View Full Version : About how old is my sav
I have a female sav and she's about twelve to eighteen inches long including her tail, so about how old would she probably be?
they told me she was two but she seems a little small to two I think
infernalis
12-13-12, 10:09 PM
That does seem very small for a two year old.
Mine are under a year and 30 inches long.
BarelyBreathing
12-13-12, 10:33 PM
You may never know. If she wasn't properly cared for, she may never reach her full potential.
So so u think she'll get much bigger as long as I care for her proberly because I heard that they grow the most in the first two to three years and jst out of curiosity about how big should she be at two years old
infernalis
12-13-12, 11:40 PM
honestly, the first year of life is when the most massive growth rate is, then it tapers off abruptly.
An animal that is stunted during the first year, rarely catch up to full adult size.
A well cared for Savannah Monitor should be about a yard long with an athletic build.
What many people fail to understand is that with proper caging, these beasts can consume unbelievable amounts of food while growing up, and not get fat doing it.
I remember one night that my juvenile savs each ate 6 rat pups and a dozen night crawlers all in one sitting.
They looked hungry again the next morning.!!!
So feed feed feed unless she starts to show sights of obesity then but rite now she's in a ten gal tank but I'm building one rite now that's 5'x3'x3' will this be big enough as I don't have me where to put a bigger one
infernalis
12-14-12, 12:56 AM
5x3x3 is too small.
I can't stress enough, it is impossible to get the correct environment in a 10 gallon tank.
Read over the web site links at the bottom of my post, it explains everything in great detail.
Each purple word on the home page is a window link that will pop up a photo that explains what you are reading.
You need to change that lizard's housing like last week.
EmbraceCalamity
12-14-12, 03:11 AM
So feed feed feed unless she starts to show sights of obesity then but rite now she's in a ten gal tank but I'm building one rite now that's 5'x3'x3' will this be big enough as I don't have me where to put a bigger oneWhat? Dude, I wouldn't keep my leopard gecko in a 10 gallon.
~Maggot
BarelyBreathing
12-14-12, 12:38 PM
Savannah monitors need:
-A custom built 8x4x4 enclosure made from wood, 100% sealed (no screen, no open vents)
-2 feet of sandy soil. I use and recommend a 60/40 mixture of Eco Earth and children's washed play sand for monitors. Substrate should be moist at depth.
-60% ambient humidity measured several times daily with a DIGITAL hygrometer
-A basking spot of 130F or higher, measured several times daily with an infra red TEMPERATURE GUN
-A cool side of 75F measured several times daily with a DIGITAL thermometer with a PROBE
-Plenty of hides
-A water dish that is large enough to soak in
-A diet that mostly consists of invertibrates
Ok so I don't have my costum built eclosure yet but I moved her to a travel tote that's about 31/2x2x3 height I put about ten inches of soil in it and laid moss across the top with be sufficient for a week or so keep in mind she's tiny 12-18 inches total including her tail I mean her head is smaller than my thumb another reason I find it hard to believe that she's two years old but I have come to realize the people at petco don't really know a whole lot bout what they sell I mean they told me she was a desert lizard and to all sand and keep humidity at 10-20 percent would be fine
infernalis
12-14-12, 01:30 PM
Ok so I don't have my costum built eclosure yet but I moved her to a travel tote that's about 31/2x2x3 height I put about ten inches of soil in it and laid moss across the top with be sufficient for a week or so keep in mind she's tiny 12-18 inches total including her tail I mean her head is smaller than my thumb another reason I find it hard to believe that she's two years old but I have come to realize the people at petco don't really know a whole lot bout what they sell I mean they told me she was a desert lizard and to all sand and keep humidity at 10-20 percent would be fine
This is why I dislike PETCO so much, and most other pet stores too.
Over half a million dead Savannah Monitors because of this crap info places like that pass out.
I am havering a hard te getting the temp up in this enclosure though I'm useing two 60 watt bulbs and a 100 watt bulb all with cones and keeping the room temp at about 70 but the enclosure doesn't up much more than 80 I jst tried putting an under the tank heater under it where her basking platform is ill let you all know if help much and thank you all for the advise I new to reptiles and you have been a great help thanks again
infernalis
12-14-12, 01:34 PM
The cool end does not have to be really hot, 70-80 is plenty fine.
On my web site, there is two buttons to check the weather in Africa where Savannah Monitors live, I have seen days where it was rather cool by tropical standards in Ghana.
EmbraceCalamity
12-14-12, 01:38 PM
Ok so I don't have my costum built eclosure yet but I moved her to a travel tote that's about 31/2x2x3 height I put about ten inches of soil in it and laid moss across the top with be sufficient for a week or so keep in mind she's tiny 12-18 inches total including her tail I mean her head is smaller than my thumb another reason I find it hard to believe that she's two years old but I have come to realize the people at petco don't really know a whole lot bout what they sell I mean they told me she was a desert lizard and to all sand and keep humidity at 10-20 percent would be fineYou said you don't have anywhere to put an enclosure bigger than 5x3x3, and it's been pointed out that that's too small. So what are you going to do?
~Maggot
infernalis
12-14-12, 01:46 PM
I have a female sav
Did petco tell you it's a female too??
