Monitor observations .. from a new owner

[lonewulf]

I just wanted to add a few things that I have observed but before that a little background

I purchased a Savanna Monitor from my local reptile shop .. long and short of it he was sick and never got better .. two months after purchase I found him dead .. very upsetting for me as he was my first monitor .. however just before his unexpected death I purchased another Sav .. from another pet store just outside of town .. I my perspective of sav's has changed immensely .. but not my love of them

They are fantastic creatures .. my newest one who my 9 year old named Boomer .. is all over the place .. inspecting every thing .. his feeding reaction is unbelievable .. the plywood tope opens and he is out and ready to eat .. 25 crickets daily and a pinkie rat ... he is 13 or 14 inches long .. handling is a challenge ... he hates it .. struggling the whole time , but I know with frequency and patience he will come around .... he poops all over me and bites like there is no tomorrow , the first few times anyhow .. he has not pooped on me today and did not bite .. but struggle .. he is full of energy and now I know the differance between sick and healthy monitors .. my first one was never healthy and I know that now but had nothing to compare it to in the first place ..
Boomer basks all the time and digs like he is a backho lol... I would not give up this experience for the world .. I have been told Savs are good first time monitors and have been told they are not ... but one thing I have seen is that they are resourceful and innovative . I have watched Boomer dig a cricket out of a small crevice .. he has drowned one that was larger than the others before he ate it .... I was worried that he would not eat frozen because where he was they always fed live but he eats they just fine ... I am sure that he would eat five or six if I let him lol ...

anyhow .. I am rambling now .. no matter what people say about Sav's being good first time pets or not I have would nto give up this chance for the world ...

now fir questions .. Scott I see you are here now (Kap) .. Boomer soaks alot and is shedding am I right to assume that they soak more when they shed ?

also .. when he pooped all over me I got a look underside and is he too young to sex ? I ask becasue what I saw looked like a flower ... nothing long and dangling .. just a flower would this be an indication of female or is it too early to tell ...

thanks for reading my ramble :)

Gord

[timminsreptiles]

your from kap?

[timminsreptiles]

first i do not let any of my savs soak, savannahss can develop skin and foot problems from soaking, but always have fresh water available, i mist them a tiny bit when there shedding but thtats it, keep in mind where they come from. second.....savs are very hard to sex....one way of checking is by watching them go to the bathroom, some will invert their hemi's in the process.....adult males have hemis about 2in long with sort of a flower shape at the tip...females invert just as much (2in) but lack the flower. ........hope this helps.....

Lucas

[kap10cavy]

Hi Gord,
I give my all my lizards a large water tub, they have never used them for soaking. They will drink from it , poo in it and swim across it to chase a cricket or roach they see on the other side.
As for shedding, if anything, I see them spending more time underground when they first start shedding. It seems like they are shedding all the time now. If they have good, deep dirt and proper humidity thet won't soak because it's not needed.
It's when you see them soaking all the time is when you need to check your husbandry.
I hope that answered your questions.

Scott

[lonewulf]

Humidity is 60 and dirt is 8 - 12 inches right now .... and yes he poos in it and drinks and swims .. but still soaks .. although he is not doing it as muc has he did in the first day or so .. could be dehyrdation rom where he was before maybe ?

he was very dark when I got him . almost chocolate brown with no markings at all but now he is a light tan and his spots are coming in nicely ..

thanks for your help ..

anything else ican do for humidity ?

8-12" dirt .. plywood top .. misted daily .. water changed as much as three times daily , as it gets dirty ...

your thoughts Scott ?

Gord

and before I forget .. thanks

[Jeff_Favelle]

Don't mist your SAVANNA monitor.

[kap10cavy]

Why do you say that Jeff? I will mist the dirt and my albig and the savs will walk over and lay under the mist.

Scott

[monitor boy]

there has to be something wrong wit this guy to me 9 years old and only 12-14 inches a little small i would say

[hhw]

the monitor is not 9 years old, his 9 year old child named the monitor

[lonewulf]

Yes my 9 yr old named him .. do not know how old he is to be exact ...

so why would you not mist the Sav ? I like help when I can get it but I am not a big fan of does and don'ts without explanation .. I mist the tank but do not mist him directly ... why should he not be misted Jeff ?

isight would greatly be appreciated.

thanks !

[Jeff_Favelle]

If you have to mist your DESERT monitor to achieve the appropriate humidity, then you're caging setup has to be re-thunk. Most desert monitors HATE being either put in water or having water sprayed on them.

http://www.varanus.net/faq/housing.htm#3.0

[kap10cavy]

We are talking about a savannah monitor.
I have argued this with pet store clerks too many times to coun

http://mampam.50megs.com/monitors/bok.html
Mertens (1942) and other authors thereafter have given the range of Bosc's monitor as extending from Senegal as far as Eritrea and northern Zaire. The species is well known throughout the grasslands of West Africa, but its distribution in central and eastern parts of the continent is less certain. Bosc's monitor does not occur in rainforests nor in deserts,

Scott

[lonewulf]

that is what I thought .. they were not from the desert but from grasslands ... I could see not misting a desert animal but the Sav is not a desert animal .. Savannah means grassland does it not ?

[timminsreptiles]

Savannahs are dry grasslands with no trees, trees cant grow there cause there aint enough water but the soil is humid enough to support grasses. I have an adult female Sav and shes missing a few toes and still fighting a bit of an infection cause she had been kept in to humid of conditions and was allowed to soak to much by her previous owners. She is responding to anti-biotics very well but it sure is no fun when her feet swell right up . I think the best stuff to keep them on is humid but not damp soil and have a water dish that is not deep enough to completly submerge.

[mbayless]

Hi,
Bosc's monitors are known to 26 Countries in Africa, from Senegal in the West to Ethiopia in the East, and from Mali in the North to Democratic Rep. Congo in the South. If you want to see more detailed localities, check out my paper in Journal of Biogeography, 2002, 29:1643-1701 on-line, or if you want a signed hard copy, email me and I will tell you (my) cost...

Cheers,
markb

[mbayless]

Oh Jeff,

Actually V. griseus is very partial to water and darn good swimmer at that! They frequently swim to offshore islands in MED. Sea....and can tolerate higher humidities than some would expect!

Cheers,
markb

[dean_h00]

Ryan haha
there has to be something wrong wit this guy to me 9 years old and only 12-14 inches a little small i would say

yo man thats so funnnny hahaha
lay off the... cigarettes hahahaha

[dean_h00]

It takes a lot more then just casual soaking for a savannah to develop skin and foot problem
i have dealt with many young and old savs that soak a couple mins a day either just to defecate or get a drink and I have never seen this problem in any of them