what size tank can i keep a savahna monitor

what size tank should i put a savahna moniter

Savannahs don't do well in tanks. You should look into a cage that can hold humidity and dirt and hides. They also get quite large, much larger than a tank would ever accomidate.

4x2x2 for a juvie and 8x4x4 for an adult are the commonly accepted minimum enclosure sizes for a Sav.
Like wolfy-hound stated "Savannahs" don't do well in tanks" so custom,waterproofed, wooden enclosures are all id recommend

I wouldn't recommend you get one at all. How many other reptiles do you have? Do you have previous monitor experience? Based upon your english I would be willing to guess you are either young- and this is a bad pet for you. Or you are uneducated/foreign and too lazy to do basic research for basic spelling so you can get the name right.

Frankly, there are a lot of places online that will tell you fish tanks are awful for monitors, and none of them will work for keeping a monitor. Hell there's a thread just a couple down explaining why fish tanks are bad. If you can't do that kind of basic research into the possibility of owning a bosc. You aren't ready for one.

they get too big. they need a custom built one

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Originally Posted by MMReptiles

Or you are uneducated/foreign and too lazy to do basic research for basic spelling so you can get the name right.

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Are uneducated and foreign now synonymous?

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Originally Posted by Skiploder

Are uneducated and foreign now synonymous?

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I was going to say.....
:mad:

This guy's reply would have done a lot better without the harshness. Not impressed.

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Originally Posted by Skiploder

Are uneducated and foreign now synonymous?

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No, however it is another option for what this guy may possibly be. If you are foreign and didn't bother to google to figure out how to correctly spell the basic name of the animal- you are unedcuated.

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Originally Posted by CatandDiallo

I was going to say.....
:mad:

This guy's reply would have done a lot better without the harshness. Not impressed.

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Could care less if you are impressed. I'm here for the monitors sake, not the OP nor yours.

^ You're a real winner. :rolleyes:

From my short time here, and from what I understand, this forum is full of helpful, kind people. You could have told this fellow the reasons why a Savannah Monitor is hard to take care of and why tanks are not appropriate for these animals, instead of attacking his spelling mistakes, and accusing him of either being young, or a possible foreign/uneducated person.

This forum seems to pride itself on its non-discriminatory (age, ethnicity) nature.

Maybe you haven't been around long enough to figure this out..

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Originally Posted by MMReptiles

No, however it is another option for what this guy may possibly be. If you are foreign and didn't bother to google to figure out how to correctly spell the basic name of the animal- you are unedcuated.


Could care less if you are impressed. I'm here for the monitors sake, not the OP nor yours.

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Totaly agree, if more people thought of the animal insted of the OP's feelings,
the animals will be better off.
Sometimes you have to be blunt and direct, in this world of extream stubborness.

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Originally Posted by CatandDiallo

^ You're a real winner. :rolleyes:

From my short time here, and from what I understand, this forum is full of helpful, kind people. You could have told this fellow the reasons why a Savannah Monitor is hard to take care of and why tanks are not appropriate for these animals, instead of attacking his spelling mistakes, and accusing him of either being young, or a possible foreign/uneducated person.

This forum seems to pride itself on its non-discriminatory (age, ethnicity) nature.

Maybe you haven't been around long enough to figure this out..

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If someone can't even bother to word a simple sentence correctly, or spell the animal they are asking about properly- I am NOT going to waste a bunch of my time explaining proper monitor husbandry to them.

Enough monitors are kept by people who should never have them, only people with a serious interest in these animals and people who can PROPERLY do the research on them should own them. Period.

Again, I could care less if you feel I'm discriminating against him. His feelings don't mean squat to me; however, keeping another sav out of a terrible environment does.

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Originally Posted by snakeman13

Totaly agree, if more people thought of the animal insted of the OP's feelings,
the animals will be better off.
Sometimes you have to be blunt and direct, in this world of extream stubborness.

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I agree that sometimes bluntness is necessary to get the message through; but i know if I'm told I'm doing or thinking something incorrectly and told so in an offensive way that I am doing something wrong, I'm less likely to take the message to heart and more likely to say 'screw you' and do it wrong anyways. Theres a way to be blunt, direct and not offensive at the same time.

But thats besides the point; OP- like everyone on here has said already, please make sure to do your research before you get another animal. In the time I've been lurking this forum I've seen so many horror stories about improperly kept savannahs, and the amount of work it takes for them to be cared for properly. They are NOT like BPs when it comes to maintenance.

