Why won't my sav dig burrows?

[dnoy88]

How come my sav hasn't been trying to burrow in her new enclosure like she was in her smaller enclosure that had less substrate than this new enclosure I bit her in that has twice as much substrate

[SpOoKy]

Can you discribe the enclosure? Size, temps, substrae and debth?

[infernalis]

Start a burrow with your hand, and see if she takes over.....

[dnoy88]

It's about 4ftx2ftx2ft high and the substrate is about 8-10 inches deep which I know isn't enough for wen they're full grown but rite now she's small enough to fit in the palm of my hand and the temp is about 90 or so maybe a lol warmer on the hot end and about 70-80 on the cool end where her hide is at

[BarelyBreathing]

What kind of substrate are you using?

the temp is about 90 or so maybe a lol warmer on the hot end and about 70-80 on the cool end where her hide is at

You need to know the exact temperatures of your enclosure. This is very important. Pick up an infra red temperature gun for measuring the surface temperature of the basking spot, AND a digital thermometer with a probe for measuring the air temperature on the cool end. You also need to know the humidity of the enlcosure throughout, so you will need a digital hygrometer.

[dnoy88]

The substrate is a moist sany and moss mix the surface temp of basking platform is reading 95 with one of those infrared temp guns and the thermometer I have set next to the substrate on the cool end and my humidity gauge is set in the center of the enclosure down at the bottom jst above the substrate and its reads 40-70 percent through out the day

[BarelyBreathing]

-Sand and moss don't hold borrows well. You need sand and soil mix.
-More importantly, basking temperatures need to be at least 130F.
-Gauge thermometers and hydrometers are known for being very off. You need a DIGITAL hygrometer.
-Humidity needs to be a stable 60%. If it's fluccuating that much, you have something wrong with your enclosure. How is it set up?

[dnoy88]

-Sand and moss don't hold borrows well. You need sand and soil mix.
-More importantly, basking temperatures need to be at least 130F.
-Gauge thermometers and hydrometers are known for being very off. You need a DIGITAL hygrometer.
-Humidity needs to be a stable 60%. If it's fluccuating that much, you have something wrong with your enclosure. How is it set up?

I am useing a plastic tote that is 4x2x2 and a piece of glass from an old window for the top and towels to close any gaps between the glass and these of the tote it sustains the humidity for about 6-8 hours before it starts to drop then I most it again to bring the humidity back up which it will sustain at about 70-80 percent through the night I know this isn't the proper enclosure but its only temporary till I finish her permanent one

[BarelyBreathing]

You need to really work on that permanent enclosure. This is not even close to being ideal. It's half the size you need, doesn't have enough room for the amount of substrate you need, doesn't have enough room for a humidity gradient with the amount of heeat you need, and clearly doesn't hold your humidity.

[dnoy88]

You need to really work on that permanent enclosure. This is not even close to being ideal. It's half the size you need, doesn't have enough room for the amount of substrate you need, doesn't have enough room for a humidity gradient with the amount of heeat you need, and clearly doesn't hold your humidity.

Ok so I'm about finished with my enclosure I had a couple of questions though first would it be ok to potting soil from the garden center untill comes wen I can get real organic top soil and I'm thinking about using a rubber seal around the glass top so that when its closed or with that be to air tight keep in mind I have primed all the wood with kilz and siliconed all the loo ya and seams to seal in air and moisture

[EmbraceCalamity]

Ok so I'm about finished with my enclosure I had a couple of questions though first would it be ok to potting soil from the garden center untill comes wen I can get real organic top soil and I'm thinking about using a rubber seal around the glass top so that when its closed or with that be to air tight keep in mind I have primed all the wood with kilz and siliconed all the loo ya and seams to seal in air and moistureYou can get organic soil from WalMart. It's not that hard to acquire.

