Savannah Monitors?

[Olimpia]

Absolutely, anything that isn't an insect is going to be purchased frozen. Luckily my boyfriend and I are on the same page with that, he also agrees that is a necessity. And we're being good about taking him out and giving him positive experiences while out with us. He's a really tame guy to begin with but hopefully between one thing and another he will stay that way forever.

 

[Texas Ranger]

Feed him as much as he will eat there is no limit with these guys until they are adults..... Also any fresh chicken and chicken parts like hart ,liver ect. Are all really good for your growing boy...... Also make sure and find him in a different place to eat out side of his set up .. they get really aggressive as they get older and may think of your hand as food..... The best thing to do is make his food up put it in a large tube remove him from his home and set him in his eatting bin once he is done then remove him and he can go back home.

 

[ISA my Veiled]

Wait, what? We "know it all" over here too!

Yeah but at least we are polite about it

 

[DavidBuchan]

90% insect at that age is about right. I fed one mouse meal a week. Personally haven't given my girl any chicks yet but she loves a bit of boiled egg

 

[Manex]

Hey Olympia,

First off congrats on the new monitor!! What a beauty. I am new here but have been raising monitor lizards for most of my life. *If I can help in any way, please don't hesitate to ask. Or*Pm. I'll always try my best to help*Out. First off, your hot spot temp is too hot for a young one that age and size. In my experience, ones that size do much better with a hot spot set at 105. *Gradually increase this over the next few months until you are at around 120. This is where you should be at when a year old. I also saw that you mentioned you have a large water bowl for swimming?? How large? Deep? The reasons I ask these questions is that large water bowls may pose a potential hazard for savannah monitors. In*My experience, they more sit in the water and deep water could be an issue. Their tails are too short to give proper *propulsion to swim like other monitors and end up running or thrashing in most bowls if they are not sitting. Just something to keep in mind. Also, your tank size is fine for now but will need to be upgraded soon. You don't need a 4 x 8 enclosure right now but you will before aldulthood. I would say realistically the tank*You have now will only be good for*Another 6 weeks at most.I am trying *cover a lot of info for you as I was in the same place many years ago and applaud you for asking what you do not know in*Order to give a better life to a monitor. I love them*
And have owned mangroves, Savannah's, niles, Crocodiles , water and durmeli monitors. *Even been to the er many times learning along the way lol. As far as your foods, they are a good start I will say. Roaches are great feeders for savannahs of that size, but you will have add more than just crickets and roaches. Some great foods that will fit your bill nicely at this time in addition to adding worms*Would be things like slugs,snails and grubs. Around me they can be found at fish supply warehouses and sometimes*Nurseries. They also love tiny eggs from birds the size of*Quail eggs. They dont have to be the expensive quail, just roughly that size. If at any time you see your savannah roll on his back and jam his feet in his mouth, this is a*Clear warning size that food items are too big or scary . Also, I would have to respectfully disagree with those who want you to skip the live feeders and offer a different option like someone else said. You need two cages or enclosures. One for feeding and one for living. Just like a snake. You won't have problems if you do that. Just make sure the food items are always in the feeding enclosure before putting your monitor in and you should have no problems with aggression. Some go so far as wearing gloves when*Dropping the feeders in just so your natural hand smell doesn't end up on the prey.I have raised over a dozen monitors this way without any hand aggression. Again in*My experience, frozen mice etc..are disgusting and never had a monitor that enjoyed them. *Just no substitute. Just like flukers can of crickets. I would never give up live crickets for them. *Pinky mice and feeder anoles should be a nice start if you choose to go this route when the time*Is right. I also see that you live in Florida. An outdoor cage *would be a great investment. Just make sure it's large enough for life so to speak. Just incase you would be worried about snakes in your area,adult Savannah's love to eat them and are also immune to most venom. *Hope my rambling helps. If I can help in any other way don't hesitate to ask.*Best of luck

 

[Olimpia]

Thanks David and Manex, and everyone that has helped. You have really calmed a lot of my nervousness! He's such a cool little guy, I don't want to make any critical mistakes but the information out there on them is really inconsistent. And other owners don't seem all that interested in offering thorough help. So thanks again.

He got his first frozen pinky today, which he loved. I will be ordering some hornworms and other things this week so he should get to see some other food soon as well. And I've started a couple cultures of really large roaches so these should be ready for him when he gets bigger. So we will be pretty stocked up to keep his diet varied. All his insects are live, and usually tong fed (rather not associate our hands with food, no?) but anything vertebrate (like mice) will be frozen. It's just better for us, I rather buy frozen in bulk, it's much more affordable than what's available locally live.

