him outside my house either cos there are stray cats about and might distress him, or worse, get into his enclosure.

not sure if i could put chicken pieces or pinkies into my monitor's mouth and get him to start eating.... hes so skittish when he sees me he drops his food and runs for cover!

sounds like you have it well thought out, hope you get some responses from more monitor-type people (probably will when the USA wakes up in a few hours!).

He looks fairly good humoured in the photo where he's in your hand, he'll probably settle down for you soon.

You should take him out of the tank and put him into a enclosed cage. He'll need dirt substrate to dig in(more than the couple inches). A heat lamp will dry out a tank, so I'm wondering how you are measuring the humidity? Or are you misting several times a day? Soaking in the water bowl is usually a sign that they are dehydrated.

I'm sure some of the other monitor people will appear later on. Out of the nile/sav caresheets, I'd go with the nile, as savs are earthy lizards. You could check on proexotics site to see if they have info you haven't seen yet on keeping them.

Hi, Wolfy-hound
I am misting several times a day and i have a hygrometer in the tank as well.
I put black paper and cardboard around the tank to block his sight from anything around him... will that do? He has a hidebox also, which I took out to take pictures of him to show on here.

proexotics..... is this the one? http://proexotics.com/care_sheets.html
thanks!

Oh update! He's not sleeping inside his water bowl today! he's tucked away in a corner, tail curled around him and looking all snug. temps are at 90.8 degrees. hes been sleeping in that corner for almost 2 hours, no soaking or sneezing so far. i hope this is a good sign?

He needs a high basking spot. Is the hydrometer a small dial type? Or is it a digital?

http://proexotics.com/QUICKCARE_for_...TORS_1-08.html This should fit your monitor. Without a proper basking spot and proper hide spots, he won't be able to digest food and stay non-stressed.

They tend to like hides that they can barely squeeze underneath. Check "Retes stacks" I think it's spelled.

okay wolfy he has that bit of driftwood to climb on up under the lamp. even so he doesn't use it =/ he is always in the cool side.

my hygrometer is a digital.

thanks for the link! oh goody roaches....... if only he would eat them >.> guess worth another try tommorow... this guy needs to stopeatingfish. guh. and those stacks look pretty neat. i'll see if i can build some, thanks!

High temputure basking spot, not high off the ground.