savannah monitors

[Lycanthrope]

We are about to open up our new store (a millenium petco), and amongst the initial assortment of reptiles there was a gem, a Savannah monitor. i pretty much fell in love at first sight. its about 1.5'. i spent the last week reading about them, and have become very interested in them. ( i knew it was coming, and begged my manager to reconsider as petco doesnt have the right customer base or associates to deal with monitors.) anyway, Bridget and i worked out a deal, if i get rid of all of my inverts i can get the monitor. one question i have is this : i read in a reptiles issue about a guy that uses cooked meat as a staple food with this black throat monitors. would this be good for savvanahs too, or will it feed their habit of getting obese? i havent decided to do it yet, im going to give it a week or two of hard thinking. i just hope nobody sells it to some idiot when im not around.

 

[AudreyElizabeth]

First off what do you mean, all YOUR inverts??

I have cared for two savannah monitors, and I fed them canned Alpo dog food, mice, and crickets and they did just fine. I'll admit that the dog food was messy since savannahs like to 'kill' their food in a 'big' way .


But as a staple I would recommend prekilled mice over dogfood.

That is my late savannah monitor Moe in my avatar...

 

[Lycanthrope]

see in alot of the reading i did, most of the authors seemed to agree that a diet consisting of too many rodents was linked to a liver problem that can kill the monitor. i also read that frozen fish and unfertilized eggs (the ones at the grocery store)must be supplemented with B1 (thiamin) or the lizard will get deficient.

First off what do you mean, all YOUR inverts??

just that, to get the monitor all the inverts must go. mostly to make space , but also to raise the money needed to pay the costs of the lizard and some supplies. like i said itll be a week or two of thinking, im not sure of my ability to give up t's, although i must say it would be different to have a single pet that has bonding ability instead of dozens that dont. besides, ive found myself in a bit of a funk with my t's lately, and damn it that monitor is just too damn cool.

 

[Lycanthrope]

shameless bump.

 

[Lycanthrope]

well they sold the one at the shop out from under me, and after we had bonded! bridget is allowing me to order one to fill the void though . ive been reading everyday for two weeks about these guys. im looking forward to working with one again. im only going to get rid of some of my inverts though. i also found a fledgling forum dedicated to savannahs. heres the link for anyone interested: savannahs.dmglobal.net i go under the same handle there.

 

[manville]

hmmm...hope you will like that big lizard..

 

[Crotalus]

website tips

http://www.varanus.net

/Lelle

 

[Psycho]

just my 2 cents....I currently hold 3 savanna monitors and they are the best reptiles to date in my opinion....we have 1 juvy and 2 babies and the juvy is so tame and calm it is so cool to just sit there and he dont shy from nothing...almost like a puppy

now why would you have to get rid of inverts.....
#1)they take up hardly any room
#2)savannas are super cheap

the downside
#1)they are sometimes picky eaters (ours will only eat white mice)
#2)they get huge so be prepared to donate a room to your lizard...but on one hand, you can in the future let him/her wander around the house just like a cat but make sure you have no animals lose...

~~~Psycho~~~

 

[Crotalus]

Originally posted by Psycho
just my 2 cents....I currently hold 3 savanna monitors and they are the best reptiles to date in my opinion....we have 1 juvy and 2 babies and the juvy is so tame and calm it is so cool to just sit there and he dont shy from nothing...almost like a puppy

now why would you have to get rid of inverts.....
#1)they take up hardly any room
#2)savannas are super cheap

the downside
#1)they are sometimes picky eaters (ours will only eat white mice)
#2)they get huge so be prepared to donate a room to your lizard...but on one hand, you can in the future let him/her wander around the house just like a cat but make sure you have no animals lose...

~~~Psycho~~~

Reptiles are not cats or dogs and should not be let loose on the floor. They dont get tame as a dog and they can bite. A friend of mine got bitten by a fairly large savannah and he sad it felt like his hand was stuck in the door and someone pushed the door....
They dont feel secure on a floor and can easily get cold and die from sickness.
Picky eaters? Maybe it gets too cold, most reptiles stop feeding when they are cold.


