Stage 3 (Dry Season)

[Aaron_S]

Originally Posted by formica

why is this irrelevant argument being brought up again? what has it got to do with anything I am doing?

Or is it just another diversionary tactic, because the oldest Sav in the survey is 15 years old and has been kept with dry and cool cycles....its funny how people are able to ignore things like this to suit their own agenda. but, its also a predictable response when dogmatic and unscientific opinions are held, esp when they are questioned.

Here are some facts for you:

15 year old Sav, kept with dry and cool seasons in between ''optimal'', still alive today
9 year old Sav, kept with cool season in between ''optimal'', still alive today
8 year old Sav, kept with cool season in between ''optimal'', still alive today

additionally, 3 Savs died at ~5 years old, despite being kept in ''optimal'' conditions.


I hope over the next 9-12 months much more data can be collected, the target of 1000 animals is a long way off, but the survey continues.

It is relevant because one animal (or 3) can be an exception to a rule. Just like a single person can drive drunk every single weekend and never experience an incident and then another guy does it once and kills someone.

Is the person who has never had a crash still right that driving drunk is safe and doesn't cause incidents? No they are not. A single (or 3) animals don't make a brand new rule.

Besides, you are taking surveys from around the globe I presume. Are the 6 animals you mentioned being fed the same diets? Held in the same enclosures? Given the exact same barometric pressures? Were they all collected/bought from the same place? Were they all raised from babies or were some "rescues" some months down the line? Have all of them been regularly vet checked and a necropsy done to see cause of death? Maybe those 3 had cancer or some sort of illness that had nothing to do with how they were kept. Happens to all animals, why would savannah monitors be any different?

All factors that could change any "scientific" research.

By all means, go ahead and do it because you will anyway but until you are able to control pretty much every facet of the "experiment" it will never prove anything.