SAVANNAH MONITOR HELP!!

irishmodel · New Member Joined: Sep 19, 2008 Posts: 1

Well a friend of a coworker is moving and has offered me a Savannah Monitor baby due to my background with other reptiles.. to be honest I have never had to deal with Savys.. but she mentioned it has a back problem that is will grow out of.. what could this be.. any ideas?? Nutrition defic??

Not sure please help me if you can with this..

worldeater · Respected Member Joined: Mar 06, 2008 Posts: 578

back problem? sounds like neglect, either not enough calcium or more likely metabolic bone disease. that savvy needs sunlight!

i guess the thing to do is tell if it's too far gone to repair. if the savvy is dragging it's back legs i don't know if you can fix that, someone with more experience in the later stages of mbd will tell you. if it's back legs are just shaking bad and it's weak, yea, swoop him up and stick him under a mercury vapor bulb, suppliment with lots of phosphorus-free calcium, maybe rubbed into the fur of mice,

maybe if you can get pictures we can tell you whats wrong. metabolic bone disease is so common that it's usually whats wrong, especially with sun-loving herps like savannahs
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1.0.0 Australian Water Dragon "Spyro"
1.0.0 Red Eared Slider "Turdy"
0.1.0 White Dwarf Hamster "MiMi"
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october · Honored Member Joined: Aug 04, 2008 Posts: 214

Hello and welcome irishmodel...I think the seller or giver needs to be more specific. Reptiles do not just "grow out" of back injuries, regardless of what they are. If it took a nasty fall or was grabbed violently by the tail, it could have a broken back. It is doubtful that the animal will ever be 100%

As far as a calcium deficiency and dragging its back legs. I know that Tegus, when young can bounce back 100% from having loss the use of their back legs. When the animal is older, it may be a different story. However, I am not sure about savannahs.

If there is some twitching going on, that can be corrected easilly. If the animal losses the use of its back legs and is young, that can also be taken care of. Once again, I am referring to tegus. Tegus seem more prone to deficiencies and MBD more than other reptiles. I am guessing that if the savannah is going through this problem, it was not taken care of very well.

In my opinion, I would ask to see the animal to see what you are dealing with. Also, time is crucial here. I mean, the longer it stays in poor shape, if it is a calcium deficiency, the worse it is getting, even as we are emailing.

Basically, its up to you, but I, personally would need to see the animal and its usually not a good idea to get something with a serious problem right off the bat.

Rob

Reddevil95128 · Posted: Sat Sep 20, 2008 2:18 am Post subject:

pics would be very good however this little guy needs a trip to the vet first thing if you get him so you can know for sure if your dealing with a cal def or a back injury let us know if you get him we will help you with any questions regarding care