/Lelle

 

[Lycanthrope]

i understand they are more readily tamed than most species of varanid, but they can still be unpredictable. ive kept my share of reptiles in the past, but this will be a step up for me. still, im up to the challenge. im going to put as much time into socializing it as possible. it definately wont be roaming freely, and i have plans of building a 8'x4'x4' enclosure once it attains a decent size. as far as being finicky eaters, thats the first time ive heard that one. more often i hear they readily get obese and develop liver troubles. thanks for the link Lelle, ive been reading for two weeks, and i just cant get enough info.

 

[kinetikx]

As long as you keep a basking spot that gets hot enough (and I mean REAL hot 120- 130 degrees F) you will not have a puppy dog. All of the "puppy dog" tame Savanna monitors that I have seen have been kept too cool. A very tame monitor is unnatural. The link listed above (veranus.net) is a very good resource. Just be aware that they are dedicated to CB monitors and can be rather militant about that fact (not a bad thing).

I would not criticize anyone for for feeding canned dog food, or canned "monitor food", but most reports show that that is not the best food source for monitors. Whole prey items are much more acceptable, and healthy.

Just my two cents, and after trial and error in everything listed above I noticed a marked increase in over-all well being of my savanna after switching to higher temps, and whole prey items.

 

[Crotalus]

another tips

Originally posted by Lycanthrope
i understand they are more readily tamed than most species of varanid, but they can still be unpredictable. ive kept my share of reptiles in the past, but this will be a step up for me. still, im up to the challenge. im going to put as much time into socializing it as possible. it definately wont be roaming freely, and i have plans of building a 8'x4'x4' enclosure once it attains a decent size. as far as being finicky eaters, thats the first time ive heard that one. more often i hear they readily get obese and develop liver troubles. thanks for the link Lelle, ive been reading for two weeks, and i just cant get enough info.

Here´s another tips:
http://mampam.50megs.com/bok/

The author of the book is very respectable, I think I´ll buy the book even though I have no plans on getting a monitor - yet.
Monitors usually eats everything they can overpower, truly eating machines.
Thats why you see ALOT of overfed fat monitors.

/Lelle

 

[Buspirone]

I've wanted to get a savannah monitor since I was about 13 years old(I'm 30 now) but I lack the space to adequately house a full grown one...maybe someday.

 

[Psycho]

I'm pretty sure my savanna isn't kept too cold. She's at about 90 in her home all the time with a basking spot of probably around 115. She is picky though. Only about mice like I said. She'll only eat the white ones. (Hey if snakes can be picky so can Hydra) D*mn racest monitor! And yes she is very tame. The only thing she doesn't seem to like is strangers, and when people poke the tip of her nose. She also doesnt like being put on her back which is understandable. We tried just about every poking.. turning.. anything situation on her so that we know (when strangers want to hold her ect) what she will react on. Only bad thing about our juvi monitor is that from past bad care she now has scar tissue on her back replacing some of her scales, and the vet told us she may never have as pretty of a pattern as some of the rest of them. Her friendliness makes up for it.


~~~Psycho~~~

 

[Lycanthrope]

well i got my new buddy today. hes just a little hatchling, ill post pics tomorrow. hes very active and alert, but oddly enough he didnt crap on me or panic at all when i handled him. just curiously explored my hands. all well im not complaining. hes actually about 6" from head to vent, so i think hes a little older than hatchling, but not by much.

 

[skinheaddave]

Re: another tips

Originally posted by Crotalus
Here´s another tips:
http://mampam.50megs.com/bok/

The author of the book is very respectable,

Both authors are very respectable. Ravi may not be quite as famous, but he knows his stuff hands down and has had substantial success with his monitors. As an added bonus, he lives about 45 minutes' drive from my house.

Cheers,
Dave

 

[Lycanthrope]

heres some pics of my new monitor, who we have named Sal, after my grandfather, Salvadore Monda, who died this week of cancer. R.I.P Grandpa.

 

[Lycanthrope]

and the 2nd one

 

[mimic58]

Very nice , how is the temperament?, staying level or made a change?