Tub set up for baby Savvy

I was wondering if it was possible to make a tub set up for my wife's Savvy, Lohe. He is just a baby but we know he needs something bigger and was wondering if we could get him in something big for cheap. If it's possible i would love to do it. She really adores him and wants him to be happy. For heat of course we would do a lamp like we do now except we would buy a lamp stand. We have found tubs deeper and longer than his 10 gallon and we think that would be better for him. Any comments appreciated, thanks in advance!

Are we talking about a savannah monitor here?

I think 10 gallons is far too small for any age of savannah.

Do you have pics of the current set-up?

Yes, I am talking about a savannah monitor. I don't have any pics. I know it is too small but that is why I am wanting to move him to a large tub to give him more room.

just go to walmart and guy a big rubbermaid. And make some adjustments for a monitor. Theve worked well in the past for me. And there pretty cheap.

That's exactly what I was wanting to know, if you could successfully use a tub setup for one.

yea they actaully work really nicely

awesome. What size do you suggest? He is a baby.

And exactly how do you expect to maintain a basking spot of 130F in an enclosure made of plastic? And how will you maintain humidity in this "tub"?

Tubs are not suitable (IMO) for any reptile, but for varanids it is a definite no no.

Your "little savvy", if fed properly, will reach three feet in length by the time it is a year old. It requires very hot basking temperatures, deep substrate for burrowing, plenty of hot/cold hide areas, a water vessel big enough to allow soaking and large daily feedings.

Why don't you just make it its adult enclosure now, say an 8x4x4, with a foot of dirt in the bottom.

Good luck,

Chris

I totally agree with you mumps.

The amount of time and money spent on a tub solution for the monitor should probably be invested into its adult enclosure... These are large-growing animals. You really need to consider where and how it will be housed as an adult. A tub enclosure would only last a few months anyway.

I disagree....

a ve175 or a sterlite Xmas tree box with wire lid and multiple lights should work.

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Originally Posted by suzuki4life

I disagree....

a ve175 or a sterlite Xmas tree box with wire lid and multiple lights should work.

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Well you're very wrong. The wire lid will not maintain humidity. All you will have will be a dehydration box. And too small.

Chris

There are many people using rubber maid tubs as raise up enclosures, just build more on to it and put 2x4s on the sides to stop it from warping. How big is the savannah?
Depending on size it may have any where from 2-6 months until you will have to move it to a new enclosure. That gives you some time to build an adult cage but remember when properly maintained they will get 3/4th there adult size in the first year. Another thing to look into are metal troughs as they come in a variety of sizes and can hold substrate with no problem, again all you will have to due is build a top section of the enclosure made of wood on top.


Bryan

The only suitable 'plastic' container you are going to find for ANY monitor over 8" is going to a Rubbermaid Cattle Tank. If you have a farm/feed supply shop near you, I would look into it. The 5 ft long model should be good until the monitor gets about 2 ft. long or so. For an minimum adult enclosure I would go to the 300 gallon model and build a top for it. They also sell galvanized stocktanks that do great and get up to 10' diameter circles too.

I use a 150 gallon(like 58" x 39" x 25" tall) Rubbermaid stock for my Blackheaded monitors....the only reason that works is because Blackheads are not really borrowers..

http://www.odatria.com/Pictures/tristis18.jpg

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Originally Posted by suzuki4life

I disagree....

a ve175 or a sterlite Xmas tree box with wire lid and multiple lights should work.

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....screen tops and multiple lights are only good for making a big batch of beef jerky.

....and it will crack under the weight of the 1'+ of substrate that a sav needs for borrowing.

The monitor is maybe 5" long or so so he is still a baby.

Mumps and Mettle, how do you figure that no reptiles should be kept in tubs? I'm pretty sure that MANY people use tubs for their snakes (if i'm not mistaken that is a reptile) along with me using a tub. I am looking to give him more than he has so instead of being so negative why not give me useful suggestions and if you are gonna flat out say it won't work then give me reasons why it won't because if I am not mistaken, a heavy duty sterilite tub will hold a crapload of dirt anyways.

