I want to keep my savannah monitor alive.

[jclaiborne]

Even if the bugs were to get out, none of them would be house hold pests and would likely die off after a day of being out of the enclosure. Changing out substrate in that big of a cage is a nighmare! My Tegu cage is 8x4x4 with 1500 pounds of dirt in it, currently the bugs added are earthworms, springtails, and I have some isopods on order.

[Daniel.michelle]

The temps arent different in africa between baby and adult lol. Yeah, 120-150 is perfectly fine for a baby.

The lights should have a wide beam angle like the bulbs shown in this: http://www.varanustalk.com/forum/sho...s-amp-advanced
take a look at this:http://http://www.varanustalk.com/forum/showthread.php?245-Understanding-the-Thermal-Gradient/page2

[jclaiborne]

I glad you are using a temp gun.


2 feet of substrate!?! I guess they really are diggers. Seems like that would almost have to be made custom. I bet changing it is no small task.

They are big time diggers, so are Tegus, when dealing with a cage this size there is no changing the substrate, you basically create an ecosystem in the tank with insects that feed on the waste of the animal to help maintain a healthy bio load. Custom made cages all the way. I forgot where I read it, but when I was researching Tegus, it was stated that that to own a monster lizard you will become an electrician/carpenter/fabricator because there is nothing off the shelf that comes close to meeting their requirements. The dirt alone for my cage before I mixed in anything else was 1500 pounds.

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...tes-Tips/page8

[Acifexeq]

You guys are awesome. Thank you so much for all of the help!

I'll reconsider the bioactive substrate as well. I don't mind pill bugs and worms. There had been mention of centipedes in wherever it was that I first heard about bioactive soil and I noped the heck right out of there.

I'll looking into flood lamps for my sav, too. As soon as he makes it to the one month mark, I'll build his adult cage. I know that people insist he won't get lost but how will I ever find him in something so large? It'll be 8 x 4, remember. O_o

[jclaiborne]

Flood Bulbs in all wattages here: http://www.lowes.com/Light-Bulbs/Hal...%5B%5D=1z10i2e

Minimum of PAR30 for beam patterm, with PAR38 being the best.

[jclaiborne]

You guys are awesome. Thank you so much for all of the help!

I'll reconsider the bioactive substrate as well. I don't mind pill bugs and worms. There had been mention of centipedes in wherever it was that I first heard about bioactive soil and I noped the heck right out of there.

I'll looking into flood lamps for my sav, too. As soon as he makes it to the one month mark, I'll build his adult cage. I know that people insist he won't get lost but how will I ever find him in something so large? It'll be 8 x 4, remember. O_o

You will find him because a healthy Sav is an active animal that will be constantly digging, moving back and forth. They wont just go in a hole and sit.

[Acifexeq]

You will find him because a healthy Sav is an active animal that will be constantly digging, moving back and forth. They wont just go in a hole and sit.

Uh oh... My current little guy likes to stay in his hide. He rarely comes out (that I can see). He's a hatchling though, I would think this is natural behavior to avoid being eaten?

[Daniel.michelle]

Tong feeding will help with that. Get him used to tong feeding, then rattle the tongs and he'll come right out.

Right now, hes just afraid of you etc. If you need to, setup a camera on a tripod and leave the room, get him on video. It is very natural for them to hide. Just gotta make sure he is heated well

[Acifexeq]

Okay good. Thank you all so much for your help. Really. I'm sincerely grateful because I want the new one to live.

I don't think I'll be going back to that pet store again. The guy trying to insist that 90 degrees was enough for a basking spot has me convinced he doesn't know what he's talking about.