Savannah monitors are voracious eaters and scavengers in the wild. If you Savannah monitor eats well, it should also poop well, right? But what if a Savannah monitor is not pooping? In this post, you will learn about the main reasons why a Savannah monitor is not pooping and what you can do to help its constipation.
The main reasons why a Savannah monitor is not pooping include dehydration, low enclosure temperatures and lack of movement. Other reasons for not pooping include low humidity levels, impaction, obesity and lack of movement.
How often do Savannah monitors poop?
How often a Savannah monitor poops depends on how much it eats, its health and activity levels. But if a Savannah monitor eats a lot (for example an adult consuming over 100 bugs per feeding), will often poop the next day or in a couple days after feeding (however some will poop the same day).
If you believe that your Savannah monitor is constipated, try touching its belly – is it hard or soft? Soft belly is a good sign, but if it’s hard and bloated – it could indicate constipation or impaction. Usually, if you have a tub with warm water for your Savannah monitor to soak, it will get into it and poop there. Make sure to clean it straight away because your monitor will also drink that water.
Reason 1. Low humidity levels or dehydration
One of the most important care requirements for Savannah monitors is humidity and hydration. Low humidity levels in the cage will make your Savannah monitor sick and dehydrated, disrupting digestion and affecting immunity.
Savannah monitors require humidity levels from 55% (near basking area) to 65-70% near a cool side. Humidity inside burrows should be even higher – it can reach 85-95%! If ambient levels are low, dry air might make your monitor dig to get that moisture from the substrate. This is natural behavior in the wild, which you should help your pet mimic. Misting will help keep humidity levels in check.
Humidity levels in the substrate can reach as high as 85-90%, and your Savannah monitor will burrow whenever it feels the need to do so. Make sure to keep an eye on humidity levels, with a hygrometer with probe like this one. To measure humidity in a burrow, where it should be highest, you can use its probe for more accurate results.
Low humidity levels and lack of deep substrate will cause lots of stress in your Savannah monitor, and dehydration. This can then lead to serious liver problems, gout and even renal failure. Never use sand on its own, or any other substrate that dries up quickly and is dusty. Optimal substrate should clump properly when moist, so that your monitor can burrow properly and get moisture from it.
The substrate in the enclosure must be deep – 24-25 inches or 61-64 cm is often optimal (compacted depth). It should also hold moisture well and not dry out quickly. 70% topsoil (not potting soil, and it must not contain any fertilizers either) and 30% playsand is one of the options for the substrate mix.
If your Savannah monitor doesn’t show any interest in burrowing, then it might need some help with it. You might try to dig a tunnel for your monitor, on a cool side, and it might start going in there and burrowing more after that.
If humidity levels in your Savannah monitor’s enclosure are low and you want to increase them, you might look into covering or sealing a part of the tank. That’s especially true if you have a big portion of the tank that lets the air in. Using a small humidifier is another option.
Reason 2. Low enclosure temperatures
Low enclosure temperatures are a very common mistake with Savannah monitor keepers. Savannah monitors actually like very high basking temperatures! Without correct temperatures in your monitor’s tank, your pet won’t be able to digest its food properly, and will lose appetite. Lack of basking will lower your monitor’s immunity and it will eventually become sick. Slow digestion will mean no pooping in your Savannah monitor.
While ambient/air temperatures on the cool side must be 78-80 Fahrenheit (25.5-26.6 Celsius) and approximately 90 Fahrenheit (32.2 Celsius) on the warm side, basking temps must be much higher.
Basking temperatures (only the surface of the basking spot) should reach 130-140 Fahrenheit (54-60 C) for adults and 113-120 F (45-49 C) for hatchlings and juveniles, because they overheat much faster. Please note that these are surface basking temperatures only, not air temperatures.
