Why isn't he burrowing??

[Toothless]

Toothless has been in his enclosure for about 2 weeks now, and he still has not started a burrow! Instead he prefers to sleep under the shelf on the bottom level.
The soil does hold a burrow, and I've even started one for him, but still no luck. The soil area has lots of cover, so I doubt he feels exposed.
What else can I do to encourage him to burrow or what things can I look into that I may be doing wrong?
Soil is well tamped down and clumps nicely.

[DeadlyDesires]

you say soil area? what does this mean? forgive me if i forgot about other threads or if you showed a pic i can not remember? im going to assume you have a seperate area just for soil right? how much soil do you have in there? also how large is he? when i got my monitor it took him over 2 weeks to make a borrow... he would just dig "ditches" so to speak and just lay in them lol... other people have also started a borrow for their lizards and say it works but others will tell you that they wont even go in it anyway so its pointless, i've never tried so i dont know if it works but you can try that if you want, other than that, i wouldn't really worry about it, he will dig and go down when he wants. check temps and humidity make sure everything is good, if hes feeding well and everything is right, just let him be. Dont stress..

[Toothless]

The soil area is 4 x 4 feet. Depth ranges from 1.5-2 feet. My guy's approx 2 and a half feet long.
He burrowed in his old enclosure, and he only had a foot of soil in there.
The area he sleeps has about 80% humidity, but I'd feel much better if he was sleeping in the nice, damp dirt where he's supposed to.
Feeding and activity wise he's normal.

[DeadlyDesires]

Originally Posted by Toothless

The soil area is 4 x 4 feet. Depth ranges from 1.5-2 feet. My guy's approx 2 and a half feet long.
He burrowed in his old enclosure, and he only had a foot of soil in there.
The area he sleeps has about 80% humidity, but I'd feel much better if he was sleeping in the nice, damp dirt where he's supposed to.
Feeding and activity wise he's normal.

i wouldn't worry, he is probably adjusting to his new enclosure... it takes longer than 2 weeks to do that for some monitors they are picky about new things in their home. im sure he will start one soon 2 1/2 ft is great! mine at 2 just now.. you could try adding a little more dirt in make it deeper? but im sure he will be fine.. they know when they need moisture and stuff he knows where to find it.. trust their instincts.

[Toothless]

True, I guess he is smart enough to use it if he needs it. I added a bunch of earthworms to the soil as well, thinking it would encourage him to dig, but no luck with that one either.
I don't know exactly what his ToL is, but its at least 2 1/2 feet, and he just finished shedding again. He's about a year old right now.

[DeadlyDesires]

very cool. mine digs for dubias... maybe he doesn't like the half and half enclosure?

[Toothless]

The enclosure's actually three levels, all of which he uses regularly. He explores and walks around on the soil, but just won't dig.

[DeadlyDesires]

Originally Posted by Toothless

The enclosure's actually three levels, all of which he uses regularly. He explores and walks around on the soil, but just won't dig.

i would say to just give it time then. he will come around.

[Pirarucu]

Often times Savs will look for an existing burrow to take over and expand before they resort to starting their own. He might be hoping one will appear. Just make a little hole in the dirt and he will take over.

[nepoez]

Instead of having hiding areas, I place logs and things with a flat base and my guy will dig under it. I tried using a hide, e.g. an object with a hollow inside, and they will just go in and not dig. Once all the objects don't have space for them to hide in, they'll dig a hole under the object and eventually form a tunnel. At least for mine.

[Toothless]

I guess I could try blocking off the area under the shelf and see if that will encourage him to dig a burrow...Its definately worth a try. There are logs, moss, and leaf litter in the soil area- so plenty of things to burrow under.

[Toothless]

Originally Posted by Pirarucu

Often times Savs will look for an existing burrow to take over and expand before they resort to starting their own. He might be hoping one will appear. Just make a little hole in the dirt and he will take over.

I already tried that, but the little stinker just ignores it .

[murrindindi]

Hi, which part of the enclosure is the "dig box" located in (the warm or cool end), and what`s the temp under the surface?

[Mark Taylor]

Originally Posted by murrindindi

Hi, which part of the enclosure is the "dig box" located in (the warm or cool end), and what`s the temp under the surface?

I thought you said.

Originally Posted by murrindindi

Hi, you need to know just two temps; the lowest ambient (air) in the coolest parts at approx 24c (75f), then the surface temp at the basking site at betwen approx 50 to 60c (120 to 140f), no other temp matters. They must have the opportunity to cool down at times.
What`s the usual ambient temp in the room the enclosure`s in during the day and night throughout the year?

So why are you now asking about other temps?

[V87]

This is a good question .....I would say give him more time in the new viv ... He will do it eventually .... If he is happy then all is well even if it takes a while to did so