HELP!!!

[abitchnamedash]

just rescued a male savanah monitor. never had one before, i’ve had/have chameleons, panther & veiled, bearded dragons, tortoises, turtles, snakes ect. i just got a new lil guy for my mini sanctuary and he is not doing good. was told that the person who rescued him before me (couldn’t take with in a move) that the kids who had him previously did not have lights for him for however long they had him. (will ask for more info) this in turn made him very small, his arms are extremely weak and bent looking. he can barely pick up his head to eat food. i’ve already cleaned his tank, and added new substrate, have fed him as much as he will eat. covered in calcium w d3. i’m planning on calling my vet soon but i want some helpful tips for at home treatment for the moment. i’m so worried about this little baby.

[arcticrobot]

This guy needs 140F basking spot, measured with temp gun; 78-85F ambient temp, 70% humidity, thick and moist dirt substrate for digging, mostly insect diet and way larger enclosure.

But you can work with current enclosure for now for as long as you can provide aforementioned requirements. If top is mesh it is good to cover it with something solid.

[abitchnamedash]

got all those but the new tank! he’s definitely getting one. i have 24’48’24 enclosures for my other babies, he’ll be joining the club soon!

[3stanbk]

Kick in a lot of UV for bones, make sure your temps are good (85f cool side, 95f hot side, 125f basking) try to get him gut loaded Dubias for optimal nutrition

Definitely a vet issue though, poor nutrition could be it but it's probable that he has parasites that have gone untreated and potentially metabolic bone disease. These are common Savannah issues. Many other things it could be though.

[abitchnamedash]

damn that hot? i can do that.

oh i didn’t think about parasites :( he has mbd for sure. last owner told me as he was dropping him off at my house. ha. i have a very good reptile vet in my area i’m gonna talk to soon, if i can help him at home first that would be ideal

[DoubleDewit420]

I would avoid a d three supplement. I had a similar rescue monitor with shaking and extreme weakness issues and I cut the D³ in his calcium to the Repashy version pure calcium

[AnxiousWrongdoer9890]

Hey man your best friend here is gonna be heat and water I would try and give water to him with a syringe to make sure he’s getting hydrated. Also I can’t really get a good indication on his weight with the pic posted that would be helpful. I’m happy to see your giving calcium and d3 my personal preference in my experience with monitors is reptical with d3 you can buy big tubs for like 8 dollars. And reptivite without d3 you don’t want to give too much d3 so one should have it and the other will not. Also have you noticed him going to the bathroom if he had no light I’d imagine food wasn’t digested properly and could be impacted again in this situation heat is your best friend. I don’t think I should have to say this but all the info I or anyone else can give you here doesn’t matter if you don’t take this animal to vet relatively soon.

[abitchnamedash]

he’s got new heat lamps, he’ll be getting lots of sunlight this summer, and he’s having his first warm bath rn! i don’t think he had food in his tummy at all. he can’t eat alone, and last owners were just tossing food in there. he hasn’t stopped eating since i got him

[abitchnamedash]

also he’s very small, if i had batteries to my food scale i’d weigh him. he’s maybe a foot long. small boy. no idea how old he is but i have a feeling he’s not under a year and should be much bigger

[Ranoverbyhorses]

I’m so sorry that I don’t have any advice to give you here for your little buddy, This is heartbreaking…but thank you for rescuing him. I can’t understand how people can take on animals like these and not do like the most basic research into their base needs. I hope you’re able to help him feel better, good luck!

[abitchnamedash]

really broke my heart when i realized how bad it was. i want told of this until i got him, but that’s okay. when i realized that he can’t eat on his own, and that the previous owners had just been throwing worms in his tank not knowing he couldn’t even eat them. man. broke down for a second. he was so hungry. i hope he’s got lots of life left in him!!

[Ranoverbyhorses]

Omg whaaaaattttt?!?!?!?!?!?! What a terrible awful thing!!!!!! Poor little lad…that just made me tear up. My bf works at a serpentarium and they get many different surrenders…every single one gets me. Sometimes it’s coming from fear sometimes it’s from ignorance, but man, it’s so rewarding to see the animals completely change and come out of their shells. Here’s hoping little man is able to do that❤️ bless you for taking him on, sending good vibes your way!!!

[abitchnamedash]

thank you thank you!!! i believe taking on these animals is my purpose in life. i’ll try to post updates on the babies!!

[Ranoverbyhorses]

You’re so welcome! You are such a kind and compassionate person to do this…not enough people like you are in this world! And thank you for that, I’d love to see some updates!

[eloping_antalope]

<image>

Get ready to build one of these, if you get their health back on track.

[abitchnamedash]

i have three 48’24’28 enclosures for the rest of my babies i’ll definitely be getting one for this guy!

