Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am sure I opening a can of worms here but I'm curious to hear people's opinions on the Reptiles magazine current article about the care of Savannah Monitors. It doesn't go into any depth about caging which is an issue I am going to have to deal with soon as my monitor approaches adulthood...

Hello,
What "hurdles" are you facing about caging? Best to you- Mike S

Basically I don't know how to make the cattle trough style cage that most in-the-know monitor keepers seem to recommend. I wish there were some specific plans I could download.

There are a lot of options and there really are no set 'plans'. You have to be creative and think logically. Look at the pictures on pro exotics and do a google search and a forum search for some ideas.

Regarding the Sav article in Reptiles Feb 2010, which just came out, it is actually pretty good, and that is exciting.

It is written by Robert Sprackland, and is a distinct departure from his previous articles and books on Savs and monitors in general. It suggests soil substrates and 130F basking spots. Hooray!!

Really, HOOOOOOOO-RAYYYYYY!

As I remember, the most recent Sav article was by Mark Bayless, and was so bad, so completely opposite of any modern husbandry, it was so discouraging. And Sprackland's Sav article the time before was nearly as antiquated (but not as bad as the Bayless piece, which was one of the worst articles I have ever seen in print).

So big hurrahs for Robert Sprackland, a very nice guy to be sure, and a congrats to Reptiles Mag for publishing a monitor article that better represents modern lizard theory and husbandry!
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robyn@proexotics.com

ShipYourReptiles.com
Pro Exotics Reptiles

Regarding the caging, you could do an entire article just on the caging itself. I would indeed like to do a caging for lizards article, focusing on the troughs, but it going to take more persuasion of the editorial staff that readers would be interested.

Reptiles Mag doesn't really get into that type of detail and subtlety. I think that is a mistake, and I think it would be a refreshing addition, and attract new eyes. Perhaps it will change in time.

I know that Chad here at Pro Exotics submitted a complete article on the porphyraceus ratsnakes, touching on each aspect of husbandry, going from hatching to adults to breeding to hatching again, and it has yet to be printed because it is literally THREE TIMES too long! We would like to have it presented in three parts, if necessary, because the whole point of the article is not pretty pictures, but the conveyance of husbandry information, but editorial staff is not a fan of the multi parter.

Again, it is about the audience, and the reader.

I know for sure that I get frustrated whenever submitting a monitor article, because not only does it get edited for content, but more importantly, my pics go unused. The mag would rather show those corny posed shots of sickly looking Ackies on driftwood and gravel and with live/fake plants, as opposed to showing a realistic tank or trough setup, which is not as pretty to the eyes, but is functional and is tied specifically to the text of the article.

Enough bellyaching, I am thrilled they have published a good Sav article : )
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robyn@proexotics.com

ShipYourReptiles.com
Pro Exotics Reptiles

Glad to hear your take on things Robyn! I thought it seemed like a decent article. It seems like the special husbandry requirements of monitors would warrant an in-depth caging issue for sure. Maybe you and Chad could write a book...

The lack of detailed articles and generic photos has probably contributed to my decision not to renew my subscription to that mag this year.

"Regarding the caging, you could do an entire article just on the caging itself. I would indeed like to do a caging for lizards article, focusing on the troughs, but it going to take more persuasion of the editorial staff that readers would be interested.

Reptiles Mag doesn't really get into that type of detail and subtlety. I think that is a mistake, and I think it would be a refreshing addition, and attract new eyes. Perhaps it will change in time."

That lack of detail is pretty much why I stopped taking it.
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Steve