Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was wondering what healthy sav poo looks like, kinda nasty I know just want to keep a watchful eye on him, and I gave him a bath last night in warm water in a very large (thoroughly cleaned) rubbermaid tub, he loved it, how often can i bathe him, or let him swim? and i wanted a pair of sav's but the guy only had one for right now, when i get his partner can i put them together right away or do i have to wait for them to acclimate to each other?

Take a deep breath lol. I've been trying to do the same with argus for some time (about 2 years). This is really tricky. You not only have to have a pair, but a compatiable pair. The female must accept the male first. You may end up with a small zoo before you are successful. Also, you need to properly sex the one you have to even begin to know what you need. This is not as easy as you would think. A monitor usually has to be about a year in age before you can really tell. Your best bet is to start with a proven (a pair that has successfully produced offspring that hatched) pair.

I understand your interest in wanting to breed. For me it means I'm taking my hobby to the next level. If your thinking about selling, remember that these guys get imported and sold for about 5.00, a lot less than you would pay to get a hatchling ready for sale.

I'm not trying to discorage, just give you some things to consider.

Good luck,
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hbailey

0.1 argus monitor

No Im definately not thinking about selling, Id just like to take my expierence further than it is now, and as for the babys, I know alot of enthusiasts like myself, and the others would be taken to my local reptile showcase for some sort of trade or credit. Im not in it for money. Ty

>>No Im definately not thinking about selling, Id just like to take my expierence further than it is now, and as for the babys, I know alot of enthusiasts like myself, and the others would be taken to my local reptile showcase for some sort of trade or credit. Im not in it for money. Ty

I just wanted you to have the big picture in mind and share with you the problems I've had with trying to breed my argus. I've bought a pair, just couldn't take the frustration any more.
I know I have a male sav after he was so nice to crap on me and show me his junk

GOod luck in you endevor, no doublt that I will probably try breeding savs as well. My arguses are first in line for that though .
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hbailey

0.1 argus monitor

If we provide enough CB Savs and they become the demand..not the infested WC Savs, then we would be helping preserve the wild Savannah in the native habitat. So instead of one Sav lets try the pair. I know I prefer CB over WC.
Nick

The problem is economics. If you look at the CITES estimates, what is likely to be produced in captivity would be a fraction of a percent of what is brought in WC or "farmed". I fully agree with the preference of a CBB lizard. I would buy a CBB sav if I found one, but think about who is most likely to buy a sav.

Newbies usually buy these guys on impulse for a fraction of what it would cost the hobbiest to produce (breaking even). They don't think about a vet visit or the cost to treat for anything the poor imported lizard may have. They will just see lizard A 25.00 and B $50-$75 and buy accordingly.

If you don't have Daniel Bennett's book, get it. There's a great section on how the sav plays an economical role in certain african countries. I will likely breed these guys and I will likely sell them at cost, but they will still be considerably more expensive than your more readily available imports.
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hbailey

0.1 argus monitor

I guess he didnt like the answers he was given there. If someone gives you advice and has the animals best interests in mind, also when they have experience in being sucessful with monitors Id say that advice is what you should follow, but thats just common sense until you develop the experience to learn on your own.
I read some responses given to your questions here that made me cringe at the thought of someone believing and following it as the "best way...".
Anyways, thought Id respond to let you know some of us have your monitors best interest in mind.
Ive had a few over many years, here was my first monitor, I made many mistakes, but youll notice he grew up in my care from a 6 inch hatchling to 4ft 6 inches long and had him several years. Since then my husbandry has improved 1000 fold, also my tastes in monitors has changed alot.

Hope it wasn't any advice I gave that made you cringe. If I was wrong or inaccurate, let me know. I'm more an argus person, but I got a sav just out of curiosity. He has almost no color, but a heck of a lot tamer than argus lol.

As to not liking the answer given. I've noticed that there are people who want help and care for their monitor and those who just want their husbandry validated good, bad, or indifferent. To me good knowlege is a gift and I don't care if it's buried in a bunch of critisim, but that's me.

Anyhow, nice monitor. Mines about 1' and we'll see how well "he" (my hunch) turns out.
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hbailey

0.1 argus monitor

There were responses that did about substrates, also I saw some pictures that caught my attention.
I really dont want to start an arguement here so Ill leave it at that.
Dirt, real dirt, little to no organic material. Something to think about, they do NOT like organic materials for substrates (plants, bark, woodchips, etc). Real dirt has a basis of decomposed rock and other minerals, passes harmlessly through the digestive system all of the time.
Impactions are the result of improper environments, ie dehydration, too low temps.

I agree that dirt is really the best substrate. I do however use cypres in a pinch e.g. ground is solid outside and it does hold good humidity. On some occassions I've had one side dirt and one side cypress to aid in raising humidity. My point being there is some uses for certain organic substrates, but in no way are they the best. I've tried using non-organic topsoil from Lowes, but still struggle with getting the right ratio of fine grain sand to get a good substrate for a burrow. My poor argus digs a hole and it collapses. I need to get this figured out so nesting won't be a concern. I'd hate to come this far only to fail and have an egg bound female. This spring, I'm going to my backyard and digging some dirt and replacing it with what's in my argus cage now. Lot's of work and slightly frustrating, but they're worth it.

Sorry for the log one and open to any tips you may have, as I know you have an argus too.
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hbailey

0.1 argus monitor

I may have added a small amount of sand to it, I cant remember if I did.
A dirty monitor is a happy monitor, lol.