Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I bought my monitor about 5 months ago, thinking it was a malnourished sav., but it has onli grown about 3 inches (hes only 9 inches right now), has a longer neck, darker coloration, and is skinnier than any of my frens sav.s, I feed him as many crickets as he'll eat every day, and occasionally give him fish, pinkies, or the rarer piece of egg. His basking spot is around 110-120, and at the coolest ends of the tank, the temp. is about 80-85. lol,it possible he's a midget? or is he another species altogether? also, since 1 of his sheds a month ago, hes taken on a greenish tint... sorry it doesn't show much in the pic, i'm using a camera phone.

It is very difficult for anyone here on this forum to give you an answer based on the information you provided us. There are many different things that affect growth, besides the type of food you feed and the temperatures. You should specify how your animal is kept, ie. caging-screen top or not, humidity levels, as well as frequency of feeding. These also play into how an animal grows. A dehydrated monitor(frequently misunderstood as being a starving animal) obviously will not grow as healthily or as quickly as a monitor who has proper humidity levels, etc..

Like I said, it is difficult for anyone to tell you 'what's wrong' with your monitor, with the little bit of information you gave us.. Pictures of the animal, caging, etc.. also helps sometimes... If you could let us in on some of the other aspects of husbandry I suggested, someone may be able to give you a better idea...

cheers,

bob
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TheOdatriad

I would definately rule out the 'different species' possibility, as there is some kind of problem with your husbandry which is affecting the growth, or lack of.. Give us a better idea of what we're dealing with, and like I said, we'd have a better idea of how to help/advise you...

Take care,

bob
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TheOdatriad

Sorry, I keep Tiny in a 85 gallon tank (until he gets bigger), and the humidity is 55% on average, he has a water bowl large enogh to swim in, and I do see him drink out of it, he has a screen top, and I feed him daily, though I believe I said that already, his substrate is that repti bark stuff, so he can dig, he has plenty of hiding places. I'm sorry I can't seem to get a picture of him up onto this forum. If you need any more information, just ask, also, if you can tell me how to post a pic on this website, i could get a picture up.