what size tank can i keep a savahna monitor

[wolfy-hound]

It's not rude to say "You're wrong." It's rude to say "You're an idiot."

There's a difference between people not agreeing with you and saying your keeping is not how a animal should be kept and being "rude".

[Rhasputin]

Well you weren't being rude, but there were a pair of others, ehem.
I do want to say if you want anyone to respond and take you (aimed at nobody specific) seriously, being rude and calling names and being sarcastic is not going to get the point across in the least.


But my savanna's enclosure is not causing her harm, or stress. She is a very lazy thing, like I've said and just doesn't dig. I have more than enough top soil to give her 2 or more feet, and I'd LOVE to see her go at it, but she just doesn't. Trust me when I say I have tried everything to encourage it.

I've tried blocking the entrance to her 'pre-fab' burrow with dirt, and she'll just lay on top of it. I've tried giving her a start to a burrow, and she'll just stick her head in it, LOL.
She's just a lazy lima bean, and since she won't dig, I don't see a reason to put a hundred pound of top soil into an already 150+lb enclosure.


The screen top, is not my ideal top by any means. I -know- it's wrong, and I didn't suggest that someone uses it. Like I said, mine got busted when I moved last week, (SOMEONE just can't load a trailer properly. . . ) and I need to make a new one, but just haven't gotten the chance. I go in their several times a day and mist the whole cage to make sure it stays moist until I can build a new top, which i hope to do as soon as I get settled in here, and settled into my new job. . .

[ed4281]

I agree with you Judy 100%.

However the person who started this all is still rude and came off as a major a&$.

To the op the answer to your question is this. A custom built enclosure that is about 8x4x4 is a much better option than a tank. So please consider the amount of space this pet is going to require as an adult before you purchase it.

[Foschi Exotic Serpents]

I think what you need to use as a basis for comparison is how the animal usually lives in the wild..

For instance.. Ball pythons live in either a stolen or abandoned rodent burrow or a termite mound. Females rarely leave this small hole their entire lives.. This is why we recommend smaller enclosures for this species. They actually do better.

Tree boas spend much of their lives perched in a tree..

Bearded dragons spend early morning and evening snacking on insects and plants, then much of the rest of day is spent going between basking in the sun and napping in the shade..

Iguana's spend their time in trees snacking on the foliage and insects that happen by.

We try to mimic the environments our pets have in the wild as closely as possible so they will be as happy and healthy as possible.

Sav's are natural diggers and they roam great distances. They burrow. A sav can not dig a burrow in 2ft of dirt or store bough substrate, in a long and narrow glass container. No matter how many gallons it is. Therefore, I find it hard to believe that you can be so positive that your sav absolutely does not dig.

I bet if your sav was ever given a large enough enclosure with a 100% proper and natural environment, it would eventually do what they do naturally. Yours is just broken. Like a horse..

You would end up seeing a more active sav which would be a healthier sav. One which would not need to soak in a huge water bowl. One which would not be so lazy and puppy dog tame 100% the time. One which would not act like an abused horse whose spirit has been completely broken..

You would see a happy, healthy, active, normal, sav.

Instead of getting so mad at the people that are trying to actually help you here, try to open you eyes to the facts. Think about it..

Mary Jo has a chimp in a small cage. She takes him out every day and plays with him. He gets fed the best food. He gets baths. So it's ok that he gets locked back in a small 6x6x6 cage every day for at least 8-10 hours? Because he gets so much attention most days??

Hmm mm.

[Skiploder]

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.

Unlike your post, which was filled with text book examples of what NOT to do, my posts were meant to entertain. If you weren't entertained, you can work on your sense of humor AFTER you read up on how to properly care for your monitor.

From an entertainment standpoint, your posts have failed.

From a husbandry standpoint, your posts are down right dangerous.

It's hard enough combating all the disinformation regarding how to properly keep a monitor. What makes the job more difficult is when people actively become belligerent when it is pointed out that just about everything they are doing is wrong.

Your glass tank is wrong.

Your lack of a deep substrate is wrong.

Your screen top is wrong.

Your insistence that your monitor has no desire to dig is wrong.

Monitors do not act like monitors when they are kept incorrectly. They act lazy, they act sluggish, they don't do the things they are supposed to do. Sound familiar?

The sad part is that they can go on like that for a long time without dying, all the while fooling their misguided keepers that everything is okay.

A 125 gallon aquarium usually measures 6' wide by 18" deep by 21" high. While the width is barely tolerable, the depth and height are woefully insufficient.

