Hyas

[ZARADOZIA]

Hyas everyone! I just happened across this forum, took a look around, and found that I like it here!

My friends call me Zara. I am an animal enthusiast and go by many titles. Truly depends on whom in my circle you speak with. I am wife, mom, crazy cat lady, scary python lady, or strange lizard chic. Although the lizard belongs to my 16 yr old son.

Our family is compromised of Diesel the Fat Cat, Evie the Midnight Ninja (Diesel’s sister), Fritz the PITA (Pain In The Arse), Sasha (my 4yr old, 5ft ball python), and Hendrix (my son’s 3ft long Savannah Monitor).

Oh yea, plus one Poor Loving Husband and one Spoiled 16 yr old son. :yes:

[infernalis]

sSnakeSs.com - Rules (http://www.ssnakess.com/index.php?page=rules)

http://www.thamfriends.com/mat.jpg

[Gungirl]

Hello and welcome to the forum. We love pics and sure would appreciate to see your animal family!

[**Rachel**]

Welcome, would love to see a picture of your sons monitor.:)

[stephanbakir]

Welcome to the forums.

[ZARADOZIA]

Welcome, would love to see a picture of your sons monitor.:)

Pictures by Vandacross - Photobucket (http://s68.photobucket.com/albums/i25/Vandacross/)

Thanks all! Here are some pictures of Hendrix and Diesel.
All my babies are rescue cases.

[Sapphyr]

Hello and welcome! :D Lovely Savannah you've got there~ We'd looove to see more pictures of the rest of your family, especially those pythons~

We're picture fanatics, here.

[marvelfreak]

Hello and welcome to our zoo.

[ladyjustice33]

Hi and welcome!!!

[SnakeyJay]

Welcome... lucky boy having his own sav :)

[UwabamiReptiles]

Welcome to the forum!

[MoonlightBoas]

Welcome to the forum. This place is full of good people.

[ZARADOZIA]

Thanks for such warm welcomes!

Hello and welcome! Lovely Savannah you've got there~ We'd looove to see more pictures of the rest of your family, especially those pythons~ We're picture fanatics, here.

I tried to download the pics of Sasha from my phone, but I think my mem-chip is corrupted. Then I asked Sandy if she would send me pics of Dylan (her 4 yr old son) and Sasha, but they didn't save when she took them. Go Figure! (We are planning to retake them)

Today is soaking and feeding day, I will see if she is in the mood and pose for me. I was really hoping the pics of her and Dylan came out, they were adorable. Sasha is unusual I guess, and actually enjoys being held. She really likes Dylan and poses for us.


Welcome... lucky boy having his own sav

Yes, he is a spoiled rotten child. But he earns it by working hard and making Honors.



Welcome to the forum. This place is full of good people.

I agree. There is a wealth of knowledge and experience here that I have not found elsewhere. I love it. I had joined a different forum previously but it seemed to be more drama, bad-mouthing, and severe shows of disrespect, rather than sharing of experience and knowledge. I stopped going there.

I have been looking for a forum where I can get advice and a place where I could share some of my experiences, tips, & tricks for a happy & healthy snake.

I grew up around snakes, some of my earliest memories are of my mother placing mice in a paper bag and banging them on the counter before she fed George (5ft Bull Snake from NM). I was 6 the first time I caught a snake in the wild. I have been fascinated with animals all my life and have rescued my fair share, much to my husband’s dismay.

It took me 11 yrs to talk my husband into letting me get a snake. LOL He isn’t much for reptiles but he likes Sasha and will hold her. A few years ago one of our cats caught a baby Garter, about a foot long, brought it in the house, and skinned 2x3 inches of its side. I came home early that day from work and was able to save the Garter before Spike killed it. We lived in S.Tx back then and I couldn’t release it injured like that because the fire ants would have eaten it. So I bought a fish tank and minnows, small tank for it and fed it daily until it shed twice, it took about 2 months for it to heal then we released it by the river behind our house. My husband rolled his eyes at me every day for 2 months. lol But I think that is what eased him into the idea of me getting my own.

He doesn’t like Hendrix (Our Savannah) because “The dinosaur creeps him out.”

[shaunyboy]

hello and welcome

cheers shaun

[Jay]

Your monitor looks a tad overweight. What do you feed your sav? What's the temps? Why is he placed beside a cat?

[ZARADOZIA]

Hendrixed wasn't placed beside Diesel. Diesel happens to love being near Hendrix, I have no idea why, he just does. Hendrix is quite healthy and eats a large variety of food. He's not overweight but looks it when he flattens out while sun bathing.

[infernalis]

What happened here.... The scar on his back.

Chomper has a small one on his neck from climbing into his basking lamp before I put a mesh over it.

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i25/Vandacross/100_1471.jpg

[ZARADOZIA]

I don't know for sure. He was like that when I got him. I was told he was burned by a basking light. But I don't know if I believe that, the scar is pretty massive. I had him for a year before I took the picture above and the scar is more white than pink now. He also had pot-mark scars on his tail, and missing toe nails.

[infernalis]

I believe it.. Chompers burn scar is the same exact colour.

