Well here's the deal, my girlfriend just picked up her first varanid ( WC Savannah ), at the repticon ICE show. I have kept many different monitors, mostly v. panoptes, over the years and helped to choose the one she was to get. Very responsive, good eye movement, full of energy, and a good feeding response, but the problem is he's regurgitating everything he eats. The first day he pooped and the stool looked healthy, fur in it he had obviously been eating rodents. later we fed him 2 small mice and about 24 hours later threw it up, thinking he just didn't have high enough basking site i added another flood light and height to the basking spot to get him hotter, fed him a small rats head, sure enough 24 hours later he threw it up. basking temp is 128-132 degrees, He was purchased from a reputable dealer, don't want to throw the name out, so I'm sure i can exchange him if I need to, but he is my girlfriends first, so i don't want to give up yet especially if its only going to take a simple vet trip( hasn't been taken to a vet because we get paid monday ), but don't want her to have to deal with the heart brake of losing him. I've never run into this before and know varanids don't just throw up for no reason.
ALL SUGGESTIONS ARE GREATLY APPRECIATED.
THANKS ALL
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Need HELP regurgitation problem
Replies (4)
Hi, I`d like to ask the most obvious question; was the monitor handled after feeding, or indeed is he/she handled on a regular basis, and how long has your gf had the animal?
No the animal hasn't been handled at all other then removal from the cage for spot cleaning. We picked him up at the ICE show last Sunday.
Hi again, if the monitor has been removed for spot cleaning he`s been handled! (Not being sarcastic), that might be enough for him to regurgitate the food, especially as he will undoubtably be stressed just now (new surroundings, etc).
I always think it`s better to be safe than sorry, if you could get a fecal check done it wouldn`t hurt, and get the vet to take a look at the monitor.
A big load of gastric worms in WC Monitors will sometimes cause an obstruction and vomitting. Insufficient heat and a big meal (like a rat skull to a small lizard) and they can't metabolize properly and will have food go rancid in the stomach leading to vomitting also. So a detailed accurate report of your overall cage temps and the basking temperature would be good to know. Also what the removed 'spot cleanings' looked like...solid turds or mush? Little white rice things in the poops? Horrific odor of poops?
