My New baby Savannah

Hey everybody. first post here on BP.net. A little about myself:

My name is Zac, I am a 31 year old Navy vet who has worked with reptiles since I was 8. A couple of years ago, I left a career as an Aircraft mechanic to become a Wildlife biologist. I am currently working toward my masters at Texas State University, and am currently involved in Nuisance animal relocation, as well as educational Children’s reptile shows.

I have a small collection (9 animals), as I like to focus more on quality care, than quantity. I have been thinking a long time about adding a monitor to my collection. I worked with several when I volunteered at NERD (I was stationed an hour north of them, in Maine) and fell in love with them. My girlfriend and I decided that a Savannah would fit our needs the best, as we currently rent a home, so building an enclosure for anything larger would be difficult, yet we wanted something that would eventually be captivating enough for the students at our reptile displays. I have always been fascinated with the intelligence of the savannah monitor and their enthusiasm in just about everything they do.

My Girlfriend surprised me the other day with a baby Sav that not only very good looking, but healthy from a local mom-and-pop pet shop. She also brought home top soil, crickets, a terra cotta pot, and a Lowes Gift Card. LOL

Right now, the little guy is in a 24"x18"x18" exo-terra, but plans and materials for an Adult setup are underway. His basking temps are currently at 134F, and the ambient temp in the Herp room is kept at 80. He has been eating steady on dusted Crickets, Dubia Roaches and earth worms. I spend a little time with him each morning and he is slowly becoming more bold, but only fractionally so. In the week I have had him, he has taken two items from the tongs, and eaten in front of me only 4 times, but he no longer bolts when I come in the room. I am letting him do his thing, on his terms. I hope to use him in shows later in life, but if that never happens, then so be it.

So without further rambling, meet my new addition: Dewback!

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h1...e/IMG545-1.jpghttp://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h1...e/IMG543-1.jpghttp://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h1...e/IMG547-1.jpgThis bathtub was given to me by a friend. it was never used, but will soon be the basis for his adult cage. it is roughly 3.5’x5.5’.

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h1...e/IMG546-1.jpg

Thanks for looking! and feel free to comment!

Welcome! That's a great looking sav. How secure are those bricks? I'd hate for him to be climbing and they fall over on him.

Cool little one, my kids have been wanting one for a while now.

Check this site out, has great info on caring for the monitors
welcome to the forum
Savannahmonitor.co
Savannahmonitor.net

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Originally Posted by ChrisS

Welcome! That's a great looking sav. How secure are those bricks? I'd hate for him to be climbing and they fall over on him.

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Thanks for the kind welcomes! Trust me, those bricks arent going anywhere. The base is pretty secure in the soil, and they interlock. And with the Lowes card and my previous work as a general contractor, I hope to have him in something much more dignified before he gets big enough to possibly pull one down. But I appreciate the concern. :)

congrats, and I have to say, your lizard is one of the very few lucky ones.

sounds like you have done your homework... huge KUDOS on that.

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Originally Posted by infernalis

congrats, and I have to say, your lizard is one of the very few lucky ones.

sounds like you have done your homework... huge KUDOS on that.

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Thanks! Well, this aint my first rodeo. He’s the first monitor i have personally owned, but not the first one ive ever cared for. I have been in this hobby for over 20 years, and while i dont generally post on forums much, i do read quite a few regularly and always put as much research as possible into my animals. I still research animals i have had for 10 years.

When i started back in 1990, there wasnt a whole lot of info available on a variety of animals that are quite common now. New information is always popping up and i think its crucial to keep researching. Always. :)

One thing I always strive for is Quality, its the main reason I keep my collection relatively low. I have a good majority of my time occupied with the ones I have, plus work and school. Couldnt imagine having dozens of animals to care for.

I also have a pre-established Dubia colony that i started a couple years ago for my beardies, so he has plenty of food on hand, and I am supplimenting with night crawlers and crickets, with a Hisser colony in the works as well. I MAY add in a pinky or some meat as a rare treat. I would like to add snails, but am unsure as to where to get them. any help would be appreciated.

The reason I said your lizard is one of the lucky ones... read the column "the annual Savannah Monitor Tragedy" on my website.

http://www.Savannahmonitor.net

There is photos of my cage, so if you need ideas, or hit my youtube channel, lots of videos of my Savs in action.

http://www.youtube.com/user/Infernalis1?feature=mhee

visit my thread right here...

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...nnah-Monitors)

Thanks again, Wayne. I am finding your site very useful. Funny enough, I have read a few things on it before. Its part of what I based my current husbandry on.

Now comes the work with the trust. Just doing little bits every day so he gets used to my presents. he isnt darting off to a hide everytime I come in now, but he still is leary of me. But its only been a week, so no worries.

Just a short Video of Dewey eating an earthworm. This was taken about a week ago, and he has become a lot more brave since this. Still timid at first, but he will now come right out to the edge of the cage for food. Still wont eat if he can see my hands in the cage, But i am happy with the progress we have made.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jWEzbIo9E0

Nice monitor. Our savannah (Frank) is awesome. He is really cool and has become pretty tame and allows us to hold him. We work with him alot. He also loves Superworms!

nice looking sav! very nice cage, i like the bricks idea.:gj:

Thanks guys. He has now grown too big to use the bricks as hides like he used to. lol But he is always burrowing out new hides.

