Savannah Monitor - Page 3

infernalis · 10-25-10, 10:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by emmels705

will he eat veggies? Is it ok to feed them to him and if so what kind?

No offense, but Monitors are not Iguanas and the husbandry is night and day different.

absolutely no part of Iguana care is the same as monitor care.

The only thing they have in common is they are both lizards.

Cross contamination of information

infernalis · 10-24-10, 10:22 PM

The absolute best in my opinion is Dubia roaches.

You can purchase a group and in no time flat have a never ending food source.

Dubia are almost "goof proof" and easy to maintain.

I feed all my insectivores roaches.

Forgot about the crustaceans, We have a creek on our property and Chomper simply loves to dig up crayfish and chomp them.

I also tend to forget that not everyone has access to venison.

Everyone I know (but me) hunts deer, so I can get the super lean slabs of meat for free.

emmels705 · 10-24-10, 10:52 PM

Hard boiled eggs.. yay or nay?

infernalis · 10-24-10, 11:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by emmels705

Hard boiled eggs.. yay or nay?

Nay.............

emmels705 · 10-24-10, 10:59 PM

Just a few more pics!

emmels705 · 10-25-10, 11:43 AM

No offense taken, I am just new to this and have been doing a lot of reading and have read about a million different things. The website you left for me was actually the first I read to begin with and what I used to base his habitat on, so I appreciate all the help everyone has offered! I am only asking so that I am able to properly take care of him

Reptile_Reptile · 10-25-10, 07:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by emmels705

No offense taken, I am just new to this and have been doing a lot of reading and have read about a million different things. The website you left for me was actually the first I read to begin with and what I used to base his habitat on, so I appreciate all the help everyone has offered! I am only asking so that I am able to properly take care of him

i would like to say congratulations well done that was a lot of hard information to take and a lot of being wrong to endure but you did what was Right kudos to you and i sincerely hope you stick around to infect every single person that comes through here with you extremely sincere and selfless care of you animal(s)

Lankyrob · 10-25-10, 01:15 PM

Just would like to say "fair play" to emmels to sticking around and taking on board the knowledge and experience of the people on here. Its not great to have ideas that are then turend out to be incorrect but to keep coming back and learning without and defensive comments etc (which has happened a lot recently with other newcomers) is commendable.

Hope we can see lots of pics of your sav as it grows and regular updates regarding it settlcing in. I would LOVE a sav but have to own one vicariously through you and other sav owners on here so keep the updates coming!!

emmels705 · 10-26-10, 02:15 PM

Thanks everyone!! And please, if anyone has anymore tough love or suggestions for me, I'm more than open for it!!! lo

emmels705 · 10-28-10, 05:32 PM

I'm just curious.... as far as feeding, I have been giving him 5-6 large crickets at a time until he's eaten 30 or stops eating. I feed him every other night. Is this too much, not enough, should I be feeding him soemthing more filling? I have read that pinkies are good for a sav his age and size and have a feeling that I'm going to have to move him over to them soon. He doesn't seem to be hungry after he eats and keeps everything down, but I am just wondering what someone else thinks or suggests I do. Thanks again!!!!!

emmels705 · 10-28-10, 05:36 PM

Also, as far as him settling in, I feel as though he is settled and loving it. I know some of you advised against handling him this soon, but after rubbing my fingers down his back, I couldn't help but handle him. I wore a glove just in case and he didn't fight it nor did he close his eyes or tense up as he would if he felt dangered. We also have been putting him in the bathtub at night and letting him swim a bit, he seems to really enjoy it and is usually pretty tuckered out after. We also use this time to clean his tank; while one of us sits in the bathroom with him, the other cleans his tank. Like I said, he seems pretty content and has been eating and pooping regularly, I'm taking this as a good sign!!!!

infernalis · 10-28-10, 06:24 PM

Lose the glove

You want your sav to know you, not the glove.

Only put just a wee bit of water in the tub, all 4 feet need to touch the bottom or you will spook the little guy and he will always fear water.

We only put Chomp in the tub to get hard shed pieces to loosen.

I'd move up to roaches if the crickets are not enough, Pinkies are loaded with fat.

Freebody · 10-28-10, 06:45 PM

if he closes his eyes while your holding him that doesnt mean hes tense, it means he content. he would never close his eye on a potential threat to him

get yourself a dubia roach colony, easy to breed, prolific breeders, and they are healthier than crickets as well. GL

infernalis · 10-28-10, 07:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Freebody

get yourself a dubia roach colony, easy to breed, prolific breeders, and they are healthier than crickets as well. GL

and they make a delightful crunching sound when chomped.

bighog85 · 10-29-10, 07:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Freebody

if he closes his eyes while your holding him that doesnt mean hes tense, it means he content. he would never close his eye on a potential threat to him

No it really does mean he is scared. It is them either playing dead or just making the threat go away in their minds. My beardies do it, my savs do it, and my salvator does it.

At this age he is growing rapidly but I don't believe in power feeding, which is what you are doing when you give him his fill every time you feed. Most people think that hugely rapid growth is a sign of good health. While obviously you do want him to grow, making him go to fast can be more detrimental than underfeeding. His bones and organs cannot keep up with the rest of his body and that can lead to organ failure or MBD if it is really bad. I regulate how much all of my animals eat because in the wild they do not have abundant food supplies available whenever they want it. They have to roam sometimes many miles each day just to get enough to stay alive and I will always be a firm believer that they were designed to live in the wild, not captivity and we should do our best to match that as closely as possible. So to sum what you should be doing; don't feed him till he stops, get some roaches going and make them your primary food source, do NOT give him rodents more than once a month and go very slowly with the handling. As I mentioned before, these guys are smart and one bad handling experience to set you back many months or even permanently.