Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Just curious on how fast a savannah monitor will grow, length wise, on the average. I purchased a baby sav about 3 months ago (maybe like 6 inches). I believe he is about 4 months old now. He now measures 12 inches from snout to end of tail. I was wondering if he is of apporiate size for his age. And if so, how much more will he grow in 6 months, or 1 year from now? 2ft. by the end of the first year? I understand that proper diet, temps, humidity, enclosure size, stress levels and other factors greatly effect growth, but I was just wondering the AVERAGE GROWTH RATE for a savannah monitor. He is eating very well on dusted crickets, silk worms, and fuzzies. Tried feeder fish and snails before, but was told not to(because of parasites? and the chemicals in the water that the feeder fish are bred in?). I ditched the green turf mat, and currently using dirt for substrate. He LOVES to dig tunnels and burrows, and I can see his arms getting BIGGER from all the digging. Temps are 80 in the cool, 90 in the hot, and over 110 surface temp where he basks. Humidity is atleast 60. Oh yea, and I DO have a UV light for him. I am just recently slowly starting to handle him. I tried to handle him a few times, when I first got him, but he was very defensive, so I left him alone in order to keep him from feeling anymore stress. He used to not even let me stick my hand in his enclosure(Hissing, tailwhipping, bit me a few times), but now I can pet him and even pick him up out of his cage without him hissing or tailwhipping! He finally some what trusts me, after 4 months! Wrote waaaaay more Shiet than I was suppose to, sorry...
Thank you for any information or help you decide to give me. Thank you for your time.

Se7en,

With proper temps (yours not being proper) and a ton of food, your sav would reach adulthood in the next year or so.
It took my Blackthroat about 2 years to reach 4.5', and she is still growing.
She also went through some very stressful situations where she wouldnt eat for a month at a time (ie. being shipped on a plane 2 times in a 4 month period) and who knows how she was cared for the first 6 months of her life before I got her.
And who is to say when it is full grown? I have seen female savs top off at only around 2 feet!!! Males at 5 feet!!!
Temps and nutrition... Get the basking to 130*
Feed more rodents!!

Thanks for your advice. I will make his basking area closer to his heat bulb. At the moment, I feed him LIVE fuzzies, and wondering if I should feed him Hoppers? or what ever the next one bigger is? Seems like fuzzies go down pretty fast with ease. He eats about 12 dusted crickets, and 1 or 2 fuzzies daily. And maybe a few silk worms here and there, but they are very expensive. I might feed him 6 times a week, but I usually feed him everyday. If he gets full, he sometimes leaves a fuzzie for later. He really likes crickets, shows very strong interest, and loves to chase them down. Would you feed yours on a strickly rodent diet (if it was the size of mine)? Should he be eating MORE or LESS? Any other advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Se7en,

I always recommend smaller portions rather than large. I'd stick with the fuzzies for now, especially if it sometimes leaves one for a later snack. Smaller portions are easier for animals (all animals) to digest.

Later!
HH
-----
Due to political correctness run amuck,
this ol' hillbilly is now referred to as an:
Appalachian American

Hey there!
When talking about "average growth rates" you have to realize that actual average growth rates are lower than average potential growth rates. And then there's always the factor of "individualism."

Based on your post I'd say that you're already pretty much aware of all that and want to skip over it. Don't blame you, so I'll skip it.

I feel that your sav is growing at, or slightly above, the average growth rate. But there's a good chance it might could grow faster.

Persoanlly, I don't see anything wrong with the varied diet you're feeding your giving it, including feeder fish. I don't know what kind of water feeder fish are raised in but I don't think a healthy monitor will have any problems dealing with parasites from healthy fish. You can always go to a bait & tackle shop and get some minnows. I'd keep crickets & rodents as it's staple, though.

"Newstorm" mentioned your temps being low and I agree with him. Try raising it and observing how your sav reacts over the next several weeks before adjusting it again. Give it a chance to work. FR's saying "Heat 'um & feed 'um" has been proven to work.

> > > Wrote waaaaay more Shiet than I was suppose to, sorry...

Ha! Ha! No problem, there are a few of us here that do the very same thing, especially me.

Have a good one!
HH
-----
Due to political correctness run amuck,
this ol' hillbilly is now referred to as an:
Appalachian American

Yeah, definitely don't feed a staple of rodents only...yet! Take advantage of the crickets and insects for now. This will help keep him lean while he grows. Feeding consistently every day is the ticket. Like HappyHillbilly stated, he seems to be at a good growth rate, but there is always potential for rocketing growth. To me it seems healthier to "heat um' and feed um'" like FR says. It keeps a high metabolism.

WOW,I first posted this last night, and I wake up this mourning and theres 4 replies! Just wanted to say thanks to all of you for your time, and your advice is VERY helpful. I decided on putting more dirt in his enclosure, or putting in a bigger rock to elevate him a little more. It's starting to cool down over here in San Francisco. The thing is, my thermometer MAXES out at 110 degrees !!! (fluker's brand). That's why I stated "OVER 110 in his basking area". I don't know the actual number... So at the moment I need to find a REAL thermometer that can record higher levels or heat, probably the one from ProExotics (the gun with the beam?). Even though his basking area maxes out my thermometer at 110 plus, I believe it's still not as high as 130. And therefore will take immediate actions in correcting the temp problem. Once I get my temp gun, I will make changes inorder to achieve the desired 130 degrees. I'm so glad to hear that my monitor is doing good, because I just want him to be as healthy and happy as possible, considering I'm responsible for his... LIFE. O yea, I'm also supprised how FAST you guys reply to posts. I'm SOOOO glad I registered last night, ahahahhaha. You will definately see me post again. I don't want to post stupid things and get yelled at by everyone (seen it happen MANY times), but I feel like there's GREAT knowlege I can recieve from you GREAT people! Once again, Thank you ALL for your time and helpful advice!

O yea, he's a MALE! After he released his stool this mourning, his penis SHOT out and was hanging out for awhile, until he flexed, and it kinda sucked back in. AHAHAHA! This never happened before, or I just never noticed it.

Se7en,

Now I don't know for an absolute fact, but I either read somewhere or heard somewhere that females evert also. I have a Blackthroat that screams female in every way, but she everted something one day?!?!?!?!
My old sav was a definite male. When he everted it looked like 2 big worms with tentacles coming out!! My BT was not so dramatic, just a smooth looking tube, from what I remember. Not sure what that could have been.
This would actually be a good post; Can female monitors Evert?

Interesting... Would like to know about that!

Se7en,

In fact I have an example that everted a hemiclitori longer and almost as large around as any male albig Ive ever seen evert. Yes females evert for a variety of reasons, you have to know what you are looking at when it everts, also you have to know the difference between a partial and full eversion.
Also on the subject of bosc monitors, insects can be fed as often as they will eat them, but rodents do no harm, and if set up to make use of them, rodents and birds are an excellent source as well simple to feed as a staple or exclusively. Ive had great luck with both, and they do not get fat, they grow long and thin.