# Savannah monitor ...burned....?



## Morax (Mar 18, 2008)

I have a 2ft savannah monitor and about 2 months a ago I went on a trip and trusted some one to take care of him. But when I came back i noticed My savannah monitor was burned pretty bad on the left side of his back from the heat light. Due to some one putting the heat light in the cage. He is perfectly healthy. But the other day his burns some how poped and puss was coming out. the puss is all gone now(is this a good thing?). I was wondering what should i do to help his burn heal the best way possible. All info greatly appreciated. Thank for reading.


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## Choobaine (Mar 18, 2008)

I am sure all of us will advise vet, I'm sorry for that, I hate it when other people are negligent. Get him to the vet, it might be infected or something and in need of anti biotics or the like, I ain't a vet myself so I can't tell you.


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## Frédérick (Mar 18, 2008)

vet of course, but as for the puss being gone i think it is a good thing tho, it's part of the natural healing. is it really all gone?


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## Jer (Mar 18, 2008)

Sounds like it is healing. The point of taking it to the vet has likely already passed. Pictures would be useful.


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## Mushroom Spore (Mar 18, 2008)

There's no excuse for not taking him to the vet when you got back from your trip - how long did you wait?  You're lucky he didn't die horribly of some skin infection, to say nothing of the fact that they might have at least been able to give him some painkillers instead of letting him suffer. He still might have complications or a minor infection you don't know about, *GO TO THE VET* and get a checkup.

And next time, for heaven's sake (and your lizard's), don't wait two months to go to the vet. If you were burned like that, would you just sit and let nature take its course?


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## LeilaNami (Mar 18, 2008)

Mushroom Spore said:


> There's no excuse for not taking him to the vet when you got back from your trip - how long did you wait?  You're lucky he didn't die horribly of some skin infection, to say nothing of the fact that they might have at least been able to give him some painkillers instead of letting him suffer. He still might have complications or a minor infection you don't know about, *GO TO THE VET* and get a checkup.
> 
> And next time, for heaven's sake (and your lizard's), don't wait two months to go to the vet. If you were burned like that, would you just sit and let nature take its course?


:clap: :clap: :clap:


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## Jason Baily (Mar 18, 2008)

I have had savanah's since I was a young boy and in the wil they encounter a whole lot more in the wild than a burn! They are imo the most resiliant of the monitor species. I mean considering their favorite food in the wild is COBRAS! Mine that I currently have is about 4 and a half foot. as long as you keep the wound clean and the enclosure exceptionally clean there is probaby no need for a vet visit. Monitor the wound closely and if it looks like it is getting infected then you may want to consult a vet. Now if your monitor was smaller than 2 feet I would immediatly reccomend a vet visit but like I said imo the savanah is very resiliant. He should be alright just keep him clean. A warm bath never hurts any way it keeps them from getting impacted especially if you feed mice or rats with hair on them. As a matter of fact the mouth of your monitor contains more bacteria than his cut probally does!


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## Mushroom Spore (Mar 18, 2008)

Jason Baily said:


> I have had savanah's since I was a young boy and in the wil they encounter a whole lot more in the wild than a burn!


You know what else many animals in the wild tend to do? Die young.  



Jason Baily said:


> They are imo the most resiliant of the monitor species. I mean considering their favorite food in the wild is COBRAS!


Eating cobras does not impart resistance to burned flesh.



Jason Baily said:


> As a matter of fact the mouth of your monitor contains more bacteria than his cut probally does!


Quite possibly, but those bacteria are a)supposed to be there and b)not in the cut. Why you think a monitor having bacteria in its mouth is relevant to the infection of an open wound is beyond me - humans have bacteria in their mouths too, and it sure doesn't help OUR severe injuries.


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## Morax (Mar 19, 2008)

all right well thanks for the replie's.  as for taking him to the vet i will do so asap. i was gone on my trip for two weeks so when the burn happened im not shure. when i got back i picked him up he showed no sign of pain, wasnt acting starnge at all. i give him a nice warm bath everyday. i have been keeping a close eye on his wouned since i got back and it looks alot  better now. all the puss is gone. So it is healing. there is no sign of impaction hes eating n poopin like normal. well ive never had too take any of my reptiles to the vet before, How much would it cost for them to check him out and make shure every thing ok. and wheres a good (trust worthy)  place i can take him to.


