Savannah Monitor as a first time monitor

[MMReptiles]

I highly doubt it.I only know of 3 captive breeding events in the last 8 years.I ravi,the guy who wrote the Savanna monitor book with Daniel Bennett.A 16 year old kid did it about 3 years ago.and then there was a guy in florda,who no one believed until he showed pictures of them coming out of the egg.Now I'm not saying it dose not happen,but unless they can produce pictures if them hatching out of the egg,they are probably lying.(and those ones from outbackreptiles don't count,that was just cruel)


Greg

Lol @ anyone who still trusts/buys from outback reptiles these days.

[Skiploder]

Saying they are ALL WC is a little over the top. I have seen some reputable breeders with CBB Savannah monitors. People in the US do breed them but the majority of them are WC unfortunantly.

Who breeds them?

I know people who claimed to breed them......but almost all of them are full of crap.

Sooooo, if there is a reliable source of captive bred savs in the U.S., please share with us the name(s).

[Foschi Exotic Serpents]

In march of 2010, Natalie of Calypso Morphs hatched a clutch of savs from her 2. They haven't bred since then that i know of or before that one time but she does have pics posted all over of it. I only know this because she's both on my myspace and FB pages and I've seen the photos of the mating, eggs, hatching, and babies.

Of course, at the time the adults were not in "proper" enclosures but it did happen. Fluke? Maybe. But it proves its possible.

[Redneck_Crow]

I had a savannah (as a rescue because he was biting and clawing) and an ackie (intentionally obtained) and I have to tell you, an ackie has all of the piss and vinegar of a savannah, and even then some. They're like the weiner dog that thinks he's a Doberman when someone comes to the door.

They cost more upfront but their caging and food are cheaper, even the mean ones are not that tough to handle, and they're cute. They will puff up their necks and hiss like a big monitor but they're still an easy one person job to wrangle. Just like other monitors they can be good to handle but they still make you work for it.

[Skiploder]

In march of 2010, Natalie of Calypso Morphs hatched a clutch of savs from her 2. They haven't bred since then that i know of or before that one time but she does have pics posted all over of it. I only know this because she's both on my myspace and FB pages and I've seen the photos of the mating, eggs, hatching, and babies.

Of course, at the time the adults were not in "proper" enclosures but it did happen. Fluke? Maybe. But it proves its possible.

It's not that it's not possible, it's just that it's extremely rare. I've seen Natalie's photos also.

Is it a fluke? No. The vast majority of these animals don't even make it to breeding age and those that do are usually in no condition to breed. There's no reason to expect that as people being keeping these animals more competently, more CB babies will hit the scene.

There have been scammers all over the place selling what they claim are CBB exanthematicus. The point is that 99.9% of the savs sold in this country are WC and loaded with more bugs than you can shake a bottle of panacur at.

In the meantime, with the exception of the isolated events, there is no reliable source of CB savs in this country. No one is supplying the pet stores with a yearly clutches of CB savs - they are almost always WC and the CB birthings are so rare that people make a huge issue out of posting pics of the clutches in order to avoid being called out.

[Redneck_Crow]

One nice thing if you do go the ackie route instead of the savannah....

If you do get bitten by the breeding bug (and almost all of us do) the ackie is easier to breed and the babies are worth more when you decide that you really don't want to keep them all.

[d_mcclelland]

I was wondering, is it a good idea to have a savannah monitor as a first time monitor. I am not planning on getting one soon, but I am seriously thinking of getting one when I am adult and can take of one. I hear all these stories about people having bad experiences with savs and some who say it is easy to tame them. I want to know from sav owners, are they hard to care as babies temperament wise, and are they hard to tame. Food and caging is not an issue. I love reptiles and I am really thinking of getting a sav in the future, but is it okay to get one of these beautiful lizards as a first time monitor. If they are not, plz tell what other monitors are good to start out with.
Plz reply, all comments and replies r appreciated

p.s. I have lizard experience but not with monitors
thnk you

My first lizard was a young savannah monitor I purchased from a chain pet store. Never had a moments trouble with him, he was calm, sweet and engaging. I had him for better than 15 years without a single health problem.

[Jeremy Browning]

i have quite a few monitors and my sav is very pissy and is not WC. i don’t think its CBB i believe it must be CH or something because when i got it it was sold as a hatch ling savannah monitor which it was. since then it quadrupled in size in less than a year. When it is an adult it will get its 8x9x6 cage. My recommendation would be Dumeril's monitor. they don’t get as big as sav but are defiantly bigger than ackies. They’re nice compared to other types of monitors but not nice compared to lizards in general.