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help on my sav

D

darknessfalls0911

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hi, i'm recently bought 2 savs not too long ago about a week ago. maybe about 2 weeks. the lizards were in the same tank. the tank is pretty small (10 gal). but the savs are small as well. about a foot long. one of the savs (sav A) is doing fine on eating. it eats crickets, and just recently ate a small mouse. it is also active at certain times. the other sav (sav B) tended to sleep alot and hide under the piece of wood i provided it. it stayed under there most of the time. it has only ate 3-5 crickets in about a week or so. at this moment i think the condition its living in is not correct . i also provided it a water bowl. but i have not seen it come near it. just kick the flooring into it. i have separated sav B into a separate tank and i have left 3 crickets and a mouse in there. it has not showed any interest in it at all. the sav is skinny which i know is hungry. sav b is currently active so to say in its separate tank. how do i get sav B to start eating? and how do i get both my savs to start drinking its water? can anyone please tell me what i'm doing wrong here?
 
More information is needed to be able to offer any advice. What are your ambient temps and basking temp in your enclosures? How are you supplying the heat? Do they have any hiding places? What kind of substrate are you using? The more info you give, the better.
 
for now... subtrate its like lito rocks. hiding places? only the active one has it. the interactive lizard has eaten the last few crickets i've given it which is good. i'm plannign to switch it all to a 90 gal tank soon with basking lights, etc. for now. i'm using a regular lamp with a regular light bulb.
 
That could be your problem savs like it up in the 90s for basking maybe he isn't getting enough heat to get energy. Maybe you should do some research on these guys temps, feeding etc you should always research before purchasing an animal .
 
well, i'm soon going to move it together into a bigger tank, i'm going to use bark or soil that comes in blocks at petco as the bedding. gonna get 2 heat rocks, one for each and 2 basking lights about... 100 watt, for each heat rock. i'm ma put the tank outside in the backyard. is that a good idea?
 
Use soil....deep soil. Best bet would be picking up some bags of soil(inorganic, no added fertilizers) from Lowes....don't waste your money at petco.

The high wattage bulbs pose a fire risk and will turn that tank into a beef jerky producing machine especially if you are using a screen top....are you using a screen top? If so get rid of it and replace it with a board or plexi.

Get you some low wattage lamps....50w-60w will probably work well if the enclosure is sealed well.... Create a basking site by providing an basking area closer to the lamps. You can adjust the height of the basking area until the desired basking temp is reached...

Why are you putting the tank in the backyard? The lizard will then be heated by both the lamps and the sun......not a good idea.

Why get a tank? Savs get big.....you will need something custom and big to house it when it grows, so why not get to building now? You can section it off while it is young and remove the sections as it grows.
 
....and forget the heatrocks too. They can develop super hot spots that your sav's won't detect until the damage is done and they end up with burns. Stick with the heatlamps, and get a thermometer to check the temps at your basking spot. The temp at the basking spot (and ONLY the basking spot) should be somewhere between 120~130 degrees. Adjust the wattage up or down (or as Daniel suggests move the basking spot up or down) based on that temp you read. The rest of the cage should be in the 80's during the day and the whole cage can drop to the 70's at night. Your sav's should move between the basking spot and the rest of the cage throughout the cage as they heat up and cool down. Basic thermoregulation.

Read that care sheet Dan recommended. Robyn at Pro Exotics knows his shiznits....
 
well, i've moved my savs into a brand new environment. i have used repti-sand for starters as the substrate, provided some branches in the middle for it to climb, i use that was a basking spot. i only have 1 basking lamp shining onto it, i don't know if it is good enough. i have a very large water bowl, that the lizards submerge themselves into during the day. is that a good sign? they didnt that before. i am forced to have the tank outside in the backyard for a temporarily time, i am currently looking for room in my garage. it gets enough light and heat from the sun as it is during the day. so i turn off the basking light, i leave the basking light on at night. i have provided 2 hiding spots in the tank, but i will add more. this is how the tank currently looks like:
my.php



i would like to here opinions and further advice for what i am doing wrong and right. i appreciate the help. thank you.
 
Don't take this personally but that tank is worthless the way it is setup. What you have there is a beef jerky making machine....not a monitor lizard enclosure.

Why ask for advice if you are not going to accept it? My opinion of the tank is the same as before......here it is again ;)

daniel1983 said:
Use soil....deep soil. Best bet would be picking up some bags of soil(inorganic, no added fertilizers) from Lowes....don't waste your money at petco.

The high wattage bulbs pose a fire risk and will turn that tank into a beef jerky producing machine especially if you are using a screen top....are you using a screen top? If so get rid of it and replace it with a board or plexi.

Get you some low wattage lamps....50w-60w will probably work well if the enclosure is sealed well.... Create a basking site by providing an basking area closer to the lamps. You can adjust the height of the basking area until the desired basking temp is reached...

Why are you putting the tank in the backyard? The lizard will then be heated by both the lamps and the sun......not a good idea.

Why get a tank? Savs get big.....you will need something custom and big to house it when it grows, so why not get to building now? You can section it off while it is young and remove the sections as it grows.
Click to expand...
 
SethsExotics said:
They are probably submerging themselves to cool off. Its time for a trip to the library...
Click to expand...
Is their pool heated??
I didn't even know libraries had pools
 
Savs soak?
The current sav resident just burrows and he has a hot spot of 130. The cool side is at 85. He digs down at night and is active during the day. Never soaks. Come to think of it, I don't recall ever seeing a sav soaking.

Sounds like your non-eater is an import with a parasitic load and needs to see a vet. Also with the soaking, have you noticed any little black dots in the water bowl after they get out?
 
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