Savannah Monitor Questions

[bobo]

Hey to anyone who is reading this and thanks in advance.

I just needed to clear some stuff up about savannah's causs im getting one this weekend :) so excited but anyways:

1) How are savannah's temperment in generel if i were to handle my jeuvinile everyday to make it nicer?
2) is a 6'x2'x2' sized enclosure big enough (LxWxH)
3) What should the diet be weekly. Could anyone give me a sort of schedule which goes on weekly with everything i should feed him
4) how big does the average female get in total length
5) Is malch/wood chips prefered as bedding over sand?
6) When i first get the savannah how long should i wait before i start handling him
7) does the savannah need like a sort of tub in his enclosure that he can drink from and bath in?
8) And for fun does anyone have some unique names they could throw out :P

thanks for your time every1

[Dom]

Have u ever though of looking up some caresheets or a book on em? You are basically asking everything there is to know about caring for sav..

Gotta leave for work but Ill work on a reply tonight..

[bobo]

sorry but i wrote these questions causs on every caresheet i read they have different information on them. but thanks for answering.

[Dom]

Well Ill answer briefly each of em .. this is but my experience.. many ppl keep theres differently .. this is what I recomend.. take it or leave it..

Temperment.. I have 6 .. 5 of wich started out nasty .. and now, only one remains nasty... Juvies tend to be more high strung but have alwasy calmed down in time..

Cage size .. this depends on size of a lizard... for a babie .. that's too big .. for a full grown adult .. thats too small - imo

Diet .. this all depends on size.. babies .. i'd try to keep them on an invertabrate diet on a 2-3 day feeding sched .. from hissers to crix.. and adutls on a main rondentia diet

Size .. females can attaingn easilly 3 feet .. although I have never seen one over 3 feet .. my larges female is a bit over 2 feet and a half.. but theres always some monsters out there that could go to 4 feet for females..

Substrate.. Mulch or wood will be a slow deat h to your monitor s and sand will be an even quicker death.. DIRT .. all I can say is DIRT ... nothing beets that .. there not desertic aniamls.. research the erea they live in .. it can tell u lots about its husbandry..

water.. he needs to be able to drink . if its big enough for him to bath great but imo its not essential..

Names .. newbie lol jk

I hope this helps a bit.. I was brief on all answers .. plz feel free to aks any other qustions..

[bobo]

thanks a lot

[Dom]

Your welcome .. research alot man before.. this is but a scratch on their husbandry... heat is a big key as well...

[Bartman]

I was cruising the old posts looking for some of the questions i ask a while ago on sav diets, this is the oldest post in the world...haha...I already got a new nickname and everything...Just wanted to let you know dom that i ended up getting my savanah a week ago and since this post ive only been doing more and more research...lol. The new sav is great and is very calm once out of the cage.

[BigPlaya]

Duh

[skinheaddave]

The Savannah desert, eh? I think you may be confused with the Sahara desert. Savannah is a type of habitat quite different from a desert. The savannah features trees, lots of grass, annual rainfall and, you guesssed it, dirt. This is a typical picture of the landscape:

http://www.cadburylearningzone.co.uk/environment/pictures/savannah.htm

The problem with sand is that it is dessicating. Savs need a bit of moisture in their life. In their natural environment, they suspend their activity when it gets too dry. With sand as a substrate, you will not be able to maintain the correct amount of humidity.

I strongly suggest that you get, at a minimum, the Bennett / Thakoordyal (that's Ravi -- he's on this board) book on savs. While it isn't comprehensive in a biological sense, it will at least give you enough basic info to keep your lizard correctly.

Cheers,
Dave

[mbayless]

yeah, what Dave said....and get the book too!! Its an easy read in 1-2 hours and good info...

good luck,
markb

[BigPlaya]

Well I thought I made a mistake until I read this.
www.anapsid.org/savannah.html
and this
www.sandsexoticanimals.com/care/smc/sm1.html

I have come to the conclusion that these "facts" that you are giving are just an "opinion". Some people have the same opinion as you and some dont. Thats what is so good about these boards. One person has one opinion and another person has theyre own opinion so I just form my own opinion out of all the info that I gather. I know that my monitor is happy so I'll stick to what works for me. Thanks and have a Great day!!!!!

[Bartman]

The Savannah desert, eh? I think you may be confused with the Sahara desert.
what??

