How sure are we that Savs are Diurnal?

[formica]

I'm starting to think that perhaps they arnt, several times now, 3-4 locusts that where remaining in the enclosure at lights out, have all vanished by lights on in the morning, theres no way for them to escape the enclosure, although there are plenty of places for them to hide, but thats not really what locusts do during the day

I've often thought I'd heard noises coming from the enclosure at night, difficult to tell for sure when theres a small zoo in the room tho, and I dont have any IR cameras to setup and find out for sure

any thoughts?

Lghts go out on the enclosure at 9pm, I tend to either be working or watching TV in the room until 11/12ish, and theres definitly no activity during that time, my Sav is pretty noisy during the day when he's chasing food around - he could be eating them after I goto sleep I guess

[infernalis]

I can't say, I know mine have no set schedule. (neither do I)

One theory I have is that burrowing animals have dark anytime they want it.. and if they can see in a burrow, I would imagine moonlight or starlight must be like high noon (vision wise)

[formica]

Originally Posted by infernalis

I can't say, I know mine have no set schedule. (neither do I)

One theory I have is that burrowing animals have dark anytime they want it.. and if they can see in a burrow, I would imagine moonlight or starlight must be like high noon (vision wise)

could be! cant find much information on it, light isnt the only way that animals can find their way around of course, heat/IR are another important part of a reptiles navigation system, and of course their tounge in the case of monitors and snakes

I've not noticed any major reflections coming from my Savs eyes when taking photos, this is often a good indicator than an animals eyes are adapted to night vision (like with cats/owls etc) - need to find out more!

Do your monitors follow any schedule at all even without an on/off photoperiod? Mine is pretty specific, wakes up at 11am, goes to bed at 7pm, like clockwork, lights are on 9am-9pm, occasionally i've seen him up and about at 8:30-9pm, but only 3-4 times in total, but we've had a pretty hot summer over the last few weeks, which may have been why

[infernalis]

I peek in at random times, and sometimes I see one out, both or none.

I sleep in broken chunks (Look at the time stamps on my posts here) so I check on them at all hours.

[murrindindi]

Originally Posted by infernalis

I peek in at random times, and sometimes I see one out, both or none.

I sleep in broken chunks (Look at the time stamps on my posts here) so I check on them at all hours.

Hi Wayne, I thought you left the basking heat (lights?) on 24/7, in which case there`s always decent illumination.

[murrindindi]

As far as is known, Varanids do NOT have good "night vision", but their very sophisticated chemosensory adaptations would make it fairly easy to at least navigate in the dark.
As far as hunting`s concerned, that`s another matter (I doubt they do for the most part, at least in the "pitch dark")?

[B_Aller]

Exanthematicus is primarily crepuscular. In captivity they will often choose a more secure time for foraging or activity (read- when your not around) exactly why we try to get people to offer optimum conditions round the clock.
There was an extensive study done on the eyes and brain stems of exanthematicus and their cranial nerve system published in 1988 (Heleen Barbas -Henry) as well as one on slavator and exanthematicus done in 1982 (Wolters)

[infernalis]

Originally Posted by murrindindi

Hi Wayne, I thought you left the basking heat (lights?) on 24/7, in which case there`s always decent illumination.

Yes Stefan there is. The point I was making, the clock means nothing to them....

[formica]

I do understand your logic infernalis, and it seems that its a fairly common practice that doesnt appear to have any negative consequences at this time

my Sav is active at very specific times, with no real concern about my presence, except when I am making too much noise, his activity runs from 2hrs after lights on, upto 2hrs before lights out, this suggests to me that a day/night cycle is at least not a bad thing to implement (with the exception of the unconfirmed possibility that he's also active at night sometimes), animals are adaptable, I cant see any reason why they could not adapt to non stop availability of basking time

have there been any specific studies into the effect on Savs, of the day/night cycle? its not uncommon for some animals to alternate their day/night cycle, cats (again) for eg will operate at alternating times in their territories, depending on the activity of other cats in the area, so as to avoid conflict as much as possible - although cats are not strictly diurnal

[infernalis]

I am curious about the study too.

An observation I have made is that whenever I enter the room, even if they are underground, it does not take long for them to surface.

Apparently, they can sense the vibrations of the floor when people enter, and have associated that with the possibility of a treat offering.

[formica]

Originally Posted by infernalis

I am curious about the study too.

An observation I have made is that whenever I enter the room, even if they are underground, it does not take long for them to surface.

Apparently, they can sense the vibrations of the floor when people enter, and have associated that with the possibility of a treat offering.

seems to be a common observation amongst Sav owners, mine hasnt shown any direct interest in my appearance near the enclosure, although when i first got mine, he very quickly figured out feeding time, which I kept regular, and he was always ready and waiting at those times, at other times he got on with digging around, basking, sleeping etc without paying me much attention at all

recently i've changed my behaviour, feeding times are not at regular intervals (except breakfast, he gets a handful of locusts or crickets as soon as lights go on). now rather than focusing on certain times for feeding, I sit with my arm inside the enclosure for 20-30minutes at random times, and then he gets a treat, along with more insects, he hasnt yet worked out what I'm doing, but he no longer waits to be fed at specific times, this has been going on for about 5 weeks now - the idea is to see how quickly he will change his association from time based feeding, to my presence and feeding, he does appear to have lost the time association for now

[DeadlyDesires]

in my experience with mine, wheni turn off all his lights at night he goes down in his hole and "goes to bed" but as soon as i turn the lights on he comes running out and there is not "set" time i turn them off... not matter when or how long i leave them on. hes out basking and chilling in the light until i turn out the lights.

[nepoez]

Originally Posted by DeadlyDesires

in my experience with mine, wheni turn off all his lights at night he goes down in his hole and "goes to bed" but as soon as i turn the lights on he comes running out and there is not "set" time i turn them off... not matter when or how long i leave them on. hes out basking and chilling in the light until i turn out the lights.

Mine is the same... no lights equals sleep. Lately the basement became pitch black when lights are off and he ends up getting stuck outside his burrow. He can't find his way to his burrow. So I left a night light on, now when lights are off, he can find his way to the borrow and sleep. He comes out after lights come on in the morning. but I did turn it on a few times to do some maintnance and he comes out too in the middle of the night.

[formica]

Originally Posted by nepoez

Mine is the same... no lights equals sleep. Lately the basement became pitch black when lights are off and he ends up getting stuck outside his burrow. He can't find his way to his burrow. So I left a night light on, now when lights are off, he can find his way to the borrow and sleep. He comes out after lights come on in the morning. but I did turn it on a few times to do some maintnance and he comes out too in the middle of the night.

interesting, I remeber once very early on, before my Savs routine was established, one night in the early hours of the morning, my Sav was still perched on his basking log, I thought this was strange at the time, but it only happened once so I didnt think more about it, I assumed that as he was warm enough, and the room was pitch black, he just felt comfortable sleeping 'in the open', although he did head under his favorite log not long after the lights had come on in the room

[B_Aller]

Originally Posted by formica

have there been any specific studies into the effect on Savs, of the day/night cycle? l

Yes, and there have been studies done on the effects of day/night cycles on monitors in captivity, some of these studies and accidental tests are what lead to the modern husbandry practice of offering 24/7 heating light.
There have also been studies done specific to the paretrial (sp?) eye and it's effect on behavior and it's chemical processes with the brain.