feeding savs

[reptiguy123]

Does anyone have any good sites or any information about how regularly to feed a baby and adult sav, and what marks the change between a baby savannah monitor and an adult? Thanks to all who reply with answers!:D

[JeffT]

I've read that seeing as a sav can reach full size in a year they should be feed as much as they will eat, or even every other day. Im not sure what you mean in the second question though, do you mean what identifies an adult from a juvie?? Well size of course...

[reptiguy123]

Oh, I know that, but what marks the change? Or is it just judgement?

[CHRISANDBOIDS14]

Mostly just judgement on size. I have a 12" baby and he is a pig. I feed him every day, he gets crikets, superworms, waxworms, silkworms(i dont feed mealworms because their exo is thicker than any other worm and i find there is not asmuch space for gut content), also he get eggs, LOW FAT dog food, and i havent given him any yet but he will be getting pinkies/mice soon. I will also be getting some monitor munch from "T-rex Products". Try to keep him as much as possible on the moving foods, so he has to go after them and not just sit and eat, like hunt them down, gives exercise and keeps them from growing fat. Adults can have basically the same thing. I recomend not a full rodent diet, i would feed all of the above to adults and juvies.

Chris

[reptiguy123]

What would consider the staple diet for an average (throughout their life) sav?

[CHRISANDBOIDS14]

Well i would say crikets(yes, through to adult hood). When they are smaller these are the best thing, then when they are bigger its still a non fatty, cheap food, and it provides entertainment and keeps them active(cause they have to run around in order to catch them). I would add superworms and silkworms to that as adults and babies. For adults i would do the ocassional mouse or some egg. Low fat dog food on top of all that aswell(maybe every one or two weeks). Butter and waxworms are good for growing savs and savs that are breeding. I would add some monitor munch(from t-rex products) to their diet. I would probably use that as a staple diet though if it was availible for cheaper. I actually recommend using it most of the time however. But if you did not get that, what i mentioned above would be great(IMO). Hope i helped!

Chris

[reptiguy123]

Crickets? Really? Well, that would be much easier to get my hands on than mice. Thanks a bundle for pointing me in the right direction. By the way, how many savs do you have?

[reptiguy123]

Hmmmm. Monitor munch. I know that this is a frozen product, but that is all I know of this. What is it, what is it made of, and can I get it at a store. I did searches, but all I came up with was online orders. Sorry, but I don't really feel like spending an extra $20 every time my lizard gets hungry:D

[reptiguy123]

Do you use prekilled foods as they get bigger? I heard that large mice are known to inflict injuries upon a monitor. Has this happened to anybody?

[CHRISANDBOIDS14]

Hey,

Well i myself have one sav but i take care of three others(two sub adults and one adult). Mine is a juvinile. Anyways, yes crikets are good cause it provides entertainment and excercise. For the monitor munch, i have never seen any in stores. I know that some people feed some of those snake steak sausages(by T-rex produtcts) to their lizards on ocaasion because as it says in the description, they have many nutrients that other lizards and such need. You dont have to feed this all the time and they provide more than one meal in a bag. Mice are a little fatty and an all rodent diet is not good. I would used prekilled adutl mice or sub adults. Fuzzies and pinkies and such can be left alive. Im sure they would take frozen thawed mice though. I dont dought it cause my sav will eat off a fork! Yes the mice can inflict injuries on a sav. I havent seen it but ive seen it on snakes. Wouldnt be much different than a sav.

[reptiguy123]

So basically what I am being told is that there is no staple diet? The savannahs need constant vareity? If so, what amounts of what food is good for nutrient supplementation without getting an obese lizard?

[CHRISANDBOIDS14]

Ok, I agree with the variety but i think when they are young there is a staple diet of crikets but as they age they would eat less at a time and go to some different stuff. I feed mine crikets mostly(as it is young) but as they age they will lose crikets as a staple. Most low fat high quality dog foods are good to add. Also either that monitor munch i recommended or the snake steak sausages, whatever you choose. Superworms seem to be one favorite. Silkworms and hornworms are great cause of all the nutrients in them. These, like all the other bugs are not fatty. The waxworms are a little more of a treat though but can still be fed. Mealworms, i would say just forget them. Butterworms are an awesome source of calcium and are a geat thing for them. Eggs on occasion are good(once a month, twice max). I preffer scrambled eggs for them(DO NOT SCRAMBLE IN BUTTER OR MAGARINE!!! LOTS OF FAT AND UNHEALTHY!). Just put the egg in a pan.

As for feeding frequency, i would feed a young one(1-10mths) daily and after that i would feed almost every day maybe skip two or three in a week. As the animal gets older 1 and 1/2 feed 2-3 times a week. For the young ones, offer crikets daily or else some worms or dog food. I usually give two days after having eaten dog food(hes a pig). I am going to be trying to get my crikets breeding then have constant crikets in there all his life as he is older. This keeps it active. The hornworms are a bit big for a young one so wait till its at least maybe 8mths old before trying some. Basically, if your animal is lying around all day, thats not good, it should move. I would feed moving food for the general feeding as this causes the need for activity. I would put a dish of monitor munch or snake steak sausage at the other end of where the animal is at so it has to move to eat. That should keep your lizard healthy and strong all its life.