[skinheaddave]

What you have yet to learn, apparently, is that you must carefuly chose your authorities. If you look hard enough, I'm sure you can find someone who suggests that dogs need to be submerged in jello for 12 hours a day (only 8 hours for miniature poodles, mind you).

The first link you posted is Melissa Kaplan's site. While she is an authority on green iguanas, her expertise with other reptiles is minimal. She has certainly compiled care info from other sources and I find her work useful -- but it is far from conclusive. That being said, she doesn't mention sand beyond the fact that fine particulate substrate can get stuck to everted hemipenes. The second site I don't know about for sure, but it is a pet shop and far from specialized.

Anyhow, I'd like to know exactly what part you disagree with? If you disagree as to natural habitat then I can list a few books that agree with me. If it is the need for humidity then I do suggest you look at the Bennett / Thakoordyal book. This is written by a Varanid researcher and a Varanid keeper. You could even just do a little bit of reading about savannahs in general. If it is the sand thing in particular then I would just ask you to do a little experiment. Take a sponge and saturate it with water. Then put it in a bucket of sand. It will be dry before you know it. This sort of dessication won't kill a sav, but it does not mimic its natural environment and will put more physiological stress on it.

There is one flip side to the no-sand argument. You see, according to Rodney Steel's book "Living Dragons," savs can range into rocky desert. Thus, sand might be a natural substrate. What you have to remember, though, is that savs burrow. What you could do if you wanted to to mimic that particular environment is mix in some gravel with your sand, along with some bentonite for stability, and put it above a couple inches of pure gravel. Run a tube down to the bottom of the enclosure and flood it with water. This will humidify from below, mimicing the natural moisture gradient found in deserts. It is a tried and tested technique for scorpion keepers but it might work here as well. The only forseeable problem with this is that there is going to be a degree of adaptation to specific environments. According to the Bennett / Thakoordyal book, most of the savs in the market are harvested from the true coastal savannah populations. Thus, you still wouldn't be mimicing the environment of the particular population from which your sav came.

I should also point out that I'm not against sand entirely. There is a proportion of sand in my substrate mix. It gives it some stability and weight. The rest is made up of potting soil, peat moss (for acidity -- retards mould growth) and mulch.

Cheers,
Dave

[SHvar]

Neither of those sites are accurate when it comes to proper care or feeding of monitors. I respect the info on vitamin supplements, vet care, and some other info but monitors and their proper care is not what anapsid.org does accurately. Ive raised monitors for over 12 years especially African monitors, and believe me dog food is junk for a monitor (any monitor), whole animal foods are the best most nutritious compact package to feed them, mice, crickets, roaches, rats, chickens, quails, etc. As for temperatures she suggests an ambient air temp, nothing about an important basking temp which creates a proper ambient temp and the choices offered by a temp gradient. Next, the temps, gradient, and lights should not change 24 hours a day so the animal can set its own schedule not your schedule. This also aids in digestion. Give the animal options it can use to understand what a monitor is first of all, then see which options it uses, add usable options, make its life better as you learn from it. Hiding places, fresh water, 130-180+ basking temps my monitors use daily. The high basking temps (surface temps) allow them to warm up, cool down, hide, dig, hunt, and generally be active whenever they want to, and digest their food quickly as to prevent impactions, dehydration, respiratory infections, and helps to increase their immune system. Get Bennetts book its the best book on captive care of all monitors.

[mbayless]

Alot of what has been said here is good info - but I differ in opinion to shvar about ambient temps. The sahara desert of north africa does reach temps of 160 F, and those are rare indeed. The savanna monitor does not range into the Sahara desert except in one region of Mali, and in Sudan, but both of those places are in river beds where moisture is present below the substrate, and as said in others posts - these animals make Mike Mulligan and his steamshovel look like amateurs! Adult Savannah monitors avoid temps over 105 after only say 20 minutes or so, and go underground. But in a box, be sure to offer your animal a heat gradient so it can thermoregulate properly in temps ranging from say 75 to 110, able to hide from the heat, plenty of clean water, branches to climb (for exercise), and alike.

I used to keep savanna monitors on sand 20 years ago, and yes it collected on their hemipenes, just like it does when you bask naked on the beach too! But they mated, bred and I got clutches of eggs and a few babies too. I would recommend soil, vermiculite, mixed with peat moss and oak leave substrate for them....if you take spanish-style roofing tiles /\ made of stone, and place them into the substrate, the monitors will dig under them and made a good burrow out of them - you can support the tiles by gluing them to a piece of wood for support ....

good luck,
markb