Hello everyone. I've been in the process of getting a hatchling monitor released into my care for a few days now. This morning I got the green light. This little darling was in the worst set up you could imagine: a 12 by 12 inch exoterra on repticarpet kept at 80F with no humidity. It's dehydrated and emaciated due to refusing food. I brought the little thing home and set up a 20 gallon as a temporary home until I know whether or not it will pull through. Ecoearth and sand as substrate, 60 to 80% humidity, basking spot of 115F and rising as the ceramic material absorbs the heat, and a low wattage bulb on the cool side to keep it from getting too cool.
While the enclosure warmed up I took my newlyrics acquired monitor out for some sun to keep warm. You can see just how skinny it is.
I then gave it a nice warm bath for some forced hydration which seemed to perk it up a bit.
I tried offering some small dubia and a chopped up pinky (that was unpleasant) to no avail. The pinky did illicit a good bit of tongue flicking though, which gives me hope.
It's now resting beneath it's basking platform. I'll let it nap a bit before trying to offer food again. If it doesn't want to eat tomorrow I'll try syringe feeding some warm reptiboost to get some nutrients in the little thing.
This is my first monitor rescue. If anyone here has more experience with this species and sees a flaw(s) in my husbandry, please tell me! Any advice or suggestions will be taken seriously and greatly appreciated. I hope to see this sweet baby recover, thrive, and live a long and happy life.
Thanks for reading
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