Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was wondering about the savvy.Are they easy to care for???Im use to large reptiles and mammals.....What do they eat?
What size cage?
I have a 6 foot long 2 foot across 3 foot high cage..would that work?

Thanx Iggygurl

1.0green iguana,1.0rough green snake,0.2goats,1.0chihuahua,0.1budgie,1.2 show rabbits

If you're expecting something like your iguana, you're in for a surprise. They're big, active lizards, and there's no guarantee they'll have a sweet temperament. I was talking to a sav. owner today who was amazed I had my monitor (a different species) harness trained. He can barely handle his savannah, let alone get a harness on it, yet he had raised it himself. Also, they're a threatened species, so do some searching to try and find a breeder if you can, no sense in helping to depopulate the species you want to care for.
They can be easy to care for if you don't mind the often moist, crunchy, or still living foods they require, and you can provide a habitat. The more space you can provide, the better, they need room to roam. And easy is a relative thing, I would say it's more difficult to care for a monitor than to care for rabbits, but much easier to care for a monitor than for a large parrot. Also this is an animal that would probably be a danger to your other pets should it escape, and monitors are really good at steadily testing all parts of their enclosure since they can swim, dig, climb and run.
Monitors aren't as popular as dogs, or even iguanas, so you'll have a harder time meeting its needs because you'll be less likely to easily find supplies made specifically for them.
And unlike your snake or iguana, a monitor lizard always has to be treated with careful respect, they have jaws designed for tearing flesh, with teeth to match. No matter how many times I sunbath with my monitor, or how many times it decides to sit on my should to watch what's going on, it will hiss and even try to whip its tail at me if I poke it while it's sleeping or surprise it when it thinks it's alone. A savannah will grow to be a three foot long potentially dangerous meat-eating lizard, so do a lot of research, and talk to lots of people. One person will say they are tame like a dog and a hearty animal, another that they have a good rep because they're one of the more popular monitor species but in reality they're really nasty. I'm not very experienced with them in particular, but that's my advice.

His Savannah monitor book, read it a few times, then you wont have to blame someone else after youve bought the animal and regret it. All bosc monitors (the real name) are wild caught period, nobody breeds them, not since Ravi who helped write that book. Savannah monitor is a US pet industry name, slang term that became popular like ebonics. Every monitor is a very intellegent, active, animal with a totally different personality. You have to adapt to them and the way they are, as well as starting with a cage small at first then quickly moving them from one cage to another, if healthy and growing right you should need a 4x4x8 cage within the first year. They are a medium sized (2.5-4 ft), semi-arid to arid grassland/woodland/farmland dweller, that spends alot of time underground, eats alot of insects, when older feed mice, but watch for obesity as all monitors are long and thin in build. They can be dangerous if they are not respected as they have sharp claws, powerful jaws, and a healthy bosc is always hungry. They are escape artists. By the time you get to know the animal well he will make your iguana seem rather dimwitted and not very intellegent.

Hi there!!! i too started with iguanas before i got into monitors. ive been keeping them for almost a year now and ill try to help your curoisity.

Frist off lets start with temperment. I like my sav but to say tame describes him would be an absolute joke. absolute $hithead might be a better term. for the most part he likes to be left alone. however this is not the rule with savs as ive encountered many in my local herp community that where not so, but were in fact quite docile and pleasant to handle. then again ive also ran into a few as mean as my own. i think (and i could be very wrong) that the tempermewnt of a sav really depends on the individual lizard as well as the amount of time you spent handling it. then again i've spent a great deal of time with mine and although he no longer bites or whips(as much)he still does not appreciate being held. Meanwhile a freind of mine has one that will sit on his lap somewhat contentedly for long periods of time, never whiped him, never bitten him, doesnt mind being picked up or handled whatsoever. Go figure.
And now for your cage question. 6x2x3 is it? well most would say that it really should be about a foot wider but that should work fine nonetheless.still if you decide to purchase or build another cage make it a foot or two wider k. But the one you have should suffice for now.
But the person who posted next to this is right...get a book...or two! And also if your looking for a monitor that will be fairly docile maybe you should consider something other than a savanah...there are alot of different monitor species out there no need to get a sav due to how common it is. Cuz when it comes to temperment, as far as im concerned with a sav you may as well flip a coin and hope for luck....