Would you consider this healthy and well started..?

Very sorry Dan....

Just an FYI, it takes time for the lack of UV light to affect a monitor in a negative fashion. With as new as this monitor was to the world, a lack of UV light did not cause this.

I do have UV lighting but when I actually picked up the monitor it was so tiny and skinny that I decided not to put it in it's originally intended enclosure and there wasn't any way to use the light I have with the kritter keeper. I'm hoping nothing I did contributed to it's death..I feel lousy enough as it is.

Dan - I am very sorry for the death of your little guy. I don't believe ANYTHING you did to him in the past 24 hours or so caused this; I am afraid he was on the way out when you got him.

No baby savs, but yes to leopards, beardies, water dragons, uros, cresteds, etc. The guy who sold him to you, it sounds to me, just wanted $$$ and didn't care about the health of your little guy.

"All babies act like that"....phhhht....babies I have seen are quite robust and rambunctious. I agree w/ SPJ and others....if he doesn't resolve this situation and VERY apologetically, a bad guy post is definitely warranted.

Try to hold your head up- you tried to rescue the little guy.

Sorry to hear about it passing.
That animal looks like the person you bought it from made no effort to properly care for it and it was too far gone no matter how good your care would have been.

Very sorry for your loss and the misunderstanding!

Wayne

Originally Posted by MedusaCoils

Very sorry for your loss and the misunderstanding!

Wayne

What misunderstanding are you referring to?

If that sav really had the curvature if the tail and spine that I think I see in those pics in addition to the severe dehydration and emaciation that I KNOW I see, then 1) it was older than you were led to believe but severely underdeveloped, and 2)it already had advanced MVB, which takes time with no supplements, improper diet, and improper temps. I agree that a compact bulb that you might have used couldn't have contributed to its death that quickly, but you should avoid those things. They have been known to cause blindness and wasting. I rescue and rehab lizards, and sometimes just general weakness causes them to keep their eyes shut. If it was a bulb induced conjunctivitis, like some UVB bulbs cause, there would have been crustiness and possible swelling of the eyes in a lizard that sick.

I am really sorry for you and for the little guy. Very sad.

As for the possible curvature you mention, it was definitely there. I didn't just happen to catch it in the same awkward position for all the pics. I, myself, didn't use a compact UV bulb. There was speculation that the the previous owner might have used it and that might have caused it to keep it's eyes shut. When I got the lizard there were probably a half dozen crickets inside his container, most of which were damn near the size of his head. I'm more inclined to believe it was a product of severe weakness due to very improper diet.

On a more positive note, the seller agreed to pay for another monitor from a DIFFERENT seller. I'm driving down to MD to pick it up today (Thursday).

I know I haven't seen as many baby savs as some of you may have but even the ones I see that are fresh imports are usually fat and sassy. A lot of you have posted many things I agree with. Severe dehydration and malnutrition, MBD, older than led to believe and just cared for terribly.

The guy may be telling the truth about all his monitors coming in looking like that but if it is true I would suggest that he look for another supplier. That monitor was not healthy. I would bet anything that there was nothing you did to hasten its demise nor much, if anything, you could have done to prevent it. I certainly would not be purchasing anything from anyone ever again if they sent me something looking like that and as a retailer if an animal came to me looking like that I would be embarrassed show it to anyone else much less sell it to them. It sounds like the guy is making your situation right but it doesn't make his selling animals like this right. He may not have been the direct cause of this animal's condition as the damage may have in fact been done long before he got it but he is a cog in the wheel.

Dan, I hope you get a really healthy baby. I also wanted to post a link to a really good care sheet with great references. There is a lot of bad info regarding monitor care, but this is a good source:
http://www.proexotics.com/care_savannah.html