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## Jer (Mar 19, 2008)

Please post your experience from the vet here. Logical explanation would say that the vet will say your lizard is healing, may, or may not, prescribe some probably unneseccary antibiotics and tell you to bring it back for a check up, and charge you $150 in the process. Again, pictures would be helpful as opposed to just taking your word for what is affecting your animal.


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## Jason Baily (Mar 19, 2008)

have you ever kept reptiles and read the rest of my post on this? I doubt it so where as speak from experiance with this species you can use what jargon you learn in herp books that I have probally read too to try to belittle what honest advise I gave this person!!!!


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## DrJ (Mar 19, 2008)

Good vets are hard to find!  Most will kill your reptile in an attempt to figure out what was wrong with it, when in most cases, nothing was wrong in the first place.  However, a burn is a serious thing, but you NEED to make sure that the vet has good experience and training with reptiles so he/she doesn't kill your monitor.  I've also heard that antibiotic ointment helps, but neosporin has something in it that reptiles don't like...so maybe get cheap off brand antibiotic ointment?  I hope you are able to find a vet though.  A real reptile vet will not be expensive.  I found one and he charges me just like he does any dog client.  Other vets will charge $300 + (no joke) AND kill the animal.  So, just be careful who you entrust with your reptiles.


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## Mushroom Spore (Mar 19, 2008)

Jason Baily said:


> have you ever kept reptiles and read the rest of my post on this? I doubt it so where as speak from experiance with this species you can use what jargon you learn in herp books that I have probally read too to try to belittle what honest advise I gave this person!!!!


...what?


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## Jer (Mar 19, 2008)

DrJ said:


> I've also heard that antibiotic ointment helps, but neosporin has something in it that reptiles don't like...so maybe get cheap off brand antibiotic ointment?


The two products are exactly the same.


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## Nivek (Mar 20, 2008)

Jason Baily said:


> have you ever kept reptiles and read the rest of my post on this? I doubt it so where as speak from experiance with this species you can use what jargon you learn in herp books that I have probally read too to try to belittle what honest advise I gave this person!!!!



I've also kept monitors, mostly Argus and Savannah for more than a couple years. I can't say I'm too savvy with the jargon you speak of, but to say that they deal with worse than burns in _nature_ is a demonstration of ignorance. I apologize if that offends you, but it is the truth. No one with any "Experience" outside of showboating a big lizard would advise someone like that. Burns are serious business for one. Infections, possible nerve damage, damage that cannot be seen. About the only thing that occurs in nature worse than being burned is being eaten. Both usually have the same result.

Now to address the real reason your statement irked me. In nature? Explain to me how a glass, metal or wooden box created by man is nature. The rules of "Nature" stop applying when it gets caught, boxed up and shipped to whatever wholesaler the individual buys it from. It becomes our full responsibility to care for the animal. That includes vets. As someone with monitor experience myself, I urge you to get more experience before downplay a burn because they eat cobras. Seriously.

I'm sure I've come off as very rude, and again, I apologize. 


As to the original poster: My advice would be to apply polysporin or neosporin to the wound. I'm not sure about aloe, but you may look into it, it can help a bit with burns. Please though, if possible take the poor animal to the vet. It will probably recover fine at this point, but it is always better safe than sorry. You can probably even contact a vet that doesn't specialize in exotics and tell them your monitor has a burn wound and you'd like some advice. They may be able to at least point you in the direction of the best ointment(s) to use. I hope the little guy gets better.


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## hairmetalspider (Mar 20, 2008)

Jer said:


> Sounds like it is healing. The point of taking it to the vet has likely already passed. Pictures would be useful.


Disagreed. So many things can go wrong even after the healing process has started. There could be something, possibly fatal, that is still occuring and un seen by the human eye.

As everyone has said, Vet. It's just not worth the risk.


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