Lower temperatures at night are fine, optimal being around 75 Fahrenheit (23.8 C), but not lower than 70 Fahrenheit (21 Celsius). If it does get colder than this, especially in winter, you can use an extra heating device for nighttime, such as a ceramic heat emitter (doesn’t produce light, only heat) or a heating cable (with a thermostat to control temperatures).
Make sure to regularly check your Savannah monitor’s enclosure temperatures. For that, you will need one thermometer in a cool spot, and one on a hot side, just a little above the ground at your monitor’s height. What is more, a handheld infrared thermometer like this will help you quickly check basking surface temperatures at any time you want.
Reason 3. Wrong diet
Savannah monitors need a diet that consists mainly of insects, with occasional treats. If you have been feeding your Savannah only mice, rats, meat like chicken or quails, frogs and other heavy food, it will cause issues. After heavy foods, your Savannah monitor might take longer to poop. It’s because these foods take longer to digest. As they have fur, skin, bones and even teeth – it can be very hard to digest. Especially if water content in that prey is low.
While occasional treats are fine, regular feeding with high fat foods is detrimental to a Savannah monitor’s health. You should offer various insects (95% and even more of the diet), like these:
- Mealworms, superworms
- Waxworms
- Crickets
- Locusts
- Grasshoppers
- Hornworms
- Silkworms
- Various roaches
- and many more…
You should limit how often you offer the fattiest bugs, such as waxworms and superworms, but insects should make the most of the diet. While understandably it becomes more expensive to feed your Savannah monitor exclusively bugs as it gets bigger, there’s a way to minimize the costs. You can start your own colony at home – for example, Dubia roaches breed very well at home and make a good feed.
You can add some quails, eggs, snails from time to time – up to a few times a year is optimal, but not more than one time in a 2-3 months. High fat and hard to digest foods will put a big strain on your Savannah monitor’s liver and kidneys. Only after a few years of this diet, a monitor becomes weak and sick. If you’re offering too many of those foods, switch to bugs as soon as possible.
Another problem is feeding too often, that causes health issues in Savannah monitors and other monitors too. In the wild, they eat a lot when there’s a chance, but there’s usually big periods of fasting, especially during a dry season.
So do you believe you have been feeding your Savannah monitor wrong foods and does it look round or obese? If yes, then you need to change the diet immediately and make sure that your monitor is hydrated. Wrong diet can shorten a Savannah monitor’s lifespan in half – to 5-6 years only. If you monitor is not pooping, it might be sick already, so also take it to the vet for liver, renal and other tests.
Reason 4. Sickness
If your Savannah monitor is not pooping, you need to make sure it’s not sick after reviewing all the other factors. Does your Savannah monitor have a 10-12% UVB lamp/tube in the tank that is replaced every 6-12 months? Do you gut-load and dust the bugs with calcium and sometimes multivitamin? Calcium to phosphorus ratio in the food must be at least 2:1, 3:1 and over being even more optimal.
Lack of vitamin D and/or calcium can lead to a metabolic bone syndrome, when your monitor becomes weak and its bones soft. Its legs become puffy and it starts walking less, eating less, and pooping less. Young Savannah monitors are especially at risk as they are growing.
Parasites can also cause disruption with your Savannah monitor’s pooping. Runny, smelly poop, even with some blood can indicate parasites. But even lack of poop can indicate that there’s something wrong in the intestines, liver or other internal organs. If your Savannah monitor doesn’t look alert, but weak, take it to the vet as soon as you can. It can be a parasitic infection, for example with helminths.
There are other possible causes of constipation in Savannah monitors, which include cloaca disorders – cloacitis, cloacoliths, rectal obstruction with urates, also fecaliths, fecal stones. Trauma, such as in sacroiliac luxation, can also lead to problems in the digestive tract, leading to constipation. Other issues that might require surgical operation include egg binding in gravid (pregnant) monitors, prolapse and more.
