Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I own a 8 month old Savannah monitor, the other day when i went to pick her up, she hissed at me "nothing abnormal", but then started convulsing and almost looked like she had a seizure, she was fine after i had held her for a few minutes but when i put her back in her cage she wasn't moving her hind legs, several hours later i checked on her and she was fine, however this problem just happened once again, does anyone have any suggestions on what to do or how to treat, IE panicure to treat a parasite ECT... or just any general knowledge of what the problem could be?

You should get it to a qualified herp Vet ASAP. That's usually signs of hypocalcemia (low calcium level) or metabolic bone disease (MBD).

What have you been feeding it? If you've been feeding it crickets, roaches or some other bugs have you been dusting them with a calcium product that has vitamin D3 in it also? You should be.

There are other things that it could be but it needs to be checked out by a good herp Vet.

Keep us informed, please.

Hang in there!
HH
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Due to political correctness run amuck,
this ol' hillbilly is now referred to as an:
Appalachian American

after further research i believe the problem in compaction, he has yet to pass a pinkie and some crickets that i fed him a few days ago

That is a possibility. Good for you for researching instead of just waiting on answers.

Then you should know to try soaking it,

Hang in there!
HH
-----
Due to political correctness run amuck,
this ol' hillbilly is now referred to as an:
Appalachian American

I just wanted to say that I can see impaction causing the loss of movement in the hind legs but I'm not sure about it being related to a type of seizure. Unless, the monitor was straining to pass the blockage.

I'm by far not an expert, I just wanted to make sure you didn't overlook a symptom or two in your research.

Keep us updated, please. I hope everything turns out OK.

Later!
HH
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Due to political correctness run amuck,
this ol' hillbilly is now referred to as an:
Appalachian American

First, if your seeing a convulsion it would be a serious health issue, nothing that anyone here or any place on the internet can perscribe a medication of any kind for. Unless you have experience with dosage requirements, or you know exactly what the actual problem is, and that the medication will in fact improve the situation without any negative health issues, you should never give medication (this is why it requires a vet to perscribe meds).
Next, reading down further on your next responce to HH, you said that several days later your monitor has not passed a pinky and a cricket it ate. If your small young monitor has not passed a pinky mouse and a cricket aftyer a few days you have a serious problem. A semi healthy monitor of any species or size that eats a single pinky and a cricket or a few even should pass them the next day (I have hatched ackies that could eat pinkies after a day or so old, they pass part of them in less than 12 hours, and are eating more and more by that next day).
Finally, how do you know the age of a bosc monitor?
Why do I ask? Simple, there are a total of a few captive breedings of the bosc monitors in the US and Europe in the last 15 years, and none in recnt history, in fact the last sucessful breeding and hatching was from a guy who is starting over with young animals, none breeding. Also, if you bought a CBB monitor (unless it was a yellow ackie) you would spend about $200-$1000 plus depending on species (this just pays for the costs involved with keeping them properly and allowing them to reproduce).
Something about WC monitors, when you see a hatchling in a petstore or a reptile show, that animal is anywhere from 2-5 times the age or more than they are telling you, or that you assume it is. Yes, its common place for wholesalers, and retailers to keep them barely alive to sell them next year as "this years hatchlings", welcome to the reptile industry.
If you see a comvulsion, or something similar, you should consider seeing the vet, if it happens agian, you should see one definitely.
Until then you need to focus on what needs redesigned or changed to allow your monitor to pass its food is a proper time, after all a small prey item in a few days not digested can rot in the gut causing it to poison the animal, and cause symptoms that look like convulsions sometimes.

first things first, i bought my monitor at a herp show in white plains last April as a hatchling, so i am assuming that he is about 8 months old even though i don't know for sure he was 19 dollars and in great health when i purchased him, and has stayed very healthy ever since this happened, for all i know he could be wild caught but there really is no way of telling at this point. he is still secreting some feces from his vent and i have been soaking him regularly and feeding him vegetable oil which seems to be helping, second i should have posted the seizure part it turns out to just be stress related because he cannot at this point pass this from his system. the only reason i suggested the use of panacur was because I thought he may have had a brain parasite. I'm a college student at the moment majoring in wildlife management and have taken several courses in herpetology and herpetoculture dealing with all kinds of snakes, lizards, and amphibians. i know the result of panacur and also know how to treat IEroper dosage, etc... (panacur can also be purchased at animal supply stores, because it not only treats reptiles but dogs,cats and horses) if this problem continues for the next few days i will end up taking him to a vet, but for now he shows signs of improvement. and just for the record i posted this feed for help, not so i could be scrutinized for assuming the age of my monitor and be second guessed about the treatment i was going to give him I have an extensive background in herpetology and understand what i am doing.

