Experienced owners thoughts on feed?

[Tyguy35]

Hey, I have been looking into savs for about two years learning what it takes etc. I have yet to come across anything that says how much to feed, I don't mean how often but quantity at each feed. If I were to feed mostly meal worms and crickets how much do you feed your adult sav at one sitting? With bugs is it every other day?

[jpsteele80]

I've never had a sav but I would think once it hits adult stage it would almost certainly cost more to fill a sav up on bugs then to buy 2 small rats, are you just not wanting to feed mice and rats? I know that you can have a pretty wide varied diet of things a sav will take but I would think at some point it going to need something a little bigger

[smy_749]

Hey, I have been looking into savs for about two years learning what it takes etc. I have yet to come across anything that says how much to feed, I don't mean how often but quantity at each feed. If I were to feed mostly meal worms and crickets how much do you feed your adult sav at one sitting? With bugs is it every other day?

I don't think you would be able to sustain an adult sav on mealworms and crickets. Actually, I'm fairly positive. He would have the capability to devour an entire box of a thousand or so crickets and not be full. Ofcourse I say capability, because I don't think a bosc would bother wasting energy hunting that many crickets. Mealworms are the same story. These are not small monitors. They need larger prey items, mice, rats, chicks, fish, shrimps, etc. etc. etc.

How much do you feed? You feed until he loses interest in eating generally. Babies/Juvies every day, even a few times a day. Adults, every other day or even every third day might be ok.

[Pirarucu]

You cannot sustain a Sav merely on mealworms and crickets. Not to mention that such a limited diet isn't healthy for the animal... As said, you feed until they lose interest most of the time, and moderate the frequency. Once the Sav is an adult you can either feed until he loses interest every other day/three days, or you can take that amount of food and split it up over that period of time. For instance if he eats around six rats every other day, you could split it up and give him three every day.

[infernalis]

Correct Savannah Monitor Care (http://www.savannahmonitor.net)

bugs alone will not work, I do not think you could ever satiate an adult savannah monitor with crickets and meal worms.

I feed my animals, mice, chicks, rabbit kits, night crawlers, madagascar hissing roaches, dubia roaches and crayfish. Occasionally organic certified chemical free shrimp, however that is expensive, so It's not that often.

Trust me, my two savannah monitors are the picture of health and they are slim, muscular and actually behave as monitors should.

http://www.varanuspark.com/CLF/digg/tripod.jpg

http://www.varanuspark.com/CLF/twins.jpg

[Tyguy35]

Wow gorgeous monitors. I may just be reading the wrong articles, I was reading things that said monitors should have only bugs as it is mostly what they eat. I would surely feed everything else as it is less costly.

[jpsteele80]

There's alot of bad info out there still, for every 1 good article there's 10 bad ones, only up till about maybe 10 years ago people kept monitors like they kept snake's, monitor husbandry has really made a lot of advances over the last couple of years

[infernalis]

Read this article, the only one that counts.... ;)

Monitors & Mice, The Myth Dispelled (http://www.savannahmonitor.co/mice/)

The whole misconception was founded because captive Savannah monitors have a sad history of not faring well in captivity, and the obesity had to be blamed on something, so it was targeted at the diet.

A proper cage with a hot basking spot, soil to dig in and space to move will ensure proper digestion and renal function.

[Tyguy35]

I will do thanks for the help. Although I am not completely decided on which monitor I want so care varies. I either want a sav or a different one maybe more medium sized that I can handle a little bit. I do not want a beardie

[infernalis]

virtually all Varanidae husbandry mirrors that information. The exceptions being Arboreal species need tall cages with trees in them (or big logs) and aquatic species need a big pool to swim in.

They are all tropical animals found only on a narrow belt near the equator.

Heat, dirt, humidity and space to move = healthy animals.

[jpsteele80]

If you want a monitor that you can handle and is real hardy look into ackies, great little monitor with lots of character. Most monitors don't like to be handled and at best they tolerate you, a good mid size monitor would be an argus but they have crazy insane feeding responses that they really never grow out of, either way let us know what you choose :)

[Tyguy35]

I am looking into ackies aswell. To be honest I am looking into all mid sized lizards. Tegus little larger but I love them. Water dragons uromastyx everything I have yet to decide even frilleds

[Tyguy35]

Are the ackies personable and friendly?

[smy_749]

Are the ackies personable and friendly?

depends on the ackie

[Pirarucu]

Most ackies are pretty accepting of people's presence, but they're still monitors. "Personable" and "friendly" are not the words I would use.

[Akuma223]

What do you consider mid-sized? Black roughneck monitors are wonderful, they average at A little over 3 ft in length. My boy has always been very tolerant of my Presence, he tolerates being picked and even comes out to sit on my arm.