frisky sav monitor help

Discussion in 'Monitors & Tegus' started by hollowayzach, Aug 24, 2009.

  1. hollowayzach

    hollowayzach Embryo

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    I recently purchased a 7 month old sav monitor and have housed him in a 3 foot by 2 foot glass tank with hiding spots large water bowl shading seemingly perfect set up. The temp on hot side is about 93-99 80-85 for the cool.

    The problem is during most of his day he tries to escape so badly the he rubs his nose raw on the glass and and i cant seem to figure out why. So am i missing something really important here or what?

    first post by the way
     
  2. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  3. anders65

    anders65 Embryo

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    Hi hollowayzach,
    it could be for a number of reasons ,
    what thermometer are you using ? those stick on dial ones can be like 10 degrees f innaccurate and if your using one the air/cool end temps might be too warm and your sav is trying to cool down. So use a good quality ordinary green house type or pref a digital .

    Temps that work really well for savs are cool/night/substrate temps of 75- 80f . Warm end 90-100f.

    Your sav also needs a basking spot (basically a raised rock or log etc directly under his light).The surface temp of this object (not the air temp)! would be good at 115-120f . Adult savs will use basking spots of 130f to150f. Without good basking temps savs mostly become grossly out of shape within 2-3 yrs and often die soon after,its from their digestion and metabolism not working properly causing fatty liver disease and poor circulation/blood pressure problems.The only sure way to get this temp right is with a temp gun (see Pro exotics site).

    Does your sav have plenty of tight hides or objects (nothing crushingly heavy)! to dig under ? Your sav will feel exposed without them and may wish to hide.

    What substrate are you using ? savs love to dig and spend a lot of time in burrows in the wild .
    A good substrate for savs is ordinary garden soil with no additives mixed say 50/50 with playsand, many U.S keepers have good success with the bagged soil i believe you can buy from homedepot. Keep the soil slightly damp in places to provide your sav humidity. 6-10 inch of soil might be OK for now, adults can use up to 2 ft depth. If the air in his tank is really desert dry your sav will want to get out .Use a solid top for the tank as screen tops let out too much moisture and will dehydrate your sav ,
    well i can,t think of anything else but i,m reasonably sure your problem can be solved by tweaking your savs conditions so that he/she can settle in better,
    good luck and keep us posted !

    Andy
     
  4. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  5. hollowayzach

    hollowayzach Embryo

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    Thank you for your help, yea i am going to start misting and will change the substrate to your suggestion very soon!
     
  6. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  7. anders65

    anders65 Embryo

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    Hi Hollowayzach ,
    something i completely forgot to ask is ,how big is your sav ?
    If he/she is growing well your sav may be finding its tank too confining and wants more room to regulate its temperature/dig and stuff.
    Savs may also try to desperately escape smaller enclosures when they want to pooh ! Presumably because they dont want to mess where they eat and sleep . A decent size cage for an adult sav (3 ft +) would be 8ft L x 4ft W x 4ft H.

    Andy
     
  8. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  9. lllxtclll

    lllxtclll New Member

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    The tank sounds small if the monitor is 18inches or more. At least, the tank should be twice the length of the monitor. My monitor did rub his nose once a long time ago. He was attempting an escape as well in a temporary, smaller than his normal, tank while I went on a vacation. Apparently he attempted to climb the walls of the temporary tank where he came with him 6 inches of reaching the top and scuffed up his nose too. Once back in his much larger and familiar enclosure it healed very nicely with a little neosporin.
    Also, maybe try some supervised exercise outside of it's tank. If it's trying to get out, let it out for a little while to satisfy it. Just make sure you know exactly where you monitor while out so that it is kept well out of harms way or dangerous places it could get stuck, out of reach or lost.
     
  10. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  11. hollowayzach

    hollowayzach Embryo

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    oh sorry, yea he is about 10 inches long with tail and i have started taking him on romps about the house and he seems to love it. I also changed the sub. to top soil with no fert. and half playsand, and he loves it! Rarely does he still try to escape but when he does i usualy take him out.

    Thank you for your help!
     

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