Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi! Anyone got any good tricks to try, for getting a savannah monitor to feed? I have had mine some time, but she has only eaten I would say one mouse in the last two months. I offer her fresh killed, live, and frozen thawed in all different sizes, both rats and mice. I also have offered baby chicks, which she has sometimes eaten the heads of, and then left the rest, but now seems uninterested in those as well. She still is very lively, but just won't eat. She also has always been totally uninterested in crickets.

Is there something else I might try feeding her? Another technique to go along with it perhaps?

Thanks a lot!
~Kyle

Do you judt have a female, if you alsohave a male they might have mated, female usualy dont eat alot when they are gravid. Well hope your sav is ok!

Hi!

Thanks for the reply.
No, I only have the one female. She is a little less than two feet long currently.

Thanks for your idea.
~Kyle

There lots of things this could be....

First check general cage conditions... is it hot enough? (~130F in the hot spot)

Is it cool enough? (~75-80 in the cool side)

Is there adequate hide spots and substrate to dig in so the animal feels secure?

Is the humidity high enough?

Is the animal totally stressed out from being handled or wathcing the family dog thorugh its glass?

If these are all okay then some things to try are cutting frozen thawed food open, dipping the mice in egg yolks or trying different sized feeders.

My water once started refusing to eat weanling mice but upon switiching to adults she started snatching them up again.

Good luck...

Nick

What are your temps? have you tried feeding it live mice or rats? monitors like to eat man, live or dead food.
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Varanus Creations

Blood and eggs mixed. Dip the rodent in a light mixture. Or cut open the rodent. Both of these have worked for me in the past.
What temps is your Sav kept at? I'm sure that you might have heard that Q already.
Hope I helped a little.
Christine :>~

A Sav eating once in two months requires a Vet ASAP!If my Blackthroat went 2 days without food,I would lose a finger trying to cleant the cage Any more great Croc monitor pics?

True, very true. But I gave advice in the format it was asked for. Ha ha.
At this point taking the poor kind to the vet may or may not help. Hopefully it will visit the doctor and get better.
I sent you a message RE the croc pics.

Christine :>~

Two tricks that worked for me when my Sav got fussy:
1) Cut a smallish rodent in half (fuzzy/hopper rat or mouse).
2) Scatter dead mice around the floor, then let him out to wander around. This worked every time when my guy went off his feed. You could see his excitement when he found the mice that minutes before he had refused to eat. Of course, then his ego got all puffed up, and he was a pain in the butt to get back in his cage when it was time...

Describe the setup. Reptiles will usually only refuse food if given inadequate temps or are heavily stressed, in my experience.

Describe it in detail, and post photos if you are able.

- Clay -
GoannaChat

Thanks to all for these suggestions. I will give these things a try. My temps are at what Smaug had described, for those who were asking.

130-133 in the hottest part of the hot spot. 76-78 in the cool end of the enclosure. Plenty of water to soak in, places to hide, etc.

I will let you know if I can get her to eat after I try a couple of these things.

Thanks!
~Kyle