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Originally Posted by MMReptiles

No, however it is another option for what this guy may possibly be. If you are foreign and didn't bother to google to figure out how to correctly spell the basic name of the animal- you are unedcuated.


Could care less if you are impressed. I'm here for the monitors sake, not the OP nor yours.

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You spelled "uneducated" wrong.

Children, the word for today is "irony".

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Originally Posted by snakeman13

Totaly agree, if more people thought of the animal insted of the OP's feelings,
the animals will be better off.
Sometimes you have to be blunt and direct, in this world of extream stubborness.

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As part of a group (including Allergenic, Slayer and Mumps) who have been labelled as "harsh" on this forum, I agree with using bluntness to get a point across.

It's just a fact of forum life that people:

(1) don't use the search function
(2) shop opinions instead of research

As someone who has lost my e-temper here a time or two - especially when it comes to varanids - I get the frustration that comes with seeing the same infuriating questions posted again and again. Especially when it takes less time to run a little bit of research than to pose the same question.

However, there is a fine line between smacking someone in the noggin with a hard dose of reality and coming off as a xenophobic boob.

There is no reason to be rude when replying to a post. If it's too much trouble for you to reply with proper husbandry, then don't reply. The OP posted asking for husbandry advice, rather than posting "Hey I got this monitor and it won't eat in the 10G tank.." Shouldn't that prior planning be rewarded with information rather than snarky remarks?

If he's foreign, then the misspellings can be the result of a translation program. It could be that he has spelling issues, but is brilliant about keeping pets. Isn't it better to educate someone rather than insult them and make them leave?

If you educate as to the needs of the animal, then he's more likely to think out what he needs for an animal. If you just insult and act rude, the more likely scenario is that he leaves with a bad feeling for the site, gets NO education as to how to care for the animal and gets one anyway, leading to it getting sick/dying.

Yes, many people go get a "cool" lizard without any prior planning and keep it in lousy conditions... yet THIS one came here to ask for advice first. Don't pre-judge people just because you have superior knowledge.

So tell everyone again how you're more about the animal rather than just about telling off anyone you don't deign "smart enough" to care for a monitor?

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Originally Posted by Skiploder

As part of a group (including Allergenic, Slayer and Mumps) who have been labelled as "harsh" on this forum, I agree with using bluntness to get a point across.

It's just a fact of forum life that people:

(1) don't use the search function
(2) shop opinions instead of research

As someone who has lost my e-temper here a time or two - especially when it comes to varanids - I get the frustration that comes with seeing the same infuriating questions posted again and again. Especially when it takes less time to run a little bit of research than to pose the same question.

However, there is a fine line between smacking someone in the noggin with a hard dose of reality and coming off as a xenophobic boob.

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The point I am trying very hard, as nicely as possible to get across is,
if they are to lazy or not informed enough to do a basic search for the needed information, then how the hell are they going to go to the lenghs to provide for the animal.
To lazy to search, bad situation for the animal.

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Originally Posted by snakeman13

The point I am trying very hard, as nicely as possible to get across is,
if they are to lazy or not informed enough to do a basic search for the needed information, then how the hell are they going to go to the lenghs to provide for the animal.
To lazy to search, bad situation for the animal.

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Perhaps they DID search and found conflicting info(like across the whole web) so they thought to come ask those that keep the animals... like at a website that educates people in what the best way to keep certain species is?

If you look on the web, you can find stuff telling you to keep your ball python in a 10g tank, to letting a nile monitor free roam a room in your house.

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Originally Posted by wolfy-hound

Perhaps they DID search and found conflicting info(like across the whole web) so they thought to come ask those that keep the animals... like at a website that educates people in what the best way to keep certain species is?

If you look on the web, you can find stuff telling you to keep your ball python in a 10g tank, to letting a nile monitor free roam a room in your house.

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Right?

I was just extremely put off by this person's answer, when mostly everyone I've come across here is extremely kind and helpful.

I guess I also took personal offence when the majority of my family is "foreign", and grouping foreign people with uneducated people is highly offensive to me. They are some of the most educated and hard-working people I know. Among them are Chiropractors, Aerospace engineers, Professors and otherwise.
It just upsets me that many people view foreign people as stupid. Just because English isn't their first language, doesn't mean that they are uneducated.

/rant.

Anyways, I was also going to mention that I would rather ask people on a forum that have experience with these kinds of animals, rather than doing google searches and just looking at caresheets that are essentially copies of each other.
This is one of the best places that you can go to, to find information on reptiles and invertebrates, and treating people with hostility and aggressiveness is only going to drive people away from this community.

