sav stay in burrow all day

[mdfmonitor]

Originally Posted by nepoez

What wattages are you using?

A big wattage! 3x100watt hals 30 degree beam, i still get 50% humidity next to them at around 95f, looking at your set-up 1 mounted high might meet your requirements.

75% lower level at 82f there abouts, i also keep one end very wet, but you can do that in a 10 foot long viv

BUT i'd try & keep to smaller wattages if i was you, easier to control 2x75w hals.

[murrindindi]

By all means you can add some plastic plants for cover but they won`t allow the monitor to use more of the space, sturdy, firmly fixed branches/logs, a few more ramps will.
I still think his being overweight is at least a part of his "immobility".
It may take many weeks to get him back in good condition, the reduced diet is not just for a week or two, keep it up as long as necessary.
EDIT: I know this current topic is your main concern just now, but did you notice David (crodoc) responded in the Bengal monitor thread you started?

[nepoez]

I flipped over a rock and saw a couple curled up worms so I took one to lure the sav to the site. He ate them and it seemed to have perked his interest. So he started digging and eating. It's been a while since he worked for his food. This went on for a good 15 minutes! Then he went to bask for 10-15 mins after. And then he returned to the site to look for more worms, however he gave up within 2 minutes after. Hopefully this is the beginning of him learning to hunt for food again.

[nepoez]

So far so good! This morning he woke up, basked for a while then started exploring the cage. Which is something he hasn't done for a while. Hope this lasts.

What I did differently:

- I left 1 halogen 50 watt on during the night because I thought maybe the night temp is too low now that it's winter. During the summer months I didn't leave any heat sources on at night as it got too hot at night and he seemed inactive. I guess I forgot to switch back to have night heat after so many months of summer.

- I found a tree that was broken by wind or something and put it in the cage, it makes the cage seem more foresty. No leaves though..

- The basking temp is 160F with 3x50 watt halogen during the day, a week ago was same lights but 140F

- Added 200 crix in the tank, but he's not really interested in them, tho he did eat a couple but mostly ignored.

Not sure which of the following changes made the difference... Hopefully it is not a coincidence that he's more active today and we actually nailed something down and he's on the road to recovery... I hope...

Video coming soon...

[nepoez]

Spoke too soon... After roaming around for 20 mins he went to lay around and back to the lazy sav. Let's see what happens after losing some weight...

[nepoez]

[mdfmonitor]

Just remember they don't run round all day!!

try 75w 1st & move up if you need a greater wattage, to big a wattage may over heat the cage!

My lamps are attached to chains & hooks screwed into the top of the viv, so you can adjust the height of the lamps>