View Full Version : Is my savannah monitor constipated?
soliedejoy
04-05-11, 05:15 PM
i recently bought my monitor from a reptile show two weeks ago.
i have been a little worried about him because he is ALWAYS just laying in his big water bowl, is he cooling off or constipated? i have a ceramic heat and a heat pad under his cave so he keeps warm but on the other end of his 30 gal tank is his water bowl which is the cooler part of his enclosure. the water is cold so he ends up laying there until i pick him up and put him in under the ceramic heater. so what i did is, i put a little pad heater to keep it semi warm. i thought savannah monitors are the monitors that dont tend to be water lovers.
So, is my monitor constipated or i suck as an owner? when i hold him, he feels so bloated (especially after laying in the cold water). i did see him poop yesterday and it was stiff little white with brown and little liquid around. i don't know how many times he has gone to the bathroom, sorry.
please don't be mean on this thread, i am writing because i would like to get some advice from more experienced individuals.
whats your temps, diet, substrate ?
infernalis
04-05-11, 05:33 PM
Welcome to the forum.
You don't suck as an owner, and you have done the right thing seeking help.
What we will need to know to better advise you is a photo of your monitor, and a photo of your current and very temporary enclosure.
I say that because your new pet is going to grow to be very big and will need a cage the size of a dog kennel to truly be comfortable.
They do not go to the bathroom every day, when they are little it is common for them to poop a lot, because they are going to eat a lot. As it grows up you will only see that happen a few times a month.
Ours likes water to a certain degree, The Savannas of Africa is not a desert climate, rather a grassy place with rainy seasons. But it is also hot and humid, so we want to replicate this as much as possible in captivity to ensure our pets good health and mental well being.
Housing them in too small of a cage with nothing to do all day they will grow bored and start just sitting around getting fat. we don't want that to happen. So prepare yourself for building a big enclosure.
soliedejoy
04-06-11, 01:53 PM
i have posted three pictures.
my ceramic heat is 150w as for my other light is 150w.the reason i have such high temperatures is because when i got him i started to hear some weird noises from his breathing so i read that sometime you can help colds by raising the temp.
i have both on the end of the cage. i feed him crickets. i have coconut as his bedding. i change his water every other day.
oh boy
what are your temps and humidity and a pic of your sav would help
are you prepared for a 6 foot enclosure
soliedejoy
04-06-11, 07:09 PM
here are the pictures. i have added a picture of my Savannah monitor in the water bowl. i accidentally added the other pictures, sorry this is my first time writing on a thread
Just wanted to say how cute he is!:)
ok thank god he is still small enough in a few months he will need a bigger dish and enclosure again if you would like help please post your temps humidity and diet im starting to think you have no idea what they are
Before anyone start attacking, this person joined the site for help! So if they don't realize then maybe you all can educate them in a nice civil manner! You don't want to intimidate them and then never see them again.
soliedejoy
04-06-11, 07:57 PM
I mentioned before that i feed my monitor crickets. i throw in a handful and let him eat as many as he wants. i have some frozen pinkies but after some research i thought pinkies shouldn't be given often. In regards to the humidity, i have no IDEA! i have around 3 to four inches of coconut fiber as substrate where it is still moist near the bottom. i thought that would be good enough for the humidity but i really have no clue. Sorry!
NennaMeerkat
04-06-11, 08:01 PM
One of the most important aspects of keeping any reptile is temperature and humidity. ESPECIALLY when housing a tropical/non native specie.
