Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Is there anyway to increase his appetite? He's only eaten two crickets since I got him and I was gettin a little worried so I came for advice. Is there anything I can do to increase his appetite?

Also when I cleaned his water dish I waited till it was in his tank to fill and as I was filling it he attacked (bit) the water flowing down is this normal?

If you just recently acquired him, he may be acclimating to his new surrounding, hence he is not feeding as he normally should. I would wait about a week before you start to handle or disturb him. Put some crickets in there for him incase he want to eat them, and don't disturb at this time when he is acclimating.

I'm not sure about the water thing though. He may attack it just like my dog would attack a stream of water. Good luck!

He seems well adjusted no other lizard I've ever got has taken this long before eating.

His tank stats are as follows

Basking spot: 120-130 (small variance with time of day)

Hot side: around 90

Cool side: around 84 right now

Has a small dish to soak

couple of hides

Substrate: sand/topsoil/vermicult

his behaviour is whats bothering me the most he seems to just lie about rarely in his basking spot. He sleeps pretty well all the time.Crickets will walk right up to him when I try to feed him and he just goes back to sleep. He doesn't even seems to be hiding when I'm moving around which is a common trait for lizards that young. Any help or advice would be appreicated.

Your set seem good. Hot side at about 90 and the cool side about 80. To tell you the truth I'm not sure what is wrong with him either. You are right to worry! A lizard that young should scramble for cover when you approach the cage. Maybe others could shed some light on this. In the meantime, I think the best thing to do is take it to a vet. Or, he might be dehydrated if he's lathargic like that. Do you have a large water bowl so he can drink from and in it if wants to. In anycase, I'm not sure how to treat that, so take it to an exotic vet.

I'm with Paradon on this - his normal reaction should be to scoot for cover quick. He doesn't sound right a vet trip would be in order I think.

Well I called around and the closet vet that said he had any sortof experience with monitors is over an hour drive away which means it will be at least a few days until I can make it there. In the mean time he shouldn't be dehydrated, he is at least going into his dish because although I don't see it he's trackin dirt into it for me to clean.

Is there anything I can do in the meantime to help the little guy out?

Well things really seem to be turning for the worse. I didn't see him awake once today so when I finally whent to inspect he didn't even move when I gave him a little poke. I picked him up and he finally open his eyes and looked around. As soon as I set him back down he just walked a couple of steps and whent right back to sleep.

No...it doesn't sound good at all. I'm very, very sorry to hear it. Yes - a vet trip is in order, I would never argue against finding and using a qualified veterinaran, however it is absolutely NO guarantee that the vet you found will help...and if he's in such a weakened condition he may not pull through even with vet help...I was in a similar situation and the vet promptly put him in a warm (not hot) bath, kept him for 3 or 4 days, tube-fed him, treated him with antibiotics (for respiratory problems)liquid calcium supplement (for calcium deficiency), ran a fecal test and treated him for parasites...all treatments I had to continue at home every day for over a month - including outside "sunshine" time (?) (20 min. a day) Overkill? Probably ...but it worked. I think my monitor is slightly "damaged" from the ordeal, but it's been close to 2 years now and we're alright.

Any chance you purchased your lizard at a chain-store "15 day guarantee" place? Any chance it's still within the 15 days? If so - try to take advantage of it. I made the mistake of buying my savannah at one of those big chain store operations, and I went back there and THREW A FIT until THEY paid my $450 vet bill. It all worked out in the end, a miracle, but I wouldn't wish it upon anyone.
In the meantime, keep him warm, let him hide. If there are any crickets in his enclosure now - take them out...crickets might nibble on him and stress him out even more.
Where are you located? I really wish I could help somehow - though I know there isn't much I can do. You're welcome to my leftover medicine
As a last ditch effort - try a warm bath. Maybe it'll perk him up enough to eat a cricket...and if crickets are too difficult for him to catch, cripple one for him so he doesn't have to run for it. supplement with calcium. If he's still not eating - don't force it.
Last note - sometimes they die. The only way you have a fighting chance is (a) getting your enclosure to where it can sustain a healthy monitor, and (b) knowing what you are buying - looking for signs of a healthy baby savannah monitor, and only purchasing what looks "good" - fighting, fat, angry...
Maybe he'll pull through?...let us know either way.
- Tatiana