Please Help, Savannah Monitor might be dying.

[BeastMaster]

My friend got a baby Savannah at the Repticon show in March. He was doing good until recently, he is very lethargic and weak and is refusing to eat. I went to look at him the other day and he is not looking good. He has some stuck shed, that I tried to soak him and remove what I could and he is wobbly when he tries to walk. I don't think she has the money to take him to a vet, but she does not want to him to die.

I know, it might already be too late, but if anyone here can offer some insight as to what I might be able to do to help her and the monitor, it would be great. She has even asked me to see if there is anyone close to us that might be able to help.

I do not know anything about Savannah's, but a little research tonight revealed to me they seem to be pretty hard to keep. She has never kept any other lizards, but she does have some turtles that are doing fantastic! I'm not sure if she just got a genetically bad one or if her husbandry is to blame.

Please help, this little guy is in a bad way and I don't want to see him die.

[bsash]

Depending on whether or not it is a captive bred baby, or wild caught, it may have internal parasites. Internal parasites will require a vet visit, and can be deadly, if not treated.

They need a basking spot of at least 115 degrees, but try more for 120- 130 degrees, and a second basking spot of about 100- 115 degrees.

The ambient air temperature should be about 80 degrees, and I would not suggest letting it drop below 75 degrees.

Humidity should be between 40-50%

As well, make sure that it has a water dish big enough to submerge in, you could use a cat litter box, they are cheap and easy to clean.

Feeding should be mainly whole food prey items, and offer a lot of variety. For example, feed mostly meal worms, crickets, roaches, and only offer rats maybe once every two weeks. Rats should not be given as a main source of food as it could cause the monitor to get a fatty liver.

Hope this helps. Good luck trying to save the little guy!

[BeastMaster]

I was wondering about parasites. The basking hot spot is 120 with a gradient down to about 95. Cool side is about 75 and ambient is about 75. I checked and adjusted these with my digital temp gun for her. The bulb is a very expensive one that puts out UVB light (it was like $35 she said).

The setup is a glass tank with a screen top, so I'm sure the humidity is low. But I made her get a spray bottle and promise to mist at least once a day. I provided her/him with a water bowl big enough to soak in and I'm making a moss humidity box for him tomorrow.

She has been feeding him raw ground turkey with calcium mixed in and crickets since he is still only about 5-6" long not including his tail. We do not have a roach dealer that I know of around here, but I told her to check online for insect suppliers.

[bsash]

I would suggest stop giving him the raw ground turkey. You do not need to give roaches right now, but they are better than crickets in my opinion, but if it is just a small hatchling, roaches may be too big right now. Just sticking with a lot of meal worms, crickets, and a rat every once in a while should be good.

I forgot to mention earlier, using a half topsoil, half sand mixture is great for them. Just make sure it is organic or virgin topsoil. Put about a foot or two of the mixture in the cage, they love to burrow. As well, then you should not need a moist box.

As for the screen lid, an easy fix would be to zip tie plexi glass over it, and just cut holes to put the lights on top. At least that was my fix.

[mumps]

I hope things go well for the little guy, but unfortunately by the time a reptile shows signs of not doing well, it is already too late.

99% of savannahs are wild caught, and a good percentage of those never make it to the market.

If there is nowhere for the little guy to hide, it will be stressed out as well and this will compound problems.

NEVER ACQUIRE A PET UNTIL YOU UNDERSTAND ITS REQUIREMENTS.

Chris

[Skiploder]

NEVER ACQUIRE A PET UNTIL YOU UNDERSTAND ITS REQUIREMENTS.

Chris

........or can pay for proper medical care once things go wrong.

Wrong diet + incorrect temps + improper humidity + lack of necessary veterinary care = dead monitor.

As Chris said, most savs are wild caught and come pre-ordered with a parasite load.

Can he be saved? Dunno - as has already been stated, once they begin to show symptoms, recovery becomes harder and harder.

If you are willing to put the time and money into giving it a shot, here's what you can do:

(1) First and foremost - get him to a vet. He is most likely dehydrated and paratisized. Only a qualified reptile vet can get him properly hydrated and diagnose/treat his parasite load.

(2) Get the husbandry requirements down. Get those basking temps up over 130 degrees. Provide him with a proper thermal gradient with a cool end temp in the 80s.

(3) If you can't get him in an enclosure suitable for a monitor, modify that glass tank by fitting it with a plywood lid that will ensure that humidity is retained. Change the bulb to lower wattage and give the animal the option of getting closer to the source via a retes stack (Google it). Cover three sides of the tank to give him an increased feeling of security and get him some proper hides.

A retes stack will not only give him some thermoregulating options, but will also provide him with additional security.

(4) Make sure he is properly hydrated and is eating a correct diet. Ground turkey and rodents are not a correct diet for a sav. For now, get him on a cricket diet.

Hydration is critical and it is imperative that if you two are going to give this guy a shot at recovery that he get properly hydrated. If he is severely dehydrated, the only way you are going to get him rehydrated is by taking him to the vet. After that, maintaining proper humidity, feeding him the proper diet and providing him with fresh water will maintain his hydration levels.

After that, your friend needs to ask herself an honest question, namely can she provide the proper care for the lifetime of this animal? He is not a turtle and the care requirements for a savannah monitor are on a level higher than almost all other captive reptiles. This is a large animal that will require lots of space and demanding husbandry requirements.

[BPelizabeth]

I also might add....(not that I know anything about savannah's) however that bulb....do you know what type it is? I know Sun Glo has a bulb out there for 35-40 bucks and there was just a recent study done and it did NOT put out the amount of UV it was suppose to. Just saying...you might want to check that as well.

[BeastMaster]

Thank you all for the help. I would like to clarify though, IT IS NOT MY MONITOR. So please ease up on the lectures, I already know it is bad to buy and then figure out how to properly care for a reptile (or any animal for that matter).

With that being said, I already went out with her and helped her get soil and sand, I mixed it myself and put it into the enclosure for her. I told her she needs to find a couple of hides for him. The Plexiglas is on the list of things to do, but I think she thought owning it was going to be cheaper than it has proven to be. I have had to be very stern with her to get her to buy the proper stuff for him.

Some people don't understand how much of a commitment is required to keep reptiles and they jump in head first without any prior research. Thank you all for the advice, however as a previous poster stated, he may already be to far gone for me to help.

[llovelace]

Thank you all for the help. I would like to clarify though, IT IS NOT MY MONITOR. So please ease up on the lectures, I already know it is bad to buy and then figure out how to properly care for a reptile (or any animal for that matter).

With that being said, I already went out with her and helped her get soil and sand, I mixed it myself and put it into the enclosure for her. I told her she needs to find a couple of hides for him. The Plexiglas is on the list of things to do, but I think she thought owning it was going to be cheaper than it has proven to be. I have had to be very stern with her to get her to buy the proper stuff for him.

Some people don't understand how much of a commitment is required to keep reptiles and they jump in head first without any prior research. Thank you all for the advice, however as a previous poster stated, he may already be to far gone for me to help.

Kudos to you for helping your friend

[BeastMaster]

Can anybody tell me what a vet visit might cost?

If she knows it will not be extremely expesive, I'm sure she will take him (or her? hasn't/can't be sexed yet I've read) to the vet.

And thank you all for your support, I'm not on here as much as I once was because of my job, but it is good to know that I can reach out to people with experience and answers.

I love all things living, so I help them whenever possible, even if it means personal sacrifice sometimes