Sorry, I really don't think you know what your doing. Brain Parasite? Vegetable oil? Panacure? Seriously, take the animal to a Vet, figure out what's wrong ( I'm thinking Dehydration and the onset of MBD, but I could be wrong ), and brush up on current Monitor husbandry. Which should fix any problems after the Vet visit. Don't take this the wrong way, this forum is here to help, but self diagnosis isn't the way to go in a situation like this.

Or insulting you, you need to find another hobby, monitors will put you in your place in a hury, by demonstrating your husbandry skills, your care in general, and by making wrong decisions, by getting sick, and dieing.
I could really care less how sensitive you are to my responce, or not, Im interested in helping your monitor becoming healthy not your ego. If you cannot see that, then Im sorry I tried to help you.
If you are so knowledgeable with panacur, and other meds, and their dosages because you learned about them in a class, then by all means medicate away. But you cannot blame anyone for problems aside from yourself.
Im sure you already knew this, but those meds are designed for certain internal parasites only, and reptiles have much different safe dosages they can use or take.
Like the other responder said, update your monitor husbandry, see a vet, and you wont be in this position in the future.
Healthy monitors or reptiles in general do not get impacted, they do not have trouble passing objects, or food, period. A proper set of conditions prevents those problems.

There is no doubt it is imported, in fact a good friend and I used to order boscs (although alot less than most at those reptile shows, for his table at Hamburg), they pay about $.75-$2 each for them, it was imported, theres no doubt. Yes, it easy to tell when they are imported. White plains is one of the sister shows to Hamburg, set up by the same group of people, and many of the same vendors.

first things first, i bought my monitor at a herp show in white plains last April as a hatchling, so i am assuming that he is about 8 months old even though i don't know for sure he was 19 dollars and in great health when i purchased him, and has stayed very healthy ever since this happened, for all i know he could be wild caught but there really is no way of telling at this point. he is still secreting some feces from his vent and i have been soaking him regularly and feeding him vegetable oil which seems to be helping, second i should have not even posted the seizure part it turns out to just be stress related because he cannot at this point pass this from his system. the only reason i suggested the use of panacur was because I thought he may have had a brain parasite. I'm a college student at the moment majoring in wildlife management and have taken several courses in herpetology and herpetoculture dealing with all kinds of snakes, lizards, and amphibians. i know the result of panacur and also know how to treat IE proper dosage, etc... (panacur can also be purchased at animal supply stores, because it not only treats reptiles but dogs,cats and horses) if this problem continues for the next few days i will end up taking him to a vet, but for now he shows signs of improvement. and just for the record i posted this feed for help, not so i could be scrutinized for assuming the age of my monitor and be second guessed about the treatment i was going to give him I have an extensive background in herpetology and understand what i am doing.

i can understand the thinking of a brian parasite if your currently studying wildlife management, but i dont believe panacure can reach parasites much out of the GI system. and im thinking even if he is w/c how likely that would be. i also have to say the use of panacure is relativly safe in HEALTHY animals, but in dehydrated and otherwise unhealthy animals (a wild caught full of parasites) it can be a bad thing. like it was posted before i think a vet visit is in order (if i ever own my own practice we will all wear t-shirts that say "if you cant afford the vet you can afford the pet" id look into the Ca issue allong with perfecting your husbandry. this is not an insult- we all make mistakes!! ive been doing this FOREVER! and i still miss something with a new species or something. these boards are for hints, not Dx
good luck and keep us posted!
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hanging out under heat lights burns up my brain cells!!

Panacur can kill a dehydrated reptile in a hurry, even at a low dosage. Sometimes death takes weeks to occur.
It could possibly be a problem with calcium, it could be alot of things, unfortunately without seeing the animal in person and what it is doing, and seeing its living conditions, and a good long look at its temps, etc, there is NO one on the internet that can diagnose it.
I agree whole heartedly with the vet comment, vet bills are a part of proper husbandry.

a keeper with even basic experience should know that no troubleshooting can be done without specific info and detail on setup and husbandry. you provide none.

your problem points to deficient husbandry, whether it be MBD or compaction or something else.

without good husbandry your animal is suffering, and without good husbandry it won't get better.

if you want usable feedback, please provide detailed info on your setup. cage size, substrate, temps, how you take temps, diet, etc.

your problems have been covered a billion times, they are very common, and the animal may be able to be saved, but immediate action is needed.

step 1- see a good reptile vet for a hands on evaluation

step 2- get a copy of Bennett's Sav book, check out our caresheet and FAQs at our site, and get your setup and husbandry where it needs to be, allowing the animal access to the tools it needs to recover, if possible.

best of luck.
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robyn@proexotics.com

Pro Exotics Reptiles