Here is a excellent caresheet, I know a lot of people who swear by this. Good Luck, sorry I can't help with monitors
The Savannah Monitor, Varanus exanthematicus (http://savannahmonitor.org/)
stephanbakir
04-06-11, 08:10 PM
Are his colors naturally that bright, or do they pop like that because he/she is wet?
soliedejoy
04-06-11, 08:15 PM
This monitor was different from the rest, his/her colors really did pop out.
thank you for the care sheet. i will look at it and see if i can help my monitor. if he/she is constipated, i would like to help as much as possible. my only real concern was why he/she lays in the water as much as he does. i find the water cold and he/she becomes stiff. i then have to move him/her over to the warmer spot in the cage and every night before i go to bed i check to see if he/she gets back into his water bowl. Some times i find him/her there, laying in the cold water.. little worried if he is sick.
vendettaseve
04-06-11, 08:28 PM
For all your worrying.... youd think a temp gun at very least would have been purchased... Temperature is one of the most important things to the well being of any reptile.
You really should have equipped yourself before torturing this wonderful animal.
NennaMeerkat
04-06-11, 10:13 PM
They are probably in the water because it feels dried out. As someone stated above though they might be in Africa normally it isn't in a desert environment. Thus if the humidity is down it would be likely the lizard will do its best to stay moist and hydrated.
Savannahs aren't for "beginner" herp owners...heck I wouldn't even call them a pet for an "intermediate" herp owner. But that is just me.
stephanbakir
04-06-11, 10:19 PM
"taming" them down also takes allot of work, trust me you don't want to get whipped in the leg by an angry adult monitor of any kind:P not to mention the teeth and nails.
If you do your research, and buy all the needed equipment your sav can be an amazing pet.
Lankyrob
04-07-11, 05:31 AM
Ok, so the guy didnt do enough research before getting the monitor, or was told bad info maybe. Rather than having a go offering constructive advice is much more helpful, if he doesnt listen then is the time to be more assertive (note NOT aggressive)
To the OP - i would listen to Infernalis and Bighog, i am looking to get a Sav at some point and their advice is invaluable to me. As said before you need to record your humidity and temperatures Constantly so get something in the tank that can do this and then you can work toward putting things right. If you are willing to change things for the benefit of the animal then i can assure you that you will get 98% good help and advice from this forum - unfortunately in any public communication there are those that will shout first but stick with the ones that offering advice rather than insults and you will be fine.
Spending too much time soaking isn't a good thing.Read what MLD suggested,get conditions right.Ceramic heat emitters are not recommended-use a low wattage floodlight (50w or lower)within the cage,on one end that gives a small area of heat to about 120F.The cool end can be from 75-80F and a warmer as you get closer to the basking spot.If you have a screen top cover the majority of it with plexiglass or similar.Coconut husk is a good substrate,make it deep 4".If you do not try to limit dehydration,your monitor will continue to soak,as an open screen top combined with a high wattage bulb in a small enclosure dries the cage out.And ask lots of questions good luck Moe
About being nice-be civil-but we have to remember these are living creatures ,good happy thoughts and wishing things work out don't do anything for the monitor.Nobody has been mean,so quit cuddling-there is good help here.If we are afraid to tell anyone about proper care instead of hoping not to hurt feelings we are going to fail,they are going to fail.It should be about the monitors first.
Lankyrob
04-07-11, 07:57 AM
About being nice-be civil-but we have to remember these are living creatures ,good happy thoughts and wishing things work out don't do anything for the monitor.Nobody has been mean,so quit cuddling-there is good help here.If we are afraid to tell anyone about proper care instead of hoping not to hurt feelings we are going to fail,they are going to fail.It should be about the monitors first.
Totally agree that the animal comes first but abusing the owner is not going to help them make things better for the animal.
infernalis
04-07-11, 10:35 AM
Absolutely right once again Rob.
There is no reason to help out with a side order of attitude. ;)
The mean i am talking about,are the facts people need ,not personal insults.Sav's shouldn't be a disposable pet-and when we try to cater to the persons sensitivities,instead of the animals---we get the neverending stories of my Sav died,but i am a nice person,with good intentions without the actual actions of good husbandry.
The reality is people are going to buy monitors compulsively-we should help them.But unless we put the needs of monitors first instead of our own personal conviences-we are enabling.
