Savannah Caresheet

[SAMPSON-BP]

I'm working on a caresheet for Savs for my website, and was wondering if I could get some feedback on what I have so far. I've been doing a fair bit of research over the last couple weeks cause I saw 2 cute little savys in the pet store...that may or may not come home with me one day soon

So this has only been like 20 minutes of typeing so far.

Species: Varanus exanthematicus

Adult Size: 3-4 feet

Ambient temperature: 85°F-90°F(29°C-32°C)

Hot spot: 125°F-150°F(32°C)

Humidity: 60%-80%

Introduction

Before going out and buying that cute little Savannah Monitor you saw in the pet store today, stop and think what it's going to grow into. That adorable little 8 inch baby will grow 2-4 inches a month, that means in a year it could be a 4 foot monster!

Housing

Obviously with a 4 foot lizard, your going to need a big cage! General rule of thumb for reptiles is twice as long from snout to tail, and half as wide. This means with a 4 foot Savannah the minimum cage size would be 8 feet by 4 feet.

If you can't accomodate this size of cage, DON'T GET A SAVANNAH MONITOR.

These Lizards like to dig and burrow, so a substarte that holds moisture to keep their humidty at the appropriate level, and holds it's shape is important. Commonly used materials are a 50/50 mix of playsand and dirt(pesticide, fertilizer and chemical free).

A large water dish big enough for the entire lizard to soak in is also a must.

UVB lighting or supplementing is also necessary. Monitors need UVB light to produce D3 which digests calcium. If you choose not to use UVB lighting though a calcium supplement with viamin D3 added is acceptable.

Feeding

Contrary to popular belief, Savannah monitors SHOULD NOT eat anything people seem fit to throw in for them.

Mice and rats are a common item to feed becuase they're big and, fill a belly faster(and cheaper) than say 50 crickets a day. Truth is that feeding this type of Monitor on a diet of rodents is like feeding someone fast food their entire life starting from a newborn. It's going to cause obesity, liver problems, organ failure, and early death. Savannah monitors are very specialised hunters, feeding exclusivly on insects and invertebrates in the wild.

Crickets, Mealworms, Superworms, Roaches, Snails, crayfish and crabs can all be fed to Savannah monitors whole and live. Live prey offers both mental and physical exercise, and should be given whenever possible in place of dead food.

How much to feed depends on the age, size and individual. In the case of Savannahs is seems to be better to offer small meals throughout the day if possible. The total amount being fed daily should be a little less than what will completely fill them up(a big killer of Savannahs is obesity). This will require experimentation since every animal is different.

Try offering X amount of crickets a day, if it eat's them all increase a couple at a time until there are still crickets left at the end of the day, then scale back a couple. As it grows you will have to re-adjust the amount though!!

If you don't think you can afford to properly feed, DON'T GET A SAVANNAH MONITOR.

[Skiploder]

Don't take this the wrong way, but if you don't have any experience with them, why not just direct people to a care sheet written by someone who does?

http://savannahmonitor.org/

[AGoldReptiles]

I agree with Skiploder, just because you have done some limited research and a keyboard does not mean you should be writing caresheets.

As for the link that Skiploder provided. Does anyone know WHO wrote that caresheet and WHAT experience do they have with Savs or Varanids in general?

[Skiploder]

I agree with Skiploder, just because you have done some limited research and a keyboard does not mean you should be writing caresheets.

As for the link that Skiploder provided. Does anyone know WHO wrote that caresheet and WHAT experience do they have with Savs or Varanids in general?

It was written by someone who posts here in the monitor section from time to time.

As far as his credentials go - you can PM him on his site or visit the facebook page for Savannahmonitors.org and ask him directly. In fact I would recommend a visit to the facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/savann...18910181506698

Let's just say that there are probably four or five people in this world that I would take varanid advice from (not because I'm that knowledgeable, but due to the fact that many so called experts aren't) - this individual is one of them.

[SAMPSON-BP]

Awesome I won't put anything on my site then, like the stuff with temps that took 10 websites to find the proper info. I wanted feedback, not a lecture on how I don't know anything, not posting anything in theis sub-forum again

[Michelle.C]

I don't know if you have a Savannah or any Monitor, if you don't then I'd say you need some hands on experience before writing an article. I've never written an article about a species I've never kept before. I think research is a wonderful thing though. Also, with Monitors there is SO much misinformation it's a really hard species to even start an article on.

I don't know Skiploder personally, but every post I've seen of his is knowledgeable and correct. Some people just have a blunt way of putting things. Listen to the pros, the guys that have been doing this CORRECTLY for years and years, the ones that have older ADULT Monitors. They know what they are doing. Even if you don't like the way they deliver the advice, doesn't mean it's not worth listening to.

I also agree 100% that http://savannahmonitor.org/ is the best care sheet for Savannah Monitors.

[Skiploder]

Awesome I won't put anything on my site then, like the stuff with temps that took 10 websites to find the proper info. I wanted feedback, not a lecture on how I don't know anything, not posting anything in theis sub-forum again

Actually looking up the info and going through all that research is a good thing. Most people don't go through all that trouble and the animals pay for it in the end.

It's obvious that you have absorbed alot of stuff in your research.

It would be a little easier to provide links to sites and forums that have the info. That way if you miss anything, or come across conflicting information, you won't be adding to the confusion and misinformation that already exists with this species.

[SAMPSON-BP]

All I wanted to put down was basic stuff that I don't like going to lots of sites to find(cause it's rarely in one place), and then double checking everything to make sure it's correct.

I've dumbed it down to the basics, I would appreciate it if you could let me know if everything is right or if I'm wrong about something. Even if it doesn't get put on my website I will personally use this in the future, i'd like to know if what I know is right.

THANK YOU

Introduction

Species: Varanus exanthematicus
Adult Size: 3-4 feet
Growth rate: 2-4" per month
Mature at: ???

Housing

Ambient temperature: 85°F-90°F(29°C-32°C)
Hot spot: 125°F-150°F(32°C)
Humidity: 60%-80%
Minimum adult enclosure size: 8'x4'
Enclosure type: Appropriately sized aquarium for babies, and home made enclosure or commerical enclosure for adults.
Water dish size: Big enough for adult to fully fit in
Substrate: 6"(baby)-24"(adult) of 50/50 mix play sand and dirt (chemical free)
Lighting: UVB OR calcium supplement with Vitamin D3

Feeding

Diet: Insects
Acceptable prey items: Crickets, mealworms, super worms, roaches, snails, crayfish and crabs
Amount: Slightly less than they will consume
Frequency: Full amount of daily live prey offered at once, or broken up through multiple feedings.

[Skiploder]

Becky:

The care and husbandry of savannah monitors has been the cause of a many a forum debate, er.......... fight.

It is widely consider that the care guidelines at savannahmonitor.org are the best. Other care sheets are an olio of right and wrong, so sometimes it can be very tricky trying to get a consensus on what is the best advice.

With that in mind, I would e-mail the site admin at savannahmonitor.org and ask him to review the info you are planning to put on your site. Let him know that all you are trying to do is to provide another correct set of guidelines for keeping exanthematicus and would like to know if you've got everything correct.

[johnlebel97]

usually mature around yr an half