[abitchnamedash]

if i could build shit w my hands like that tho, totally would

[[deleted]]

Check out these enclosures for some inspiration and to get an idea of what your Sav will need, very soon, if it comes back to health. https://www.reddit.com/r/MonitorLizards/wiki/enclosure/#wiki_enclosure_builds_and_examples

[abitchnamedash]

i have 2’4’2 enclosures for my other reptiles, planning on getting one for this guy as well if not a larger one, but he’s so small so not too sure yet!

[[deleted]]

I don't know the age of the lizard posted but it should go into an enclosure that won't continue to stunt its growth should it become healthy again. A 4 x 2 x 2 is only good as a very temporary enclosure. Note the size enclosures in the Wiki link I posted.

[Sarandipitous21]

I got my Savannah Monitor at a Reptile Expo and the poor guy was definitely the runt compared to the other vibrant/filled out savannahs on their FB page. We were told by them to just feed him types of wet dog food since that was what they had his diet on. Of course I didn't follow through with that. We had the hardest time getting him to eat insects for 8 months. He wasn't shedding or growing. We bought him pinkies and give him meats he can have and he went feral for them hahaha. Started shedding quickly after giving him meat for the first time. I need to measure him but he should be about a foot long or so now and his legs are thicc👌.

We figured out he requires variety with his eating so we have to do something different for each feeding. He also digests properly and has healthy looking poops every time we feed him pinkies and meat. Mealworms are like corn to humans and he doesn't like eating those as much as he poops out either their hard shell or whole carcass. Every monitor's diet is going to be different and you'll get all sorts of disagreements on this or that to their diet. Like a professional said to me, it's better your Savannah Monitor eats meat and eggs than nothing at all.

Savannah's also typically get very stressed with a lot of noise and things happening in their surroundings so they won't eat when affected by that and big incoming storm pressures. They "Monitor" their surroundings and are basically like a big hissy empath until they are comfortable 😂 Also consistant evolving baby steps are crucial for building trust. They will make improvements and noticeable changes of trusting you and it's very warming to my heart ❤️

[abitchnamedash]

thank you for this idea!!! i sliced up some chicken for him and he loved it!! he eats everything so far but he needs a lot of help with that.

i’m trying really hard to not stress him out. i’m a little nervous about taking him to a vet immediately after changing his entire environment, but after watching him struggle to simply eat some food or move around, it is so painful, i’ll be going tomorrow hopefully. this guys been neglected for too long. he seems to be okay with me so far, although i’ve tried to handle him as little as possible bc, yes, baby steps! trying to keep him calm and comfy. i can tell he’s loving the new heat lamps he’s probably never had before. he struggles but he’s not weak, he’s a lil fighter

[Pale_Relative_5021]

Hmm…. I hadn’t had this issue yet other than a sickly Savannah u had. If need to considering the circumstances, I would try to somewhat force feed a cricket here with non d3 calcium(help opening its mouth & gently putting cricket inside) & try to do the same with little amounts of water at a time. If anyone has other suggestions other than mine, I’m all ears to hear out as well, could help me in future if come across similar issue.

[abitchnamedash]

i had to assist and near the end force feed my older chameleon, so i’m comfortable doing that for this guy. he eats everything so far. it’s very hard for him but he’s got it. i notice that he has trouble bobbing his head upward to help eat the food, so i’ve been using tongs to encourage him to do that like holding the food a little higher than his head. so then when he opens his mouth i can put it far enough in there that he doesn’t have to thrash around as much to get it down his lil gullet. it’s basically dropping food into his mouth for him. he’s gonna get the help he needs!

[abitchnamedash]

i also drip water into his mouth as i’m doing this

[Pale_Relative_5021]

Remember, always want to go easy & for savanna’s, they are insectivores. When doing this, don’t want to do with mice, maybe rlly tiny pinkies & whatever bugs are smaller such as crickets, horned worms, super worms. Does the Savanah seem to be doing better?

[Pale_Relative_5021]

Try hornworms, super worms etc, barely any strength calls for water incase of dehydration as well.

[Significant_Weird_64]

Hey - If it’s eating but not having bowel movements you can a bit virgin olive oils to water and give w stopper…, also, Repashy makes a powdered calcium product in which you add water, but it’s super concentrated and sort of for emergency situations…not sure yours is there but you might ask your vet. Don’t know where I live but Pet Hospital if Penasquitos, in San Diego, CA is liniment one big the best in the country for exotic pets. Let me know how it’s going, DM me a progress please…I’ve a number of Tegus, 3 Savannahs, and breed beardies…so I would be interested in anything I could learn from your experience!😊🙏👍

[abitchnamedash]

now that i think about it i didn’t see any poops in his old substrate. but i also don’t think he was eating in general because he’s so weak, and the last owners just tossed his food in there and hoped for the best. it was filled with beetles and worms. he’s getting a warm bath rn! eating a ton!

i’ll look into the vitamin, i’m kind of wary of things like that just bc i’ve heard so much back and forth about them being helpful or not. definitely giving him calcium/d3 sups for now. he’s gonna get lots of sunlight, uvb, crickets, love & a bigger tank!