sav tank

[the_frog_man]

hi i am getting a sav so i need to know about tanks and tank setup (how big |sand dirt bed-a-beast)? thank u all




thanx froggy

[Bartman]

Everyone here is going to tell you to use dirt. Its said to be the best, although I personally hate it, ill do whatever is best for the lizard :)

[timminsreptiles]

right now i use eco earth or bed a beast for all my monitors (even for my 4 foot sav although i keep it dry for her) cause it holds humidity pretty good and makes it easy to burrow....some people use artifitial turf and other similar stuff for their savs but i find it tends to give them foot problems. Dirt, peat or eco earth is probably the best stuff you can use, just make sure you keep it dry for your sav. My sav right now is in a 61/2 foot by 4 foot enclosure with big rocks and logs and she always craps n the same area so it makes it easy to clean. I raise humidity levels a little bit when shes in shed almost like you would with a snake but not for long cause savs cannot tolorate humidity for too long.

If the one your getting is just a bby i would put it ina smaller tank to start with like a 30 gallon then upsize when it gets bigger.....i dont get it cause in the wild they get all the room they want and then some but most people will tell you thats its not good to put bbys in a huge enclose right off the hop.

hope this helps.....lucas

[Bartman]

i dont get it cause in the wild they get all the room they want and then some but most people will tell you thats its not good to put bbys in a huge enclose right off the hop.



Its because in a bigger tank, they'll feel more vulnerable to "predetors" or you. This way it will usually be much harder to tame your savannah.

[the_frog_man]

thanx can any one help me with my ksbs on the sand boa froum? :) lol




thanx froggy

[V.hb]

Bartman, why do you dislike dirt?? cuz it's messy????

[Bartman]

Sort of?

I think I mostly hate it because when I take my savannah out, hes always dusty and dirty with mud stuck to him from going to his water bowl and out. He always has it stuck inbetween his toes and stuff. I find they also get a lot of it in there mouth if you feed crix.

I really want to just switch back to mulch, as I know people who have successfully bred and kept sav's on it. A deep layer of course.

[kap10cavy]

If you sav is always dirty from digging and climbing in his water bowl, it sounds to me like you have a happy sav doing sav things.
A monitor that is always clean is a bored monitor.

Scott

[Bartman]

Well hes not burrowing and the one I had before, that my friend has now, never burrowed either.

[Jeff_Favelle]

http://www.varanus.net/faq/

[Bartman]

Thanks for that link Jeff, ive been looking for it forever :)

Another good substrate, particularly for forest dwelling monitors is leaf litter. This substrate will hold moisture well and will allow for burrowing.

Its really funny. I was at canadian tire looking for mulch and the guy said he didnt have, but what I could do was drive around looking for peoples raked up leaves, crush them up, and that makes good mulch.

Would this be a good substrate for monitors, if lets say I placed 3 or 4 inches of eco earth and 3 or 4 inches of crunched up dry leaves?

[crocdoc]

Originally posted by Bartman
Would this be a good substrate for monitors, if lets say I placed 3 or 4 inches of eco earth and 3 or 4 inches of crunched up dry leaves?

Monitors in general, or savannah monitors? Leaf litter is good for monitors that tend not to burrow (I use it with my lace monitors), but savannahs are better off on dirt.

[Jeff_Favelle]

Leaf litter is good for monitors that have EVOLVED to live with leaf litter. Have Savannas evolved to deal with leaves on the ground? Doubt it.

[the_frog_man]

so what should i use?????? i want to use eco-earth becase i love it i use it for everything and i get it in bulk its almost dirt lol can i use that or only dirt????????????




thanx froggy

[Jeff_Favelle]

http://www.varanus.net/faq/housing.htm#3.7

[the_frog_man]

dosnt answer my question can i use eco-earth?

[Jeff_Favelle]

You COULD use glass shards if it was your fancy. I thought you wanted to know what the BEST substrate was for your beloved pet?

[V.hb]

eco earth is for humidity loving forest dwellers, not savannah animals. Savannahs are arid, dry with a bit of vegitation.. They aren't quite deserts either, so using dry eco earth would be bad also.

Your best bet is to get an enclosure that's properly ventilated for the animal, and give it DIRT! easily done.