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Originally Posted by Little B-Py

a heavy duty sterilite tub will hold a crapload of dirt anyways.

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Regular tubs do not hold 'craploads' of dirt well. The plastic is so thin that they cage will bow out in all sorts of directions..it is really arkward trying to fit a top on something all bent out of shape. If you are looking for something temporary, Rubbermaid Roughneck tubs are less brittle than most others and I use them for baby housing with about 7" of soil. They have two types...try to get the one with the flattest bottom. Ridges on the bottom can cause cracking once the dirt is put in. Baby housing is all they are good for though and will be useless after the monitor reaches about 8-9 inches.

I have built several different 'plastic tub' cages and have learned from experience what can and can not work. Let me know if you have any questions.

I will try to snap some pictures of my small cages this weekend.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Little B-Py

The monitor is maybe 5" long or so so he is still a baby.

Mumps and Mettle, how do you figure that no reptiles should be kept in tubs? I'm pretty sure that MANY people use tubs for their snakes (if i'm not mistaken that is a reptile) along with me using a tub. I am looking to give him more than he has so instead of being so negative why not give me useful suggestions and if you are gonna flat out say it won't work then give me reasons why it won't because if I am not mistaken, a heavy duty sterilite tub will hold a crapload of dirt anyways.

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I didn't say that tubs weren't good for any reptile at all. That was an opinion expressed by mumps. I am of the opinion that they are no good for monitors and rather than repeating will simply defer to Daniel's post. I also did offer a suggestion in advising you to spend the time/money on the adult enclosure rather than quick-fix baby enclosures. In a year's time or even less your monitor, if properly cared for, will be far too large for any tub setup anyway. So why bother?

I kept savannahs in similar conditions for years...never an issue and never more than newspaper for substrate.

http://www.anapsid.org/savannah.html

Lets see some pics of your savannah that was kept like that, its either a fat ball, skinny and dehydrated or DEAD like so many others that are housed the way you describe. Its funny what people think is acceptable, not really though

You need alot of dirt plain and simple, it provides much more then something to dig in but provides humidity and a temp gradient where the animal can escape as well. You wonder why so may people have savannahs yet so may die within the first year and no one breeds them ??? Its because people keep them in crap conditions plus no breeder is going to spend 1000's of dollars to set up a few adults, feed them and then only be able to sell the babies at 25-50 while they are imported by the tens of thousands and sold for 10-30 dollars.

So how many morphs of savannahs are worth above $50-100?

I personally think that if ball pythons didn't have valuable morphs and weren't so easily kept, they wouldn't be bred either.

Savannah's eat a ton, smell bad and take up a bunch more space...and there are no hopes of ever coming out ahead. So guys who have them don't normally plan to breed them.

You know there are albino savannahs out there and pro exotics has them, they haven't produced any to my knowledge but the only reason they are trying is because they will sell the albino babies from anywhere from 5,000-10,000 or possibly more. You say that there are hard to keep, maybe you have yours housed wrong as you def. due as you keep it on newspaper which provides nothing to the monitor. There are many people who are breeding larger species of monitors and housing them in larger cages then any savannahs. They are selling them for 150-1000 vs 25-50 savannahs
Lets see some pics of your Savannah

There are people breeding savs, argus, orante, crocodile,etc. They don't breed for the money, they breed because they love the animals and know that captive bred anything is better than wild caught anything. They thrive in captivity better, get used to people better and don't come full of parasites and are weakened by starvation and stress.

Yes, they cost more than wild caught but are by far worth it. I could have purchased an imported Nile for $50. Instead, I bought a captive bred Ornate for $250. Much better lizard, perfect in every way. He's 8 months old and is moving out of his 5x2 into his next home - an 8x4, which will last til he's almost 5 feet.

Newspaper? You've got to be kidding. "Kept savs for years". Sounds like a bunch of 'em, that didn't last very long. My first Nile lived to be over 16...

Chris