End.

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Originally Posted by Skiploder

You spelled "uneducated" wrong.

Children, the word for today is "irony".

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Darn, I had a typo while using my cellphone while hiking and sitting under a tree waiting for rain. That's very comparable to not being able to do a google search.

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There is no reason to be rude when replying to a post. If it's too much trouble for you to reply with proper husbandry, then don't reply. The OP posted asking for husbandry advice, rather than posting "Hey I got this monitor and it won't eat in the 10G tank.." Shouldn't that prior planning be rewarded with information rather than snarky remarks?

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If I don't reply, some random kid with his sav will say "I use a 40g breeder for my sav and he's doing great at 13 months old!". This is all too common, if everyone with the harsh attitude didn't post- we'd see even more sick varanids than we do now. He asked for husbandry advice that is readily available and couldn't manage to spell "savannah" correctly- something that google will fix and do the entire search for you.

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If he's foreign, then the misspellings can be the result of a translation program. It could be that he has spelling issues, but is brilliant about keeping pets. Isn't it better to educate someone rather than insult them and make them leave?

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No translation program butchers a basic word like that. Most foreign keepers I've talked to at least manage to look up the scientific name so that they may relay their message. Again, if you can't do a basic search you shouldn't own a monitor. This isn't like a ball python (entry level reptile), this is a varanid, some of the complex reptiles to take care of money can by.

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If you educate as to the needs of the animal, then he's more likely to think out what he needs for an animal. If you just insult and act rude, the more likely scenario is that he leaves with a bad feeling for the site, gets NO education as to how to care for the animal and gets one anyway, leading to it getting sick/dying.

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Too lazy to search too lazy to keep the monitor. I'd rather he gets it and keeps it subpar than takes half of our information and builds a big enclosure then proceeds to handle it often and it dies of stress. I'd rather the thing dies early rather than living a life of misery under some delusional nutjob who didn't bother to do his share of the research himself.

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Yes, many people go get a "cool" lizard without any prior planning and keep it in lousy conditions... yet THIS one came here to ask for advice first. Don't pre-judge people just because you have superior knowledge.
So tell everyone again how you're more about the animal rather than just about telling off anyone you don't deign "smart enough" to care for a monitor?

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He came asking for advice? He came asking for us to hand-hold him on how to care for a monitor. He's not asking "what sort of watt bulb to you recommend to hit proper basking temps". There is a HUGE difference in asking for advice, and asking for a babysitter.

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Originally Posted by wolfy-hound

Perhaps they DID search and found conflicting info(like across the whole web) so they thought to come ask those that keep the animals... like at a website that educates people in what the best way to keep certain species is?

If you look on the web, you can find stuff telling you to keep your ball python in a 10g tank, to letting a nile monitor free roam a room in your house.

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He did a search, and then failed at spelling "savannah" correctly? He did a search and found that across the web the general consensus is to never use an aquarium for a monitor? Come on, I know 13 year olds getting into reptiles who can at least search and come up with SOME information on their own. Also, a ball python can be kept in a 10g for a short time; however, a monitor should never be kept in a fish tank for any length of time.

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Originally Posted by CatandDiallo

Right?

I was just extremely put off by this person's answer, when mostly everyone I've come across here is extremely kind and helpful.

I guess I also took personal offence when the majority of my family is "foreign", and grouping foreign people with uneducated people is highly offensive to me. They are some of the most educated and hard-working people I know. Among them are Chiropractors, Aerospace engineers, Professors and otherwise.
It just upsets me that many people view foreign people as stupid. Just because English isn't their first language, doesn't mean that they are uneducated.

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You took my wording wrong. I'm not saying that because you are foreign that you are uneducated. Hell I know plenty of foreign people myself and they are nicer people and harder workers than most of the garbage Americans we have today. That doesn't change the fact that if he is foreign, he's not doing his research into proper spelling/communication to get his point across. Not hard to google "savahna" and get the actual spelling and scientific name of the animal to communicate properly. I talk to several foreigners on other boards, and they all manage it quite well.

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Anyways, I was also going to mention that I would rather ask people on a forum that have experience with these kinds of animals, rather than doing google searches and just looking at caresheets that are essentially copies of each other.
This is one of the best places that you can go to, to find information on reptiles and invertebrates, and treating people with hostility and aggressiveness is only going to drive people away from this community.

End.

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Ask for advice, not hand holding. My girlfriend is looking to get her first lizard- a frilled dragon. In the process of doing this never did she go onto a forum "lol what size tank do kiep frild dragun". She did research herself, educated herself, read threads that others had posted etc.

