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Can somebody identify this monitor for me?

J

jdscarlett

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We came across this guy in an unlikely spot somewhere where he should NOT have been. He is wild and my husband managed to get him. He is about 4 feet long. We think he was accidently brought to where we found him in a shipment of exotic plants by mistake as he is very thin as you can see in the second picture. We are familiar with mammal exotics, but NOT reptiles. He is a rescue and we are parting with him once we figure out what he is and find the right place for him as we are not knowledgeable enough to care for him properly for a long period of time since we do not deal with reptiles. Someone told us he is a malaysian water monitor, but someone else told us he is just a regular savannah. But he looks nothing like the savannah monitor pictures I have seen online.

Anyone know?
 

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Also the malaysian water monitors I looked up online, their coloring is a little different but the pattern similar. I am guessing he has been without food or water for some time and was curious if that or if stress could lighten it's coloring which is why it looks a little different?
 
hhmoore said:
It's definitely a water monitor.
Click to expand...

So do you also agree that it is the malaysian water monitor? Also how should we keep it housed until we find a place for it? We were told to feed it raw ground turkey meat, crickets and mice but do not know how much or how often as lots of websites give different information and even people have given us different advice. Also if it is a water monitor does it need to be in water for some period of time? If you cannot tell I am CLUELESS when it comes to reptiles so please don't judge me too hard! Where we found it the people there were going to kill it if we did not rescue it.
 
My personal advice is to simply label it as a water monitor...it's been over 10 yrs since I sold my last monitor (which was, coincidentally, a large water), so I wouldn't presume to identify it by its country of origin. I know a lot of people that would give an educated guess (and some would claim they were sure); but, if YOU don't know, you are better off keeping the description basic and accurate.
 
The cage you have him in isn't ideal....but it looks like it would work as a temporary measure (obviously, if you aren't keeping it, you don't want to sink a bunch of time, money, or effort into the perfect set up.

Cool side temps in the low 80s, a basking area with temps over 100 degrees (I used 110-130, depending on the individual cage, and where they fell). A large container of water would be enjoyed, and used, but it isn't an absolute necessity (as long as he has fresh water for drinking). Don't be surprised if he spends a lot of time in the water - if such a container is provided - and be prepared to dump it often, as he will defecate in it.
Feeding - once he's up to temp, he'll be hungry....and will eat just about anything except plant stuff. Insects, fish, chicks, fertile eggs, rodents, ground turkey, etc. I'd stick with small-medium sized meals every to every other day. He'll pretty much eat as much as you give him, as often as you give it to him - they're very opportunistic - but that isn't the best approach.

A sturdy branch would be used, also, and is a good way to bring him closer to the lights that you'll probably use as a heat source
For substrate, you can use anything, but a few inches of soil is probably the easiest
 
Varanus salvator bivittus is what that is by the photos and yes it's an Asian water monitor.

Keeping it in a mammal cage is way less then ideal since most varanids will destroy cages like that and can/will hurt themselves by fighting to get out which I can already tell by the photos it's going to do.

Texas has a lot of reptile rescues so it shouldn't be hard to find someone to take the animal straight away so that it doesn't harm itself or someone else.

Animal looks young and may have been just an escapee from someone who didn't have a sturdy enough cage.
 
Oh today when I got home and checked on it the color was COMPLETELY different. It is not brown at all anymore. It is more of a green yellow color with just a hint of the brown. VERY VERY STRANGE!!! I filled the bottom of the cage with warm water and put a large container in there for him to get out of the water and sit up on under a heat lamp. He is eating raw turkey meat and crickets right now and I will get him some feeder mice tomorrow. He is not pet material though. He hisses if you even come near him and panics and tries to climb the cage to escape if you get close. I will try to take another picture of his coloring now and post it for you guys to see.
 
Ahhh nevermind you guys were right! I just went out there to take a new picture and he was no longer in that cage! I had no idea he could squeeze out. His body looked bigger than the space between the bars. So now he's running around in our garage hiding from me and I have to wait until my husband gets home to catch him as I am too scared to handle him by myself!
 
Temporary set up after we realized he could escape out of the wire cage. His color changes though. It went from more of a brown when we first got him, to a brighter green/yellow and then last night when I took these pics right after we put him in this set up he was real dark in coloring. He is eating good though and seems happy and likes laying on the rock under the heat lamp and lounging in the water. When he was in the wire cage, whenever we would come in the garage to check on him he would panic and try to claw out of the cage in mad hysteria. Now when we peak at him he just looks up at us and lays their peaceful and closes his eyes.
 

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I was, but we already had someone local that was familiar with monitors come and pick him up not too long after we found him. Thanks for asking though!
 
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