Ackie feeding tips

[Robo1]

Hi everybody,

I'm after a bit of advice for feeding Ackies, aka ridge-tailed monitors (Varanus acanthurus). I recently got some as my first monitors and they have been fantastic. Unfortunately one has shown no interest in food at all. They arrived about 6 days ago, so it has probably been a little more since she last ate. I'm not overly concerned yet, but would like to know if anyone else has had trouble feeding them and anything that you've found successful? She is starting to look thinner compared to the others, but she isn't skin and bone just yet. I would have said that she'll eat when she gets hungry enough, but there has been no change in her attitude towards food. How long are these little guys able to go before drastic action needs to be taken?

They are all about one year old and being housed together. She is not the smallest of the group, but she is the most timid. They all seem to have settled in really well, though handling is kept to a minimum, and I have not seen any aggressive behaviour between them at all. There is no difference in her behaviour compared to the others with the exception of feeding. The others are all feeding really well on dusted woodies and will chase/seek them out if they escape. I have tried using tongs to feed her in the hide, and left some "mostly" live ones in the hide but she has shown no interest at all. I have also tried feeding her separate from the others but I get the same reaction, dusted or not. Previously they have been fed on woodies, crickets and occasional roo mince, I'm yet to try crickets or roo mince, but I wouldn't have thought that they would have been fussy eaters?

I'm reluctant to increase the temperature further as the cold side of the enclosure is around 29. The basking spot is only around 45-50, I'm going to put a Retes stack in this weekend using some slate tiles and look for a more directed heat lamp to improve this. They have UV, a water bowl and the substrate is red sand.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers,
Robo

 

[Robo1]

Help needed

Ok, I still haven't had any luck feeding her. I have installed a stack and new globe bring basking temps up to 50+. They usually sit around 60, but the room temps are up around 27 at the moment so the thermostat kicks in and dims the globe occasionally, it's currently set at 29 for the cold end. I have tried some roo mince and as a last resort a little dog food but there was no response. Her hips aren't showing yet, but tomorrow I will be seeking help and possibly resorting to syringe feeding her.

Any ideas?

Cheers,
Robo

 

[cougars]

Mine eat anything that moves.Give some crickets a try.You may need to seperate it also?

 

[Robo1]

Thanks Cougars. I'll grab some crickets tomorrow and see how they go (Canberra day here so everything is closed). I really didn't think that these guys would be fussy eaters, but whatever works at this stage, I'm just keen to get something into her.

 

[ozziepythons]

Hey mate, in all honesty something is certainly wrong with the non feeding specimen as this is rarely a problem with this species. Since it seems that you know what you are doing cage environment wise it is probably a medical issue, so getting it to a reptile specialist vet is a must.

 

[Robo1]

I wasn't sure if this was a sign of a more serious problem, or just difficulties settling her in. There didn't seem to be anything here in regards to difficulties feeding so thanks ozziepythons. I'll grab some crickets tomorrow morning (for her and the others) then proceed to a vet. Anybody recommend a good vet in Canberra?

 

[Robo1]

I have just got some really good advice from the breeder so I'm going to hold off on anything too drastic just yet. Hopefully, with a bit of luck, things will work out ok.

 

[Ships]

Robo its more than likely a dominence issue, I have 4 together and had to seperate 2 of them becase they were being bullied and stressed and not eating enough. I seperated the 2 wthdrawn one's into a small 2 foot aquarium until they got a little bigger and bolder. If you do seperate it the setup does not have to be elaborate, small stack one end under the light.

If you must force feed think assist feed rather than force, gently hold him and try and massage a small piece of steak or a roach into the side of his mouth. If he takes this put hm back in the cage with some small bits of meat cut up right in front of his nose? hopefully will do the trick or help.

Before going the assst feed route however I'm not sure how big are the crickets/roaches you are offering, maybe she is stressed cos they are a little big?? If they are large or medium ones try some small ones first. Good luck

 

[ozziepythons]

Robo its more than likely a dominence issue, I have 4 together and had to seperate 2 of them becase they were being bullied and stressed and not eating enough. I seperated the 2 wthdrawn one's into a small 2 foot aquarium until they got a little bigger and bolder. If you do seperate it the setup does not have to be elaborate, small stack one end under the light.

Very good point, since they are being housed together. Def try separating and see if feeding commences

 

[Robo1]

Thanks guys. That was the tip that I got from the breeder. Last night I removed the dominant Ackie and fed them small/medium woodies seperatly, the idea being that the others would help stimulate the her feeding response. Afterwards (1hr) they were brought back together. I did the same this arvo with some small/medium crickets. Unfortunately no response yet. The breeder said they all had a good feed before they were sent so she should be ok for a couple/few of weeks. I'll be keeping a close eye on her condition. She is a lot more timid than the others and is hiding a lot, I'm hoping that she settles down soon.

 

[Robo1]

Also, thanks Ships for the assisted feeding advice. I wasn't really sure how to go about this. I had a good chat to Peter at Reptiles Inc. today about this and the problems it causes. If things don't improve I'll be going there for a lot more advice before I do anything