I have no problem helping someone who NEEDS advice. I'd rather see this person do their share. This is expected.

I wasn't going to comment, but the more I read the worse it gets. So if I may say so myself..... That was an $@!?,)$ thing to say to a person. If that's how you are going to treat people on this board, then you'll have to deal with the $:/":":& comments made about you. I agree with some of what was said. Yes sometimes you have to be a little rude or stern to get a point across. However to judge a person because or race or origin is just wrong. So when you decide to grow up and stop being a narrow mined twit, then you wont have people ripping your £\^.

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Originally Posted by ScottNBecky

I wasn't going to comment, but the more I read the worse it gets. So if I may say so myself..... That was an $@!?,)$ thing to say to a person. If that's how you are going to treat people on this board, then you'll have to deal with the $:/":":& comments made about you. I agree with some of what was said. Yes sometimes you have to be a little rude or stern to get a point across. However to judge a person because or race or origin is just wrong. So when you decide to grow up and stop being a narrow mined twit, then you wont have people ripping your £\^.

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Again, someone who took what I said wrong. Frankly I could care less if you like me. I'm not here for YOU or your approval. I'm here for educating on proper varanid care. Rip at me all you want, I won't lose an ounce of sleep.

Yes, but you AREN'T educating on varanid care. You're driving a poster to just go grab the petco caresheet that's got horrible advice.

Just because the first question was about a tank doesn't mean he couldn't have gone on to get much more advice. If you just want to stand around self-importantly saying "I'd rather the animal die" then don't bother acting as if you want to post advice on care.

You CAN turn someone into a responsible keeper. You can't help anyone if they don't ask questions because they got called uneducated and foreign because they didn't spell everything right. Guiding a new person into keeping animals that are more to their level or giving advice on how to keep a higher-end animal properly is better than shoving them away and letting the animal die.

This forum has always been about education, education, education. How are YOU helping educate keepers? I'd rather "waste my time" for a week giving out the most common detail than read another thread of "Gee my lizard died, wonder why?" I want educated keepers. If it means telling fifty people the same common information over and over, then I'll do so. When it gets too frustrating for me to post information then I can step back and some of MANY people on here do so without me around until I am less frustrated and ready to help.

It might be the four hundredth time YOU heard the question. It's almost certainly the FIRST time the OP has asked it.

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Originally Posted by snakeman13

The point I am trying very hard, as nicely as possible to get across is,
if they are to lazy or not informed enough to do a basic search for the needed information, then how the hell are they going to go to the lenghs to provide for the animal.
To lazy to search, bad situation for the animal.

---

Most don't. While we give out information, more often than not, the person has already made up their mind that they are going to get the animal and keep it anyway they darn please.

They do it with snakes and the do it with lizards and they do it with varanids.

However, as long we keep in mind that even though we will often not dissuade them from doing the wrong thing for the wrong reasons - that at least we made an effort to try to steer them to do right by the animal.

Again there's a big difference between being brutally direct and saying insulting and abusive things. While I understand the frustration with answering the same questions over and over again, and I understand how difficult it is to see people jump headlong into these things without doing their due diligence, why would a person bother posting at all if all they are going to do is insult and degrade?

For a long time my standard response has been to forcefully direct them to a proper care sheet and have done with it.

Mumps and Slayer patiently answer a good portion of these varanid inquiries. While they can be direct and hard-hitting, they at least point the OP in a place that they can go if they choose to do the right thing.

But attacking some kid, and doing so in an insulting and abusive manner, offers him no option but to go elsewhere with his question and risk getting bad advice or have him do his own research.

Yep - one of the worst things you can do is to blindly tell someone just getting into varanids to go look up husbandry information on the net. Most of the care sheets are utter crap and a lot of the advice concerning diet, substrate, ambient and basking temps is laughable at best, downright dangerous at worst - especially when in comes to exanthematicus.

Heck, I just did a google search and with the exception of one or two sites, most of the care sheets I just opened up were full of utter crap.

So again, while I understand the frustration, I don't understand the point of being nasty just to be nasty.

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Originally Posted by MMReptiles

Could care less if you are impressed. I'm here for the monitors sake, not the OP nor yours.

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Originally Posted by MMReptiles

Again, I could care less if you feel I'm discriminating against him. His feelings don't mean squat to me; however, keeping another sav out of a terrible environment does.

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Originally Posted by MMReptiles

Again, someone who took what I said wrong. Frankly I could care less if you like me. I'm not here for YOU or your approval. I'm here for educating on proper varanid care. Rip at me all you want, I won't lose an ounce of sleep.