He has warmed up a bit. he will now come to the front of the cage with some coaxing, and he allowed a bit of touching without hissing under his chin, or flattening out. But mostly I am just letting him come to me. He is still only about 10" long and I am not quite yet "Food guy" in his mind. But every day shows a little more improvment in our relationship, even if he still hides when i come in the room at first. Sometimes i just sit there withthe cage open, and play on my phone or talk to him and he will relax a bit and walk around his cage sniffing at things here and there.

This is the first monitor I have owned personally, and I am finding the reward of working and interacting with him more substantial than the previously tame monitors i have worked with in the past.

Sounds like you're on the right track, for sure!

One bit of advice I can offer is having cues. Food is coming cues, and it's only you cues. With my big Ornate monitor, I say "Treats", and he knows that food is coming. If I say "It's only me" he knows that I will be interacting with him, or performing enclosure maintenance, or just plain going in there and sitting with him for awhile.

I feel cues are a vital part of varanid-human interaction/relationships and invaluable.

Keep up the good work, be patient, and it will pay off in spades!

Chris

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Originally Posted by mumps

Sounds like you're on the right track, for sure!

One bit of advice I can offer is having cues. Food is coming cues, and it's only you cues. With my big Ornate monitor, I say "Treats", and he knows that food is coming. If I say "It's only me" he knows that I will be interacting with him, or performing enclosure maintenance, or just plain going in there and sitting with him for awhile.

I feel cues are a vital part of varanid-human interaction/relationships and invaluable.

Keep up the good work, be patient, and it will pay off in spades!

Chris

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Mine automatically associate the camera with food. Since I have filmed or photographed every meal since day one, they hear the camera beep, and run out looking for snacks.

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Originally Posted by infernalis

Mine automatically associate the camera with food. Since I have filmed or photographed every meal since day one, they hear the camera beep, and run out looking for snacks.

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Ha ha! Priceless!! Could be trouble if you ever want to have them pose for pics with little kids though... lol.

Chris

I have been using the word "food" as a sort of a cue. I tap the tongs on one of the wooden pieces in his cage, and say, "Dewey - food" He already is responding to his name, at least he is turning to look at me when I say it. But i dont think he has gotten "food" yet

Right now, when I go into the reptile room, he still hides, but he comes out when he smells the food. I have even got him coming to the front of the cage with a little coaxing. The big cage is almost finished (just looking for a decent priced window, and then some interior work). He still is a bit puffy and hissy, but hes still young, so i dont take it personally. Also, I think my big male beardie may be stressing him a bit. They can see eachother right now, so I am looking for a way to fix that for the time being. Once the new cage is finished, that wont happen anymore, and certainly not once Dewey is bigger.

Thanks for the input, guys! As I said. I would love to use him in my educational shows some day, but even if he is never that calm, I will love him and keep him to the best of my ability no matter what.

To be honest, I hope it never "calms down"... It forges unrealistic expectations in others.

Most of the time, the really "calm" ones are so fat they couldn't inflate to hiss if they tried.

Very nice sav :)
My girl took a long time to trust me enough to eat from tongs now she sees them and she's at the door waiting for food :) She's still a bit ify about letting me touch her. But she's happy, healthy and growing like a weed. So i'm happy.

I love them and wish more people would do their home work!!

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Originally Posted by mumps

Ha ha! Priceless!! Could be trouble if you ever want to have them pose for pics with little kids though... lol.

Chris

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My policy for any kids is view through the glass or have a look at my photos.

I prefer to not stress my lizards with strangers poking at them. Heck, I blow up on my own kids for going into the reptile room without an adult.

I dont know if I Will have kids pose with him or anything like that. At my Herp shows, The most they ever really get to touch is the tail of one of my boas. I am more concerned about the animal being too stressed. I have done them in the past with a Water Monitor who never showed any signs of being dismayed, and is still alive and healthy. From my experience, I think a lot of animals can take a lot more than we give them credit for sometimes.

But all that aside, I always let the personality of the individual animal determine whether or not they get shown. I think its important though to show people these animals first hand. Its been my experience that people do not care about something, or only superficially care about things that they have no contact with. In the half decade or so I have been doing educational presentations, I have had quite a few people come up to me and tell me that they never once gave lizards and snakes a second thought until they saw how amazing they can be in person. I have even had a few parents come up and ask me about the types of reptile pets that would be best for their kid when they are old enough. In fact, some of the best Herpers I know, got interested by educational shows when they were in school. I always stress research, and doing your homework on any species. I even carry caresheets and a list of websites with me when I go for just such occasions.

The main focus on my shows is conservation, though, not keeping reptiles as pets, So I mainly talk about what we can do to help preserve the wild populations, and how reptiles benefit people (Making it about them, instead of the animal is a great way to reach people). I also do this completely for free, but ask the host to make a donation to a conservation charity.

I dont know if Dewey will ever be able to be one of my "Wildlife ambassadors", but I love having him, none-the-less. I have been keeping reptiles for a long time, and i love that I am still learning every day. I figure the day I stop learning is the day I will give up the hobby.

Thank you all for your input. it is greatly appreciated. More updates to come, as they happen!