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Would you consider this healthy and well started..?

Fangthane

Fangthane

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I picked up a baby sav monitor last night. I could tell right off the bat that it was skinny and lethargic, but it was also somewhat chilly so I decided to take it home and see if it would rally after being heated up. Today it's still just as lethargic as last night. It seems too weak to even hold it's head up and definitely doesn't seem to have the strength to chase crickets. I've also tried cat food which it seems to be interested in, but just plops his head down in it and never opens his mouth.

I emailed the seller and he stated that ALL his babies are in this condition when he gets them and basically that there's nothing wrong with it. Please check out the following pics and video and let me know if I'm over reacting or if this thing truly is as sickly and pitiful as I think it is.

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Here's a small video clip:
 
If that monitor was in the same exact condition represented in those photos as when you received it, then I'd have to agree that it was neither healthy, nor well started. Looks dehydrated as well. What are the temps you have it set up at in it's enclosure? Has it made any attempt to drink at all?
 
I just picked it up last night about 2 hours before those pics were taken. Right now it's in a kritter keeper plastic container so I can't really offer it much of a gradient. The warmer side (1/4 of the keeper is sitting over a UTH) is 90*F and it trails off a few degrees to about 85*F on the far end.

Last night I did find it sprawled out in the water bowl but I never witnessed it actually drinking. I'm keeping it on paper towel and have been making it a point to keep it moist. It's been spending a good amount of time with it's head laying on the cat food. A few times I saw it's mouth open a crack so it may have managed to get a few nibbles down. It's a little more active today but it still looks pitifully weak and it's steps are wavering and clumsy.
 
Wow, that is a pitiful looking little creature.

I could be way off, but I will suggest it, just in case.

Does it always keep it's eyes closed like that? Do you know if the person you purchased if from used compact fluorescent bulbs. I ask because I know that some compact fluorescent UVB bulbs can cause some of the symptoms that this monitor is expressing, but so can't so many other things. I am not sure if that is the case, but it's something to consider.

Here is a link explaining Photo-Kerato-Conjuctivitis;

http://www.uvguide.co.uk/phototherapyphosphor-info.htm

I hope that the little does pull through.

Wayne
 
It's eyes are generally closed the majority of the time so far as I've noticed. I don't know specifically what kind of bulbs he used, if any. When I emailed him today expressing my disappointment with the animal he insisted that ""every batch of savannahs when i get them are like that" and to "just keep it under heat light". Right now I'm not using any type of UV, just regular incandescent bulb for ambient light.
 
I wouldn't be surprised if that sav is dead in a day or 2.
That thing is in TERRIBLE shape.
Whoever sold it to you and says that is how they are supposed to look needs to get a 2x4 upside his head.
Post the scums name so I, and others, will know what scum to NEVER deal with.
 
I don't know a lot about Monitors! I was just trying to help! When we purchased our Frilled Dragon, he was great when I first got him and I put one of those CF bulbs over him for UVB. That is what he ended up looking like after only a few days. It took him about a week to recover once I removed the bulb.

I really hope this turns out well!!

Wayne
 
I'm doing what I can to try to avoid it, but I think you're right SPJ. In fact the last line of the email I sent to him today was something along the lines of "my gut tells me this poor guy will be lucky to make it a few more days". I think sometimes people go overboard when excusing euthanasia..but I'm seriously considering just putting it out of it's misery.
 
OMG, that poor poor baby.

please let us know what that guys reply is. If it is ANYTHING other then apologetic and so on.. you best warn the rest of us!
 
Well, bad news. About 10 minutes ago I went and checked on him and found it laying on it's back and writhing weakly. I laid him right side up again, and decided it was time to euthanize him, but found him dead a few minutes later so I didn't even get the chance.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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