Hello everyone! This is actually my first post.. I recently purchased an Adult BRM from the vivarium here in Berkeley CA and have a few questions regarding this amazing creature. 1) I see alot of comments about food for this big guy. I feed him mostly rats and mealworms. Ive seen posts about dog food, raw meat, and cooked meat. What of these 3 food's is actually safe/healthy for my lizard? Is there anything else that I should be including in his diet? I do powder the Mealworms. 2) Hes really pissy most of the time, and actually goes #2 everytime I pick him up. Is there any effective methods of calming him down and making him more acceptable of human touch? Any comments, regards, or information about him are greatly appreciated. Ive tried to research him on the internet but there is actually very little information to be found. Here are some pictures of him:
That's not a heat rock is it? If it is you need to get it out of there pronto. How old is he? Most monitors need to be handled a lot at a young age to achieve any kind of tolerance for handling , if he's already an adult and hasn't ever been handled it's not too likely that you'll be able to do much with him. As far as diet goes I would imagine sticking to rodents and large insects would be the best idea, though I've heard of some people feeding their monitors cooked and raw beef, turkey, and chicken.
Heat rocks tend to develop hot spots and uneven heating that can burn your animal. I do not know what the heating requirements for those type of monitors are, but if they require belly heat (ground heat), I reccomend an under tank heater.
Thats a pretty beefy rudi. Im guessing its a long term captive? As for diet rodents and insects are fine. Instead of mealworms I would go for super worms mainly due to his size. Plus the super worms have a softer shell and seem to be more "meaty". You can also feed fresh ground raw thawed turkey in a pinch but a diet of rodents and insects is just fine. You dont need the turkey however if you run out of rodents/bugs you can use it. I would stay away from canned foods. No reason for them and they are not as good as fresh foods. As far as the cage I agree with ditching the hot rock. These guys are almost strictly arboreal. I wouldnt even bother with an UTH. Just use basking lights. If it gets really cold in the room at night you could have a ceramic heat emitter or just keep one light on 24/7. That basking light is too far away from the lizard to be doing him much good. I would position some thick branches or, even better, create an elevated platform under the basking light. Then using a temp gun or digital thermometer with a probe check the temps at various locations under the bulb. Cork bark tubes mounted to the sides of the cage work well for rudis since they can bask on top of them or hide inside them and still be warm. I would add another basking light to give the lizard a wider range of temperatures to choose from. Can also use boxes made of plywood to provide hiding places. I think he could use thicker branches as the ones in there dont seem large enough to support him. As I already mentioned the rudi needs hiding places. They tend to be a little shy and spend much of their time hiding in elevated places. That may help calm him down a bit. If you just got him my best advice is just leave him be and let him settle in to his new home. I wouldnt even try to pick him up for quite some time. He looks healthy and well fed and that is a huge plus since rudis arent the easiest monitor to keep. If hes eating rats and insects you're in good shape, dont blow it by stressing him out. Just give him time and he will most likely calm down. Although if hes an adult he may be set in his ways. And if he is a newly wild caught animal he may never become tame. Rudis usually dont bite but they will defecate and struggle to get away when handled. One of the best ways to calm monitors down is to not handle them every time you open the cage. Just let him see you changing his water or cleaning the cage or whatever. Over time he'll recognize you as a food source and wont freak every time you come near the cage.
Much Thanks JBCT, that was the best advice ive gotten so far. Ive also posted this listing on another forum aswell, but your advice has been the most helpful. I will definetly get better lighting aswell as provide some better branches. Your very right about the taming of this creature, and how to calm him down. Ill prob post another listing to the modifications soon. Thank you! -Bizerkly
RE: Much Thanks One thing that no one has mentioned in enclosure size. I presume that's a temporary enclosure until it settles in. I recommend that its next enclosure be much larger to allow it to move around. Monitors are one of the most active (if not the most active) of reptiles and require a lot of space. You may also reconsider not using a glass sided aquarium for its next enclosure, as you can't put vents low down on the sides through the glass and are forced to have vents near the top. This allows the humidity to escape. A really deep substrate of leaf litter will also help, and will give it something to burrow down into if it wants to increase its humidity level.