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I get that you could care less - you've repeated it ample times......

Although between you and I, I have found that people who repeatedly try to convince people that they don't care what other people think of them usually do, and are mainly trying to convince themselves of that fact.

I'm in agreement with you on one thing - people who don't do the research shouldn't own a varanid. Still doesn't change the fact that thousands do. So when one wander through here, how about trying to stem the tide a bit and point them in the right place?

You say you are here for the sake of all monitor-hood, so how about doling out advice in such a way that some animal may actually benefit from it?

The other problem with treating people like crap is that others seeing this might hesitate to ask questions themselves. Your not just talking to the Op.

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Originally Posted by Skiploder

I get that you could care less - you've repeated it ample times......

Although between you and I, I have found that people who repeatedly try to convince people that they don't care what other people think of them usually do, and are mainly trying to convince themselves of that fact.

I'm in agreement with you on one thing - people who don't do the research shouldn't own a varanid. Still doesn't change the fact that thousands do. So when one wander through here, how about trying to stem the tide a bit and point them in the right place?

You say you are here for the sake of all monitor-hood, so how about doling out advice in such a way that some animal may actually benefit from it?

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I couldn't agree more.

"MMReptiles": you have an attitude problem and think it's okay to be a complete jerk to someone you know absolutely nothing about. Next time maybe you should try providing the person with a proper care sheet, rather than saying they shouldn't even own the animal because they're too stupid. I firmly believe that you should treat others as you want to be treated, and I'm sure you would be put off if someone treated you that way.

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Originally Posted by reptile65

I couldn't agree more.

"MMReptiles": you have an attitude problem and think it's okay to be a complete jerk to someone you know absolutely nothing about. Next time maybe you should try providing the person with a proper care sheet, rather than saying they shouldn't even own the animal because they're too stupid. I firmly believe that you should treat others as you want to be treated, and I'm sure you would be put off if someone treated you that way.

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YES. Thank you! I am a pretty kind person (that sounds weird to say about myself), and I found his attitude completely repulsive. I hope that he isn't like that in actual real life conversation, or he might not have that many friends.

Everyone deserves to be treated with respect, even the OP who you (MMReptiles) think doesn't deserve to have a monitor. At least they are coming here and asking for advice about owning a monitor. Maybe if you approached them in a respectable way, they would have opened up with more posts about if they have done previous research and have owned other animals like this.

This could have turned into a conversation, and then if you provided them with the correct information, they could have used helpful advice to decide that they weren't ready for a reptile of this sort yet.

ok so i made a typo i would much rather get info off a forum (i prefer forums) and how would i get experience if i never own one

And after all that... The poor OP still has not gotten much worthwhile advice. With the exception of a couple initial answers about needing a custom wooden enclosure. Yet, I have a feeling this person hasn't the first clue on how to care for a sav. Not just the enclosure, but everything :(

So where are those 2 varanid experts that always post the link to that excellent site with the only worthwhile care sheet on the web for these guys?? The one with detailed photos of enclosures?

Http://www.savannahmonitor.org

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Originally Posted by ball python 22

ok so i made a typo i would much rather get info off a forum (i prefer forums) and how would i get experience if i never own one

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You don't "own monitors to get experience". You own monitors because you have a passion and a respect for them. Monitors are a completely different class of reptile, with completely different care needs than any other reptile money can by.

I apologize for coming off harsh, I'm mildly fed up with people owning monitors for the wrong reasons and seeing so many dead/in crap shape because of poor husbandry. If you actually have a passion/interest in monitors. You may way to stay away from savannah monitors. They need lots of room in a custom built enclosure, high temps and humidity, and a strict insect diet. All the videos of them in any sort of an aquarium are wrong. All the videos of feeding mice, are wrong. A sav kept properly should be near adult size at 1 year of age.

If you are serious into keeping monitors, try to look at something like an ackie. They are much more forgiving and are a much better starter monitor due to size/temperament/husbandry requirements etc.

You need to do a lot of reading, researching, and studying of monitors and reading from proper monitor keepers before you get ready to get into this realm. No amount of ball python, boa, and bearded dragon keeping can prepare you for a varanid.

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Originally Posted by MMReptiles

You don't "own monitors to get experience". You own monitors because you have a passion and a respect for them. Monitors are a completely different class of reptile, with completely different care needs than any other reptile money can by.

