Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm finally posting a pic of my savy (using my sister's camera & photobucket account). I got him when he was 6in long in july, now he's almost 14in. Dang, they grow fast. I've been on this forum for weeks now, and just wanted to show you guys my monitor. Tell me what you think. Thanks!

Se7en,
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Whooops...

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Yeah, they do grow fast, if given the chance.

It's about time you posted a pic of yours. Give us a shot from the side that shows its head, face, next chance you get.

It can be hard to get a sav to grow fast without having to lead it with body fat, but that should be your goal. It may just be the angle of your photo but it looks like its a bit plump. Savs are notorius for that.

Once they get fat it can be a chore to find a happy medium between reducing food intake to withholding food altogether. A broad temperature range and plenty of opportunities for exercise, mostly in the form of digging, is important, vital.

Just a friendly "heads up" on it's weight, mate.

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

Here's a few more pics that I took of him today. Notice the difference in his shedding. He looked extra fat in the pic I posted the other day, because he was basking before I took it. I liked that pic, because it also showed his burrow. I noticed he put a lot of weight on, expecially on his tail and arms. Thank god he doesn't tailwhip anymore. Even at 13in long, he still won't hesitate to feast on crickets. Tell me what you think. Thanks.

Se7en,
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Much better pics.

It does look like a male to me but it's hard to tell for sure from those pics.

He's not as hefty as the first pic made him look. If you can keep him from getting any fatter than that you'll have done good.

Lookin' good, keep up the good work.

Thanks for sharing your photos.

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

I'm not sure on the sex, but I've seen something pop out, and suck back in before. He usually everts after using the bathroom. I just don't know, if it's a male or female eversion. When this first started happening awhile ago, he seemed somewhat embarassed to have it just hanging out. I remember one time, I was staring at his eversion, and he saw me, and immediately puffed up, hissed, then leaped off his log, and dived straight into his burrow. Never ever have I seen him run so fast into his burrow. I haven't made him angry for a long time, but he sure was pissed. I'm pretty sure it was because I was staring at his eversion, because I wasn't making any movements or doing anything else than staring. He seems more comfortable now that he is older, but I prevent myself from looking at his eversions too close or too long.

Se7en,

Ha! Ha! Ha!

Loved the story! Got a kick outta that.

I had a link to a photo of a male hemipene but unfortunately I can't figure out what I did with the link or the photo that the link led to.

When fully everted, a male's hemipene is wicked looking. A tube with a flowering end. Kind of like a joker's hat on the end of a tube. A female can/will sometimes evert a tube also but it's usually smooth, sometimes having a bit of a rough collar-like on it.

Once you see a male's hemipene there'll be little to no doubt about seeing a female's.

Thanks for the grin & keep up the good work.

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

LOL. That only happend to me once, during the first few times he started to do it. It's funny now, but I was scared and shocked to see him run and hide like his life depended on it. I've seen a pic of a hemipene posted on this site or another, but at that time, my savy was still very young, and it was hard to compare something that was so small to something so big. But, it was not by anymeans a smooth tube, forsure it had a nasty looking "head" at the end of the tube. Now that he is almost 5 months old, I'll be looking for the "joker's hat" to shoot out from between his legs. AHAH. Thanks HappyHillBilly for more of your help, advice, and your opinion. Yes, you are the ONLY one who replied to my post........

Se7en,

Sounds like you've got you a male. That's one reason why I got such a kick out of your story, just imagining someone totally unprepared seeing something like that and staring in disbelief as if "What the HECK!?" Hahahahahahaha!!!

And then I got to thinkin' about a young male boy goin' through puberty, wondering "Why does that thing keep doin' that? I don't know, but it sure feels good." Then all of the sudden one of their parent's open the bedroom door and embarasses the crap outta them. Just like what happened to your sav, you embarrassed the poor fella. Hahahahahaha!!!

Oh, don't take it personally that nobody else replied to this thread. Some have been distracted, obviously, and some are busy to where they only have a minute or two to try to help someone with a dire need. And sometimes many people, at the same time, are unable to check out the forum. I don't reply to every post, and it's nothing personal.

