Savannah monitor questions

I rescued a Savannah monitor last months and up until a couple weeks ago he was fine. The Guy I got him from had him in a cage made out of 2x4s and chicken wire, and the monitor got stuck between the wood and chicken wire and just tore his back apart. Since ive had him ive bathed him every 2-3 days and put neosporin on his back after he's dried off and he's healing nicely. However he hasn't eaten in almost 3 weeks. I try to feed him a hard boiled egg every 2 days and a mouse once a week as well as some crickets and dubias throughout the wee. Any suggestions on what to do?

Before the better experienced folks about savannahs show up, you'll want to post what enclosure you have him in now, what temps you have in the cage, how you are measuring the temps, and what substrate he's on.

Without that info, advising you on the problem would be very difficult. If you have pictures(both of the injury and the current cage), that would help as well.

I've had two sav's in my collection. The one thing I've noticed is that they will go off feed if their temps are off at all. My current sav got sick once when his heating pad stopped working. I put his temps backup (115-120 basking) with a good heat tape pad and he perked right up and was eating right away. Try meal worms as they are smaller and go down easier than mice or eggs. My sav is not a big fan of the eggs but will demolish super worms. Hope this helps.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by M_MULLINS

I rescued a Savannah monitor last months and up until a couple weeks ago he was fine. The Guy I got him from had him in a cage made out of 2x4s and chicken wire, and the monitor got stuck between the wood and chicken wire and just tore his back apart. Since ive had him ive bathed him every 2-3 days and put neosporin on his back after he's dried off and he's healing nicely. However he hasn't eaten in almost 3 weeks. I try to feed him a hard boiled egg every 2 days and a mouse once a week as well as some crickets and dubias throughout the wee. Any suggestions on what to do?

---

What size set up is he in?

What is the basking temp and how are you achieving it?

What type of substrate are you using and how deep is it?

Your monitor needs several things to thrive. The most important are space, security, an overhead basking temp over 130 degrees in the hot spot and a deep, dig-gable substrate that will hold humidity.

If he is not feeling secure, if he does not have enough room, if your basking site temps are too low and if you have not provided him with the appropriate substrate - he will fail to thrive in the long run.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Skiploder

What size set up is he in?

What is the basking temp and how are you achieving it?

What type of substrate are you using and how deep is it?

Your monitor needs several things to thrive. The most important are space, security, an overhead basking temp over 130 degrees in the hot spot and a deep, dig-gable substrate that will hold humidity.

If he is not feeling secure, if he does not have enough room, if your basking site temps are too low and if you have not provided him with the appropriate substrate - he will fail to thrive in the long run.

---

Exactly what was just said.

I had a Sav for five years and he perished because things were "almost" right.

A good starting point will be to read these sites over and soak it all in, print them out on paper if you have to.

http://www.varanus.us/

A nice writeup by Daniel Bennett

Savannah monitor dot org appears to be down at the moment.

check out the reptile report, there is a lot of Savannah Monitor info flying around there at the moment.

How big is the animal? My Savannah monitor didn't want to eat anything that didn't give him a chase. Crickets were his favorite and he also wasn't a fan of being watched while he ate.

After you get the enclosure and the temps correct try some crickets.


Send in your two cents!
Http://Yourtwocentsworth.com

Isnt neosporin bad for using on scales more than once? I heard it turns scales to mush...

I found out what was wrong, a couple of the light were basically burnt out so the temps weren't right. But to answer everybody's questions he is around 18in and his enclosure is 4x3x3. I have soil without fertilizer or any other additives in it and its 1 1/2-2 ft deep. He has 2 hides on each side as well as a big enough pan for him to soak in. I've tried both live and frozen mice and he just hissed at it but in a few days im gonna try to feed him again. Thanks for all your advice and input.

The fact that it's till refusing food troubles me.

Varanids have insane feeding responses, and when they go off feed like this, something is terribly wrong.

Do you have any way of measuring humidity inside the cage?

I don't but when I get paid next weekend im taking him to a local reptile vet just to make sure everything is okay.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by M_MULLINS

I don't but when I get paid next weekend im taking him to a local reptile vet just to make sure everything is okay.

---

I was going to suggest that.

Ideal conditions for a Savannah monitor to function well would be a basking spot of 130-140 degrees (F) provided by a bank of 3 45 watt halogen floodlights in a cluster to give an even area about 18 inches round for the lizard to lay and soak up the heat.

The average air temperatures in the rest of the cage should be above 75 degrees (F) but not exceeding an average of 90 degrees.

You should be providing at least one burrow in the substrate (like a woodchuck hole) that has a humidity level of close to 90% with your air having a humidity level around 50-70%, providing the lizard with choices, this way it encourages the animal to move around and thermo-regulate.

One word of caution, when they stop feeding it begins to mobilise the fat reserves and this is extremely hard on the animals liver.

When you go to the vet, be sure to request a uric acid level test, once uric acid levels escalate (due to renal malfunction) and gout sets in, life becomes uncomfortable for the lizard and death is the next most likely event.

Depending on how long this poor creature was housed in a chicken wire box the permanent damage may have already occurred.

I do wish you the best, and hope this is not the case.

Thank you for the info. Im not sure how long he was in that cage. Im actually using the same cage but I took all the chicken wire off and replaced it with plywood. Im building him another cage with dimensions that are 6x4x2 next to give him even more room. I've got a terra cotta pipe type piece that is half buried as one of hides and he loves it. His other hide is a broken center block that I rounded the edges on that is also half buried as a hide on the cooler side. When I build his new enclosure and get it set up I will post pics so you guys can let me know if it looks right.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by M_MULLINS

When I build his new enclosure and get it set up I will post pics so you guys can let me know if it looks right.

---

Give me a few minutes and I will post some pics of mine.

first I buried these pipes..

http://www.chompersite.com/LF/pipes.jpg

then I added more dirt and some platforms / vegetation..

http://www.varanus.us/cage/upgrade.jpg

http://www.varanus.us/cage/moss.jpg

tight seals to keep in the humidity..

http://www.chompersite.com/husbandry/glue.jpg

http://www.chompersite.com/husbandry/doorstrip.jpg

lots of light...

http://www.chompersite.com/LF/growL.jpg

this monster is 8 feet wide, 4 feet front to back and 4 foot tall.

http://www.chompersite.com/LF/10ft.jpg

Thing is, with all that lumber, aluminum and dirt, I had to put support columns in my basement under the floor to hold up the weight of it.

That is 8 snake enclosures on the roof.

Oh and it is insulated to keep in the heat...

http://www.chompersite.com/Jan2012/Finsul.jpg

http://www.rockyroost.us/Enclosure/insulate.jpg

Frame work...

http://www.rockyroost.us/Enclosure/frame1.jpg

http://www.varanus.us/husbandry/reading.jpg

Wow, that thing is both very nice and very big. Luckily my enclosure will be in the basement so I wont have to worry about adding support. Im going to build a platform that will be 6in tall so he will be very close to the basking lights that also will double as a hide. Im not sure how im doing the layout of the lights yet. I was thinking about putting 3-5 45 watt flood lights in a row above his basking spot then either a strip light in the back or front of the cage or either putting 5 or 6 extra lights through out the enclosure, but im not sure yet.

By putting yours in the basement, be sure to insulate the floor of the cage, and be prepared to use some form of heating under the cage to keep the dirt warm.

Cement slabs are cold and draw the heat out, so your cage dirt will be unacceptably cold.

In fact, go down in your basement before you start and put your hand on the cement, cold isn't it.