~Maggot

[BarelyBreathing]

Ok so I'm about finished with my enclosure I had a couple of questions though first would it be ok to potting soil from the garden center untill comes wen I can get real organic top soil and I'm thinking about using a rubber seal around the glass top so that when its closed or with that be to air tight keep in mind I have primed all the wood with kilz and siliconed all the loo ya and seams to seal in air and moisture


If it isn't organic, then absolutely not. There is a high change that your animal will swallow some accidentally, and fertilizers and pesticides can kill your animal.

[infernalis]

Can you dig up some dirt with a shovel??

[dnoy88]

Can't dig till spring the ground is frozen solid its been -40 for the last month and a half but I'm gonna go to wall Matt and some of the home improvement stores and c if I can find some organic top soil or also would that Eco earth stuff from petco be sufficient?

[BarelyBreathing]

I use a mixture of Eco Earth and children's washed play sand for a lot of my monitors.

[dnoy88]

Also she finally started to burrow underneath her water dish but she almost never comes out exept maybe ounce or day and I got the humidity holding steady at 70% her basking rock holding at 120 and the cool end of her cage at 80 should I try lowering the temp on the cool end also the substrate is about 10" deep which I know isn't enough but it's temporary and she's tiny can easily curl up in the palm of my hand me way I have the substrate moist from top to bottom all the way through

[dnoy88]

I use a mixture of Eco Earth and children's washed play sand for a lot of my monitors.

Ok thank you barelybreathin you all have been tons of help I jst wish I would have been informed about all this by the pet store before I bought her and I could been a lot more prepared and had everything built and set up before I even brought her home thank you again all of you and I will keep every one updated regularly on how she's doing n if u have more tips plz share I am open ears to all good advice I can get

[BarelyBreathing]

I feel for you there. Pet stores most often don't give the correct information on monitors. They either don't know it, or do know it but know that if they told the truth, they wouldn't sell the animal. I look forward to seeing your updates.

[infernalis]

Also she finally started to burrow underneath her water dish but she almost never comes out exept maybe ounce or day and I got the humidity holding steady at 70% her basking rock holding at 120 and the cool end of her cage at 80 should I try lowering the temp on the cool end also the substrate is about 10" deep which I know isn't enough but it's temporary and she's tiny can easily curl up in the palm of my hand me way I have the substrate moist from top to bottom all the way through

hiding underground is normal, and since you are making a lot of changes, the lizard is going to be spooked a bit right now.

Once you have everything in place and can leave everything alone for a couple days, you will see a lot more activity as he explores the new digs.

My monitors still dart down their holes when I walk into the room. Once I coax them to come out, they will hang for a while, as long as I bribe them with food.

Underground is where they feel safe, so that is where they will be often.

[dnoy88]

hiding underground is normal, and since you are making a lot of changes, the lizard is going to be spooked a bit right now.

Once you have everything in place and can leave everything alone for a couple days, you will see a lot more activity as he explores the new digs.

My monitors still dart down their holes when I walk into the room. Once I coax them to come out, they will hang for a while, as long as I bribe them with food.

Underground is where they feel safe, so that is where they will be often.
Ok so the cool end temp of 80-85 is ok then

[BarelyBreathing]

Between 75 and 80 is good.

[fuzzhc]

I feel for you there. Pet stores most often don't give the correct information on monitors. They either don't know it, or do know it but know that if they told the truth, they wouldn't sell the animal. I look forward to seeing your updates.


Definetly. When I first got my monitor a few months back the guy at the pet shop sold me a 4x2x2 viv which he said would last a couple of years along with a 150w basking lamp and 2bags of calci sand (which 5mins after buying realised what it was and binned) along with some tiny crickets which were too small for the monitor to even look at. He said this setup done hin for a few years when he had his monitor until it reached 3.5 feet and his girlfriend made him give it away. Poor lizard is probably dead now.

Anyways my little guy was doing poorly for the first week, not eating and curled up in a corner before I stumbler upon savannahmonitor.co where I learned about the humidity, burrowin etc. When I went back into the shop to purchase a hygrometer and told the guy about the humidity having to be 60% or higher he laughed n said they dont come from rain forests but it wouldnt do any harm if it was about 40% to help with shedding. I never went back since.

Point to this story is never trust pet shops.