Help with baby savannah monitor?!

[Liliotl]

Other forum places are broke so im posting here rip

I have a baby savannah monitor that i got at a reptile show(about 6 inches)
She turned black on the ride home and has stayed dark dull colors since. She still eats and will chase bugs, she drinks water, and runs away from me and hisses, but never bites and sleeps ALOT
Im mostly conserned as of why shes so dark black and sleeps so much, her colors have turned a lighter brown since ive gotten her but she doesnt have the normal bright colored spots savannah monitors usually have

I have her in a 100 gal tank while i build her a big enclosure
The humidity in the tank is 50-60% sometimes 70%
Ambiant air temp around 80-85
Cool side of the tank is 78-80(surface temp) while the hot side is around 90 with a basking spot of 100-115
She has about 1 ft of dirt to dig in,2 hides on either sides of the tank, a water bowl she can fit in and some little things to play with like rocks n sticks she pushes around

Should i bathe her, take her out more often, hold her, ect.????
Any tips and info on babies is greatly appreciated ;o;

 

[Yvonne G]

Ah, second choice. . . I'll take it!!!

This would be a question for @Tom
Welcome to our forum.

 

[TechnoCheese]

Welcome to our forum! We’re happy to have you here, even if it isn’t Tortoise related
We would love to see pictures of your monitor and enclosure!

 

[Tom]

Hello and welcome. Sounds like your set up is good, but I'd still love to see pics.

My best guess is that your new baby is stained by the substrate. This will be confirmed or denied when he/she begins shedding.

It is normal for a healthy savanna to be hissy and defensive. When I see those puppy dog tame ones, they are all grossly obese, kept at the wrong temps, and housed in cages that are too small and inappropriate for the species. Necropsy almost always reveals fatty livers in these individuals. It is similar with green iguanas. Tame ones are usually not healthy. Give them to me and within weeks they are looking good, super healthy, and not so "tame" any more.

To tame your guy there are all sorts of videos on the internet showing a wide variety of techniques. Look up what NERD does with their CB water monitors. Try some different things and see what works for you. Report back here so we can learn too.

 

[daniellenc]

Can you post a picture? I'm thinking the darkened skin is a sign of stress and will lighten in a week or so when it is fully settled in. Of course skin changes are also a sign of illness, but seeing as it occurred on your ride home and is already getting lighter I vote stress.