I apologize for coming off harsh, I'm mildly fed up with people owning monitors for the wrong reasons and seeing so many dead/in crap shape because of poor husbandry. If you actually have a passion/interest in monitors. You may way to stay away from savannah monitors. They need lots of room in a custom built enclosure, high temps and humidity, and a strict insect diet. All the videos of them in any sort of an aquarium are wrong. All the videos of feeding mice, are wrong. A sav kept properly should be near adult size at 1 year of age.

If you are serious into keeping monitors, try to look at something like an ackie. They are much more forgiving and are a much better starter monitor due to size/temperament/husbandry requirements etc.

You need to do a lot of reading, researching, and studying of monitors and reading from proper monitor keepers before you get ready to get into this realm. No amount of ball python, boa, and bearded dragon keeping can prepare you for a varanid.

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Thanks for being civil and actually offering some good advice to the OP.

On the topic of ackies: I've actually considered getting one before. What size enclosure would you recommend for an ackie? Are they also strictly insect eaters like savs?

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Originally Posted by reptile65

Thanks for being civil and actually offering some good advice to the OP.

On the topic of ackies: I've actually considered getting one before. What size enclosure would you recommend for an ackie? Are they also strictly insect eaters like savs?

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A lot of people go for things like 4x2x2 etc, I myself always say offer as much as you feel comfortable. Ackies will use their cage space, and are very active and fun to watch. I'd go with a 6x4x4 myself for a breeding pair. Monitors in small cages = no fun to watch, that is for sure.

Diets are a mixed back for almost all monitors. Diet diversity is one of the most neglected things in monitor care. I offer everything from crickers, mealworms, superworms, horn worms, roaches, pinkie mice, ground turkey, and egg to all of my hatchling/small monitors. This is the diet I would use for my ackies, with the bulk of the diet being insects. Naturally in the wild the most common and easy to find prey item for them would be insects- probably small locust and the like.

Here are a few links to some basic care
http://www.varanus.net/faq/

http://www.kingsnake.com/monitor/index.html

AFTER you read them over if you have any questions feel free to ask. If you dont want to post it here, and I could understand why. Just look at this thread.
Shoot me a PM or an email and I will gladly help you.

Anthony
agoldreptiles@yahoo.com

The only truly stupid questions are the ones not asked....just my 2 cents

Quote:

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Originally Posted by AGoldReptiles

Here are a few links to some basic care
http://www.varanus.net/faq/

http://www.kingsnake.com/monitor/index.html

AFTER you read them over if you have any questions feel free to ask. If you dont want to post it here, and I could understand why. Just look at this thread.
Shoot me a PM or an email and I will gladly help you.

Anthony
agoldreptiles@yahoo.com

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I just clicked on the kingsnake link you provided, and the "Husbandry and Care" page could not be found...

With the exception of varanus.nl and savannahmonitor.org, I am yet to find a care sheet that makes any sense at all for varanids... I've seen one recommending newspaper for substrate! And varanus.nl doesn't have caresheets, but if you use the search engine, you'll find the most comprehensive and extensive useful advice any varanophile could want.

Sorry I haven't replied to this thread sooner, I've been busy building a couple new enclosures for my varanids, lol. The Varathane diamond finish is curing now so I thought I'd have a surf session.

Yes, MMReptiles was a little harsh. I am too sometimes (apparently, lol). I can understand his apprehension at wasting his time offering advice that will, more often than not, be ignored. I've written many useful guidelines on many aspects of varanid care to get replies like "Well the guy at the pet store says different so I'll listen to him - he is a pro after all".

As for the original post some 4 pages back, I'll agree with everyone (even though I don't work with exanthematicus) and stress the importance of a large, home made enclosure. My passion for reptiles has made me learn all sorts of other things; carpentry skills, electrical skills, photography skills etc.

Chris

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Originally Posted by Skiploder

You spelled "uneducated" wrong.

Children, the word for today is "irony".

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lmao haha to funny/true.

I keep my savanna monitor in a 125 gallon aquarium. She's just under 3 feet long from nose to tail tip, and fits in there perfectly.

She has a hide and a very large water dish. The dishes are the second hardest thing about savannas, they will poop in their water dishes every time. And it has to be large enough that they can lay their entire body in it, so it's irritating to change, but it's for the animal, and it's happiness.

The hardest part is the humidity. Just can't seem to keep that right here, I think I need to get a more solid top for the cage, and not the mesh one I have on it now.

Also keep in mind that a large savanna can take off your finger if you are not familiar with reptile handling. My girl frankly DOES NOT bite, but absolutely CAN.

