Reptile & Amphibian Forums

This will be a rather blunt post, as I just typed out a really long post with lots of background info. But I FORGOT to sign in and lost my message.
My rescued sav, just went to the vet for his last appointment. In the month and a bit that I have had him he has grown 5 Inches total length is now 18.5 Inches. I am unsure of his weight gain, But he does not look like skin and bones anymore.
I was feeding him all that he could eat for the first month. I do not want to over feed him. Now I feed him 50 or more crickets in the morning. He usually has about 10 that he does not finish, he hunts them the next morning before he gets 50 more. He then gets 4 medium sized hoppers at lunch time. The hoppers are about three "bites" and go down really easy. my question am I..
over feeding?
under feeding?
Should I increase the size of prey and lessen the amount?
is it fine the way it is?
Because of how underfed and small he was, and I don't know how old he is either, I want to make sure he is getting a proper diet. I don't want to stress him or cause him any more grief (I don't know how long of a memory he has, but he has been through enough).
Any advice would be great.

on a side note I did read the Savannah monitor book by Bennet and many other care sheets. I am just looking for any advice or opinion you can give, as this forum has a lot of experience in it, and that in its self can be more helpful then books and care sheets.

Ash

He's 18 inches and he eats 50 lrg crickets, and 4 hoppers daily? Mine is 13 inches and eats 24 lrg crickets and 2 hoppers daily, and I thought mine ate a lot. Your guy eats twice as much as mine! Your guy seems to have a huge appetite, but if he takes down that much food without any problems, I can't think of a reason not to (assuming he's not obese). How fast did he grow those 5 inches?

Se7en,

5 inches of growth in a little over a month is a lot! I'm sure he's much more healthy than before you got him. Since he's growing that much that fast, keep feeding him how much he'll take, and then cut back a little when he starts getting obese. Good luck!

Se7en,

Bloody hell; that things got quite an appetite!

Make sure to keep the humidity steady, to avoid impactions with that much going in. Shouldnt be a problem though, realy.

Keep the heat up, and as the fella above said- let him eat what he wants; just be careful of obesity.

Thanks to both of you.
My sav has always had a monster appetite. I really need to switch him to frozen, instead of freshly killed hoppers. I keep forgetting to call on Tuesday(the store I buy from only takes orders for frozen prey on Tuesdays). So every day I stop in and pick up 50 crickets and 4 hoppers at 9.50$. Considering I can get 20 frozen hoppers for the same price, you would think I would remember. Maybe next week. arghh

*** How do I add pictures to my post. I'm going to take some good pictures of him next week after he is done shedding.

Never mind I apparently know how to post a picture.
Will post a much better one next week, when his shed is done.
please don't flame me about his enclosure this was just for quarantine, his new much more appropriate digs will be ready this week.

Ash

He looks like he's doing good. I wonder how old he is. 10 bucks a day = 300 bucks a month. That's A LOT of money just for food. You need to definately hurry up and order those frozen ones. He will appreciate it if you put dirt in his cage. Keep up the good work.

Se7en,