Stage 3 (Dry Season)

[formica]

Originally Posted by Pirarucu

...I will take issue with your claiming success after a single cycle with one animal

why don't we restrain ourselves from drawing conclusions from them?

I have not posted up any conclusions! perhaps you assumed that I had, based on the fact that others have inferred conclucions on my post and then argued against said conclusions, which I myself had not written.

nor did I claim success, but simply reported that my Sav is in good health after a short time under the conditions as described in the original post.

let me repost it for you to clarify:

Originally Posted by formica

Happy to report that after a short dry season simulation, my Sav is in perfect health, some weight loss, as to be expected, (1.02kg before, 1.012kg after)

now that the humidity has been increased outside of his high-humidity box, activity and apatite has increased significantly over the last week.

I have added lots of seeds (bird seed and grass seed), and enclosure is gettng ''rain'' every day in the afternoon, I havent increased feeding yet, I will do that once the seeds start to sprout, although there are a fair few crickets in the enclosure anyway that have been happily breeding away

15 this year - according to the results so far on the Savannah Monitor Longevity Survey, it has been kept with access to Sunlight for UV, a 120f basking spot, and, both cooler and drier seasonal variations.

Originally Posted by Aaron_S

You use this survey to validate your view of this cool/dry season thing you have attempted. That is all.

no i didnt, I answered a question which Terranaut had posed, with the information I had available - all I have done thru this entire debacle, is ask questions about currently accepted practices and how it reflects the needs of Savs based on their evolutionary adaptions, I want to know how the two compare, and am well aware of the scientific process required to gain conclusive answers, and am also aware, and made it clear that I was aware, of the limitations that all of this brings up

until someone with enough money to support 50 or more Savs thru their entire life, and all the veterinary bills required for testing, so that proper number crunching can be done, well there is nothing additional I can do is there!

Once the survey is complete, it can be used as a basis of further study into the monitors which have been added into it, but right now, no one has a clue really how old monitors are getting and under what conditions, just lots of speculation and anecdotal evidence. (edit: apart from one study into the way in which high basking temps reduce the risk of developing many common Sav health conditions, eg kidney failure)


until someone proves to me, that the 60% of a Savs life cycle which is being ignored by current husbandry techniques, is not important, I CANNOT believe that it is not important, there is not a single animal on the planet (studied so far) which does not benefit from its periods of dormancy, or does not rely on the cycles of season in order to survive and be healthy, regardless of whether those seasons bring plenty of food or apparently extreme hardship.

Originally Posted by Rob_H

Great idea for a study. Very interested to hear the results of the survey so please keep us updated. Regarding your monitor: the conditions are well within the experiences found in the wild, so assuming you're keeping a close eye on its health as you said (maybe you can post photos up here so people can judge for themselves every now and then?) there's no problem. Well done for taking some initiative.

before and after pics would have been a good idea!

Originally Posted by Terranaut

I would say old and disease free would be the only indicators for this

definitely

Originally Posted by mdfmonitor

Good intentions, but it's so hard to translate keepers own perception of their husbandry into actual fact & results.

true, but I dont have a zoo, a uni or a (herd?) of Savs at my disposal, so I do what I can

[Pirarucu]

Originally Posted by formica

I have not posted up any conclusions! perhaps you assumed that I had, based on the fact that others have inferred conclucions on my post and then argued against said conclusions, which I myself had not written.

nor did I claim success, but simply reported that my Sav is in good health after a short time under the conditions as described in the original post.

My apologies. I wasn't aware that saying something like this (again, with no prior experience to base this off of) is not considered a claim of success.

Originally Posted by formica

Happy to report that after a short dry season simulation, my Sav is in perfect health

What was that about not drawing any conclusions?

Originally Posted by formica

I do not believe that ignoring 60% of an animals life cycle is a good thing, and until it is proven otherwise, my mind wont be changed on that point

Personally, I do not believe that ignoring the advice given to you on this thread by 100% of the verified successful breeders and keepers posting here is a good thing, and until it is proven otherwise, my mind won't be changed on that point.

[formica]

Originally Posted by Pirarucu

What was that about not drawing any conclusions?

not my conclusion, but that of a specialist reptile vet who saw him before and after - as I stated would be happening at the start of the thread.

[Pirarucu]

Originally Posted by formica

not my conclusion, but that of a specialist reptile vet who saw him before and after - as I stated would be happening at the start of the thread.

I was referring to the quotation below that statement actually, but both work. Who specifically is the vet? What are their credentials? It's been well established that even specialist reptile vets don't necessarily know much when it comes to Varanids...