# bosc monitor not had a poo



## Volitans68 (Jan 22, 2015)

Hi guys,need some advice,my bosc monitor has not had a poo for over a week,his basking spot is around 150 degrees,he also has a basking spot under 500 watt metal halide lights for uv!I noticed several days ago,that he ate some of his own poo?!Since then he's not been to the toilet!His substrate is child's play sand!!
He's around 3 foot now!
His diet consists of full grown locusts and rat pups!60/40


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## CloudForest (Nov 27, 2013)

He is probably massivly dehydrated and heading for liver and renal failure

He URGENTLY needs a proper substrate of Soil and Sand, mixed 70%/30%, it should be damp and clump together in a ball when pressed - substrate should be 2ft deep and compacted down hard

It is essential that you get the ambient humidity in the enclosure upto 60%, and with a moist substrate that can provide 90% humidity inside burrows, this can only be easily achieved and maintained long term with 2ft of soil/sand substarte

You may need to seal the enclosure up further to keep the humidity in

How large is the enclosure? 500W metal halide is a HUGE lamp for even a 8x4x4 monitor enclosure, most enclosures only need 2-4 low power Halogen Flood lamps for heat, plus a 80-120W Mercury vapour UVB, or 12% UVB tube

Get this sorted asap, or he'll be in serious trouble soon - you may also need to see a vet, so he can get hydrated properly and quickly. and worth getting his liver and renal function checked too.


Despite what is claimed on the web, bathing a monitor in water does *not* re-hydrate them, nor do they come from Deserts, they come from the very hot and humid West Africa


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## kbonnington (Mar 15, 2015)

totally agree despite what is said about where they come from it is far from a desert but a grass land where they have the opportunity to burrow down to where it is wet. they need soil to maintain their temps and hydration, with a proper setup there is absolutely no need to bath them. before this did he poo in his water? this is a sign of poor hydration. not only that without wishing to open this can of worms again they are insectivores if his last meal was a rat they take time to digest them. i just wanted to add I AM NOT DISPUTING RATS IN THEIR DIET. i would hold on to that sand and go get a massive bag of top soil and mix it in, all of my savs have a burrow and they dont poo in their water and i never see them bathing, if yours is or was adjustments need to be made. 

is that all you feed it?

i have had this problem before and it did pass but cloud forest has helped me before and he knows what hes talking about if he fears a vet trip is needed i will strongly advise that you do so.


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## CloudForest (Nov 27, 2013)

hopefully this Sav is now in a big enclosure with plenty of substrate, high humidity and is being monitored by a specialist vet!...hopefully... please do update OP!

I love Savs


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## Volitans68 (Jan 22, 2015)

*Bosc monitor*

Thanks guys for the info!Humidity is now 60 -70 in the day,90 + at night,temp 35 degrees c in the day,10 inches of soil/sand mix,he's much better now,I will be building a much larger via for him,and I will make his substrate much deeper!He's now having a poo!


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## CloudForest (Nov 27, 2013)

Volitans68 said:


> Thanks guys for the info!Humidity is now 60 -70 in the day,90 + at night,temp 35 degrees c in the day,10 inches of soil/sand mix,he's much better now,I will be building a much larger via for him,and I will make his substrate much deeper!He's now having a poo!


a big pool of water is good to, they like to swim, and will drink water, although its generally considered that a Sav drinking water is a dehydrated Sav, that's not proven scientifically afaik, but i trust the sources...anyways, if you have the space (ie an 8x4x4 enclosure, rec min size) you should fit a nice size pool in there too


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## kbonnington (Mar 15, 2015)

Volitans68 said:


> Thanks guys for the info!Humidity is now 60 -70 in the day,90 + at night,temp 35 degrees c in the day,10 inches of soil/sand mix,he's much better now,I will be building a much larger via for him,and I will make his substrate much deeper!He's now having a poo!


trick now will be to get him to actually burrow, try raising the temp this usually triggers it or bury all of his hides.


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## CloudForest (Nov 27, 2013)

Basking Temp, that is, substrate surface temp below the heater, MUST be 135f or higher

many Savs will not burrow much early on, they often use rat holes in the wild...so dig him a tunnel in the cool end, and you can be sure he will use it, expand it, and one day you will wake up to find the entire enclosure dug over


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## kbonnington (Mar 15, 2015)

my hatchlings dug their own, if the temps right they should dig, reason i said that bout raising the temp to stimulate is because it worked before for me. reason i find they dont burrow early on or straight away is because they have not have access to it and the behaviour is slowly lost. in my experience they have allways started digging when they had access to it, just takes some time. they're generally crap at it to start with. ive rescued one of a simular size that did not have it and he started digging them straight away. ive never dug holes for them?


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## CloudForest (Nov 27, 2013)

kbonnington said:


> my hatchlings dug their own, if the temps right they should dig, reason i said that bout raising the temp to stimulate is because it worked before for me. reason i find they dont burrow early on or straight away is because they have not have access to it and the behaviour is slowly lost. in my experience they have allways started digging when they had access to it, just takes some time. they're generally crap at it to start with. ive rescued one of a simular size that did not have it and he started digging them straight away. ive never dug holes for them?


perhaps you are right, although in the wild, baby savs are frequently found living in giant cricket, mouse and rat burrows...like any animal, they will be take the easy option when its available!

mine didn't start digging until nearly 2 years old, despite having ~140f basking temps and perfect substrate...then one day I woke up to find the entire enclosure dug up lol ah what a mess he made, i miss him.


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## kbonnington (Mar 15, 2015)

cant argue with that, i suppose that each animal is different and its common sense to think if there was a perfectly good burrow there why would they dig another. 

try both i suppose i have started a burrow for one of mine in the effort to get him to dig where i wanted and it worked.


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## CloudForest (Nov 27, 2013)

kbonnington said:


> cant argue with that, i suppose that each animal is different and its common sense to think if there was a perfectly good burrow there why would they dig another.
> 
> try both i suppose i have started a burrow for one of mine in the effort to get him to dig where i wanted and it worked.


many adult monitors defy all human demands and spend allot of their lives hanging out in tops of tree's in the wild :2thumb:

but importantly, they are very difficult to find during dry season, when they spend their lives deep in their burrows @ 90% humidity waiting for the rains and the FOOOOODDDDD


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