Savannah Monitor Gout page

[infernalis]

I just received an email from a person, I will not print it here as privacy is assumed in emails, but another Savannah Monitor has fallen to this today.

His story was moving, and was pretty much a recount of what happened to Chomper, but this lizard only lasted 3 years before passing.

[Gatorhunter1231]

sweet and to the point. I'm sure you will add to it with time Wayne. I would suggest putting at least 24in of soil. My crocodile monitor dug 30" deep on several occasions and only stop because she hit the floor. My ackies have hit 18in on a few occasions (bottom of cage). I would think an adult sav would need at least 24in.

[SerpentLust]

Wayne if you would like any photos of my Savannah Monitor I would be happy to take them for you as part of a "husbandry errors" chunk.

His original owner kept him in an extraordinarily tiny tank and by the time he found his way to a reptile rescue, his enclosure looked as if it had never been cleaned, there was no heat supplied to him, his feet were infected and even after antibiotics, some toe nails were lost and he had to get some toes amputated. He lived in a reptile rescue for three years in better but not perfect conditions and now lives with me, who is being ridiculously anal about his care and feeding requirements.

Your page is great. Unfortunately I am not an expert on these guys (yet) so I don't have anything else to add or input.

[alessia55]

The importance of Proper Caging
The following information is very important to ensure a long and healthy life for your Savannah Monitor lizard. Over half a million savannah monitors have been exported from Africa over the years and sold into the pet trade. Of this huge number only a small handful have survived past their first birthday, and an even smaller amount have lived beyond 5 years. This page will address why so many Savannah Monitors suffer and die in the hands of reptile enthusiasts worldwide. Please read carefully because failure to provide these very basic requirements always results in a slow, excruciating death of these beautiful, intelligent animals.

Long term, low level dehydration & Gout
Since reptiles do not have pores, they do not sweat. Since they pass urates as a solid, white, chalky clump. They do not urinate in a liquid form. So how exactly does this slow dehydration take place? By breathing dry air, that's how.

To put it in perspective, when we breath outside in the winter, we draw in dry winter air, and when we exhale, you can see your breath. This is because our lungs transfer water molecules to the dry air and we exhale moist air. This moist air becomes condensation, hence the "cloud" we see when we breath. This same exact principal applies to Monitors (̶s̶n̶a̶k̶e̶s̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶l̶i̶z̶a̶r̶d̶s̶)̶. When you take an animal that has evolved over millions of years to breath damp, tropical air, and place it in a box that has low humidity, each and every breath the animal takes will release precious moisture into the air.

Since reptiles breath very slowly and each of those slow breaths only release minuscule amounts of body water, the process can take many months, and sometimes years, to bring the internal dehydration to critical levels. This process in turn stresses the kidneys and liver eventually causing them to fail altogether. Then the uric acid levels in the blood begin to rapidly escalate leading to Gout. [Here give a short definition of gout.]By the time the symptoms of gout manifest and become visible, it's entirely too late to reverse it.

This is where burrows come into play as a method of water conservation. If you have ever been in a dank basement you can feel the humidity in the air, it's thick. This is why the air in mines and deep basements is so heavy, suspended water molecules in the air add weight to it.

During the hottest parts of the day, droughts, and dry seasons, Monitor lizards will retreat to the burrows and not come back out until the conditions are more favorable. When we keep them in enclosures that do not have correct humidity levels and also do not provide enough soil substrate for the animal to dig a burrow and retreat, they begin drying out slowly through breathing. Here describe the DEPTH of the substrate needed.

Misting a poorly set up cage will not prevent this; soaking the lizard in a bath tub will not prevent this, big water bowls do not prevent this. Only correct humidity and offering the opportunity to burrow will prevent this. Proper caging is paramount to your lizard's heath; This cannot be stressed enough.

One of the first symptoms of dehydration will be a loss of appetite. Force feeding a moderately or a severely dehydrated animal may result in shock and death. The digestive tract requires fluids to process foods. If there aren't enough fluids in the digestive tract, the food will try to take fluids from other critical systems. When dehydrated, the accompanying loss of appetite may be one way the body tries to protect itself.

In conclusion, this is why keeping any monitor in conditions that do not support it's basic physiology needs will ultimately lead to failure.

The best enclosure substrate to use
The very best substrate to ensure a long and healthy life is a mixture of chemical free top soil and washed play sand at a ratio of 60% dirt 40% sand mixed together. It should be able to form a ball and be easy to dig, promoting burrowing. Soil depth should be 24 inches deep [include this in centimeters too, this will be roughly equal to a pickup truck load! It will be very heavy, please make sure your floor can support the weight.

Here link to the page that describes how to build a proper enclosure, dimensions of an adult monitor's enclosure, etc.

A common misunderstanding with new owners is that Savannah Monitors live in the desert. Look behind Mr. Bature Ali and you will see that this photo is NOT taken in a desert. The Savannahs is actually a humid, grassland area.

[infernalis]

I cannot say that the Savannahs are a "humid" grassland area, for I would only be describing 1/3 of the year.

The weather patterns are such that 1/3 of the year is rainy, 1/3 of the year is drought, and 1/3 of the year is the transition from about 100% humidity to almost no humidity. and that is just a over simplification of things I have read from credible sources.

During the rainy season, there is almost no sunlight, so the temperatures drop significantly, basking is not an option.

During the drought season, the animals retreat into burrows and remain there until conditions improve.

Mating and egg production are timed so that the eggs hatch during the part of the season when food is most plentiful, the babies are in a race against time to gain as much weight and size as possible before the drought comes.

That all will be a whole other page.

I have to be careful to get only the most basic information up front first, and the more detailed stuff on other pages with hyperlinks, so that the majority will read what they NEED, and as they become more interested and fascinated (as I have) they can then read deeper into it.

[alessia55]

My bad. I know nothing. Just meant to offer suggestions in grammar. You don't have to take any of my suggestions.

[infernalis]

Originally Posted by alessia55

My bad. I know nothing. Just meant to offer suggestions in grammar. You don't have to take any of my suggestions.

don't say that.. your input is brilliant, your grammar A+ and guess what, you just learned something new.

win win all the way!!

[Pirarucu]

Why not say tropical grassland? Humid grassland is not entirely true, but tropical is. Then you also plant the connotation in their mind which is that tropical=humid, and it opens their minds to the reality of Savs needing humidity, before you go into lots of detail.

[rmfsnakes32]

Very informative I learned more about monitors in that article than I knew going into it. Maybe someday down the road when I own my own home and can have a proper set up I would love to have one of these guys! WELL DONE!!!!

[infernalis]

Mark the calander people!!!

Originally Posted by FR

Excellent explination.

[varanus_mad]

Originally Posted by Pirarucu

Why not say tropical grassland? Humid grassland is not entirely true, but tropical is. Then you also plant the connotation in their mind which is that tropical=humid, and it opens their minds to the reality of Savs needing humidity, before you go into lots of detail.

Visit africa then visit sri lanka...

thats why not tropical.

[Pirarucu]

Tropical essentially means between the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, so it's accurate. However the everyday use seems to have shifted to meaning hot and humid...

[infernalis]

Here we go folks, The truth about savannas...

Tropical Savannas

Savanna Biomes

[infernalis]

[varanus_mad]

Originally Posted by Pirarucu

Tropical essentially means between the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, so it's accurate. However the everyday use seems to have shifted to meaning hot and humid...

Exactly mate.

Thats the problem with everyday speak...

for example if you were to visit africa...

they call Nile monitors water monitors...

an white throats/boscs rock monitors....

So yeah... stick with the most common meaning for a word.