another sav question - Page 2

V.hb · 01-23-04, 11:00 PM

What you may want to do is just put him on paper towel until hes fully functional and looks healthy. Since cypress mulch can harbor crickets, it can also harbor parasites and lots of other crap the monitor may. Keeping him completely clean is the way to go for now.. If the mulch is still clean just put it into a trash bag for later use.... That way crickets cannot hide, and like Brian said, use pinkies!

Bartman · 01-24-04, 01:09 AM

i used paper towl for a short time and at that point he seemed to stop eating. If i try it again do you think this will stress him out to much? I just figured a drastic change in his environment would make him start fasting again...

Bartman · 01-24-04, 01:14 AM

as for the rocks sliping..almost all of them are glued together so there wont be any slipping but im gonna take your advice anyway and start thinking about building your rack hide idea..thanks for the detailed info!

Bartman · 01-24-04, 01:18 AM

o and what kind of dirt? like from outside (woudlnt that be dangerous for mites n things) and if not what would the dirt be called at lets say home depot..what do i ask for? dirt? lol, does it matter what kind..should i be looking for a specific type?

thanks everyone!!!

Bartman · 01-24-04, 01:22 AM

sorry for all the questions i just wanna know what im doign wrong..and again thanks for all the help guys..jsut one more question..v.hb what does emaciated mean and how can you tell that he is dehydrated..as i said before this could help me indentify when he is not dehydrated or emaciated as you said..or maybe i can verify if he is or isnt

thanks!

Jeff_Favelle · 01-24-04, 05:00 AM

The rocks would be a good idea to get rid of. Good stuff. Also, even though the rocks were there and the basking spot was 120F+, was there room to bask? It looks like those rocks actually got in the way of allowing the Sav. to just sprawl out and bask freely. That's what you want. A nice big flat place where the flood lamp hits the surface evenly, warming up a ncie big place for the monitor to sit and thermoregulate. And that's why that rack idea works so well. I would ditch the holes on the rack though. Its been debated by two very well known people back and forth, but I agree with the inventor of the rack that the holes just defeat the very purpose of the rack!

And you can tell he's dehydrated/skinny/emaciated because of the folds of skin and overall skinniness. Savannas are quite bulky (for a monitor) so when they look as skinny as a snake, something is wrong. Plus the head looks HUGE on the body, suggesting that it has been underfed its whole life. Savannas can reach adult size in LESS than a year! Actually, when kept under proper conditions, MOST do.

Get Ravi's book. It explains everything.

Quote:

o and what kind of dirt?

Silty alkaline dirt. Not too much organic matter. None is best. NOT soil. Dirt. Fine dirt. It doesn't harbour any mites that will be a problem for your Sav. Looks just like this:

NiagaraReptiles · 01-24-04, 06:51 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by V.hb
What you may want to do is just put him on paper towel until hes fully functional and looks healthy. Since cypress mulch can harbor crickets, it can also harbor parasites and lots of other crap the monitor may. Keeping him completely clean is the way to go for now.. If the mulch is still clean just put it into a trash bag for later use.... That way crickets cannot hide, and like Brian said, use pinkies!

You were doing good until right there V.hb

Monitors are tough, and fantastic healers by nature. Monitors need certain resources to allow them to complete thier life cycle, they need these same resources to stay healthy and to be all the monitor they can be. Often times human intervention with an injured monitor only causes more harm than good.

Concentrate on a good enclosure and husbandry methods and everything else just falls into place.

My other thoughts on this post and your pictures, Bartman, is that if your monitor is eating as much as you say, he should not be a skinny as he is. There's a good chance he has a growing parasite load and I would recommend taking it to a qualified vet for a fecal and treatment. He also looks a little dehydrated to me as well..........think of how a Sav would stay hydrated in the wild. is a small pool of standing water enough?........and this bring us back to the substrate issues......

Best wishes, and dispite all the constructive critisizm in this thread, you weren't as far off as most beginners

Just a little more tweaking and you'll be good to go.

JonK

V.hb · 01-24-04, 11:40 AM

Only recommended paper towel so he could fatten up... Its much better than cypress for hunting crickets dont you think? since the ground is frozen, it would be tricky to get any good substrate till spring. If i use paper towel, its for no longer than a weeks time just to ensure the animals eating all its food, its worked for me in the past.