Someone had the basking lamp way too low in the cage.

I sacrificed a rat cage and used one of the sides (looks like bird cage mesh) to put between the lights and the cage so Chomper cannot get up near the lamps now.

The toe nails is from lack of digging.. They need to dig up dirt to wear down the claws.

[stephanbakir]

Hendrix is quite healthy and eats a large variety of food.
What did you mean by large variety? Just curious, what are you feeding him?

[ZARADOZIA]

Basics: crickets, chicken peeps, mice, ground turkey, extra lean turkey ham, bone meal, eggs, vitamins.

[Gungirl]

Aren't Mice and things of that nature bad for monitors? I thought the diet should be mostly bugs and stuff.....

[ZARADOZIA]

Aren't Mice and things of that nature bad for monitors? I thought the diet should be mostly bugs and stuff.....

Not sure. It's the diet I got from the DC Zoo

[Gungirl]

Not sure. It's the diet I got from the DC Zoo

I'm sure Wayne will chime in with links that he has and knows are great. I do remember reading that mice and things of that nature can cause some issues and lead to a shorter life. Do you feed any roaches or insects?

[stephanbakir]

Savs are insectivores, they are best kept on insects, shrimp (whole) Crayfish.
Dubias are probably your best bet.

[infernalis]

Savs are insectivores, they are best kept on insects, shrimp (whole) Crayfish.
Dubias are probably your best bet.

I used to feed little mice to chomper until I learned better.

In the wild they consume only invertebrates, Primarily arthropods, Shrimp (Over there they call them prawns) Crayfish, beetles, Scorpions, giant centipedes, earthworms, snails, mollusks and such.

Chomper seems very fond of slugs and snails, gosh it's gross, but he just crushes them and eats the shell and all.

So I chose to feed roaches, jumbo raw shrimp, night crawlers and crayfish.

However, I have talked to a few very successful keepers who swear by mice, but claim that the monitors must be kept at higher temps to permit proper digestion, but myself, I chose to adhere to natures plan.

Check out this site,, I love it.

The Savannah Monitor, Varanus exanthematicus (http://savannahmonitor.org/)

[lady_bug87]

I would so love a monitor but I would have no space to do it justice indoors at least I could convert a shed once I get into my house adding insulation and heat for the long winter but for now I can only look and wish I could have one lol I wouldn't be comfortable buying one until I could do for him or her what Wayne does for Chomper

[ZARADOZIA]

Roaches are out of the question, that's where hubby puts his foot down and I don't want it up my patootie!

I tried crickets, he refuses unless they are flavored with turkey ham juices.
Tried shrimp but he refused that also. (I boiled it)

I have been scared to feed him fish because I was warned about salmonella & E.coli and that it would kill him. When I did research on it, nothing I found said anything about either.

Now where would I get slugs, snails, & crayfish?

Wayne, what is Chompers staple daily diet?

**Side note: He doesn't eat a lot of mice, they are mainly treats when Sasha refuses to eat.

[infernalis]

One of the hardest things about what I do for Chomper is it's so very hard for many people to pull off.

I own a 40 acre hunk of unspoiled land that is nestled right in the middle of 10,000++ acres of protected State forest, So I have all the free crayfish, slugs, snails, worms and bugs Chomper could ever consume.

My house already has a boiler system and radiant heating in it, so tapping into an existing system is no real challenge.

It sometimes makes me feel bad because those conditions are rare & difficult to replicate.

When I give Chomper venison, I get that for free too. All I have to do is ask my hunting friends.

If your monitor is healthy, and you are doing the best you can, then please don't let one rare case (mine) change what you are doing.......

BTW - Raw shrimp ;)

And Savs are creatures of habit, they have excellent memories, so attempting to change his diet all at once will be met with resistance.

[Gungirl]

Why don't you try raw shrimp? animals don't have things cooked for them in the wild....

[infernalis]

Hendrixed wasn't placed beside Diesel. Diesel happens to love being near Hendrix, I have no idea why, he just does. Hendrix is quite healthy and eats a large variety of food. He's not overweight but looks it when he flattens out while sun bathing.

Chomper does the same thing...

[Jay]

Correct Savs flatten out while basking. In picture 6/8 you can tell he is infact a little over weight, how often do you feed him.

[infernalis]

How much exercise does he get?

Chomper gets to run around a couple times a day

[ZARADOZIA]

BTW - Raw shrimp

And Savs are creatures of habit, they have excellent memories, so attempting to change his diet all at once will be met with resistance.


You are not kidding! When I first got him I asked a couple of basic questions:

What do you feed him?
The girl handed me a box of rats that were almost the size of my cats. No lie. Sasha wouldn't even be able to eat them because of the size.

What is is eating schedule?
"Oh, when ever."

Followed by:
How often do you feed him?
"Eh, whenever he strikes the cage and is aggressive."

I walked away scratching my head and thankful for the DC Zoo.