[reptiguy123]

How good is their eyesight? Can they easily spot crickets moving on dirt? One of my lizards has horrible eyesight (I literally wiggle her food in front of her face to get her attention)!!

[Linds]

I am not a seasoned monitor keeper, but I do have some experience with monitors, I feel I can give a sufficient answer. Variety is important, but not necessary. Some people feed their savs a diet strictly of rodents. IMHO you should offer a variety of other food as well though. Crickets are good, but they are also quite small and your sav would go through a zillion if you used them as a staple. Roaches are great feeder insects and are much larger. Superworms, snails, crayfish, rodents, silkworms, butterworms, waxworms. I would stay away from any "convenience" foods (the junk you find on shelves in pet stores). Dog food included, as the vitamin d levels are too high. As for your question on eyesight, monitors have excellent eyesight and would have no problems finding a cricket as an adult ;)

Originally posted by CHRISANDBOIDS14
I would add some monitor munch(from t-rex products) to their diet. I would probably use that as a staple diet though if it was availible for cheaper. I actually recommend using it most of the time however.

I wouldn't recommend it. Convenience foods are rarely, if ever as good as the natural diet. They are made for the keeper, not the animal.

[CHRISANDBOIDS14]

The monitor munch is actually made FOR monitors. It is a high protein, low fat diet. Its not made for the keeper its made for the monitor. I didnt not now that the vit.d was too high but i immagin some dog foods are lower in vit. d? I would not feed a diet of strickly rodents to a sav. Like i said, crikets are good staple UNTIL they get a bit older. Mine did 30-40 in a day once, but i get mine 500 for $15. It keeps them active is what im saying. The reason i did not speak of roaches is because i have never used them and they are ilegal in Alberta.

Snails and crayfish? Never heard that before. Could you provide any more info? Thanks.

Chris

By the way, i find it kind of judgemental that you call it "JUNK" from pet stores and wherever you buy dog food or monitor munch and what not.

[CHRISANDBOIDS14]

I also see the snake steak sausages used alot and those are applicable and not junk. They were used to save two species of snakes aswell. It can be used for lizards.

[Linds]

Originally posted by CHRISANDBOIDS14
The monitor munch is actually made FOR monitors........The reason i did not speak of roaches is because i have never used them and they are ilegal in Alberta. ..........
........Snails and crayfish? Never heard that before. Could you provide any more info? .......

By the way, i find it kind of judgemental that you call it "JUNK" from pet stores and wherever you buy dog food or monitor munch and what not.

1- All those formulated convenience diets are obviously made for the animals in question, however, they cannot replace the true values of the natural foods, and are often processed differently by the animal due to the ingredients subsituted. Carnivorous diets are full of animal by-products, and often grains as well, not to mention enhancing agents and sometimes even synthetic additives.
2- Although roaches are not legal to own in Alberta anymore, they are still legal in the states, and despite legality issues, are still commonly used in Canada, because they are excellent food sources and are easy to raise.
3-Snails are part of their natural diet, the closer you can get to substuting that, the better ;)
4-I am not sure if they eat many crustaceans in the wild, but I know people in captivity do feed them with success, as well as we offer a crustacean mix to ours at work.
5-I am basing my junk statement on my opinion based on the facts about all those formulated reptile diets and convenience foods. Snake Sausages as well are convenience foods that the hobby can do without IMHO. If you don't want to feed rodents, get something that doesn't eat them. Everything about the rodents... the hair, the bones, each organ.. all offers benefical properties which are not available in those sausages.

[CHRISANDBOIDS14]

I didnt say i didnt want to feed rodents, i just sudgested those to him because they contain the required nutrients. Anyways, i feed rodents to my several snakes. I breed my own mice. When i said maid FOR monitors, i mean its made to provide all the required nutrients they need and no extra stuff. Well if roaches are being illegally used in canada for herp food, i wouldnt be surprised if the local authorities got interested. Besides, if herpers are doing something illegally, isn't that a bad thing for our reputation? Just makes us seem worse since we are doing ilegal stuff when we know it. Those specially formulated reptile foods are made to NOT contain the garbage and contain the essential nutritents and what not.

[Linds]

Yeah the authorites are on it, don't worry. Many businesses and even private keepers have been nusted. I wasn't advocating illegally using them, however it is only a recent thing that they have been banned, so many people are still continuing their colonies. It is legal to have frozen roaches in Canada however. You can have them special ordered so they can still be used. Just because we cannot legally keep live roaches, is not to say we can't recommend them ;)

[CHRISANDBOIDS14]

I was not saying to get the authorities on it right away. I was just saying wouldnt this concern the authorities and the herp community? There was no specification from either of us wether they were live or dead so i misinterpereted that. Thanks.

Chris

[CHRISANDBOIDS14]

If these roaches are good food items, where can i aquire them legally(frozen, obviously)?

[reptiguy123]

Well, I don't live in Canada, so reccomend what you must:)

[CHRISANDBOIDS14]

Sorry to spread the topic, just remembered you are in the US.

[reptiguy123]

No problem. I don't mind a good debate every now and then:D.