Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have had a Sav. for just over a year now, it eats great, no health problems that I'm aware of, but it's still under 1ft. long. Is there such a thing as a dwarf Sav.?

no there is not,,, females are a little smaller, i don't keep sav no more i never tryed to breed them but i always saw smaller females than males, do you keeep him in a large cage with a good hot spot of 120 or so and feed him ever other day or so i feed all my stuff every 2 to 3 days, also a good amont of dirt or soil to dig in may just be a little slow at growing this is my guess maby some one else could help that breeds sav and could give a better idea good luck hope it grow for you

She? eats crickets/eggs every other day or so, lots of bedding, and 110 basking spot. 12 hour day/night cycle. Every other yearling Sav I have seen is at least twice as big.

Your monitor may not have been a baby when you purchased it. Size does NOT equal age - you may have gotten an "older" sav who was seriously starved for a while...or any number of other negative factors...hence the poor growth.....which might be why it's not growing now even though YOUR conditions are alright. Yes, unfortunate.

from your description, it is quite simple. basking temps are way too low, and you are severely underfeeding.

a Sav that size should eat a ton of food, and 6-7 days a week. a Sav should be 3-4 ft in a single year.

up the temps and feed that animal, and it will grow quickly.
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robyn@proexotics.com

Pro Exotics Reptiles

I agree with Robin. Those temps the food available are horrible for a captive Sav. I hd mine for 7 years after getting her as a 9 inch juvi/subadult. Right from the get go she got live and dead gerbils, mice and rats as she grew. She got at least 2 feedings a day in the first year I had her and her growth was amazing. She put on 10 inches in less than 4 months... I kept her basking spot at 135 degrees...14/10 light cycle...room temp at night. She had a mixture of soil, sand and cypress mulch to burrow in, her basking platform was ceramic tiles that held the heat perfectly as it should have... She was 3 ft at max and managed to swallow an adult rat once and digest it in less than a day. I get her healthy.. she checked clean for parasite infections even though I never tried to treat her for them. She got mostly live food if it were mice. Rats were stunned or prekilled depending on size. Eggs whether cooked or uncooked are not a good source of food to feed every feeding. Unfertalized eggs have an enzyme that can block the absorption of vitamins in a reptile's system, most notably E and A I believe. Vitamin E is for certain. This is most likely part of your problem. Low nutrient values. The other part is inadequate husbandry. Bump the temps up, make sure she has good hiding areas and the ability to dig and start feeding her rodents daily along with her insects. She'll thank you for it. Well, in the way most Monitors will anyway.. such as this...:

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Lucien

1.1 Columbian Redtail Boas (BCI)(Sutekh and Isis)
7.11.7.Leopard geckos (2.1 Blizzards (Caine, Phoenix, and Mirage), 0.2 Tangerine Albinos (Tequila Sunrise ...Tiki for short, and Casper), 1.0 Tremper Albino (Mycah), 1.1 Triple. het blizzard x tang albino x patternless (Malice, Malfeas), 1.0 Full Stripe Chocolate Tremper Albino (Discord), 0.1 pastel (Raven) and 1.5 Normals) 0.0.3 het albinos, 0.0.2 patternless blizzard/albinos, 0.0.2 - 50%possible triple hets (blizzard x albino x patternless)
0.1 Savannah Monitor (Kiros) (R.I.P. November 18, 2005)
13 rats (plus pups)
2 Dogs (Loki and Storm)
2 cats (Ashe and Hercules)