Silly Monitor!

Toothless · 04-24-13, 03:20 PM

Toothless did a few funny things today that I thought I'd share

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First off, he's acclimatized wonderfully to the new enclosure. He's still a bit shy, but will take food from the tonges again no problem and I think he appreciates having much more space to roam around.
Anyways, I put a few roaches in his food dish and stuck a grape in there for the roaches to eat in case he didn't get to them for a bit- since he was in his burrow. I came back an hour later, and both the roaches, AND the grape where GONE! I know the roaches didn't eat the grape that quickly as there were only a few in there, so I'm thinking he must have gotten into a feeding frenzie and downed the grape as well

. Note to self- do not leave food in the dish for the roaches.
Also, over the past few days I've noticed Toothless watches TV?? His enclosure is set up so that he can clearly see the TV from his basking spot, and he seems to sit there and watch the TV screen when a show is on. I'm not quite sure exactly what he sees, but its obvious that he notices the TV because during action scenes his head will move around with the movement on the screen, and if something moves fast, he gets a bit excited (probably thinks its some sort of food?).

One quick question- he has his main basking spot with 2 50 watts that reaches 160, and there's another 50w over a branch on the bottom level just to keep the ambient temps in the proper range that reaches 125. Its not really a proper basking spot since it only covers half his body, but I do see him occasionally sitting under that one light. Would it be beneficial to put two lower wattage halogens over that branch in stead of the one 50w so that he has a proper basking spot on that log since he uses it as one anyways? Can you even get 25w halogens? What are your thoughts?

Pirarucu · 04-24-13, 03:30 PM

Actually, I read somewhere that Savs have been reported to occasionally eat bananas in the wild.. Granted, there is no sort of evidence to back that claim up so far as I know. More likely they may be targeting something on the bananas. Regardless, I would actually try placing fruits in the enclosure every now and then, as a form of enrichment.
I am not surprised that he is watching the television. They are very inquisitive and intelligent animals, and any sort of mental stimulation is great for them. You might try leaving it on or playing music for him.
Yes, I believe they make 25w halogens.

Toothless · 04-24-13, 04:11 PM

Would him eating fruit every once in a while have any negative impact on him? I would think that their bodies don't have the stomach enzymes to properly digest fruit/ veggies since they have a mainly invert based diet in the wild? I was a bit worried a first when he ate the grape, but figured a one time thing wouldn't cause any harm (people apparently feed them much worse things then a grape).
The noise from the TV seemed to bother him a bit at first, but he's gotten used to it over the past week and now it doesn't fase him at all. I sometimes leave the radio on for my cats when I'm away- this might be a good idea to do for him as well to accustome him to other people's voices as he's still very nervous around other people.
I'm trying to come up with some things to put in his cage to offer some enrichment, most likely food based, but havn't figured anything out as of yet. I was thinking about hanging a mouse from somewhere in the cage where he would have to really work to get it, but wan't to make sure its done in a safe manner and that he won't get tangled up in the string.

jarich · 04-24-13, 04:25 PM

I dont the fruit is any harm at all, but I dont think there would be any gain from it either.

As for enrichment, just providing more climbing is enriching for them. Also, you can make their food harder to get. Throw the roaches all in at once (loose, not in a bowl) so they can scurry off and hide. Also, buy a bunch of African nightcrawlers and bury them in the soil. It gets them digging and searching for their food instead of just waiting for it.

smy_749 · 04-24-13, 04:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jarich

I dont the fruit is any harm at all, but I dont think there would be any gain from it either.

As for enrichment, just providing more climbing is enriching for them. Also, you can make their food harder to get. Throw the roaches all in at once (loose, not in a bowl) so they can scurry off and hide. Also, buy a bunch of African nightcrawlers and bury them in the soil. It gets them digging and searching for their food instead of just waiting for it.

Tie a clip to a string, dangle it from the top of the enclosure and clip the mouse. Make him tripod and figure out that his dinner is floating above him. Someone here posted vids like that awhile back I believe...

Pirarucu · 04-24-13, 05:13 PM

I doubt eating a piece of fruit every now and then would have a negative impact.. After all, we do gut load our feeders before feeding them, often with fruits.. Besides, I doubt they would go for the fruit unless it smelled like food.

Toothless · 04-24-13, 06:07 PM

Thanks for the advice everyone

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The ground here just started thawing out enough to get worms again, so he has been getting alot of those the past week. I'll try to dig up a bunch this weekend and add them to the soil.
He hasn't started a burrow yet, and prefers to sleep under the shelf on the bottom level. The humidity there is around 80%, but I'd like to see him sleep down in a burrow like he's supposed to. The dirt does hold burrows, but he just hasn't started one yet. If I start one for him, how deep down should I dig? I think the dirt's warm enough, but don't have a thermometer with a probe to check- should I pick up one of these and see what the temp is?