**exerise, bout 2-3 hours a day. Usually in the afternoons and in the evenings

Why don't you try raw shrimp? animals don't have things cooked for them in the wild....
Snakes don't have F/T in the wild either, however we do it because it is safer for them. Same concept based off a warning I was given about E.Coli and Salmonella. I have seen first hand effects of both on animals and it is not pretty. I wouldn't stop crying if something happened to any of my babies if I could have avoided it.


However, I am not oppposed to trying it. Like you, I value Wayne's input. :rolleyes:

[infernalis]

When I buy the raw shrimp, its frozen solid.

And does E. Coli & Salmonella infect reptiles? forgive me if I'm wrong, but I thought those needed a warm blooded host.

[Jay]

Does your sav have a feeding schedule? I don't think you should be feeding him every day. I'm glad you took him away from the previous owned, possibly saving his life.

[infernalis]

We feed chomper small meals every other day, and I give him little snacks when he is out, last night he had 4 shrimp and two night crawlers.

The night before he ate six Dubia, night before that a half pound of shrimp.

I never give him a huge meal. In nature they are foragers, a bug here, a bug there.. unless they find a beetle colony, then they will wipe it out all at once.

[Jay]

If giving the opertunity your sav will eat what you offer, it's up to us to ensure proper care is provided, not sub standard.

[ZARADOZIA]

When I buy the raw shrimp, its frozen solid.

And does E. Coli & Salmonella infect reptiles? forgive me if I'm wrong, but I thought those needed a warm blooded host.


I have no idea. I'm a germ-phobe any ways so I never bothered to investigate that further. I know they can carry it (obvious) no clue if they can get sick from it but it was one of those things that I took for granted and didn't want to risk Hendrix getting sick over.

[ZARADOZIA]

If giving the opertunity your sav will eat what you offer, it's up to us to ensure proper care is provided, not sub standard.


No dear. That is not true. Hendrix is offered small amounts (6oz) of food daily because he is such a finicky eater. Please do not assume all sav's are the same because it is not so. His previous owner fed him "whenever" and his metabolism is severely shot. The only this she fed him was rats. How in H* he ate them is beyond me.

However, due to his previous husbandry, or lack thereof depending on how you look at it, and knowing that sav's are extremely picky, I do what needs to be done to ensure his overall health. Hendrix can and has gone weeks without eating. He also suffers from poor muscle growth, and low bone density. I do what I do to ensure he remains healthy.

Each ones’ past has an immediate effect on their present and you must always take such conditions into great consideration when planning proper rehabs, which is why I contacted the DC Zoo about his health and I have followed their guidelines. Now, if the DC Zoo (The National Zoo) doesn’t know proper husbandry, then we have a serious problem because they employ some of the most intelligent and well educated vets in the nation.

[Jay]

That's sad, again kudos for the rescue. Due to his previous feeding I understand why he would have troubles on a proper to sub standard diet. Sav's do not digest the thick bones and hair found in rats/mice. If your are content on feeding him mice try a few pinks instead. Although switching up an established diet can be tricky though.

[infernalis]

Each ones’ past has an immediate effect on their present and you must always take such conditions into great consideration when planning proper rehabs, which is why I contacted the DC Zoo about his health and I have followed their guidelines. Now, if the DC Zoo (The National Zoo) doesn’t know proper husbandry, then we have a serious problem because they employ some of the most intelligent and well educated vets in the nation.



You have already done so much more than a lot of people have, And I myself am very impressed by the fact that you have done the research.

[Jay]

Yes, it sickens me to go to "ma and pa" reptile shops and seeing Savs with a 60w bulb and newspaper as substrate and a price tag cheaper then a leopard gecko. They are sold as begginer reptile in most cases. What you have done is great and if only everyone did as much as you it would be ok.

[ZARADOZIA]

He really loves boiled chicken bones. I hate the smell (takes almost 10 hours to boil them till they are soft) but you would think it's the steak of all steaks the way he tears into them. That mixed with ground turkey (boiled in a whole lump, cut up into slices, and with goodies added after cooked) is one of his favorites.

Sadly, right now he is in a "I don't want to eat phase" and some days I just want to cry because he wobbles when he walks (poor muscle mass & low bone density). It's very hard some days.

I love my pets as much as my kid. To me, they are my kids. Last month I spent $4,000.00 on Diesel because he is a stupid cat and almost died. My husband and I both informed him that he has to live AT LEAST 12 more years and must get a job so he can pay us back for the cost of his surgery!

The main reason I joined this forum was because I have seen many well educated and knowledgeable people. I watched the forum for a while before I joined. I don't like mean people and wanted to make sure the pushy-mean-aggressive-know-it-all-and-you-know-nothing types didn't run the forum. lol

I’m well educated and take a lot of pride in learning as much as I can about whatever it is I need to know. Sometimes the right information can’t be located and you have to rely on people that have hands-on experience. (e.g., you can’t learn how to be a parent no matter how many books you read)

I don't know every thing and it's nice to be around people that enjoys the things I do and are experienced. This is not a hobby for me, this is a way of life and I know many others' here feel the same way. I like that a great deal.

[infernalis]

We tend to hand "those pushy know it alls" a quick eviction notice here.