Thank you Brian, and shame on me for leading on.
Chomper only gets to roam the house with full supervision. He is only allowed to be in the same room we are in and only for about an hour at a time.
He does not get along with the dog, the dog respects him.. The photo op was "cute" at the time but there were 3 factors that the pictures overlook.
1. Chomper found the dog feeding station while roaming the living room, Dog food is not monitor food and the only reason we allowed him to finish that bowl is because I know better than to ever attempt to take food away from a monitor while it is eating. It's a good way to get hurt interfering while they eat.
2. The dog tried to chase chomper away from the food, and chomper turned and opened his mouth and then hissed at the dog. Ace (the dog) immediately retreated and has since kept his distance most likely out of fear.
3. whenever we let Chomper roam in a room he either defecates on the floor, goes under or behind furniture forcing me to lift up the couch to get him back, or the worst thing he ever did was started to climb up a curtain and ripped the whole curtain rod down of the wall from his weight being on it.
I have some more serious pictures, I'll dig them out for you.
He has defecated down the front of me, tail whipped me and slashed me with his claws.
They are smarter than iguanas, they are more "dinosaur like" than an iguana (meaning he is an ambush predator with a predisposition to killing anything that he thinks he can eat, which means any living organism that can fit in his mouth is PREY.
They have a memory (like already mentioned) and will never forget things.
Chomper got spooked by a motorcycle once, it's been over a year and he still reacts when he hears one, even if it's on TV at the time.
I did a year of researching before I finally got him.
So please don't rush into getting one until you have all the data and can be certain of your decision.
A properly cared for Savannah will still be around when your kids go off to college and then some..(I'm more concerned about who would care for ours if he outlives me, I'm pushing 50)
Daniel Bennett published a book (here is the link)
Amazon.com: Monitor Lizards: Natural History, Biology & Husbandry (9783930612109): Daniel Bennett, Thomas Wilms, Breck Batholomew: Books
Get this and read it cover to cover, Some of the husbandry data has advanced since it was published, but it's considered by MANY as the essential "bible" to read before you even start.
Whew... I hope I didn't omit anything...
hope this helps. Time is your friends when it comes to monitors. they can be nice and calm but as wayne has said in past posts, that sav hes got does have temper tantrums and throws a fit. from what i know of other people when they are nice and calm and tamed good they act like little puppies but dont count on this. I had a nile monitor last year about 4 1/2 feet, i was feeding him and he was calm and eating right infront of me, well as soon as the last bite was eatten he whiped his tail back and got me twice across my arm so hard the sharp edge of his tail slit my skin and left 2, 8" welps down my arm, and it was lighting fast and out of no wear. just somthing to keep in mind when dealing with monitors. Never trust them, you must always respect them but you can also have a lot of good times and enjoyment with them if you maintain proper husbandy 
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