Savannah monitor rescue

[Skiploder]

Skiploder- should I have avoided handling even to give him Pedialyte mixed with water for hydration? From what I read, severe hydration needed the moist substrate and burrows coupled with drinking. He never drank willingly from a bowl. I'd like to know as much as possible about monitor care, not because I intend to seek one out, but in case I'm in a similar situation with a rescue. It's better to have knowledge and not need it, then to need it and not have it.

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jclaiborne already answered your question on page 1.

Without proper humidity in the enclosure, supplemental hydration is a waste of time - the animal is losing moisture through every breath. They need moisture in the air to stay properly hydrated.

While i don't rescue varanids anymore, when I did, I never gave them supplemental hydration. They went straight into a stock tank with a 2' deep damp, diggable substrate. I made sure the humidity was correct and that the hot spot was properly hot. I did not even look at the animal for a week.

Dehydration in varanids leads to gout and it's a slow, process. That baby you rescued probably had a host of issues too boot - internal parasites, stress, dehydration.

Handling reptiles induces stress and stress negatively impacts the immune system - which will put an already sick animal a foot further into the grave. Giving the animal chance means eliminating stressors.