Reason 5. Impaction
In general, Savannah monitors are not prone to impaction. Even in the wild, they sometimes ingest fur, sand, gravel, soil, even pieces of wood with their food. Often, it passes without a problem. However, you need to be especially careful with the size of the food you are offering your Savannah monitor.
Make sure not to offer prey items that are too big – especially to hatchlings and babies. Some Savannah monitors will ignore the food if it’s too big, but usually will try to rip it apart of even swallow anyways. It can then be too hard for a monitor to digest the food.
Always do your best not to offer any prey that is bigger than your Savannah monitor’s head. And also, digestion of bigger prey, size as chicks or mice, will take longer to digest, hence longer before your monitor poops.
If your Savannah monitor hasn’t pooped for weeks or even months, it might be impacted and need immediate attention. At the vet, they will perform a list of tests, and also an X-Ray, to see if there’s impaction. They might also try softening the stools by using paraffin oil, enema, or other medicinal solutions. In cases where it doesn’t help, a surgery might be needed.
Reason 6. Lack of movement
Another reason that can add up to constipation in a Savannah monitor is lack of movement. This can be if your Savannah monitor has a very small tank and no space to move around. Due to lack of movement, peristalsis (movement of food through the digestive tract) will also be slow. Help you monitor move around more by letting it chase some of its food, or splashing in a bathtub. Reducing portions in case of obese monitors can help your pet start moving around more.
Minimum size of the tank for a Savannah monitor is 2x of total length of your pet in length, and 1x in width and height. Savannah monitors grow quickly, especially in captivity, so it’s better to get a large tank straight away. 8x4x4 feet (2.4×1.2×1.2 meters) is optimal for a Savannah monitor.
What to do if your Savannah monitor is not pooping?
If your Savannah monitor is not pooping, then it might be a good idea to give it a warm bath. A warm bath will help your monitor loosen up and pass stool. And in general, it’s a good idea to have a large tub with water that your Savannah monitor can get into for a soak inside the tank. Be careful with water level though – it should not be higher than its snout.
You can leave that tub in your monitor’s enclosure, and it is likely to use it. However, you can give your monitor a bath in the bathroom sink for example. Massaging its belly can also help it pass stool. If you wish, you can even train your monitor to poop this way.
What did your Savannah monitor eat before becoming constipated? Please note, that Savannah monitor’s diet should primarily (95% and over) consist of feeder insects. These include various worms, crickets, roaches etc. While you can offer an egg, frog, fish, a mouse, or a quail as a treat once a while (not more than a few times a year!), expect a heavier meal like this to take longer to digest.
Bathing your Savannah monitor is not likely to re-hydrate it (it might however help to pass stool). Savannah monitors come from hot and humid places in Africa, and they get their moisture mainly from burrowing in the soil. Make sure to check substrate first, and replace it if needed. Check humidity levels and fix that as soon as possible if it’s low. Using a hygrometer with a probe like this is optimal.
If your Savannah monitor hasn’t pooped for some time, there’s another urgent thing you can do. If you raise the ambient temperatures slightly, your monitor will start burrowing more. This will provide it with moisture that it needs. But of course, make sure that the substrate is suitable for burrowing (for example 70% topsoil and 30% sand) and is deep – 24-25″/61-64 cm.
If you do this, make sure that basking surface temperatures don’t get above 140 F (60 C). For juveniles, it must not be higher than 120 F (49 C), as they are smaller and overheat faster. Keep the ambient temperature slightly raised until your monitor has burrowed and pooped.
To avoid the temperature getting too high in one spot, it’s a better idea to have a few bulbs (2-6) of smaller wattages instead of one bulb of higher wattage. Savannah monitors also need 10-12% UVB, which you can provide in a form of mercury vapor bulb or a UVB strip (better as covers a bigger area).
Also consider placing a big tub with water (a pool) in your Savannah monitor’s terrarium. Savannah monitors like to swim and will also drink water from there. However, make sure to change water daily to keep it clean.
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