big sav

[Lrptls]

i just brought home a big savannah monitor. very sweet and easy to handle. iv had a sav before but it was only a little baby, kept it till it was almost a foot but due to moving and things i gave him away. most of his diet was crickets, super worms, pinkies and fuzzies and some other things. my friend at the pet store who GAVE me this monitor recomended raw chicken, ocasional rats, large feeder fish (though i know those dont have much nutrional value). but any ways hes about 2.5 feet, could any one recomend a good diet?

[V.hb]

hey!

Savannahs are fun, and even better when docile. I would't advice a strict diet of chicken. Stick to whole meals such as rodents and insects. Superworms, crickets' basically your prior diet X10, heheh they eat alot, and need alot of food when kept properly!

Feeder goldfish are dirty. They carry tons of parasites. If you want to feed fish go with something cleaner, like frozen smelts, or some sort of seafood mix.

Good luck with it!

[Lrptls]

thanks, could you give me an example of what i would feed him in a week, like give crickets every day or give mice once a week, something like that would help alot.

[kap10cavy]

At that size, I would feed it adult mice, large dusted roaches, quail, fertile eggs and chicken peeps. I feed mine every other day, either 20 or so roaches or one or two mice or birds depending on how they look and how hungry they are.

Scott

[Lrptls]

thanks, what kind of fertile eggs and do you know where i can buy them? i already know a few websites i can buy quail and chicken peeps.

new question- i have a large basement thats safe for critters to run around, i let my beadrie run around all the time and i know its safe because i also let ferrets out every day to run around. i would love to let my sav out to get some exercise and i would be able to let him stay out for a long time. is there too long of a time to let him free roam?

[BoidsUnlimited]

Hmmm...in my opinion as long as your are 110% POSITIVE there is no way he could get into mischief then I'd say quite away. Offer him a nice place to bask for some heat....and maybe a carboard box to fuss around in and I'd let him roam for 30 minutes or maybe even an hour. Thats just me though....I use to let my Sav out for quite away. Heck I know this sounds irresponsible....but I fell asleep with my Sav on my belly one day and I woke up to her chilling out on my floor haha

[Lrptls]

thanks for your input Don =) though iv only had the sav about 12 hours now hes done nothing but sleep and i know my last sav slept alot too. when he starts moving around his cage a bunch ill take him out and let him roam for like an hour or if he falls asleep (like my beardie always does) ill just plop him back in his cage. i do have to be careful because i have mammals and i know savs can open cages. i was actually scared while i was working that id come home to see my sav escaped and ate some of my pets =\ hope it doesnt happen!

[kap10cavy]

I get my eggs from a farmer friend that raises chickens and quail.
I wouldn't worry about the roaming thing just yet.
The poor critters is stressed right now. Give it time to get accustomed to it's new home before messing with it.
I give all my new critters atleast 2 weeks before doing anything except, spot cleaning, waterchanges and offering food.

Scott

[V.hb]

I agree with Scott. Letting a newly acquired animal free roam when you just recieved it is a recipe for disaster. You want it to remain docile, letting it roam will only stress it out and elicit a very different response from the animal..

My feeding regim is almost the same as Scotts. I feed my monitors every 2 days basically as much as they'l eat (be careful with this, not setup properly monitors become fat gluttons) This consists of rats, mice, chopped up guinea pigs/hamsters (if too big to swallow) superworms, crickets etc..... I can;t seem to keep roaches, they bug me too much LOL, I'am a wuss....

[Lrptls]

thanks guys, today i fed him raw chicken and superworms. he sucked that chicken right down but i think i will only feed that very ocasionaly and mostly rodents and bugs.

[sean0101]

Another thing savs like is fish. I am a comercial fisherman and we get tons of junk in our nets so i take it home for her and she loves it with skin or cut fillits she doesn't care.

[crocdoc]

Sean, are you on the coast or inland? If you are inland, I'd cut down on the amount of freshwater fish you give your monitor as they are rich in thiaminase, an enzyme which can lead to vitamin B deficiencies in reptiles.

[kap10cavy]

You sure about that Dave? I feed my lizards bass and crappie fingerlings from a hatchery a couple times a month.

