Reptile & Amphibian Forums

my sister-in-law bought a hatchling from a show a few days ago. i bought one as well but from a diff. breeder ( we went diff days). her's hasn't eaten yet. it goes to a corner and hides.from what i know it's temp is fine. he's really small and has a roundish belly. any ideas on how to get him to eat?

There are not captive bred, they are not farm bred either. They dig up eggs from nature and hatch them.

While the resulting hatching is not different then captive hatched, what happens from that point on is.

This savs are stored in the thousands and tens of thousands(no individual care, unless your an albino). I went to an importers place during the SAV SEASON(now, just look at KS classifieds) And the Savs were in an open topped bin, with cypress mulch or something, it all looked good until I bent over the wall and lifted this hide log. Under the log and mulch was thousands of baby savs. They were stacked 6 inches deep throughout the whole bin. Many on the bottom were dead.(do the math, thousands stacked, they died by the minute)

This type of thing happens at the "farm"(exporter) during shipping and at the importers. Then at various steps before it gets to you.

So I imagine, some of the ones on the top are fine and would do well, but what about the ones on the bottom? It appears one of yours is from somewhere near the top and the other somewhere near the bottom. There may not be much you can do about that, its not really a treatable thing. So, I am not sure temps have anything to do with it, or husbandry, at least not yours.

Cheers and good luck

Letting people know about how much the pet industry screws with these animals is good an all, but it dosnt really answer the question...

Get it to a vet, would be my answer, though as I know, a good vet can charge $100 to take a look at an animal... im guessing you paid FAR less than that for the animal to begin with, so Im gonna guess thats just not an option...

...if im wrong, TAKE IT TO A (GOOD, REPTILE SAVY) VET.

Otherwise, you're options are REALLY limited.

First off, try to find someone close by that can take a look at the animal and maybe spot something you havent.

Try offering different types of food, as maybe the animal isnt acclimating properly and you're offering an unrecognized food source.

Check temps again... make sure they are right on.... hell, check it twice.

What kind of substrate are you offering? What kind of hides? What kind of caging?

You really need to offer more information.

If the belly is distended, it may have some kind of blockage. Make sure it has plenty of clean water to drink, as from what ive been told blockages/impactions usually result from dehydration.

And lastly: LEAVE HIM THE HELL ALONE!

Dont handle him, stay as far away from him as possible for the majority of the time- hes stressing, hardcore.

He needs time to acclimate himself and get used to this new environment. His health is likely already on the down-hill side of the grade, so you need to give him time to himself to figure things out. Offer food, offer water, provide proper husbandry and tell your sis to back off and let him do his thing in private.... aside from taking him to a vet, thats about all I can suggest.

Fo 25 bucks why not flush and try again?

Not nice Nerkhunts...
To the person asking for help:
The best thing you can do at this point is contain these animals properly, provide food, and hope for the best(they live)... Best to you- Mike

Thanks for the help. Also, they have a vet appt. tomorrow just in case. i take all my animals to the vet and am taking her's as well. Her's is now eating.i guess he just wasn't hungry. thanks for the help and i'd never flush an animal.

Glad to hear that appetite returned. Keep em healthy.

Good luck

Sorry, couldn't resist.