Feeding Question

[D J N]

Ok we just got a hatchling savannah monitor it is only about 4 weeks old, and he doesn't seem to eat very much, it's wierd because he ate the first day we got him and the day after that (he ate 10 cr. and then 8 cr.) but now he missed a day where he refused food and now he will not eat very much like 1 or 2 crickets. The crickets I feed him are 1/4 sized crickets, he is housed in a reptile keeper type cage that is 16x10 and is kept at 99 under the basking spot and the other end of the cage is 82 at night the cage drops to 73. I have had other monitors and they were pigs eating everyday as much as I'd give them but I have never had one this small so I just wanna know if it's normal for him to not eat as much?

[V.hb]

reptile keeper type cage??

What I would do is this. Go buy a 36" rubbermaid, they're beige with a green lid. Either cut a hole, or attach a light fixture to the inside, and create a basking spot on a piece of wood that goes upwords of about 120 or so. Put him on dirt substrate and make sure there is a bit of ventilation. You don't want too much or he'l be living in a dry enclosure.

It sounds like husbandry is killing your lizard. Monitors tend to overcome lots of nasty stuff like parasites etc given they have the proper setup. They're quite picky on how they're setup.

He SHOULD be eating like a varacious bottomless pitt right now. Although not always in your presence as he may be shy since he's a juvi.

Post updates! good luck!

[D J N]

If I put a bulb that hot in a rubbermaid won't that melt the plastic. and yes it is a reptile keeper cage they sell them at pet stores with a sliding locking lid.

[kap10cavy]

Use a 45 watt halogen floodlight. It will give you a nice hot basking spot without melting your tub or cooking your lizard.

Scott

[V.hb]

id use even less than a 45 for now. You may even get away with a normal low wattage flood since it's inside a rubbermaid, and the lizard is relativly small. You need to experiment this on your own as all of our conditions are different. A 100 watt bulb at my house may achieve a 120+ spot for me, while a 100 at yours may not due to various environmental reasons..