But if you ever want to just make someone feel good, get them started talking about something they like, have, are proud of, etc.... Share THEIR interests, not yours. It only takes a minute and will come back to you many times over.

I remember my very first post here on KS years ago, it was in the Cage & Habitat forum. One person replied to what was interesting to me and even to this day I go out of my way to try to help them if I can or compliment them.

Take care & Enjoy LIFE: Little Incidents Full of Excitement

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

LOL. What you said about the young boy going through puberty, is probably exsactly what happened! Yea, there isn't much advice I can GIVE, but there's tons of advice I can RECEIVE. Hopefully this link will work. I'll make sure I compare my savys next eversion to this.

http://img253.imageshack.us/img253/5359/smcropped1833bf6.jpg

Se7en,

Good find!

I think that's the same pic but different location that I was looking for. Thanks!

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

...I have never seen a lizards hemipene. I like the second set of pictures se7en, and the story was even better.

I wish I could get a monitor, but I am moving around too much to get one at the moment.

Thanks for the comment man! I hope you have fun at the expo in San Heezy. Let me guess, you go to San Jose State? I like how you are collecting information on monitors, years before even planning to own one. Just glad, that you aren't one of those impulse buyers. KingSnake has tons of info and knowlege you can use, to further educate yourself on monitors. You'll find people's comments and posts very helpful.

Se7en,

No, I do not go to SJSU. I am at a community college this quarter, but next quarter I will be attending UCLA and majoring in mechanical engineering. There is just isn't a chance I could afford or house a 4 foot beast right now. I just have a genuine interest in lizards, and monitors in particular. Learning what I can is more of guilty pleasure rather than a chore.

How old is your sav, and what is it's temperament?

I would be willing to bet impulse purchases of iguanas are the most common. The people who purchase them probably have no idea what they are in for a year or two later when the iguana is full grown. At least they are cheaper to maintain than monitors, but that is not saying much.

Bearded Dragons for the win for the average person. I had one for 4 years, but had to give it away when I moved out to SDSU my first year of college (yes, I have been way too many places for college and I am barely a junior, but go BRUINS). My neighbor had a grandson at a school that had a whole room dedicated to reptiles. They took my bearded dragon in, and it could not have been a better place. They got about 8 bearded dragons and babies, a veiled chameleon, several snakes, leopard geckos, turtles, and several other reptiles. It just made me jealous when I saw the room.

I got my sav on 7-09-07 when he was 6 inches at most, now he has grown to 13inches. He grew faster than I thought, so I have to build him a new cage. When I first got him, he was a fiesty little sav. I was tail whipped, hissed at, and bitten. I left him alone for weeks, inorder for him to settle and build some confidence. After the first month, I was able to pet him on his head and neck. By the third month I was able to pick him up out of his cage, without him feeling uncomfortable or threatened. I took the "handling process" pretty slow, making sure we established a relationship of trust and respect. Now, after almost 4 months, he doesn't see me as any kind of threat. He'll lick me or smell me, but won't bite. I usually handle him everyday, for a short period of time. The last time I pissed him off, is when he caught me staring at his eversion.

Se7en,

Actually Iguanas are more expensive. They require a cage just as big if not bigger than a large monitor and definitely need a taller cage as they are extremely arboreal. Unlike most other reptiles Iguanas really do require broad spectrum lighting (think grow-op type lighting or outdoors not the junk they sell at pet stores.) They also require a diet so complex that most die-hard vegans would be hard pressed to come up with something compareable. Per-capita I spend more to feed my herbivorous reptiles than I do my carnivores.

I always figured the price of rodents would exceed the price of caring for an iguana in the long run. Would have never looked at it that way.

When you consider that you need fresh vegeatables a majority of which are dark leafy greens that wouldn't freeze anyway and you need a large diversity of vegetables(my iguana/tortoise/uro salad has a minimum of 7-10 ingredients) it adds up really quick. I raise my own rodents and even the cost of feed per capita is cheaper than fresh greens. Even if you don't raise your own rodents you can buy frozen rodents in bulk or by live rodents when prices are low and then freeze them. Like I said you just can't do that with vegetables. then there's the whole calcium and light issues if you keep iguanas indoors. Monitors are definitely cheaper.