Savannah Monitor care suggestions :)

[caljie]

Hi there everyone, I've just recently found myself with my own Savannah Monitor, now I've had the "beginner reptiles" like Beardies, Leos, cresties, and garter snakes before, but I've never had one of the more complicated herps. Before I got this little guy I tried my best to do as much research as I could but the bad thing is there are so many conflicting opinions on what's best. So I was hoping to get some suggestions

He's about 8-9 inches long and has a nice round body but towards the middle-end of his tail it gets a bit thin which worries me about the hydration he was recieving at his previous home. ((also slightly horrified that they were giving him 2 pinkies and a hopper every other day)).

Right now I have him in a 20gal long for the time being (sort of as a QT/temporary baby home so that I don't loose track of him in a huge enclosure). He has about 3 inches of eco-earth substrate (I'm glad I read about their need to burrow and humidity, I would have put him on tile like my beardie) a hide, basking spot, and a big water dish with steps to drink and swim in.

My temps are 125-130 hotspot with ambients of 80-85, humidity of around 60% because I mist regularly, he also has a uvb light over the whole tank as well and a UTH under where his hide/burrow are for warmth at night.

For feedings he's getting 8-10 nice sized crickets and 4-5 superworms twice a day (early morning and mid-evening) and he's always very enthusiastic about them) Once my dubia colony gets established he'll also be getting those.

I haven't handled him or bothered him since he is new and still settling in but when I am changing his water dish or putting in the food he seems wary but curious and a few times has even come over to see what I'm up to. I plan on taking him to my local exotic vet as soon as I can just for the general "new reptile" check up and also to have a look at his right eye, he seems to have gotten a little dirt in it, I misted his face and he blinked it out, but I'd like the vet to take a look to make sure his eye wasn't hurt...

Anyways, I'd like to hear from some experienced keepers to know if this all sounds about right and for some suggestions/advice/tips/tricks, I want to learn everything I can to make sure Miles lives a long healthy life.

thank you! ^_^

[mumps]

Well, Jackal, it sounds as if you're certainly on the right track.

I'm surprised no one else has chimed in to say how well you're doing, we're pretty quick to jump on the "bad setups" around here.

You do say your tank is a "QT/temp" home, just make sure you don't upgrade to another tank, build, have built or otherwise acquire a nice custom, front opening large enclosure for your little sav.

Pics would be nice!

Chris

[caljie]

Thank you ^_^ I'll have to post some pics soon once he gets a bit more comfortable around me, he runs for the hills when I get out my big nikon camera... I'm glad that I'm on the right track, I had never planned on getting a Savannah but it happens when you're the "reptile rescue" person in your community...people bring me all manner of fauna... ((Miles was bought by someone who had done no reseach and put 2 savs together into a small tank, Miles killed the other sav and the person didn't want to keep him anymore)) I'm hoping that he'll be okay with me taking him to semenars when he's older to teach the school kids the importance of doing your research before buying a reptile.

Also I know that the tank isn't the best for a Sav because of the substrate and humidity needs. I've been looking for some DIY enclosures to figure what will work best for him and for the space I have in my reptile room. and for an update, he's been to the vet and had his eye checked out and had a fecal run and according to the vet he's a healthy little guy which makes me happy.

lastly how fast do Savs grow? I've had him for 2 weeks now and I swear he's at least an inch or two longer than he was when I got him. Oh and does olive oil really help with shedding or would soaks be better like I give to my Beardie?

[mumps]

Glad to hear you got the thumbs up from the vet. Excellent! I find it strange that it "killed" its cagemate. I've seen savs cohabit quite well.

I, personally, have never owned exanthematicus, but all varanids grow quite quickly when fed a proper diet and housed properly.

I'll show you a pic of my Ornate monitor, at 2 yrs. old, with the deli cup I brought him home in at 3 weeks of age next to him.

[IMG][/IMG]

Chris

[Valentine Pirate]

I'm not a monitor/lizard keeper, but I know Pro-Exotics is really reputable and they have TONS of info! Plus a book that's supposed to have really good information on keeping monitors in general.

[caljie]

What a pretty thing!

Also about the "killing" of the cagemate, I was a little skeptical about that myself when I was asked to take him but its what I was told by his previous owner so that's what I say when asked. I have a feeling that the person who purchased him just either didn't have the time to care for him or did their reseach AFTER buying and didn't want to deal with a reptile that gets so big/has more specific needs/diet/cage requirements. ((Because why would you spend the money on all the setup stuff and 2 monitors then get rid of the living one and then have a set up with NO monitors and be out all that cash...?))

Here's a picture from when I went to pick him up


He spent a short amount of time at the local petland, thank goodness that my friend Tony is the manager of the fish and reptile department, he called me to come get this guy before he could end up with another sub-par owner. I've heard people can tell their gender just by looking so I'm curious if he is really male. (I'll still call him a HE either way)

Also thanks for the feedback Mumps, it really helps to hear from other keepers, I want to make sure that I'm being the best owner that I can be.

[slayer]

I've been looking for some DIY enclosures to figure what will work best for him and for the space I have in my reptile room.

................... Hope this helps
http://repticzone.com/forums/Monitor...s/1272637.html