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Bosc monitor

2K views 28 replies 6 participants last post by  jarich 
#1 ·
Hi, I've recentley purchased a new bosc monitor, 3weeks ago to be precise and since i brought him home he has barley eaten anything i was wondering if this is normal for them whilst settling in or should they usually eating properly by now? he is a young bosc approx 8inches in length. any advice would be appreciated thanx.
 
#2 ·
They can sometimes take some time to settle in to a new home, yes. However it can often be a sign that something needs some tweaking in their enclosure. Can you give us a rundown of your enclosure? What's the basking/cool end temps? What's the humidity? What substrate do you have? What lighting and how is it mounted? Etc etc
 
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#3 ·
It's normal for things to go of there food a bit after the stress of being moved but 3 weeks is a unusually long for a healthy bosc.

What is your set up like? size/temps(basking and ambient)/UV/humidity/substrate/water provisions etc.

What have you tried offering the little things so far?
 
#5 ·
he is in a 3ft x 18inch x 18inch viv basking spot 125-130 hot end around 95 and cool end around 80 his temps are dropped at night, humidity in the cool end is 70 desert dry in his hot end basking spot his substrate is a mixture of sand and soil to allow burrowing which he has dug under his water bowl he has a 150w red heat bulb which is mounted inside also a 10.0 uvb bulb mounted in the top corner.
 
#8 ·
You could try upping you basking temps but temps basically look ok

Don't quite get the next bit about humidity, do you mean it's around 70%?

Sand/soil is good, how deep is it?

Maybe try a white basking light, I personally always favor them and have notice an increase in activity etc when they are used.

UVB is only a good thing though some say these guys don't need it.

May sound silly but are you a 100%he is not eating when you are not around? It literally took around 6months for me to actually see my bosc latest eat. Maybe try counting locust m in and out but give him a good while to eat first. Mealies will disappear into substrate and you will find it very difficult to count keep track, a healthy bosc should happily dig for food so this isn't really a problem.


 
#10 ·
His substrate is around 3-4 inches deep and yes your right the mealies hide underground so its impossible to keep a count on them lol but the same amount of locusts are always in there but surley by having a white heat light it will disturb him during the night? he seems active he will walk round his viv and bask, dig, climb etc..
 
#12 ·
Struggling to visualize 3inches but think that is a bit probly a bit shallow even for a baby, maybe bank it up in one area, better still increase the entire substrate depth (you can't have too much!) he NEEDS to be able to bury himself fully to prevent dehydration and help with thermoregulation. Depending of the environment the viv is you may not need to leave heating on at night either way if there are burrows/hiding places etc he will retreat when he needs to.

The fact he is active, digging and not spending his holes time laying on basking spot is a good sign

Sorry, not trying to pick holes in what you’re doing but it’s worth going through everything, sometimes it’s hard to notice things when they are right in front of you and all you need is fresh eyes.
 
#11 ·
Do you know how he was kept before you got him?

How does he look generally, he bright eyed and active? Boscs shouldn’t be chubby as such but reasonable streamline with a kind of chunky muscular body and tail (sorry, best description I can give). How are do his eyes and skin look, is it it particularly dark and pinched looking.
 
#20 ·
I'd try feeding him roaches my ackie a couple of weeks ago just stopped eating anything but mealworms, so I got some dubia and lobster roaches, instantly started eating roaches and everything else. So by the looks of things your set up is okay so I'd just to some roaches and see if your having trouble then I would look into the housing and other husbandry
 
#25 ·
Ok, thats a start. My first recommendation would be to take him out for a bit and at least double the amount of dirt you have in there. It looks like it is probably drying out fairly quickly, which kills all the good bioactivity of your soil. Dry soil is pretty much dead soil so you need to be able to have enough depth to keep it moist consistently. Id also recommend getting some leaf litter to put on top of the soil. This will help keep the soil moist also and give you some good bacteria to start with too.

How are you taking your temperature measurements? Is the dial on the back wall how you are reading it? Do you have a infrared temp gun? Also, does the red light only come on at night when the other lights are off or how are you using that?
 
#26 ·
ok ill try that, leaf litter? and i use digital thermometers to check temps are correct now and then, the dial is a hygrometer and no the red stays on all day to keep his basking temps up high. i got him some dubia roaches today and a few pinkies he soon snatched a pinkie of me i just never really see him feed on the insects
 
#27 ·
Well that is a sign that something is wrong then. Eating only pinkies isnt a good sign. That basically means that the animal is in a mode where they are conserving energy and will only go for food that is high in return (essentially high fat). In other words, the pinkie takes minimal effort to 'catch' and has a lot of fat, so its worth it. The insects are harder to catch, have less fat, and so arent worth the effort metabolically to a struggling animal. A healthy monitor should be going after everything that moves.

Do you have a reptile specialist vet close by? I would recommend going in for a check up. Get a blood and fecal test at least. Given that you havent had this animal very long, and that your temperatures are pretty good, its probably something to do with its care previous to you owning it. A vet can do some blood work and fecal test to see if there is an issue you arent aware of yet.

As far as the leaf litter, its just a term for the leaves, twigs, etc that you find on the ground under trees. It will often have isopods, springtails, nematodes, bacteria, etc in it that are all good for your enclosure. Just make sure you collect it from an area that you know is free from pesticides, herbicides, pollution, etc.

Is the red light the only light for the basking area? Could you take a picture of the lighting set up/ceiling too?
 
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#28 ·
yeah, he never seems interested in hoppers, meal worms, dubias etc. there is a vet close by i could take him to the red light is the only light in there along with the uv, the red sit approx 10inch from the substrate, also his tail has just gone in to shed but the tip approx 5mm has gone a very dark colour which also i dont understand as his cool end humidity is around 80%? if you need specific pics let me know?
 
#29 ·
The tail end turning black is not good. Please definitely find a reptile specialist vet and get your monitor there quickly.

Then start getting the money/materials ready to build its adult enclosure. The one you have does not allow for the depth of substrate you need to keep your animal healthy. It needs a burrow so that it can regulate its moisture, temperature, blood chemistry, etc. Your monitor is showing you that though you have made a good effort in adapting that enclosure, it's still not meeting your animals needs. Please take these hints from it. I know it's not cheap or easy necessarily, but I guarantee you will be happy with the results. : victory:
 
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