Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i got a savanna back in march ive loved then since my friend had one way back. ever since i got him he wont eat much he hasnt grown and is pretty sluggish unless you try and pick him up then he'll run. hes in a 55 until i finish his cage which will be 6' x 6'. i saw on here that i should use a screen top but i only had 5 bucks the other day so instead of buying plexi glass i cut the screen so i could hang the light down into the cage about 8 inches or so over his basking spot which is in the middle of the tank and covered the top with a towel except a little vent on either side. i also bought him potting soil without the little white balls for the substrate. the basking light is in the middle and its about 79- 80 degrees on either side of the cage, alot warmer and more humid then it was.his basking area is about 140 now. the guy who sold him to me said to use a 100 watt bulb and it would be plenty hot because glass doesnt release heat. he also said that they were hearty and temps in the 70's even 60's wouldnt be bad at night because people dont understand that even in the savanna temps drop. this guy is a reptile breeder and has nice specimens but what he told me aint workin. i feel so bad because i dont have a computer and i thought i was doing the right thing and now that im house sitting my girlfriends parents for the week i have access to their computer and learned all this info. now that my heat is better will his appetie increase? last night i tried to feed him some chicken gizzards and hearts but he just ran and hid and never came out to eat it. i hate seeing all you guys picks of your monitors jumping for food out of your hands when mine wont even eat! im gonna switch to live rodents but how many should he be eating a day? should i feed him as much as he'll take until he gains weight? he hissed when i tried to grab him yesterday and he usually just lets me grab him so i think thats a good sign any info

i got a savanna back in march ive loved then since my friend had one way back. ever since i got him he wont eat much he hasnt grown and is pretty sluggish unless you try and pick him up then he'll run. hes in a 55 until i finish his cage which will be 6' x 6'. i saw on here that i should use a screen top but i only had 5 bucks the other day so instead of buying plexi glass i cut the screen so i could hang the light down into the cage about 8 inches or so over his basking spot which is in the middle of the tank and covered the top with a towel except a little vent on either side. i also bought him potting soil without the little white balls for the substrate. the basking light is in the middle and its about 79- 80 degrees on either side of the cage, alot warmer and more humid then it was.his basking area is about 140 now. the guy who sold him to me said to use a 100 watt bulb and it would be plenty hot because glass doesnt release heat. he also said that they were hearty and temps in the 70's even 60's wouldnt be bad at night because people dont understand that even in the savanna temps drop. this guy is a reptile breeder and has nice specimens but what he told me aint workin. i feel so bad because i dont have a computer and i thought i was doing the right thing and now that im house sitting my girlfriends parents for the week i have access to their computer and learned all this info. now that my heat is better will his appetie increase? last night i tried to feed him some chicken gizzards and hearts but he just ran and hid and never came out to eat it. i hate seeing all you guys picks of your monitors jumping for food out of your hands when mine wont even eat! im gonna switch to live rodents but how many should he be eating a day? should i feed him as much as he'll take until he gains weight? he hissed when i tried to grab him yesterday and he usually just lets me grab him so i think thats a good sign any info

You got an import. You should try some small mice. If he won't eat pre killed then you need to start him on live. I don't think you should use screen ecause when it gets bigger it can rip thru it like tissue. i don't recommend potting soil because you never know what's in it. I use a mix of peatmoss sand and dirt from the back yard. That real dark colored dirt like you find in the woods. You should move the light from the middle onto one side of the tank and leave the other non heated. I donn'te eally like using that hot of temps for a basking area. Mine got some blister burns not to long ago and his light was already 10" away from him. I now have it at 16" away and it is fine. i would not let it get that low at night. They can live thru it but It is not good. i would figure the guy told you all this because he was just trying to make money and wanted it to sound easy and good. There are so many reptile breeders that have great specimens and everything but most do have imported baby savs. The best thing to do if you want a baby sav is to look around at shows in the spring sometimes alittle before and there are hatchlings that were just imported and in great health. You can easily spot them. They are alot lighter solor than those bad imports. Your would be a dark brown color wouldn't it. don't feed him just portions of something like gizazards or hearts. Feed hom hole rodents and insects. How big is it that is the most importannt question you should answer. If it is only 6 or 7" long then you need only to feed him crickets and try to feed the occasional pinky. Dust the crickets with soemthing likeherptivite or some other reptile viatamin supplemenet. If this one doesn't make it you need to just wait till next spring and go to some herp shows in your area and find one fo the freshest imports. Some that are farm raised. Look fro the healthiest fattest most alert and probably the lightest one. I have 1 that is 32" or so that I raised from an eleven inch beutiful animal, and one i got last sping that is alittl over 7". i got him when he was only a little over 5" he was the smallest one I've ever seen so I got him.
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Justin

Why waste the time and money on yet another poor little WC Bosc??? PLEASE do not promote the DISCUSTING trade of these animals!!! There are PLENTY of CB monitors to choose from that make MUCH better captives than Boscs and Niles.

Im really sorry if I sound abrasive, but this REALLY angers me.

Michelle

Not that Michelle needs support for this honest (and blunt ) assessment of the situation, but someone a few days ago was talking about the dichotomy between price of animal and price of enclosure..."never bought an animal that cost more than it's cage". A $35 dollar animal that's likely to die is probably not the best way to start your adventures in monitor husbandry. If it dies (good luck, truly), wait long enough to build that cage you talked about, and then save up the money to buy a quality CB animal that will give you what you want. In the end, that investment will come back to you, and everyone who encounters your new pet, in myriad ways that a poor sickly import just can't provide. Best of luck and I hope you can turn your lizard around.

Michael

I did not mean that as an encouragement. i ment it like if he realy wants one. I would recommend an ackie or some other type of captive bred monitor. i gues i was not thinking properly. No offense takin.
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Justin