I just noticed in the pic you're using a pet store bulb, those are complete crap. Get a halogen flood, and move it around until you get a good bask, and a good ambient.. Then give him a FLAT basking spot to sit on yours looks a bit awkward.

what jon says makes alot of sense too correct husbandry corrects lots of problems. However I do think they need certain care when they seem ill, or stressed (like strictly clean enclosures 24/7) and paper towel is very easy to clean, and easy to keep humidity levels up. Definatly not a permanent thing, just until you can see that hes eating all of his food, if he is, great. Get some dirt and let him hunt away with peace of mind!

Bartman · 01-24-04, 12:05 PM

can you get that dirt at like canandian tire in the gardening section or home depot or will i have to weight till the snow goes away?

My problem with the crickets was that my parents didnt like the idea of so many bugs in the house so if i buy the 1000 im gonna build this cage i have an idea and keep them in the garage. Im gonna start building the cage today beacuse it shouldnt be to hard and then do any of you know where i could grab 1000 crix for 25 bucks like you said? is that american or would it be more. I have a reptile store near me, reptilia, and do you guys think if i just asked them to give me 1000 for 25 they would or is the a very low price? I just dont want to sound dumb

thanks

dean_h00 · 01-24-04, 12:06 PM

TAKE IT TO A VET

asphyxia · 01-24-04, 12:54 PM

"can you get that dirt at like canandian tire in the gardening section or home depot"

"Im gonna start building the cage today beacuse it shouldnt be to hard and then do any of you know where i could grab 1000 crix for 25 bucks like you said? "

In My Opinion...

AS A TEMPORY SOLUTION - Go and get some black earth at Home depot, ask someone, it will be outside should cost about 2.50 its in a green bag. Throw about 2 (Room Temperature) bags into your tank, with the mulch, When you are at home depot pick up another lamp
$13.00, and put a 75 +/- watt Heat glow bulb in for 24 Hr heat.
Also get a 50, 75, and 100 watt Halogan Lamps...See what works for you. Hook up the new Halogon lamps to a (Heavyduty) timmer From Home Depot $12.00 put in on for 12hr (this may be up for discussion)

Skip building a cric cage just go to walmart and get a rubbermaid and a heating pad. While your are there get a Digital Prob thermomiter-10.00

I do get a deal on Crix, (15-20.00) but $25-3$5 is average Call around starting with Grant at PCPC and Various PJ's
Also get some supermeal worms.

Cheers
Brian

Jeff_Favelle · 01-24-04, 01:35 PM

Quote:

can you get that dirt at like canandian tire in the gardening section or home depot or will i have to weight till the snow goes away?

They don't sell dirt. That is soil. You don't want soil, you want dirt. You'll probably have to wait until the snow goes away. However, if its just a youngster, the dirt becomes less of a "must have". They can grow just fine on soil-type mixes. I actually have found some of my monitors to grow faster on this soil mixture I concocted. I can't explain it.

So if its just a youngin', I would say that any soil/dirt would do for the time being.

reptiguy123 · 01-24-04, 02:12 PM

Jeff, I really like that monitor's pose in the second picture

Bartman:
If you really want to know if your soil is good to put in the cage, then post your location so that we can see if it is a suitable area or not. If not, consider what Jeff said.

The best of luck to you!

Bartman · 01-24-04, 02:56 PM

i live in toronto

Bartman · 01-24-04, 03:01 PM

ok this is what i changed today..i got a 100 watt bulb made special for reptiles from reptilia..it gives me a basking spot of 130 exactly so thats good...i also built the hide rack idea that someone posted, dont remember, and i put that in. I also got a bunch of crix until i figure out what im gonna do bout the 1000 thing.

About the dirt..im confused now because ive gotten different replies..ok i live in toronto so the ground is frozen solid. Bout the dirt what exactly should i get..the black earth from home depot? I dont wanna buy somethign and then you guys tell me it aint good..so before i buy it you all can agree that i get black earth? Is there something i can get permenently?
Does home depot sell the dirt id need?

dean_h00 - plz explain to point of that post? Hes not sick i just need to tweek out my set up..plz dont post when you dont know what your talking about..im taking advice from v.hb, asphyxia, and jeff..i know they know there stuff so dont comment unless you have something i can use