Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a savannah monitor hatchling. He is a VERY healthy eater. He eats at least 20 crickets a day and is growing fast. I decided he is big enough for pinkies, and tried a defrosted one lastnight. He sat there licking at it (for lack of a better description) for about 10 min and then left it alone. Is there anything i can do to encourage him to try it?He wont eat mealworms either. I dont want to feed live pinkies, but i will a few times if you think it will encourage him. Then could i switch him to d/f? And yes his temps are good! Thanks

Crickets are excellent for him, if you want to feed him pinkies for convenience or economics, try live, otherwise he will not touch them unless very hungry. Alternative are larger grass hoppers, collect some in fields you away from house settlements, farmers will be delighted to let you know about there praying schedules so you can collect safe grass hoppers from there crops.

classic quote- "temps are good"

really? what is good? 50F? 85F? 1,230,966F?

saying they are "good" is irrelevant and inadequate. if there are problems, you HAVE to share details if you want folks to actually try and help.
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robyn@proexotics.com

Pro Exotics Reptiles

I had the same problem until I realized that he was already full on crickets. If it's a first time feeding he might even be scared of the pinky but after a while mine ate it. Mine also only eat live pinkies because when it moves its attract his attention.

My temps are 80sF in the cooler, 130F basking. He has dirt substrate, he has a few hides he has dug and 2 i made for him.

But who are you to decide anything. If its feeding with gusto on crickets, FEED IT CRICKETS. Your suppose to listen to your monitors wants, not tell it what to do. How egotistical of you.(no worries, most are like you, unfortunately, your normal)

Feed it crickets, soon it will outgrow crickets and start looking for something more.

Also a couple fun things to think about. I believe Danniel Bennett, said that a type of cricket was suspected of being a primary food source for wild baby savs. Second and a very important second. Most people forget monitors(yours) or other reptiles may just be a lot smarter then you. You think a pinkie is a pinkie, end of story. But tiny reptiles are educated a little differently, in nature, were there are pinkies, there is adult rodents. And unfortunately adult rodents eat baby reptiles. Your monitor is being behaving SMARTLY.

What that paragraph suggests is, your fighting the genetic memory of these reptiles. They know to be safe. Then they learn what is safe. Once your sav gains some size, and feels it can overpower even an adult mouse, then it will open up what it feeds on.

These animals "know" what they are capable of, and they know when they are ready. Let the dang thing do that on its own. Soon it will take anything muchless a pinkie, VERY SOON. So just leave it be and FEED IT CRICKETS.

I get so confused over you folks, I thought(I know, what was I doing that for) the WE kept these things to enjoy them for what they are. I did not know, we were suppose to shove stuff down their faces and have them do what we want them to do. Oh silly me.

By the way, give the dang thing some cooler temps, like room temps(68 to 75F) as well as warm temps.

I just hatched a beautiful clutch of Flavis. I just set them up in a trough. They have been basking and such. Then I noticed two sitting right next to eachother, a very common sight. Then one simply slapped the others face. Yea, thats right, with its front paw, reached up and smack. I hit the floor laughing. You see, this is why I keep monitors, they make me laugh. They are fun, they do fun stuff. I do not need to tape its hand down and control what it does. If it wants to slap another, I will gladly watch and laugh.

I could careless why it slapped the other. It simply did.

The point, enjoy them for being them, let the dang thing eat what it prefers. Let it be what it is. We already KNOW that crickets work VERY WELL. So, its not harmful. You should just enjoy it for eating crickets. Then one day soon, its going to grab that pinkie and you will be happy, then you will wonder why you were doing what you were doing. Cheers

Savgirl indicates you know something about savs, like a lot. That type of name indicates you are one with the subject. As in, the dogman, or the elephant man, or the bird lady. They are discriptive adjectives that indicate a certain expertise with the subject. Like I was coined the Goannaman, by the owner and author of a reptile magazine. He named me that, because I was one with goannas.(compared to my peers)

So please change your name to W.Savgirl(the W indicating wannabe), or just girl, or something else. Because you definitely are not one with Savs yet. cheers

Maybe she has a big head and scales.
Sometimes I wonder about you.

Scott
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Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup.

That sounds HOT! cheers

Are you serious? I'll keep my name thanks.

cool, I like that. Good on yea

I don't care about being called the all knowing lizard king, I know very little, the lizards know a lot.

I like that you stood up for your name, that whats gets a, good on yea. Cheers

>>I have a savannah monitor hatchling. He is a VERY healthy eater. He eats at least 20 crickets a day and is growing fast. I decided he is big enough for pinkies, and tried a defrosted one lastnight. He sat there licking at it (for lack of a better description) for about 10 min and then left it alone. Is there anything i can do to encourage him to try it?He wont eat mealworms either. I dont want to feed live pinkies, but i will a few times if you think it will encourage him. Then could i switch him to d/f? And yes his temps are good! Thanks

Why the big rush to get him eating rodents? They eat bugs primarily in the wild. They generally won't get too fat on bugs. Personally I think it is as healthy or healthier for them.
I have a sav that didn't take rodents til she was over a year. She was happy with her bugs.
As has been noted.....if it isn't moving yours may not go for it. Movement keys feeding response often and a F/T may not cut it.
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Sonya

I'm not mean. You're just a sissy.
Happy Bunny

You should get Daniel Bennett and Ravis book on Sav. It will explain much about them. They are very much about insects. I would feed them insects always unless they stop taking them.

I am just trying to vary his diet. Its hard to find cockroaches around here and he wont eat the mealworms either. I tried them in a dish and then just dumped them in his cage. He never dug them up and they turned into beetles...yuck! I wouldn trust any grasshopers around here because you never know what they have been in contact with (pesticide wise.) What about moths? He seems to enjoy hunting, im sure it would be fun for him to catcha moth, but i think i remember hearing something about thier powder being poisoness?

>>I am just trying to vary his diet. Its hard to find cockroaches around here and he wont eat the mealworms either. I tried them in a dish and then just dumped them in his cage. He never dug them up and they turned into beetles...yuck! I wouldn trust any grasshopers around here because you never know what they have been in contact with (pesticide wise.) What about moths? He seems to enjoy hunting, im sure it would be fun for him to catcha moth, but i think i remember hearing something about thier powder being poisoness?

Moths are likely not gonna do anything for him....good or bad. There is nothing to them, weight or nutrition wise.

As to a varied diet....WHY? He is eating well, they eat remarkably the same all the time in the wild and many eat a bazillion bugs all their lives and life is good. And if you do this right you will have many years to vary his diet. Give him time to do what he wants. Simply...if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
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Sonya

I'm not mean. You're just a sissy.
Happy Bunny