Savannah attitude change?

[caljie]

Its been a while but if anyone was wondering, my Sav, Miles, has been doing really well and growing like a weed. He's about 16-17 inches long now and three days ago I moved him from his temporary baby home/QT 20gal breeder tank to a 6x2 custom enclosure (I'll upgrade him to something like an 8x4 once he outgrows this one). He's got about 8 inches of eco-earth substrate, 2 hides, a sturdy branch to climb on, a built-in utility sink for soaking and drinking, he's got 2 basking spots, I keep one spot at 98-100 and the other at 140-145, the ambients are 85-90 and the humidity is 60%. His diet is adult dubia roaches, large superworms, large crickets (I dust those with calcium, he likes to chase them), whole shellfish (usually shrimp), and the very very occasional treat of some hardboiled egg whites.

Since he's moved his attitude has seemed to have changed oddly, he still eats fine and digs and basks like usual but it seems almost like he's become a "teenager"? He sleeps late, hours after his lights have come on, and stays up late after his lights have gone off. He also seems really uninterested in his new, bigger hide, instead he continues to wedge himself into his old hide that I put in his new enclosure so that is wasn't completely foregin to him. Should I take the smaller hide away? I'm worried about him getting stuck.

His attitude towards me has also changed slightly, before the move he was very social, always coming out to butt his head against my hands while I was changing his water now he seems just a little...off, I don't know how else to explain it, he isn't defensive, biting or tail whipping or anything...Does he just need time to adjust like he did when I first got him?

Any advice for me? Is this normal for juvenile savs? I don't want to cause any un-needed stress on my little dinosaur.

[t.o.r.c.h]

I have kept mine, Little Foot, in my living room basically since I got him. He is very active and social. I've tried a couple times to move him into my reptile room. Everytime I do, he acts the same way as yours, so I've decided to just keep him in the living room. Not sure if when you moved him into the new enclosure, you also changed the area he was in. If so, it could be the attention and 'high traffic' area that he was use to being in. How long has he been in the new enclosure? Might just be adjusting to it.

[wolfy-hound]

Just like ball pythons, when you move them to a new home, you should give them time to adjust. 3 days is barely enough for him to have explored the whole new cage. Give him a week to even a month and see if that helps.

IF your old cage maybe didn't have high enough temps, or didn't have deep dirt, etc.. it could be that he's acting more naturally than he did before. Perhaps he's just busier playing in his new space, and isn't as interested in seeing what you have right then? Given time to become used to the new cage, he might revert back to his old behaviors.

I wouldn't worry about him getting stuck, honestly. They LOVE tight hides, especially flat spaces to wedge themselves into. Unless you have an actual hole that he has to fit THROUGH, he should be fine. They are like weasels, in flexibility.

[caljie]

Thanks guys, his temps were the same in the old tank and he's still in the same spot, just with a new big custom enclosure. It must just be him adjusting, he's eating fine so I'm not gonna stress over it.

[Big Gunns]

BG has noticed the same sort of thing with many different kinds of lizards he has moved. Just keep an eye on him and make sure his temps and everything is OK. He should be fine and adjust in some time.