Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I recently aquired 2 Savannah Monitors from a friend of a friend. I have had them for about 5 weeks now. Both of the monitors are the same size and housed together. They were purchased as hatchlings and have always been kept in the same enclosure. They are not aggressive towards each other at all. The problem I am having is that one of the monitors is eating great and the other monitor will not eat anything! I have tried crickets, superworms, roaches, pinkies & small mice (live and frozen). I take each monitor out of their enclosure and put it in a "feeding container" so it is alone and doesn't have to compete for its food. I don't understand why one of the monitors eats everything I offer and the other one refuses to eat at all. They are about a foot and a half in length. I spoke with the person who originally had them and he was feeding them super worms and small mice. Does anyone have any suggestions on what I could do to get the monitor interested in eating?

No expert, but could be sick or one may be more shy than the other and stressed from you keep handling and moving to feeding tub. Monitors are not animals that like to be handled some will tolerate some do like to interact ( different than grabbing). So if not sick then prob stressed. Also to get further diagnoses from other people you will need to put as much detail as possible cage size, basking temp, temp warm and cool ends, substrate, etc.
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Tom
0.0.1 California King Snake (booboo)
0.2.1 Sulcata Tortoise (tank, sahara and skittles)
0.0.2 Russian Tortoise (tito and lulu)
0.0.4 Red Ear Sliders (moe, uncle sam, bernie and ernie)
0.0.1 Western Soft shell (Squirt)
1.1.0 Bearded Dragon (marshmellow and Sparkles )
0.0.1 Sumatran Water Monitor (Tiny)
1.0.0 Peachfront Conure (kermit)
0.1.0 Love Bird ( KIKI )
1.2.0 Dog (layla, Roxy and Rosco)
2.2.0 Crazy Cats (babe, sabastian, tinkerbell and sadie)
0.1.0 Lion Head Rabbit (daisy)
0.0.1 Spectacled caiman (wilbert)
0.0.1 Aligator Snapping turtle
0.0.1 Mexican Red Knee Tarantula
1.0.0 Veiled Chameleon
0.0.1 Argentina Black and White Tegu
2.1.0 Columbian Red Tail Boas
1.2.0 Kenya Sand Boas
0.1.0 Green Iguana
1.0.0 Ball Python
1.0.0 Western Hognose Snake
1.0.0 Chocolate Skunk

>>Also to get further diagnoses from other people you will need to put as much detail as possible cage size, basking temp, temp warm and cool ends, substrate, etc.
>>

Yep. Most/all of the time, feeding issues are husbandry related. Give us enclosure details (substrate, size, humidity, hot/cool end temps, basking site surface temps) and we'll help you get your Sav back on track.
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Mike Heinrich,
Mike@amazontreeboa.org
www.amazontreeboa.org

Sorry for not including all of the needed info. earlier. I am new at posting to the forums. The enclosure size is 5.5 feet long, 4 feet high and 4 feet wide. I have about 1 foot of jungle mix dirt on the bottom with about 6 inches of peat moss at one end and about 6 inches of reptile bark at the other end. I have 2 containers of water. One is a terra cotta saucer that is about 2 inches deep and about 1 and a half feet wide and the other is a medium sized plastic container that is around 4 inches deep and about 2 feet wide. I have 2 different hiding areas. During the day, I keep the temperature at 85-90 degrees and at night it stays between 75-80 degrees. I hope this information helps. In the first reply I got it said that I may be stressing out the monitor when I pick it up to move it. Should I be doing something different when I feed them? This is my first time owning monitors. I have a few iguanas, frogs, turtles, tortoises, mali uromastyx and bearded dragons. I did quite a bit of research about Savannah Monitors before I got them but I guess I still need help. Thank you very much for your interest in helping me as I only have the well being of the monitors in mind!

You need basking sites in the 130-140 degree range. Without this, they either stop feeding or they develop serious health issues and organ damage/failure.
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Mike Heinrich,
Mike@amazontreeboa.org
www.amazontreeboa.org

Feed them in their enclosure is my opinion. Mike is definately a more knowledgeable monitor keeper then me. I agree with the basking of 130-140 degrees and I know Mike knows this but make sure that temp is a surface temp not an air temp. You need a temp gun to get that. You can pick one up for like $20 and they are priceless to monitor keepers.
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Tom
0.0.1 California King Snake (booboo)
0.2.1 Sulcata Tortoise (tank, sahara and skittles)
0.0.2 Russian Tortoise (tito and lulu)
0.0.4 Red Ear Sliders (moe, uncle sam, bernie and ernie)
0.0.1 Western Soft shell (Squirt)
1.1.0 Bearded Dragon (marshmellow and Sparkles )
0.0.1 Sumatran Water Monitor (Tiny)
1.0.0 Peachfront Conure (kermit)
0.1.0 Love Bird ( KIKI )
1.2.0 Dog (layla, Roxy and Rosco)
2.2.0 Crazy Cats (babe, sabastian, tinkerbell and sadie)
0.1.0 Lion Head Rabbit (daisy)
0.0.1 Spectacled caiman (wilbert)
0.0.1 Aligator Snapping turtle
0.0.1 Mexican Red Knee Tarantula
1.0.0 Veiled Chameleon
0.0.1 Argentina Black and White Tegu
2.1.0 Columbian Red Tail Boas
1.2.0 Kenya Sand Boas
0.1.0 Green Iguana
1.0.0 Ball Python
1.0.0 Western Hognose Snake
1.0.0 Chocolate Skunk

Thank you for the advise. I will definately make a spot for basking and I will also get a temperature gun. I really appreciate the suggestions! I will let you know how everything works out!

