Reptile & Amphibian Forums

my savannah eats alot of sand when he eat is that bad can it impact him?Like it sticks to has food.

I think it does. see what i did with my cage was divide it into two sections one is full of dirt where he can play and dig and the other one is just carpet where he can go and eat without him getting any dirt or anything else on his food. i had him on wood chips before and i was afraid of the same thing you are so i decided to divide the cage.((and i would like to tell you that im no expert cause i know people in this forum that like to make other people feel stupid and i know someone is going to trow his/her two cents in this conversation))here is a pic of the cage that im talking about.

P.s.Better Safe Than Sorry

This is not to make you feel inferior. I am sure, your a great person.(we should not have to say this everytime we disagree with someone or their attempts at husbandry)

A screen lid with a lite on top is what causes monitors to become consipated. Its actually dehydrates them and that causes matter to stick inside them. Also, because you have the lite on top the lid, it causes you to use a much bigger lite(higher wattage. This creates more lost heat, that draws more moisture out of the cage(thru the screen lid)

Monitors are not easily constipated. They can pass marbles and stones and all kind of matter. But you surely do not want to test that with a dehydrated monitors. hahahahahahahha

The concern is, allowing the right type of dirt/substrate, that does not stick to the food. And the right kind of food that does not stick to the soil/substrate. There are lots of combinations that work well.

Now the dirt, no offense, but a healthy monitor will move all that dirt in your cage over to the other side in a few minutes. They are kinda like little bulldozers. Even a hatchling Sav.

By chance your monitor grows normally, it will outgrow that dirt area and the cage in a month or so. Mid sized monitors, doing well, commonly grow 4 to 6 inches a month. You sould understand, that is a gauge on how well your cage is working(to allow progress). So if that cage works well, it will outgrow it quickly, which also means that cage is not appropriate. But it is a good start if you fix the few obvious problems. I hope it works well for your monitor.

Lastly, your cage is very cute, nice composition. But not for monitors, for people. A latter(they need no stinking ladder) a water bowl, a branch, dirt, etc. Very nice.

But I get the feeling the monitor cares for the ground and whats under it. As thats where their life is and what they do(what they understand). Even the smallest monitor, could not make a series of tunnels in that small area. Consider, thats why you put that dirt in there, to burrow, but theres not enough for the monitor to actually burrow.

By the way, what is an expert? And do experts in all fields make beginers feel inferior? I guess I wonder about odd things. Have a nice day and don't worry about how stuff is said. Worry about your monitor doing well. Your monitor is actually there with you. Cheers

Hey Frank. Great post. That cage is almost as cute as my first cage when I first started keeping monitors. But now, to work on my cages, I need a shovel and wheel barrow.

thanks for the info and what do you mean that is not a good cage i would like for you to help me make it better in any way that you think and im sorry about that post is just that other people make me mad.

A picture is worth a thousand words.



Heres some hope that you will be inspred to set it up properly, notice, no aquariums, I use one with a carefully designed solid top with a very carefully adjusted amount of ventilation. Keep in mind I wouldnt use anything smaller than a 55 gallon for even a dwarf monitor of any species. Any smaller is just wrong.

SHvar - your pictures are always great...please know that you've helped a lot of people by your posts and pictures..
And that goes for anyone willing to take the time out to answer "silly newbie" questions in the hope that it may inspire better monitor keepers. Frustrating at times? I'm sure. Worth it? Without a doubt. So - thanks to the regular experts on here repeating the same advice time and time again for the sake of the captive monitor community.