They are difficult to sex, and I can all but guarantee that petco cannot even guess with any reasonable certainty.
If she is in fact female, you are in for a rough ride.. without that proper big enclosure, she will cycle eggs and refuse to lay them, it's always fatal, as the eggs begin to decay inside the lizards belly.
They do not need a male lizard to lay eggs, it's a natural ovulation cycle that happens often, beginning at sexual maturity.
I have a back entry way that's plenty big enough but it's not properly insulated yet which is where I planed on putting her permanent enclosure it just doesn't stay warm enough rite now as I live in Alaska wher it hits -50 in the winter
Yes they did and this summer I'm gonna put her in a 8x4x4 enclosure in back entry way as its not fully insulated and gets really cold in there in the winter since I love in Alaska where it hits -50 in the winter
infernalis
12-14-12, 03:26 PM
in that case, I would insulate the cage too.
That gives extra insurance.
Yes they r the ones that told me she was a female....and is there be thing that can be done to stop the laying of eggs and if not what should I do with the if she does start laying if she really is in fact a female like they said she is
That's a good idea I didn't think about that
infernalis
12-14-12, 09:01 PM
aside from a complete hysterectomy, no it cannot be stopped.
2 feet of 80 degree soil to nest in is what she will need.
Ok and what should I do with eggs if this happens do I take them to a vet a pet store or wait for them to hatch and then put them up adoption
SnakeyJay
12-15-12, 02:21 AM
I've really got to stop reading these threads.. :(
Another question by a sealed enclosure that doesn't mean air tight does it? Like should I drill a few holes in sides at the top for air because using a glass top that's removable
Lankyrob
12-15-12, 07:16 AM
Another question by a sealed enclosure that doesn't mean air tight does it? Like should I drill a few holes in sides at the top for air because using a glass top that's removable
Airflow will kill your humidity, the air exchange from opening the enclosure to feed the sav should be enough.
infernalis
12-15-12, 08:14 AM
Ok and what should I do with eggs if this happens do I take them to a vet a pet store or wait for them to hatch and then put them up adoption
Without a male, the eggs will be infertile duds, you can either throw them away, or let your soil absorb them.
infernalis
12-15-12, 08:18 AM
Another question by a sealed enclosure that doesn't mean air tight does it? Like should I drill a few holes in sides at the top for air because using a glass top that's removable
When I first built my cage, I could not get the humidity to hold steady, so I started caulking every seam and every air leak I could find, the more I glued it up, the higher my humidity rose.
These monitors live underground, there is not any venting down in those burrows, these lizards are even known to backfill the burrow behind them sometimes.
they don't need the same kind of air flow we do.
BarelyBreathing
12-15-12, 09:18 AM
Ok and what should I do with eggs if this happens do I take them to a vet a pet store or wait for them to hatch and then put them up adoption
Just throw them in the trash.
I've really got to stop reading these threads.. :(
I feel you there.
Another question by a sealed enclosure that doesn't mean air tight does it? Like should I drill a few holes in sides at the top for air because using a glass top that's removable
No holes.
Ok so no hole now should I set the heat lamps on top of the glass or should they go inside the enclosure and I read something about useing heat tubes to heat the substrate in one of the other threads can those heat tubes be picked up at petco if not where could I get some because in the thread they were saying the substrate needs to be jst as warm as the enclosure
Also I moved her out of that ten gal tank and put in a tote that's about 4ft long 2ft wide and about 18 inches high and I made the substrate about 8 inches deep which is twice as deep as I had it the ten gal tank but she hasn't started to try and burrow like she was in the ten gal tank could this jst be because its a new enclosure and she jst needs time to settle in like web I first brought her home
Also jst so every one knows this is only a temporary enclosure till I get her permant one built and set up in the house and she is quite small still her head is about the size of my thumb
infernalis
12-15-12, 01:58 PM
Ok so no hole now should I set the heat lamps on top of the glass or should they go inside the enclosure and I read something about useing heat tubes to heat the substrate in one of the other threads can those heat tubes be picked up at petco if not where could I get some because in the thread they were saying the substrate needs to be jst as warm as the enclosure
The dirt will hold steady at around 75-89 pretty much on it's own unless the cage is in a really cold place.
I checked my dirt with the temp gun last night, and the soil was 78 degrees.
Please don't misunderstand, the whole cage cannot be hot, you want what we call a gradient, meaning that if the lizard wants to cool off, it will hide in cool places, if it wants to heat up, it will use the basking lamp to heat up.
That is another reason for large cages, it's so much easier to get a good range of conditions inside a large area, but nearly impossible to achieve a range of conditions suitable for good health in a small enclosure or fish tank.
BarelyBreathing
12-15-12, 05:38 PM
Ok so no hole now should I set the heat lamps on top of the glass or should they go inside the enclosure and I read something about useing heat tubes to heat the substrate in one of the other threads can those heat tubes be picked up at petco if not where could I get some because in the thread they were saying the substrate needs to be jst as warm as the enclosure
You want your lights inside the enclosure, at one side so that there is a temperature gradient. You need to pick up a digital thermometer with a probe, AND an infra red temperature gun.
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