Bathroom Stuff:
This section of the site focuses on a typical bathroom routine that I have developed for my monitor.
I learned early on that having a water dish in the cage was going to be messy. And because most monitors defecate in their water dish I was not looking forward to the cleaning up process. These reasons prompted me to try something new.
Basic Bathroom Routine:
Within a couple of hours of the lights coming on he will awake and shortly after begin looking for a place to defecate or indicate that he is ready for the bathroom. The difference in times can vary based on temperature/season or by how much he has eaten the day before.
If he is sleeping w/ me and gets up before me I immediately put him in the bathtub to defecate. If he is sleeping w/ or around me and I awake before he does I put him in his “bed”.(see Cage/Housing for more NFO on this subject.)
If he is already in his bed & needs to do the doo he will begin trying to climb out of his bed area. Since I am almost always at home this is not a problem & is noticeable enough that it is obvious to me when he is “bathroom ready”.
If he is sleeping w/ me and gets up before me I immediately put him in the bathtub to defecate. If he is sleeping w/ or around me and I awake before he does I put him in his “bed”.(see Cage/Housing for more NFO on this subject.)
If he is already in his bed & needs to do the doo he will begin trying to climb out of his bed area. Since I am almost always at home this is not a problem & is noticeable enough that it is obvious to me when he is “bathroom ready”.
Toilet Time:
As I mentioned already monitors will generally go to the bathroom in their water dish. But I have removed the dish. This encourages him to avoid pooping in his own space. When my Savannah Monitor is ready to go to the bathroom he lets me know with a cue. (photo right) I then put a small amount of water in the bathtub and place him in the tub. He normally goes right away. (video below)
It is easy to clean and much less work than cleaning his cage, water dish and/or the carpet.
I always clean the tub when he finishes. Then comes his bath. Once clean he is allowed to roam freely for the rest of the day.
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This is his "I-gotta-go-poo" cue.
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PLEASE NOTE: The Video below shows a male Savannah Monitor defecating. If this is disturbing to you please do NOT scroll down.
This video helps to illustrate two important things. First is that a male Savannah will normally extend his hemipenes when he defecates. (You should be able to see this happen in the video.) If your male SavMon is NOT extending his hemipenes when he poops that could be an indication of a problem. Possibly from parasites, sickness or even from being too cold.
The second thing is that what comes out can be an indication of how well you lizard is doing with a food item or diet. In most cases just observing a specimens stool when they go will tell you what you need to know. |
What you see here in this video is normal for my monitors diet of fish supplemented with crickets and seasonal grasshoppers.
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All photos & videos by John Kleinknecht - Copyright © 2013 - All Rights Reserved Worldwide