 

[Manex]

Hey olimpia,

Glad some of what I wrote helped you. To go over some things that you said and asked in your last posts I will start with the tongs. If you are using them to drop food directly into the living *habitat, please stop immediately. This can and will cause aggression as time goes by. Or did you setup a feed pen yet? *Cheap examples of feed pens include plywood pens and large plastic tubs for smaller ones. Simply put, buy a plastic tub or some 2x 4"s and plywood make a*Simple square. Even for large monitors, the height does not need to be higher than 4 ft if using plywood. Make sure to use packing tape on the inside top few inches to ensure no escapes if feeding crickets or flying Climbing roaches. *And a make shift screen lid. It doesnt have to be Perfect .The best way to feed is to put on surgical plastic gloves and put roaches etc...into*Plastic cup without you little buddy seeing. You can use tongs if in*Privacy. Take cup full and toss in feed pen. Take*Monitor for 30 mins to play or walk around and afterwards place him in the feed enclosure with food already there. If container is outside, place in partial shade and no extra light needed. If inside place a 75 watt or so basking Light hanging several feet above the container to give*Light and supplemental warmth. When all food is gone, wait 30 mins, remove and place in normal enclosure near hot spot. If you do this aggression should not be a issue as an adult. If you feed items directly into living enclosure your hands can and will be confused later as food and you will see much more aggression. Also, please make sure your adult enclosure has no glass! I cannot stress this enough. If you have ever experienced a tail wack from an adult, you could see that they could easily and readily break the glass with their tails.

I cannot change your mind for you but will offer some insight into why frozen pinks should not be used. They are fed artificial, syntheteic and sometimes medical diets at labs even*Before preserves are used and they are frozen. I source my*Pinks locally and take them*Right off their mothers milk. Nothing better or more nutrious. Think of a frozen ellios as compared to a freshly made organic pizza. It is cheaper but there are many reasons for that and at this point if you only buy them for a*Day a week, at a dollar or so a piece it is a very worthwhile investment, at least for me. Another thing about your roach selection. Just make sure no matter how many varieties you raise, this is not a variety diet for a monitor lizard and have seen first *hand problems resulting from*Feeding too many roaches. *Savannah's are scavengers by nature and if fed too many of any one item, they can and Will refuse them for the rest of their lives potentially. Things to remember are that no one item should be considered a staple. You are what you eat. It is not uncommon For monitors to refuse foods that have been frozen or throw them Up undigested later. Also, small(not tiny) is better than large items. They are much happier and healthier if fed more small items than few large in the insect world. If it was me, a good sample diet at this point would be two days crickets and slugs, two days roaches and snails, one day worms, one day pinks, one day eggs. Just make sure to remove eggs from Fridge and allow to warm up for several hours before serving. I place mine outside in the morning and feed come noon. It's a sight to see if you haven't already. They will swallow the eggs whole without even cracking the shells!! If ever there is a day where food becomes unavailable, organic cat or dog may be substituted. Real kind lol not the pellet crap. Or bird innards or anoles/geckos *may be used as well. *First warning signs of malnutrition etc...will be present in the hip areas. If you see any thinning, this is a problem.

With regards as the monitor community/forums not really helping. There is no surprise there. They are of the*Mind Mostly that if you do not know these lizards, do not buy. But people like things bigger and there becomes the problem. They are killed, starved, improperly fed or just released into non indiginous environments when their needs cannot be met. Florida is a prime example. I have personally rescued many in my own area and it breaks yor heart. The worst case was an 80 lb water monitor house in a 75 gallon aquarium!!! Just get to you when they don't know what the problem could be. you would think people would want to teach and change things but you know how that goes. When I got my first monitor, the only available info was at the library in Encyclopedias lol not to mention mostly in Latin. Way before the net but it's been a long time and happy to share what I've learned with those willing to listen. Great to meet and talk with you. Have a great day



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[Olimpia]

Thanks Manex. What if I am feeding food directly to him with tongs? Is this still a bad association?

We have been feeding him outside of his cage. What I usually do is that I let him roam the chameleon room, which is a safe place for him, when I'm doing chores in there and I will tong feed him a few food items, either on the floor or in a separate container, but never in his cage. And then he wanders about a little and I put him back. This way he gets a little exercise and stimulation too, plus he eats the crickets that escape the container when I'm feeding the chameleons. Do you still think it's better to feed him in a specifically designated container/cage?

I appreciate the info. We did our research before hand but I think we were misled by what we read, or realized that there was a lot we didn't know details on. But we're happy to make the changes that are needed, he have the resources to make sure he's happy.

 

[Olimpia]

I just took this photo with my cell, so it's not very good, but you can just see how darn cute he is. I just fed him a nice breakfast in his separate container and he is roaming the chameleon room. I set up an impromptu basking spot on the floor in case he wants it and sat there for a couple minutes before running off to investigate the room again. I want him to stretch his legs before I go to work and the chameleon room is the safest room for him to be in, and he seems to enjoy it. He runs off, comes back, sits on my lap, then runs off again, comes back, sits on my lap, and is off again.

He's very different from what I'm used to but you can just see how smart these guys are, he's so much fun.

 

[krazeone]

So I just bought a baby savannah monitor approx 2 months old! (Always wanted 1 and totally took advantage of a pregnant girlfriends hormones saying aww its cute I want it, after a millions times she said no way!)

I've got it in a 55 gallon tank for now, gives me a couple months to build a fullsize setup. I've looked online to find examples of savannah setups and not really impressed with them, and like evrything everyone has different opinions about sizes and materials. Anyone have pics of their setups or friends setups?