New Savannah Monitor, advice please?

[Patrick Long]

You can use a screen top, just make sure he cannot climb up to it.

[daniel1983]

Most of the 'tame' monitors you see are not properly taken care of and do not last that long as captives.....some keepers seem to confuse tame animals with a broken, abused reptiles.

Keep the monitor correctly and don't bother it. The rest all falls into place with time.

Monitors are never 'tamed'.....they learn to trust people. Once they trust you, everything is good.

...and screen tops are only good for a beef jerky making device.......they are worthless for monitor lizard enclosures. I would put a solid acrylic top on a trough...very little venting if any at all.

i want to be able to handle it alot when it gets older.

....then you should have bought a dog. Monitors don't cuddle

[Patrick Long]

I acutally have one side acrylic, one side screen. acrylic on the cool side, to keep it warmer.

[daniel1983]

I acutally have one side acrylic, one side screen. acrylic on the cool side, to keep it warmer.

I would do all acrylic....get rid of the screen. All the screen does is provide an exit for heat and moisture.....both of which are needed to keep a monitor healthy.

What are you using to heat Pat?

[Patrick Long]

a row of four 25 watt flood lights. the ones with the speckly pattern

[SavvySurfer]

as for the diet i was going to feed it crickets for now, and then upgrade to the madagascar hissing cockroaches, hard boiled eggs, and pieces of lean turkey. is it true that if you feed a roden diet they become more aggressive? i have heard both sides of the story. true or not?

[daniel1983]

as for the diet i was going to feed it crickets for now, and then upgrade to the madagascar hissing cockroaches, hard boiled eggs, and pieces of lean turkey. is it true that if you feed a roden diet they become more aggressive? i have heard both sides of the story. true or not?

Feed whole food items. Rodent, roaches, crickets, WHOLE uncooked eggs, etc.

Watching a monitor eat a whole egg is pretty neat....they either swallow it whole or crack it and 'drink' up the insides....cool stuff..

Ground turkey diets are just filler material unless they are properly supplemented. Even after adequate supplements are added, the mix was only intended to be used as a 'quick fix' when whole food items are unavailable or to feed large numbers of lizards (i.e. zoos).

.....the aggressive comment is just so the anti-rodent feeders can push their agenda...it is just an opinion...

...in the end, if you feed the monitor a HEALTHY diet.....it should be a strongwilled creature....you just have to deal with it.

[SavvySurfer]

well i didnt want it to be some namby pamby creature, but not completley aggressive. it takes away from archimedes, (thats his name btw) if he just mopes around. but thanks for all the advice, i'll probably be asking some more questions and adding pics of his progress.

[catawhat75]

Daniel, I really appreciate all your comments in this thread. I have a sav, love her to death. Everyone who sees her though comments on how "agressive" she is- to me that shows health. While I can handle her, she does not enjoy it. Where are the best places to learn more about savs? She is only 3 now, but I want to provide the best I can for her and have her around for years to come.