Savannah monitors are ravenous eaters, and can eat lots of food if you offer it to them. They are also scavengers, so you need to be careful how often and how much you feed your Savannah monitor. Obesity is a huge issue with Savannah monitors in captivity. But what to do if a Savannah monitor is not eating? In this post, you will learn reasons why a Savannah monitor is not eating, and what you can do about it.
The main reasons why a Savannah monitor is not eating include low tank temperatures, illness, stress or not liking a specific food item. Another reason why a Savannah monitor is not eating includes fasting during mating period or in winter.
Reason 1. Wrong temperatures in the tank
Wrong temperatures, often low temperatures in the tank, become a big reason why a Savannah monitor is not moving much or not eating. Many Savannah monitor keepers believe that their Savannah monitor is tame, because it’s calm. When in reality it’s being kept in cold conditions and doesn’t have energy to move.
Correct temperatures not only aid in digestion, but also help you monitor stay healthy and active. Savannah monitors require quite high temperatures to stay healthy. Dehydration, and low temperatures can also lead to gout in Savannah monitors.
Optimal ambient (air) temperatures for Savannah monitors are around 78-80 Fahrenheit (25.5-26.6 Celsius) on the cool side, around 90 Fahrenheit (32.2 Celsius) on the warm side. Surface temperature in a basking spot should be at around 130-140 Fahrenheit (54-60 C).
For hatchling and juvenile Savannah monitors, keep the basking surface temperature at 113-120 F (45-49 C), because they can overheat much quicker than adults. This should only be a surface temperature, and the air temperature in the hot spot should be at around 90-95 Fahrenheit (32.2-35 Celsius).
At night, temperature drops to 75 Fahrenheit (23.8 C) are optimal, but not lower than 70 Fahrenheit (21 Celsius). Temperature gradient in the tank is crucial, so that your Savannah monitor can move from the hot to cool side, and other way round, when it feels the need to do so. Make sure to use a thermostat with you heating devices (heating pad, cable etc.)
Make sure you have at least two thermometers in a tank like this one. One should be on a cool side, and one on a hot side. Place them a little above the ground to see air temperatures at your Savannah monitor’s height. Avoid sticker thermometers. Also, to check surface temperatures, especially in a basking spot, you can use a handheld infrared thermometer like this. It allows to check temperatures quickly in any spot.
With high temperatures will also come drying of the air, which means dropping humidity. Savannah monitors require high humidity levels, at least 65-70% (can be a bit less in a basking area and up to 90-95% in a burrow!). So, misting and substrate that can keep moisture is important, and as long as your monitor can burrow, it will be fine.
Reason 2. Stress
Another reason why a Savannah monitor might not be eating is stress. Stress can come from different sources and factors. For example, one of the major stress factors is presence of cage mates or even animals in the room. Savannah monitors are not social lizards, but solitary. And because of their size as well – they should live alone.
Another source of stress can be low humidity in dry air in the tank. Many people think that Savannah monitors need dry cages because they come from Sub-Saharan Africa, but in reality, they need rather high humidity ranges. They are comfortable with at least 60-70% humidity, as misting can greatly help with adding moisture to their habitat.
Lack of space will also greatly contribute to stress in your Savannah monitor. Not only your pet lizard won’t have enough space to move around, but also become lazy. Lack of movement will cause obesity in your monitor – a huge problem that many monitors face in captivity.
A minimum size enclosure for an adult Savannah monitor is 8x4x4 feet (2.4×1.2×1.2 meters). It is also not worth having a temporary enclosure for your monitor – always have a full sized tank if you are getting the animal. That’s because they grow pretty quickly, especially in captivity.
An exception is a hatchling, when you can transition to a bigger tank later. At minimum, an enclosure for your Savannah monitor must not be less than 2x the size of your monitor in length, and 1x in width and height.
Deep substrate is also important for Savannah monitors and will cause stress if it’s not deep enough or non-existent. In the wild, monitors burrow in the substrate to get away from heat and to hydrate. Make sure that substrate is deep (24-25″/61-64 cm) and can hold moisture. 70% of coco soil or organic topsoil (without fertilizers) and 30% sand will make a good mix. Adding some leaf litter is also good.
Other possible reasons for stress in a Savannah monitor are lack of privacy and too much handling. Savannah monitors are not fans of handling – tolerating it is another thing. While you can interact your pet often, don’t force any handling. With monitors, it can take years before they understand that you are not a threat and start trusting you. Be patient, offer food with tongs and gently touch your pet when working in the cage.
Privacy is also extremely important. Your Savannah monitor must have a place to hide, where it can feel safe. There are different options for hiding spots. For example, you can use hollow logs, cork bark, boxes and hides for reptiles. Make sure that a hiding spot is not too large, also dark enough for it to feel secluded.
To sum it up, any derangement from their preferred and optimal living conditions will lead to stress. Make sure to monitor living conditions, temperatures, lights, humidity, space and other factors to avoid stress in your monitor.
Reason 3. Your Savannah doesn’t like the food you are offering or it’s too big
Another possible reason why your Savannah monitor is not eating is because it doesn’t like what you are offering. This is especially possible if you only offer the same food items all the time. Make sure to offer various types of insect feeders, to see what your monitor accepts more readily.
Please note, that your Savannah monitor’s diet should mainly (almost 100%) consist of feeder insects. Other things such as eggs, frogs, or baby chicks or quails must be rare – not more often than once in 2-3 months.
