Built a new enclosure for my Savannah.

Bolillo · 06-10-17, 03:24 PM

Built a 7'x4'x4' enclosure for my medium size Savannah. Has raised heated swimming pool with waterfall, hot and cold hides, mister and humidity control. Currently has a foot of dirt, but can hold 2 feet. Any advice on plants, driftwood or tube hides for under the dirt?

chairman · 06-11-17, 11:45 AM

Go ahead and add that extra foot of dirt. If your monitor isn't burrowing then he's dying. Sounds harsh but I had a Savannah monitor that lived his whole life in a 4x8x4 with two feet of dirt and I still lost him to complications from long term dehydration at 5 years old because he didn't spend enough time under ground. I thought I was doing right by him by providing the right size cage, the opportunity to burrow, a proper whole prey diet, adequate heat, etc, but I didn't make it so that he felt comfortable enough underground. Your lizard needs to be underground most of the day/night to survive. Change whatever you have to in the enclosure to get him to spend most of his time in a burrow, not under the basking lamp.

The best man-made tunnel entrances are going to be homemade, built from boards, or 10" diameter terra cotta drain pipe.

You may also need to address your hot spot, it usually takes at least 3 bulbs set in a triangular pattern to create the 130+ degree hot spot that he needs. A bigger basking platform, including a retes stack, would be a good idea.

He'll kill most plants but you can give palm trees, the indoor variety, a shot. They will like the heat and humidity and the root ball might be able to survive burrowing.

Bolillo · 06-11-17, 01:12 PM

The Basking area currently stays right at 120 degrees. I will either increase the wattage of the bulbs or put another fixture in. I will add the dirt and get some of that pipe. My Savannah is digging around but has made his home underneath the ramp. There are huge hides at each end of the enclosure one right below the Basking area for a hot hide and another on the opposite end below the raised swimming pool that is the cold hide. Please send any additional advice that you can think of. Thank you very much.

Bolillo · 06-11-17, 01:13 PM

Can't see real well in my pictures but the enclosure has two large light fixtures for Basking. One has a 125 watt bulb and the other has a 150 watt bulb. Please advise if this is incorrect or what I should try that may be better.

chairman · 06-11-17, 03:02 PM

I wouldn't remove either the ramp or the hide when you add the soil. They're fine to hide under as long as there's dirt on all the sides. You could even add the tube leading to the cool side hide.

For bulb wattage most people seem to use three 45 watt flood bulbs. The higher wattage bulbs seem to dry things out more even though the resulting hot spot ends up being the same.

The retes stack helps create the hotter hot spot with lower wattage because it raises the basking platform, as well as creates basking spots with lower temperatures but higher security.

My opinion on the bulbs would only change if one of your bulbs is a UV bulb. I'd never recommend removing UV for a basking animal if you've chosen to provide it. It may even be valuable to add a tube style fluorescent UV bulb... they allegedly don't need it but it could be beneficial.

Bolillo · 06-11-17, 03:33 PM

I have a UVB bulb in the center of the enclosure that radiates through the whole thing. The basketball bizarre all heat bulbs and are independent from the UVB. I don't actually know for sure what the temperature is under the Basking bulb because my thermometer only goes to 120 and it's pegged out at maximum so I think I'm okay with even just having the two. Also since you wanted dryer on the Basking side I don't think it's going to hurt having the higher wattage bulbs because it's so moist on the other side of the enclosure. Both the swimming pool waterfall and Mist machine are all on the opposite side of the enclosure as the Basking area and bulbs

Bolillo · 06-15-17, 08:50 AM

I have switched out the higher wattage bulbs that I had for basking to par30 Halogen 60 watt bulbs. I had to lower my bulbs to get the temperature to 130 and that's being measured with my new temperature gun. The temperature is still getting a little high on the cold side of the enclosure. It's running around 79 or 89. However it should be considered that that is the room temperature right now it is warm here in Michigan.

murrindindi · 06-15-17, 11:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bolillo

I have switched out the higher wattage bulbs that I had for basking to par30 Halogen 60 watt bulbs. I had to lower my bulbs to get the temperature to 130 and that's being measured with my new temperature gun. The temperature is still getting a little high on the cold side of the enclosure. It's running around 79 or 89. However it should be considered that that is the room temperature right now it is warm here in Michigan.

I would consider installing a small vent on the "cool" side, place it just above the substrate level, the fact you have a relatively large water container in that area means the humidity level should stay within range. If you find you`re losing too much heat or humidity you can easily close the vent off.
89f is too high if that`s the lowest ambient in the whole enclosure (I understand you saying the weather`s warm just now)..
Why are you using a mist machine if you have the pool?

Bolillo · 06-15-17, 11:14 AM

Takes both to keep it at 70% Will pick up a vent, but it's 82° in our whole house.

murrindindi · 06-15-17, 11:14 AM

Why are my posts being deleted, I responded to the remarks made by "chairman" and the replies are gone?

Bolillo · 06-15-17, 11:24 AM

Don't know.

TRD · 06-15-17, 02:13 PM

The whole forum seems to have returned to a week ago or so... yesterday it was down entirely.

Scubadiver59 · 06-15-17, 02:33 PM

My bet is that the DB crashed and they only back up once a week...just guessing.

murrindindi · 06-15-17, 03:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TRD

The whole forum seems to have returned to a week ago or so... yesterday it was down entirely.

Yes, I think you`re right, the posts after the 11th of june that I wrote are gone...

murrindindi · 06-15-17, 03:41 PM

There isn`t much else you can do other than fit a vent, maybe a small fan, but so long as the monitor can burrow the temps lower down in the substrate should be o.k. Another example of why having a decent depth of substrate is so important.
Do you have an accurate measurement of the monitor, and have you any idea of gender?