New Photos of my big guy

[Toothless]

He's only about a year and a half- but I guess that's pretty good considering how many die young .
Since he doesn't burrow, I make sure there is a wide humidity gradient so at least he can still use both a high and moderate humidity if needed. That is one of the reasons I made so many levels in the enclosure (that and for a good temp gradient . The basking area is around 60%, second level is between 80-90%, and the bottom level sits around 85%. I couldn't get a gradient like this until I took a hot glue gun to all the seams- even with caulking and sealant the humidity was still slowely leaking out. Sometimes he rests at the lower humidity area, but most of the time he's on the bottom shelf or exploring.
I'm also planning to add some more climbing areas (cause there's not enough already lol) but I'm not quite sure how I want to go about it yet. He loves to climb so I want to give him as much usable space as possible. I was thinking of adding a small shelf or large branches in the second level area, and another one right up near the top of the enclosure. He seems to prefer scaling the walls rather than using the ladders and to get down he will either use his tail like a grappling (sp?) hook or just do a somersault off the ledge.
He let me pet his tail last night while I was feeding him- for about 5 seconds then he decided the oven mitts looked tasty...

[E-Tech Todd]

YEAH!
He does look like a big old boy!
Hey... Im having trouble getting my pics to post up like yours
I went through the FAQ and still having problems.
What's the trick?

[formica]

Originally Posted by E-Tech Todd

YEAH!
He does look like a big old boy!
Hey... Im having trouble getting my pics to post up like yours
I went through the FAQ and still having problems.
What's the trick?

use a web host like tinypic.com - it will give you the bbcode to post direct into the forum, uploading direct to the forum results in horrible little versions of the pics

[formica]

Originally Posted by Toothless

He's only about a year and a half- but I guess that's pretty good considering how many die young .
Since he doesn't burrow, I make sure there is a wide humidity gradient so at least he can still use both a high and moderate humidity if needed. That is one of the reasons I made so many levels in the enclosure (that and for a good temp gradient . The basking area is around 60%, second level is between 80-90%, and the bottom level sits around 85%. I couldn't get a gradient like this until I took a hot glue gun to all the seams- even with caulking and sealant the humidity was still slowely leaking out. Sometimes he rests at the lower humidity area, but most of the time he's on the bottom shelf or exploring.
I'm also planning to add some more climbing areas (cause there's not enough already lol) but I'm not quite sure how I want to go about it yet. He loves to climb so I want to give him as much usable space as possible. I was thinking of adding a small shelf or large branches in the second level area, and another one right up near the top of the enclosure. He seems to prefer scaling the walls rather than using the ladders and to get down he will either use his tail like a grappling (sp?) hook or just do a somersault off the ledge.
He let me pet his tail last night while I was feeding him- for about 5 seconds then he decided the oven mitts looked tasty...

intrigued, i've not seen anything about Savs using their tales in that way, i didnt realize they had that kind of control over them, beyond whiping and balancing

I've got a big breeze block (aerated concrete) in my enclosure, which my sav likes to scrabble over, helps to keep his claws a little less sharp too - inspired by many pics of the volcanic rocks that litter their wild habitat, when i build his full enclosure, I'm going to use allot more of them, bolted together because they are quite light

[E-Tech Todd]

Hey formica
I have seen Eco(my sav) using his tail tail that way as well.
Ive also seen him propping himself up on it trying to get over the gate we put up.
Not just "tripoding" but actually completely on his tail while he was trying to climb the smooth wall.

oh...and I like the idea of the "breeze block" and it acting kind of like a nail file.
I might have to use that one ;-)
Savs are awesome. LOL

[Toothless]

Yes, he is a big boy. Last I measured he was 3 feet ToL and he's had a few sheds since then. Hasn't shed much in the past month so I think he's almost as big as he's gonna get. I say I'll be lucky if he reaches 3 1/2 feet- I still love him to pieces though! Kinda like having a tiny dinosaur in a cage.
I will say I've learned loads about this species in the past year and a half. Everything I knew starting out was wrong. Thanks to many forums (I think I've read them all ) and lots of research, asking questions, and observing Toothless I think I'm starting to get a hang of everything. I learn something new about him every day (not alot of info out there that I can find about behaviour).
Starting out I kept him in a one level enclosure since I couldn't find any information about whether or not they climbed. One day I decided to add a jungle gym I built to see if he used it, and he was all over it! Since then I've been adding much more climbing opportunities, and with that I've seen some pretty neat things. He easily scales a two foot smooth wall (using his tail as a prop and he pulls his whole weight up using only his front arms), front flips off the ledges (lands right on his feet every-time and keeps running), and wrapping his tail around a fixed object and lowering his whole body down slowely about 2 1/2 feet. He also uses his tail alot to balance in tricky areas.
I think I've become addicted to these guys. Can`t wait until I finally get my house so I can build him a huge 10 x 5 x 6 enclosure. I`ve already started working on the design. Planning to use concrete on the walls to to make it look like rock and make some pretty extravigant (sp?) climbing areas. I look forward to seeing how much more this amazing guy can to!
I keep trying to get shots of him doing some of the cooler things, but of course everytime he does something neat, I never have the camera ready. One day though...lol

[Toothless]

As for photos, I use PhotoBucket (create an account, AWESOME site), then you can just copy the pic link and paste it here. Very simple and easy .

[Reddog]

Originally Posted by Mikoh4792

Looks like a dinosaur

first thing i though, that anit no lizard thats a dinosaur. You should tell little kids that come over that it is in fact a dinosaur.

[Toothless]

Originally Posted by Reddog

first thing i though, that anit no lizard thats a dinosaur. You should tell little kids that come over that it is in fact a dinosaur.

LOL- Good idea!
It doesn't help that the doors are padlocked, and there's a CAUTION sign on the door (just incase repair men have to come in while I'm out- some people are nosey).

[Toothless]

Just a few more photos I took today when I added his weekly roaches (I usually throw in about 50-100 every week and just let him forage for them). I think adding some fresh moss from outside every once in a while provides quite a bit of enrichment. The roaches hide inside the moss and it takes him a good few hours to shred the moss and extract the roaches.
Still havn't seen him use his new burrow though. I think I'll throw a gerbil in there tomorrow while he's watching- might make him go in there and explore!

[Toothless]

Here's a few more I have on my computer that are my favorites .

[Toothless]

[sweatshirt]

Amazing.... little? Guy!

[infernalis]

Looks like a decent life. well done.

[smy_749]

I see a little bell or something golden that looks like one, does he ever mess around with it?