Aaron_S
04-08-11, 07:08 AM
I have to agree with Moe.
A lot of the time the facts are just put out there and since generally it notes that the person with good intentions was wrong it comes across as aggressive.
infernalis
04-08-11, 07:30 AM
The mean i am talking about,are the facts people need ,not personal insults.Sav's shouldn't be a disposable pet-and when we try to cater to the persons sensitivities,instead of the animals---we get the neverending stories of my Sav died,but i am a nice person,with good intentions without the actual actions of good husbandry.
The reality is people are going to buy monitors compulsively-we should help them.But unless we put the needs of monitors first instead of our own personal conviences-we are enabling.
I have to agree with Moe.
A lot of the time the facts are just put out there and since generally it notes that the person with good intentions was wrong it comes across as aggressive.
Good points both of you... and thanks for keeping it civil.
My reasoning is this.. if we put people off, they stop logging on and turn to the fools on youtube for advice.
There is a silly woman on there who thinks it's acceptable to sleep with her savs in her bed.. we don't want people taking advice from that now do we?
that's all.....
shaunyboy
04-08-11, 08:57 AM
Good points both of you... and thanks for keeping it civil.
My reasoning is this.. if we put people off, they stop logging on and turn to the fools on youtube for advice.
There is a silly woman on there who thinks it's acceptable to sleep with her savs in her bed.. we don't want people taking advice from that now do we?
that's all.....
at the end of the day we all have the reptiles best interest at heart but as said it does not help the reptile if we scare people away from asking advice
imo we have to firm but fair with folks who are looking for help there's NEVER any need to go to personal insults or sarcasim when all people are doing is trying to help their reptile or put a worry to rest
it's hard sometimes when an op does not listen to genuine good advice but it serves no purpose to scare them away
one of the reasons i like this forum so much is the amount and variety of the knowledge shared on here
another problem i have found with new folk asking questions is they can get over whelmed by advice sometimes conflicting advice
i have found the best solution for this is if the person asking the question takes it to private mailing just 1 or even 2 of the people giving advice and follows their instruction imo it saves the op trying to sift through fact and fiction then trying to decide which is which
cheers shaun
infernalis
04-08-11, 09:54 AM
the downside to that Shaun is who do you ask privately??
Private advice on a public forum doe not add up.
One of the reasons we do it on a public board is so that we can reap the fruit of a collective knowledge base.
shaunyboy
04-08-11, 10:43 AM
the downside to that Shaun is who do you ask privately??
Private advice on a public forum doe not add up.
One of the reasons we do it on a public board is so that we can reap the fruit of a collective knowledge base.
re who to ask
it don't take a lot of looking through posts to work out who is helpfull and gives out straight forward advice that either most folk on the post agree with or at the very least no one shoots the advice down in flames
re private advice
private advice does add up if one individual is going through a crisis that a more experienced member has already been through and found a solution to instead of getting their a**e flamed for either asking something someone deems silly or if the op is not quite grasping what is being said publically.with one on one you can take more time go into more detail and you will find the person will open up more and at times be more honest about sets ups etc because the fear of being flamed has been removed
re public board
i get the reason for us all reaping the benifit of a public board mate all i'm saying is sometimes folk respond better in a pm
for example on this thread alone you and 1 other member were suggested as the people who's advice should be followed.taking it to pm helps make it less confusing.also theres nothing more satisfying than seeing a new keeper pubicly advise an even newer keeper on something you helped them out with in their early days of reptile keeping.
cheers shaun
infernalis
04-08-11, 10:47 AM
on that note.. it's well known that I gladly accept any pm messages and can (if necessary) direct someone to who they need to speak with.
I get what you are saying mate, I'd rather not see anyone feel unwelcome and leave.
I would post my car guide, but i am not going to waste my time on that, as %90 of the people disagree with my diet. (dont want another b***h fest) If you would like to pm someone bighog85 has some great info and you should follow what he/she has to say. Great place to start
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