General Monitor Husbandry
There are many considerations to think about when selecting a monitor. In this section, we’ll discuss the general husbandry requirements associated with Tree Monitors and Dwarf Monitors.
Legality: The first and foremost information to know is whether the species you desire is legal in your specific area. States have enacted their own laws, regulations, and bans on certain species so its imperative that you first ascertain the legality of the species you’d like to acquire. Reptile Revolt will not knowingly sell and ship to anyone a species that is prohibited in your area. It is the sole responsibility of the buyer to check and comply with their state laws to ensure compliance.
Diet: Keeping in mind that this section is intended to address the dietary requirements for Tree Monitors and Dwarf Monitors. As such, the discussion here will not apply universally to all species of monitors/varanids. That said, Tree Monitors and Dwarf Monitors should be maintained on a diet that predominantly based on insects. We offer a variety of insects which inlcudes the commonly available dubia roaches, crickets, orange head roaches, superworms, and hornworms. An effort should be made to be as diverse as possible with the quantity and frequency of a specific prey item being offered due to complications being documented due to lack of variety. Specifically, diets solely based on dubia roaches have been known to cause uric acid issues and diets of solely consisting of superworms have known to cause impaction and bloat. While excellent in moderation, the goal should be to diversify the diet to the best of your ability. So, what about those protein rich diets? Supplementing 25% of their diet with protein-dense prey items such as rodents, chicken, quail, eggs, fish, turkey is not only permissible but recommended so long as you don’t over indulge your monitor with excessive amounts of high protein/fat prey items. This is especially important to the well being of these specific monitors because they have evolved/adapted to process a diet rich in insects with the occasional protein/fat dense prey item such as a birds egg, mouse, etc while in their wild range. Excessive feeding of inappropriate prey can lead to significant health complications that are often irreversible. Fatty liver disease, metabolic issues, etc are just the tip of the proverbial ice berg when discussing potential health complications. Its also worth noting that an obese monitor is not often a reproductively active or effective monitor in most instances.
Diet Resources: The following options for prey items are those that we use and recommend but there are other options available within the US.
Crickets: Ghanns Cricket Quail: ADAMS Quail, LLC
Rodents: RodentPro Dubia: Dubia.com
Enclosure Size: With respects to the monitors discussed here, bigger does not necessarily always mean better when designing an enclosure. The initial goal should be to utilize an enclosure that you can sufficiently maintain adequate temperatures while preventing the animal from getting “lost” within the enclosure. When housing a hatchling, our recommendation for a dwarf monitor is a 20 gallon long aquarium or similarly sized ExoTerra enclosure. More discussion on design, size, functionality, etc can be found in the Enclosure Construction section. For now, aim for an enclosure that can adequately house a hatchling for a temporary period of time (they grow quickly) while also providing the keeper (you) ease in viewing so that you can adequately observe their behavior. The reason this is important is because you’ll need to ensure that the animal is acclimating well to the new enclosure. This means ensuring the animal is consuming enough food, not over heating, getting to cold, etc. An enclosure full of visual barriers in an effort to achieve some aesthetically appealing setup is counter-productive to this effort. Accept the minimalistic approach while the animal is in your care for the first few months. Afterwards, when its growing well and displaying some confidence to move about the enclosure freely you can then begin to implement enclosure accessories.
UV Lighting: Its simple, monitors absolutely need and benefit from exposure to UV lighting. We achieve this by utilizing the Arcadia lights. They have multiple styles and sizes to fit most enclosures so find one that works for your setup and be consistent in it’s use. To maintain health, all vertebrates require calcium in their diets. Calcium, when combined with phosphates, forms the main component of bone, but it is also essential for cartilage development and the ability of nerve cells to send messages. The body uses calcium constantly, so it must be constantly replenished. Vertebrates can either absorb vitamin D directly from their food or photosynthetically convert a precursor called 7-dehydrocholesterol into vitamin D in the skin. That conversion requires exposure to the B-band of ultraviolet light (UVB), light at a wavelength of 270-300 nm. Photosynthesis of vitamin D is common across the majority of species of animals and plants. all reptiles require at least a minimal exposure to UVB, though the specific requirements for most species is unknown. The best source of UVB is, of course, natural sunlight, but unless animals are housed outdoors, this is rarely possible. Vitamin D3 is an important steroid hormone produced in the skin from another molecule, 7-dehydrocholesterol, in the presence of UVB. Its most essential function is to convert the precursor, which has limited chemical activity, into a molecule that easily attaches to the ion calcium.
Supplements: The discussion of UVB lighting brings up the topic of using supplements and rightfully so. There are two types of commonly available calcium supplement. One has Vitamin D3 and the other does not. The decision to select one over the other is dependent on whether or not you’re utilizing UVB lighting in your enclosure. D3 supplements should be used sparingly and only under special circumstances, such as when treating for metabolic bone disease, chronic lethargy, or unusually slow responses. Given a proper diet, it is extremely difficult to suffer from vitamin D3 toxicity (hypervitaminosis D3). This is because prolonged exposure to UVB actually begins to break down both previtamin D3 and vitamin D3. Nevertheless, vitamin D3 levels can increase and lead to symptoms to warn that you must do something to reduce levels. Hypervitaminosis D3 leads to higher levels of blood calcium, calcification of soft tissues and impeded of joint movement, malformed bones with external calcium deposits ("bunions"), impaired nerve function, impaired flexibility of the valves of the heart, and destruction of the kidney's nephrons. This condition is very rarely the result of UVB exposure; rather, it comes from the excess administration of vitamin D3 itself. The condition is most easily corrected by withholding further doses of D3. Lizards may develop lethargy and soft bones, yet they have calcium deposits that accumulate in muscles and other soft tissues. This is a typical indication of insufficient UVB exposure and not directly related to vitamin D or calcium levels. Such patients need to be exposed to good UVB light for several hours per day. Remission may begin within a few days. Vitamin D3, calcium, and ultraviolet light in the B-band are essential for the health of the vast majority of vertebrates, including reptiles. Vitamin D is most effective when provided as a foodstuff rather than as a supplement. Deficiencies of vitamin D3 are best treated by providing exposure to quality UVB provided by a special bulb (Arcadia is our preference).