Monitor Questions

Manitoban Herps · 03-01-05, 05:00 PM

Hey there, I have no monitors at the moment but a few other herps. I was offered a savanna and a nile, the sav being a bay and the nile is 3 feet. I think the sav would be better for me b/c there calmer and smaller. But you could easily perswade me.

Do you ahve any tips on either.

I like pics too, thanks

Woodpusher · 03-05-05, 04:50 PM

If you are looking for opinions on this then mine is that you take the baby savannah and let him teach you a thing or two about monitors in general before you start getting into varanids like Niloticus...

Woodpusher · 03-05-05, 04:52 PM

Should you go for the Savannah make sure he has at least 16 inches of solid substrate to burrow in!

Good luck

KLiK · 03-09-05, 03:20 PM

have to aggree with you there. go for the sav, it is a smaller monitor and are known for being pretty docile, but some can choose who to be calm to. my sav loved me but would go to bite anyone else

lonewulf · 03-09-05, 09:01 PM

I have to say the Savanah as well but mind you I have had no experience with Niles but with handling they can be nice from what I have been told ... my two savannahs are beaut's I can do anything I want in their enclosure and they are cool with it unless it is feeding then wll as they say all's well in love and war lol .. my wife tried cleaning for me once while I was at work and Boomer thought he fingers were food ... she has never out her hands in there since ... I love my Savannahs

Woodpusher · 03-10-05, 01:21 PM

Klik, Lonewulf: Good replies, I'd have to agree in general...

Manitoban Herps:

Temperment depends on the individual monitor, although some different types of monitors are more prone to aggresion than others.

You just need to ask yourself, "Am I willing to have a 6ft. 30+lb potentially aggresive Nile monitor living in my in my home?" If the answer is yes then I suggest you choose very carefully when selecting a baby, as most Niles here in Canada are imported/farmed. Choose a healthy looking ALERT robust little Nile. Check his vent, snout, eyes and mouth for any signs of crustyness, or possible illnesses. See if there is any dead skin from his last shed etc, etc etc...and if you do decide to buy him then start saving now cause food gets expensive!

But as everyone has said it's probably better to go with the Sav

Rikki · 03-10-05, 05:27 PM

I would also recomend the Sav. My nile is small at the moment though like most nile's he has a nast attitude, and bite.

coldblooded · 03-10-05, 07:49 PM

Apparently EVERYONE recommends purchasing a savvy for first timers... they are cheap. Got mine for $45.

I made the purchase on a whim, my buddy has done it before me, as have many others.

I say get something else.

$3.00 in crickets a day (nearly from the start) and $1-$2 for pinkies/fuzzies/adult mice every other day gets overwhelming.

Also... scorpions, giant millipedes, and what I CALL a "large grasshopper" are not cheap... not that you must feed these to your monitor, but why not? They like what they like.

Not to discourage you, but there must be a better monitor species to start off with. If I could go back to last year, I would have made a different purchase. Maybe a blood python, BP, or maybe ackies (if they weren't $1000 a pair... WTF!!!)

Mike

coldblooded · 03-10-05, 07:53 PM

Oh, as for calm, doscile savvys... sure, some are. My buddy's sure is. My savvy on the other hand will curl up and hide, then bust out and snatch your finger when you least expect it, all while tail whipping non stop.

Or he won't.

He's such a little *******!

Good luck hunting...

Mike

Jeff_Favelle · 03-10-05, 07:55 PM

Everyone buys a Sav for their 1st monitor because they are CHEAP - a$$ because they are imported pieces of crap. But if they magically turn around and they get them healthy in their so-called monitor setups, they quickly realize that its costs 100x more per year to feed a $50 Savanna, than it does to feed a $400 dwarf Aussi monitor.

Funny stuff. But not funny for the WC monitors. Because they are the ones that suffer. Which sucks, because they are such an intelligent animal.

Woodpusher · 03-11-05, 06:16 PM

Jeff;

Calling any reptile an "imported piece of crap" isn't cool man.

I fully understand the point you are trying to get accross; that a CBB dwarf monitor is not only cheaper to feed but much less likely to contract illnesses than a WC Savannah, and I agree with you.

But c'mon now, "imported pieces of crap?"

Jeff_Favelle · 03-11-05, 06:44 PM

And I think NOT calling them imported pieces of crap "isn't cool". That's why its great to live in a free country where you can have an opinion and not be persecuted for it.

Isn't it?

coldblooded · 03-11-05, 06:57 PM

We can have our OWN opinions??!!

I've wasted my life then...

Maybe some of us savvy keepers should start a captive breeding project... no more importing then (at least less, maybe).

Then, instead of cheap a$$ savvy's we can try and sell $500 one's.... PEOPLE WILL LOVE IT!!!!

Savvy's will always be cheap ($) only beacuse there are people buying them and treating them as disposable pets.

Mike

Slipknot · 03-11-05, 07:47 PM

I say don't get either because there is a reason he is giving them away...go get yourself a captive bred Ackie.

Jeff_Favelle · 03-11-05, 08:25 PM

Indeed!