Finally got a Savannah!

[MontyP2016]

For the last few months, ever since a buddy of mine told me about his friends Savannah (I never heard of them before then), I've said that as soon as we move to a house (we live in a double-wide), I'm getting a Savannah. Well, actually I have a list of 3 big goals to add to my collection: 1)savannah 2) burm & 3) retic. Surprisingly (we had no intentions of moving) we got a house and are in the process of moving currently, I was browsing cl last night and found out an aquaintance of mine was selling a baby Savannah so I went and got him today. He is about 7" long and handles pretty well. I have him in a tank right now just until we finish moving and I can build him a bigger enclosure (this weekend). Besides the bigger enclosure, proper humidity, & heat, does anyone have any pointers or input? I am huge on reading and watching videos of animals and absorb as much as I can about husbandry etc. But its always nice to hear directly from people who have them and have the experience that I dont.
Thanks in advance!

[jclaiborne]

http://www.savannahmonitor.net/ Read through as much of this as you can, it use to be an active Forum, but it has been down for some time, so not all the links seem to work anymore. That being said HUSBANDRY is huge for these guys, the need a big cage 8x4x4, deep substrate (at least 2 ft), proper humidity and a proper hot spot (130+ degrees and the basking area should spread the length of their body, so multiple lights are needed that way the hot spot doesn't just focus on one spot on their body). Make sure you have plenty of logs/wood in there for them, and allow them to burrow. I would go the bioactive route with the substrate as well, it will make your life a lot easier and keep everything balanced.

I would also note that it should go in its full size cage ASAP, there is no need for a "grow up cage". Make sure that the floor that you are building the cage on can support the weight (not sure if your floor is elevated or a slab) but when all was said and done with my cage it weighed over a ton.

[MontyP2016]

I put him in a bigger tank yesterday but I'm actually going to put him in a stand up shower tipped on its side which is about 3 foot by 8 foot and 30 inches high give or take. This won't be his forever home but it will hold him a lot better until I can build him his Fortress down the basement. Being that he's only about 7 inches it will hold him for a while although I'm sure I will build him his cage fairly soon. What do you use for substrate? I heard that you could use that Coco Husky mixed with dirt but it doesn't pack well. Also I'm not sure about how much I should feed him rodents. He's only eating insects right now but too much will kill him especially if he doesn't have the proper size cage to move around in.

[jclaiborne]

I put him in a bigger tank yesterday but I'm actually going to put him in a stand up shower tipped on its side which is about 3 foot by 8 foot and 30 inches high give or take. This won't be his forever home but it will hold him a lot better until I can build him his Fortress down the basement. Being that he's only about 7 inches it will hold him for a while although I'm sure I will build him his cage fairly soon. What do you use for substrate? I heard that you could use that Coco Husky mixed with dirt but it doesn't pack well. Also I'm not sure about how much I should feed him rodents. He's only eating insects right now but too much will kill him especially if he doesn't have the proper size cage to move around in.

It is going to need 2ft of substrate so that he can properly burrow, this will allow him to thermo regulate, and stay hydrated. For substrate, I use dirt/DG/Sand Mixture to create a "sandy loam". Also throw in some wood, leaves, etc.

Read through these...

http://www.savannahmonitor.net/housing/

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...oil-Guide-Tips

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...b-Updates-Tips

[MontyP2016]

Ok thank you!