Scott

[Lrptls]

can you give canned dog and cat food as very ocasional treats? (like once a month or even less)

[sean0101]

Croc doc I'm on lake winnipeg. I diden't know that. All my monitors are adults and the are all healthy as a horsebut do get fish maybe once a week. I also feed rats and mice insects

[treevaranus]

Please keep in mind that these animals are reptiles, are ectotherms, and come from tropical/subtropical areas, where temps are very rarely below 80F.

By taking him out, and letting him move around a room that is 74F or whatever the room temperature is, his metabolism will slow down significantly(why most people call their pet reptiles 'tame' when they have them out and are handling them. The truth of the matter is, these temps are very cold for monitors, and not the ideal temperatures that monitors choose to stay in during the day. Most varanids choose to seek out body temps of over 100f during the day.

By taking him out, and putting him in a cold room, with no access to a basking spot, etc, you are only stressing the animal out and lowering its metabolism, making its choices for thermoregulation, not allowing it to get itself comfortable.

If you are going to do this, I would suggest having an enclosure with a front opening door, that has access to the floor, where the animal can return back to the enclousre when he/she so chooses to do so.

I only have one monitor that I allow to come out of his enclosure, and that is a male V. beccarii. I do not pick him up and take him out, I merely leave his enclosure door open. He'll climb down from the enclosure, walk around, search around, mark his territory(usually take a dump on my carpet), and when he gets cool or uncomfortable, he walks right back to his enclosure, climbs back in and goes bask, hide, sleep, etc- whatever he wants. He knows where he needs to go to warm himself up, after walking around the room(which is usually around 85F anyways), and he has access to it. He also does not spend hours out, only five or ten minutes.

Just my thoughts and experiences... People don't realize that room temps are cold for most pet reptiles...and they force their animals to remain out in these cold temps.

Cheers,

Bob

[Lrptls]

thats exactly what i was going to do. i dont want him to have to sit out in the room for how long I want him out, i want it to be his choice. i really just want to let him out to get excercise. if i open the door and he doesnt come out then i wont make him.

[kap10cavy]

I am getting tired of agreeing with you. hahaha
I have one lizard that I trust enough to leave the door open. She will come out and explore but never goes far from the cage door. Cleaning her cage is easy. If she goes out when the door is open, I know she won't stray very far. She has lived in this cage for 3 years and it is where she feels safe.
Now my argus and albigs have to be watched like hawks. They get out, they go on a rampage. If you've never tried to catch an adult male albig that doesn't want to be caught, you are missing alot of fun. Not to mention the broken nik naks, furniture, screaming cat, squawking birds and all the rest of the mess you get to deal with once it's caught and put back in the cage.

Scott

[Lrptls]

yeah that sounds like ALOT of fun, sure wish i could help (eesh!) the only thing i have that sucks catching are ferrets and thats only because they hide some where i cant get to and fall asleep. i dont think id have a problem catching my sav if he decided to run about, poor guy has some bone deformities and walks all funny, never seen him move very fast at all.

[Lrptls]

i would like to let my sav soak in the bathtub sometimes to help shed and stuff, how often can i soak him?

[Lrptls]

ignore this

[kap10cavy]

If you give it the right substrate and plenty of it, soaking is not needed. I give mine deep dirt and large water bowl. If I see them soaking, I know changes have to be made.
They only use the water bowls for drinking, filling with dirt and for some reason, use it for a toilet.

Scott

[Lrptls]

thanks

[Lrptls]

ok one more real quick question. what is the best temp for the basking spot and the cool end. thanks a bunch

[kap10cavy]

Basking surface temp between 130 and 150.
Cool side in the mid to low 70s.

Scott

[mbayless]

Hi,
As for soaking: its ok for the animals to soak sometimes. If they remain in the water more-so then it is probably too hot for them. Bosc monitors (V.e.) do not like ambient temps over 95F, and seek refuge when such temps are reached. White-throat monitors (V.a.) tolerate a little higher temp, maybe 100 F before they retreat - if retreat is not available to them, then alternative soak is....

Yes, both albigularis and panoptes are natural explorers and cover alot of ground in their wild to seek food, mates, etc...so of course in the house they will do the same - its all new to them and they love to explore/forage....it keeps their minds in good working order and dispodsition for 'memory' which a 'dumb reptile' is not considered to have but does....

My dog feces did not like the big albigularis' as they would hiss and one even tried to tripod at the husky once! She would bare her teeth, and move - except if she was on the counch them the lizard better move! They tolerated one another - even at meal times when they both got a rodent or two for a scooby snack....

markb