Acclimation
One of the questions we are asked frequently is how to acclimate a monitor that has just been brought home (1). Keepers, especially new ones, sometimes run into trouble getting the monitor stable in its new environment. Compounding the problem is that many newly-received monitors have previously not been in the best of care.
Husbandry
One of the most important aspects of receiving a monitor is to make sure its enclosure is set up prior to bringing it home. Humidity should be high and basking temps should be dialed in and measured with an infrared temp gun. The availability of plenty of hides is going to be of utmost importance in the first weeks of your monitor’s new life in your care, as is the deep substrate we discuss in the Housing section, as burrows will provide the utmost security for an incoming juvenile.
Aside from a monitor with a tremendous parasite load, incorrect husbandry is the number one cause of issues in newly acquired monitors. Many times we will see someone on a forum experiencing a wide variety of specific issues with their new monitor. Often a Savannah Monitor is an impulse purchase at a reptile show and no enclosure is built at all.
The majority of problems we see can be solved by correcting husbandry errors. Following the housing, feeding, and handling recommendations on this site should tremendously improve most situations, and finding out where one is deviating from good husbandry is always where good advice begins.
Parasites
For newly acquired monitors, especially for monitors in poor condition, a trip to your herpetological veterinarian can solve most parasite problems. Most monitors in the wild have various “inhabitants” from naturally occuring stomach flora to the occasional parasite or bacteria. When the monitor undergoes stress or poor conditions (for example, being shoved in a crate and imported into the US), the natural ability of their systems to regulate any and all bacteria, etc., becomes compromised and the parasite load can bloom out of control. At that point, medication and treatment can solve issues that husbandry cannot.
It should be noted that during the recovery process from parasites, handling and any other stress-causing behaviors on the part of the keeper should cease. Please see the taming section for discussion of stress and handling.
Eating Issues
One of the most common issues seen with newly acquired monitors is the monitor going off food. Initially, if the monitor looks to be in good condition, no worry should be given for a few days. As you will see in the taming/handling section, survival comes before food. Being thrust into a new environment, the monitor may simply not eat until it feels safe and is successfully acclimated.
It should be stressed that during the acclimation process, the monitor should not be handled. The undue stress caused by handling will only prolong the feelings of lack of safety the monitor has upon entering its new environment. If the monitor is continually handled and its hides are violated, it may continue to forego eating.
Having said that, food should still be made available. To aid in beginning to eat, the monitor should be allowed to hunt in private, with the keeper either out of the room or out of the view of the monitor.
Stuck Sheds
As monitors only take in water through their eyes and mouth, soaking for hydration does not necessarily work. However, if a monitor has been kept in extremely dry conditions and you notice stuck sheds and/or constriction of skin around the toes, a soak can be beneficial to aid in removing the poorly-shed skin.