For example, not all Savannah monitors will accept earthworms or nightcrawlers as food. Size of feeder insects is also important – make sure they are not too small. But they shouldn’t be larger than the size of your Savannah monitor’s head, either. If a prey is too big, your Savannah monitor might ignore it. Some will tear it in pieces and eat it that way.
Reason 4. Illness
Another reason which can cause your Savannah monitor not to eat is illness. Unfortunately, many Savannah monitors are wild caught, which means that they come riddled with parasites and are hard to treat. Some giveaway signs that a Savannah monitor is sick include being limp, skinny and slow to react.
Mites and ticks are external parasites that attach to a monitor’s body and feed off its blood. Make sure to check your monitor’s skin, and any crevices for mites. Mites and ticks are small, round dots the size of a salt granule. What is more, any bubbles around the nose and eyes can indicate a respiratory infection. Eyes should also be free of any discharge. Cheesy-white discharge on the mouth can indicate stomatitis/mouth rot.
Internal parasites are also a problem with Savannah monitors and other lizards, especially wild caught ones. While reptiles have internal parasites, if they are kept in check, a reptile lives normally. But stress, shipping and dehydration makes parasites grow substantially, harming a reptile. If you notice any loose stool, bad smell, vomiting or blood in the stool, it might be due to internal parasites. Loss of appetite will also be a symptom.
A healthy Savannah monitor should be alert, react readily to stimuli and frequently flick its tongue. It should also move around freely. If you have recently got your Savannah monitor, it’s important to place it in quarantine – for 2-3 months. Wash your hands when dealing with your monitor and don’t allow any other reptiles near it.
Reason 5. Lack of lighting and UVB
Lighting in the enclosure is very important for your Savannah monitor’s well-being. Bright lighting helps your Savannah monitor understand that it’s daytime (photoperiod – day and night). But also, bright lighting makes your monitor active and stimulates a feeding response. Savannah monitors are open sun baskers and thermoregulators, so it’s important for them.
If you use bulbs for heating the tank, you might need a few bulbs that are 100 watt each to get optimal basking temperatures. It’s always better to use a 2-6 bulbs instead of one to heat the tank. Just one bulb of high wattage can cause too much heat coming from one spot, causing burns. How many bulbs you need will depend on home temperatures, cage material and size etc.
Because Savannah monitors are diurnal animals, they need UVB in their enclosure. UVB lighting allows Savannah monitors to synthesize vitamin D in the skin. Most heating bulbs don’t produce UVB (mercury vapor bulbs do however). Lack of vitamin D, possibly with phosphorus excess and calcium deficiency can cause metabolic bone disorder.
The best thing to do is to get a fluorescent strip that will run across the enclosure (cover 50-70%) and provide enough UVB for your animal. A compact UVB bulb will only cover a small area of the tank, considering that your Savannah monitor needs a large tank. A higher output UVB strip, such as this high output T5 fluorescent lamp is optimal. 10-12% (10.0-12.0) UVB is optimal for Savannah monitors.
To make a tube lamp work, you will need to get a hood for it, reflective hood being better. A 46″ inch Reptisun tube will fit into a 48″ hood, 34″ tube – in a 36″ hood. A hood should handle the wattage of your UVB tube (can buy from the same brand to make sure). Make sure to replace UVB strips every 10-12 months, and bulbs – 6 months. That’s because they stop producing any UVB light after this period.
Reason 6. Mating period or fasting
Another reason why a Savannah monitor is not eating is because it’s fasting during a mating period or cooler season. Unless you wish to breed your Savannah monitors, there’s no need to condition them for breeding by letting them ‘cool in the winter’. This is when breeders reduce number of daylight hours, letting them rest more before the breeding season begins. They allow it to last for around 50-60 days.
But also, this can happen if you don’t watch the temperatures in the tank – and they drop because your house is cold too. Make sure to check temperatures in your Savannah monitor’s enclosure, so that it doesn’t get too cold in there when seasons change.
Adult Savannah monitors can fast for months without any bad effect on their health. This however, doesn’t apply to hatchlings and juveniles who don’t yet have enough fat storage and need food to grow. But Savannah monitors that are in good health can go months without eating. In the wild, Savannah monitors also have a fasting period, often during the dry season, when they go off feed.
Reason 7. Newly brought Savannah monitor
If you have just got your Savannah monitor and brought it home, then it might be not eating because of a new environment. A new Savannah monitor will need time to acclimatize to its new surroundings, so it might be shy to eat in the beginning. Allow it some time to get used to its surroundings and keep offering food until it eats.
How long can a Savannah monitor go without eating?
Adult Savannah monitors can go months without eating (up to 6 months!), without any serious effect on their health. Younger Savannah monitors can go a week or so without eating, because they don’t have a big fat reserve.
Savannah monitors in the wild generally go off feed for months at a time, during the dry season, often in winter or summer. If you Savannah monitor is healthy, a rest period from food might actually be beneficial to avoid obesity in captivity. There’s no need to feed your monitor if it doesn’t want to eat (unless there’s a problem, so review first). However, most Savannah monitors are ferocious eaters and will eat readily even if not hungry, so don’t overfeed your monitor.
Thank you for reading this post! If you would like to learn all about feeding schedules and rules for Savannah monitors, see this post.