what size tank can i keep a savahna monitor

[Skiploder]

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.

D'oh.

[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.

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.

[MMReptiles]

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.

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.

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

[slayer]

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

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

[Skiploder]

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.

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.

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

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

[JLC]

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 ) 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.

[Rhasputin]

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

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

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.

[wolfy-hound]

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.

[JLC]

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.

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.

[Rhasputin]

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.