Read the page on the link I'm posting and also buy the book listed on the page.

Sav caresheet

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Mike Heinrich,
Mike@amazontreeboa.org
www.amazontreeboa.org

As Mike & friends have mentioned it's usually cage temps & stress that cause eating problems & cages on cold floors, temp gun will point in you in the right direction on most problems temps wise.

have you read through this??

savannahmonitor.org/

Hi, in spite of them being kept together previously, I would still recommend separating them, there WILL be dominance issues at some point, and that can lead to serious injuries or even death, just not worth the risk. Can I ask why you handle them after just a few weeks (you say you feed in a separate container)? They need time to fully acclimate to the enclosureBEFORE any handling takes place; unless they feel completely safe in there, they won`t feel safe with you!
I recommend NOT feeding rodents twice weekly as the website the other member gave states, for this reason: V. exanthematicus is a specialised insect feeder, they take vertebrate prey only very rarely (in the wild), if rodents are fed, I suggest no more than once every couple of weeks or so (ONE suitably sized mouse/rat pup).

Thank you for all of the great information. Today I purchased a temperature gun and created a basking spot at one end of the enclosure. As of right now, the temperature is reading 128 degrees. As to the question about me handling the monitors. The only time I handle them is when I move them from their enclosure to their feeding tub and back. I have quite a few other reptiles but no monitors so, I am not that knowledgable in regards to them. I did (what I thought was) quite a bit of research before I agreed to take these monitors from the previous owner. I spoke at length with him and visited a lot of different websites. Of course, there were a lot of different opinions regarding housing, feeding, handling, etc. The reason I move the monitors is because that is what I was told to do by the previous owner. He said that he used to feed them in the enclosure but they became aggressive with each other and with him. I currently feed all of my other reptiles in their enclosures and rarely handle them but, as I said, I was doing what the previously owner suggested I do (which is what he did). He also told me he usually gave them 2-3 small mice weekly. I offered the monitors other food (superworms, crickets and roaches) but they were not intersted in them at all. One ate the small mice very quickly and the other did not seem interested at all. I will continue to visit additional websites, as some of the previous posts suggested and I am also going to purchase the suggested book at the end of the week. I only want what is best for the monitors. Thank you again for all of the helpful suggestions and the concern for the monitors!

you got that hot spot now they should start to feed like crazy. An aggression especially towards you is all part of owning monitors they are not lap dogs wanting to be cuddled lol. I know you see these savannahs laying in peoples laps and on leashes and 99 percent of them are not very healthy. Enjoy and congrats on taking the advice in stride and working on your problems.
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Tom
0.0.1 California King Snake (booboo)
0.2.1 Sulcata Tortoise (tank, sahara and skittles)
0.0.2 Russian Tortoise (tito and lulu)
0.0.4 Red Ear Sliders (moe, uncle sam, bernie and ernie)
0.0.1 Western Soft shell (Squirt)
1.1.0 Bearded Dragon (marshmellow and Sparkles )
0.0.1 Sumatran Water Monitor (Tiny)
1.0.0 Peachfront Conure (kermit)
0.1.0 Love Bird ( KIKI )
1.2.0 Dog (layla, Roxy and Rosco)
2.2.0 Crazy Cats (babe, sabastian, tinkerbell and sadie)
0.1.0 Lion Head Rabbit (daisy)
0.0.1 Spectacled caiman (wilbert)
0.0.1 Aligator Snapping turtle
0.0.1 Mexican Red Knee Tarantula
1.0.0 Veiled Chameleon
0.0.1 Argentina Black and White Tegu
2.1.0 Columbian Red Tail Boas
1.2.0 Kenya Sand Boas
0.1.0 Green Iguana
1.0.0 Ball Python
1.0.0 Western Hognose Snake
1.0.0 Chocolate Skunk

The Sav book by Bennet and Ravi, as mentioned in the thread, would be a tremendous help. You can refer to it as your main reference.

Good on the temp gun, but for the basking spot, keep in mind that you need to create a basking spot that is wide enough to fit the entire body of the animal inside of it.

A hot spot (surface temp) of 130F that is 4 inches wide is only going to burn an animal that is 12 inches snout to vent. Having a full size basking spot allows the animal to properly bask, gain heat, but not get a spot specific burn.

Very important detail there, as it sounds like you have some older animals, and I am assuming they have some size to them.

Best of luck.
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robyn@proexotics.com

ShipYourReptiles.com
Pro Exotics Reptiles

Here's a nice illustration, 145 degrees from shoulders to hips...

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Mike Heinrich,
Mike@amazontreeboa.org
www.amazontreeboa.org