[Michelle.C]

Let me just be blunt, there are a very few experienced Monitor keepers on this forum willing to put up with this foolishness. They are literally watching people borderline torture animals they have a passion for, I understand why they come across blunt sometimes.

That being said, I know for a fact that skiploder, mumps and slayer offer top notch Monitor advice. If they happen to say something might be off with the way you are keeping a Monitor, you might want to reflect on your care of the animal. Above everything though, please research their care (extensively) before taking on the very challenging (but rewarding) aspects of keeping Monitors.

Also, for what it's worth (not to beat a dead horse), there is no circumstances in which a Monitor should be kept in any sort of aquarium.

[Rhasputin]

I don't know how you guys can keep insisting that my monitor is going to dig. She is never going to dig. She has no drive to dig. She is not an 'abused and broken horse', JESUS.


Even when she barely hit a foot long, she would not dig in her enclosure which at the time, and at her size was well within the limits you guys have stated.

My lack of substrate is not wrong. It's useless to put a few feet of dirt in an environment with an animal that isn't going to use it.

I'm sorry my savanna is more tame than yours, but she is not ill or 'sluggish'.
Soaking is a normal behavior. She doesn't do it all day long because she's dehydrated, she just LIKES it once in a while, so I provide her with a dish large enough to lay in. She craps in there because she LIKES to.

She eats from my hand because I have her TRAINED. She comes when she is called, and recognizes several VERY SIMPLE hand commands because I spend LOTS of time caring for her.
But please, keep telling me everything you know about MY monitor, because I'm sure you all know her way better than I do.

[Rhasputin]

Let me just be blunt, there are a very few experienced Monitor keepers on this forum willing to put up with this foolishness. They are literally watching people borderline torture animals they have a passion for, I understand why they come across blunt sometimes.

That being said, I know for a fact that skiploder, mumps and slayer offer top notch Monitor advice. If they happen to say something might be off with the way you are keeping a Monitor, you might want to reflect on your care of the animal. Above everything though, please research their care (extensively) before taking on the very challenging (but rewarding) aspects of keeping Monitors.

Also, for what it's worth (not to beat a dead horse), there is no circumstances in which a Monitor should be kept in any sort of aquarium.

The main issue they seem to be having is with my top, and my soil.
They are insisting that my monitor will dig, and I am promising them that she will not. There's no way around it, she doesn't have the drive to dig.

And the lid, like i've said a million times but nobody seems to be reading what I'm actually typing, is TEMPORARY. . . The nice one that I made fell off of a trailer when I moved this week, and absolutely shattered. I have to build a new one. She's only had the screen on for a week and a half, and it's a pain, but I haven't had the time to construct the new one yet.

[slayer]

The main issue here is you seem to have an inability to process factual information.
Savs dig and thats including yours. They dig for many reasons such as for shelter, nesting, the pursuit of moisture or to escape the heat. Many species of monitor are also soil type specific. I could give my ackies 5 feet of top soil annd they won't dig a bit. Change the substrate to a very sand loam and they dig a subway system.
The fact that you state that yours does not only proves that your enclosure and husbandry does not allow for basic behaviors to be expressed.
If you cared about your animal you would be great full this was pointed out to you and would seek to remedy the situation.

[apple2]

If Rhasputin's monitor is happy, then there's nothing to worry about. Not all reptiles are the same. I have a BP that enjoys climbing trees and is rarely in a hide. Does this mean that she is neglected and unhappy? No, it just means that she is a bit different, and should have these needs met. She is happy, almost always eats, and has no problems being handled. I guess she's just an odd BP. Maybe the same is true for Rhasputin's monitor. Personally, I believe that reptiles should have the 'normal' accommodations, no matter how quirky the specific herp is. If they choose to use it, then the option is there. If they don't, no harm done. Not all reptiles are the same, and if Rhasputin's monitor isn't like other Savannas, then so be it. I would recommend giving the monitor the ability to burrow if she so chooses, even if she usually doesn't dig. It may be a bit more work, but it will give the monitor the ability to dig if she wants to. I'd try changing the substrate a few times to see if she chooses to dig in another type. I would also recommend a larger tank, if only to allow for a deeper soil. You can build a new custom enclosure in a few days, and it might make your monitor happier. Seems like it's worth a try!

Also, it seems as if this thread has turned into a big attack thread. People are accusing each others' husbandry right and left, while still not having given an answer to the OP.


-Apple2