I got grazed with a tooth ONCE while feeding cockroaches to her by hand, and that was bad enough. A guy at a pet store near by, worked there in the reptile section forever, and had a nasty savanna come in and nearly lost his thumb. The animal was only a foot long, and the guy's thumb was broken, and needed stitches.

I would not suggest a savanna as a first reptile, frankly. :)

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Originally Posted by Rhasputin

I keep my savanna monitor in a 125 gallon aquarium. She's just under 3 feet long from nose to tail tip, and fits in there perfectly.

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A 4x2x2 cage for a bosc monitor at almost adult age is NOT a perfect fit. The cage is too small, and aquariums are garbage for monitors.

Quote:

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She has a hide and a very large water dish. The dishes are the second hardest thing about savannas, they will poop in their water dishes every time. And it has to be large enough that they can lay their entire body in it, so it's irritating to change, but it's for the animal, and it's happiness.

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If your bosc is spending that much time- it's probably dehydrated because of the fact its in an aquarium without the right substrate. You also don't need a "hide" when providing dirt substrate, she will construct her own hides.

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The hardest part is the humidity. Just can't seem to keep that right here, I think I need to get a more solid top for the cage, and not the mesh one I have on it now.

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Lol. Everything you just posted proves your care of your monitor is 100% wrong and inadequate. Please don't give advice to others until you can do things right yourself.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rhasputin

Also keep in mind that a large savanna can take off your finger if you are not familiar with reptile handling. My girl frankly DOES NOT bite, but absolutely CAN.

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Lol, he can't take off your finger unless you're like, 10 with some sort of bone deficiency.

Quote:

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I got grazed with a tooth ONCE while feeding cockroaches to her by hand, and that was bad enough. A guy at a pet store near by, worked there in the reptile section forever, and had a nasty savanna come in and nearly lost his thumb. The animal was only a foot long, and the guy's thumb was broken, and needed stitches.

I would not suggest a savanna as a first reptile, frankly. :)

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Lol, he had other problems, a foot long savannah will not break a grown mans thumb or need stitches. He's making up part of the story or he's a wimp.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rhasputin

I keep my savanna monitor in a 125 gallon aquarium. She's just under 3 feet long from nose to tail tip, and fits in there perfectly.

She has a hide and a very large water dish. The dishes are the second hardest thing about savannas, they will poop in their water dishes every time. And it has to be large enough that they can lay their entire body in it, so it's irritating to change, but it's for the animal, and it's happiness.

The hardest part is the humidity. Just can't seem to keep that right here, I think I need to get a more solid top for the cage, and not the mesh one I have on it now.

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D'oh.

My savannah does. not. dig. She refuses to, so she has a pre-made hide made out of logs, and piled on top with dirt.

She is nearing 8 years old.
Her tank is a great fit, and she's happy to live in it.
She comes out often, and takes naps with me on the couch.
The only problem I have is the lid, which I haven't gotten a replacement for.

And yes, A savanna can break your finger. Call perfect pets and ask them all about it.
I don't know what that whole attack post was for, someone must have had a bad day. :rolleyes:

My aquarium has the proper substrate for a savanna, and she doesn't 'spend that much time' she soaks like as often as any other monitor would, and poops in her water, like a lot of lizards and snakes just love to do.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rhasputin

My savannah does. not. dig. She refuses to, so she has a pre-made hide made out of logs, and piled on top with dirt.

She is nearing 8 years old.
Her tank is a great fit, and she's happy to live in it.
She comes out often, and takes naps with me on the couch.
The only problem I have is the lid, which I haven't gotten a replacement for.

And yes, A savanna can break your finger. Call perfect pets and ask them all about it.
I don't know what that whole attack post was for, someone must have had a bad day. :rolleyes:

My aquarium has the proper substrate for a savanna, and she doesn't 'spend that much time' she soaks like as often as any other monitor would, and poops in her water, like a lot of lizards and snakes just love to do.

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As stated before, you are clueless. Please do not give monitor advice.

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Originally Posted by MMReptiles

As stated before, you are clueless. Please do not give monitor advice.

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.......... +1

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rhasputin

My savannah does. not. dig. She refuses to, so she has a pre-made hide made out of logs, and piled on top with dirt.

She is nearing 8 years old.
Her tank is a great fit, and she's happy to live in it.
She comes out often, and takes naps with me on the couch.
The only problem I have is the lid, which I haven't gotten a replacement for.

