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Sav Monitor not eating NEED HELP! :(

Elepheguttata007

Elepheguttata007

ElApheguttata..ugh
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Hello, I have recently acquired a female savannah monitor from a local reptile adoption place. She was not handled much in the home she came from and is very timid and scared.
She is a big girl, and vet checked she was healthy.
She obviously was eating, but for me she won't touch anything. I have tried EVERYTHING!
She just will NOT eat..I don't know what to do..I've only had her for about a week and a half and she has refused to even act interested in any piece of food I throw her way..I really am at a loss with her..and I really care for her and wish she'd start eating because I fear the worst if this temperament does not improve..
Yes, I've left her alone to eat without me there but she goes on the complete opposite side of the enclosure...
I just don't know what to do, so I'm asking for help from anyone who's experienced this..

Thank you
 
I would try live mice or live rats, the appropriate size for the monitor. You can also try some different canned dog and cat foods. Make sure the monitor feels secure in it's cage also. Try the live food first.
 
brd7666 said:
I would try live mice or live rats, the appropriate size for the monitor. You can also try some different canned dog and cat foods. Make sure the monitor feels secure in it's cage also. Try the live food first.
Click to expand...

I forgot to mention that I have tried live..she seems scared of it and moves away.
 
I would try a live rat pup, and leave it in the cage all night. A rat pup isn't going to attack the monitor either so there is no risk of leaving it in the cage.
 
brd7666 said:
I would try a live rat pup, and leave it in the cage all night. A rat pup isn't going to attack the monitor either so there is no risk of leaving it in the cage.
Click to expand...

Those are extremely hard to come by around here but I'll ask around..I know last time I tried to find some none of the pet stores around here had any :/
 
If you can't find the rat, then try a live hopper mouse and leave it in there all night. I hopper should not attack the monitor. Just make sure the food item is not too big. If the monitor is not comfortable and feels secure in it's enclosure, it may not want to eat. See if you can find the rat, a rat and mouse smell diferrently then each other. It sounds like you haven't tried a rat.
 
brd7666 said:
If you can't find the rat, then try a live hopper mouse and leave it in there all night. I hopper should not attack the monitor. Just make sure the food item is not too big. If the monitor is not comfortable and feels secure in it's enclosure, it may not want to eat. See if you can find the rat, a rat and mouse smell diferrently then each other. It sounds like you haven't tried a rat.
Click to expand...

Well, here's the thing. She roams and is curious in her enclosure when I'm out but as soon as I walk in the room, or put food in it, she shuts down..I've tried leaving food overnight and she will have nothing to do with it..
She acts terrified when I open her cage and reach in there and it breaks my heart cause I just wish she new she could trust me..
Which is why I'm at a loss of what to do..
 
Nature Zone makes a product called appetite plus and I have used this on 2 problem feeders and it worked great. 1st was a spider ball I had from a spider x high gold normal and he rufused to eat anything and I do mean anything for 6 months from hatching and then I met a guy when I was at the pet store and we ended up talking awhile and he told me about this product so I figured Id try anything at this point and went home and ordered it, I used 2-3 drops in his water bowl changing it out daily and 1-2 drops right in his mouth also daily and 4-5 days later he was on the move so I figured Id go ahead and try to feed him and when I did to my surprise he took 6 live hopper mice in a row, probably a little much but I figured what the hell he hadn't eaten in the 6 months he had been alive so I kept throwing them to him and he kept slamming them and he went on to be a voracious feeder and a prolific breeder for a friend of mine and he's a little over 2 now and over 1300 grams soo it seemed to do the trick. The other was a high white cali king I purchased as a hatchling and was eating fuzzys great and suddenly stopped eating over the summer for a few weeks and just had no interest in food so once again I used the appetite plus and within a week he was back on feed with no further problems. Just a thought, I can't remember where I ordered it from but here is a link to purchase it and it's less than $5 so it can't hurt to give it a shot. Good luck, I really hope you get your girl eating and thriving again real soon.

Jeff Wyatt
 
jeffwyatt81 said:
Nature Zone makes a product called appetite plus and I have used this on 2 problem feeders and it worked great. 1st was a spider ball I had from a spider x high gold normal and he rufused to eat anything and I do mean anything for 6 months from hatching and then I met a guy when I was at the pet store and we ended up talking awhile and he told me about this product so I figured Id try anything at this point and went home and ordered it, I used 2-3 drops in his water bowl changing it out daily and 1-2 drops right in his mouth also daily and 4-5 days later he was on the move so I figured Id go ahead and try to feed him and when I did to my surprise he took 6 live hopper mice in a row, probably a little much but I figured what the hell he hadn't eaten in the 6 months he had been alive so I kept throwing them to him and he kept slamming them and he went on to be a voracious feeder and a prolific breeder for a friend of mine and he's a little over 2 now and over 1300 grams soo it seemed to do the trick. The other was a high white cali king I purchased as a hatchling and was eating fuzzys great and suddenly stopped eating over the summer for a few weeks and just had no interest in food so once again I used the appetite plus and within a week he was back on feed with no further problems. Just a thought, I can't remember where I ordered it from but here is a link to purchase it and it's less than $5 so it can't hurt to give it a shot. Good luck, I really hope you get your girl eating and thriving again real soon.

Jeff Wyatt
Click to expand...

I'd love to try it but I'm not seeing a link?
Thank you. :D
 
Improper care

You have not told us the conditons you are keeping the monitor in. That almost always means improper environment. Basking temperature is a surface temperature and should be at least 125 degrees. Warm end around 89, cool end around 68. There should be substrate that can retain moisture wthout getting soggy. It should be able to also hold the shape of any burrow the monitor chooses to dig. Aquariums with screen tops are bad news. All temperatures are given in Farenheit. ALso handling can lead to stress. Has a fecal test also been done on it? Substrate should be about 12 inches deep and should be over 2 times as long as the total length by 1.5 times as long deep.

Digby Rigby [email protected]
 
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