And yes, A savanna can break your finger. Call perfect pets and ask them all about it.
I don't know what that whole attack post was for, someone must have had a bad day. :rolleyes:

My aquarium has the proper substrate for a savanna, and she doesn't 'spend that much time' she soaks like as often as any other monitor would, and poops in her water, like a lot of lizards and snakes just love to do.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbPHa...eature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZxzJ...eature=related

I feel a need to step in here and discuss something that some people seem to have difficulty in understanding.

Just because someone's reply to a thread like this isn't particularly "nice" doesn't mean it is against the rules or requires administrator intervention. While the community works hard at maintaining an overall friendly and safe environment for people to come and learn about how to care for their reptiles, we can not (and have never pretended to be able to) force people to "be nice". There is no conceivable way to turn everyone into a diplomatic genius capable of conforming themselves to every individual definition of "nice."

The great majority of this site is filled with ball python keepers. So when someone posts questions or comments about ball pythons, we have a deep well of friendly, patient people willing to step in and answer even the most elementary of questions we hear over and over again. But even the most patient and diplomatic of us will become "not so nice" when a new keeper comes on the scene declaring how much their pack of ball pythons love to snuggle with each other in their 150 gallon aquarium filled with sand and last week's uneaten rat that has become the ball python's newest best friend.

When someone is willing to learn, it is easy to be patient and kind. But when someone comes on the scene speaking with authority and convinced they are right in all things, no matter how wrong they may be...then they need to be prepared to accept the harsh tones and words that may be directed their way.

Our pool of experienced monitor keepers is far smaller than our deep well of ball python keepers. And we deeply appreciate the passion with which they keep their animals and their willingness to share what they know with those who truly wish to learn. But if you come into a thread about monitor care and decide that you have the authority and experience to declare your methods "right", then you'd better realize that others may not only disagree but vehemently disagree and they have every right to do so. I may wish they had a bit more diplomatic patience when doing so (if wishes were nickles, I could pay off the national debt :rolleyes: ) but I can't MAKE them "be nice" to you. And when the welfare of animals is on the line, I would not wish for them to simply remain silent either.

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Originally Posted by Skiploder

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbPHa...eature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZxzJ...eature=related

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wow. Your information is so helpful.

I still don't know what the issue it. The ONLY thing that is wrong with my set up is the lid, and it's not like I don't KNOW that the lid needs to be replaced. My solid lid got broken in my move recently and i just haven't replaced it.

If you don't like aquariums, that's your problem, not mine and my savanna's.
If my monitor doesn't want to dig, what am I supposed to do? FORCE her? Grab her by her feet and dig with them?
She simply doesn't dig, and there's no use in putting 2 feet of soil in an enclosure with an animal that doesn't dig. I've tried a hundred times to encourage digging, but she doesn't want to dig. So I make her burrow FOR her.

And I'm SO SORRY that you don't believe a savanna can break a person's thumb. I've literally seen it. If you haven't, whatever, but it can happen, and has happened.

JLC, there is a HUGE difference between someone being mean and giving good info, and someone being a jerk and giving no useful information what-so-ever.

You're encouraging someone to keep an animal in what has been proven to be poor conditions for that species.

I'm certain there are people who keep dogs in crates just big enough for them to turn around in for their entire lives. The dog lives, so it must be okay, right? No, a dog requires more. Just because you have a live sav being kept in those conditions does not mean it's right for the species.

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Originally Posted by Rhasputin

JLC, there is a HUGE difference between someone being mean and giving good info, and someone being a jerk and giving no useful information what-so-ever.

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Of course there is. However, the rules don't say, "You can be a jerk so long as you're giving good information while doing it." They say, "Don't curse, don't call names, and don't personally attack an individual with racial, religious or sexual slurs." And it's up to the admin and staff to define what constitutes an "attack". We can't moderate 1.4 million posts based off of the individual preferences of 20,000+ members.

My POINT was...if you're going to declare that your monitor is perfectly happy and healthy in a glass tank, then you should be prepared to receive the exact same sort of attitude you might give if someone declared their ASFs are thriving just fine in colonies of 3.9 in ten gallon fish tanks.

Theresa (wolfy-hound) said it very well. Just because a dog can live in a tiny kennel its whole life does not mean it should.

But my monitor is not in an environment comparative to a 'tiny kennel'.
She has plenty of room to roam.
A 'tiny kellen' would be like if I had her in a 30 gallon aquarium. Or a 10. She'll fit in a 10, but it's not enough room for her to be happy.
125 gallons is enough for a monitor of her size, and a few inches of top soil, is enough for a monitor who does not dig.


The rules also state that rudeness is an offense worth reporting.