Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello,
This is my first time posting on this forum. I want to get a savannah monitor sometime in the near future (hopefully within the next year or so, after I move.). I wanna get as much info as I can beforehand though. One of my questions is, I plan on getting a baby (6 inches long or so) and keeping it in an aquarium, like a 50 gallon breeder, at first until it outgrows it. How long would it be able to stay in something that size (36"x18" i think.)?

I also plan on building him a large permanent enclosure. I have read many different opinions on how big it should be, but it seems that 6'x 3' is about the average. does that sound right? also, how tall should it be? can i see pics of anyone else's enclosures for their full grown savannahs?

Last question for now. In a cage that large, what does everyone use for substrate? Could they be kept on, say, aspen shavings like snakes? Or is that not good for them?

Thanks for any info
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~Melissa~
1.3 Leopard geckos (Guido, Oasis, Gypsy, Marli)
1.0 Bearded dragon (Pharoah)
1.0 Hog Island Boa (Michelangelo)
0.0.1 Crested Gecko (Picasso)
1.0 Ferret (da Vinci)
0.1 Chinchilla (Eevie)
And Jack the cat!

Melissas Menagerie

this is my savannah inclosure, they are still small and young but it wil last them a long time. I built it myself and only hit my finger once lol. 12ft front4ft. wide 3 ft tall. I have a large section with about 5in. of topsoil in the cool side, used indoor outdoor carpet coverin the intire floor(ya know that grass lookin stuff) Listen to the experts on the heat, mine is around 100 in the warm side , stays about 80 on the cool side, hottest basking spot stays at 125. Please read alot and learn all you can, monitors aint puppys unless you include Shvars. lol

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Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup.

Thanks for the reply! Your cage is beautiful, you did an excellent job on it! You said you used the carpeting for the bottom- is it hard to clean? I assume monitors make big ol' poops, so I was wondering if a loose substrate would be maybe easier to clean. I know impaction is a problem with most lizards on loose substrate though. hmm...

So you would recommend higher basking temps than 100 degrees? (everything i have read says that should be the basking temp.) I would assume they would like it higher than 100 though, considering where they are from. and would it vary by age, like would the younger savannahs like it warmer than adults or vise versa? I know its that way with beardies so i was just wondering.

Thanks again, and again, VERY awesome enclosure.
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~Melissa~
1.3 Leopard geckos (Guido, Oasis, Gypsy, Marli)
1.0 Bearded dragon (Pharoah)
1.0 Hog Island Boa (Michelangelo)
0.0.1 Crested Gecko (Picasso)
1.0 Ferret (da Vinci)
0.1 Chinchilla (Eevie)
And Jack the cat!

Melissas Menagerie

savannahs are great monitors if you treat them with respect i have raised five and i currently have three all of them were around 5 inches when i got them maby 7 inches i keep them seperate each has a 8 foot by 3 foot by 3 foot cage they do very well CAP10CAVY does have a beautifull cage (very nice)...they grow very fast and eat a huge amount of food, basking spots all depend on the size of the cage and the height of your lamp in mine i keep a 110 degree basking spot with a cool spot of around 80 to 83 degrees they seem to love it this is just how mine does other people may do things differently ,all of mine are pretty docile but all of them were a little snappy when they were small but they calm down quik ...good luck with your soon to be new pet...

JODY T

one more

I just use good old walmart topsoil, seems to work good for me. I just mist it good ever other day to keep it moist but not muddy. As for clean up, I built the inclosure with a removable top . I just use my shopvac to suck up what ever I need to. I was worried the noise would bother them but the just look at me like "You know your interferring with my nap time?"
You mentioned "where they are from". Alot of people including yours truely made the mistake of thinking Savannah, meant Savannah Dessert, thats not where they are from. Good luck.

Scott
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Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup.

Buy Daniel Bennett and Ravi Thakoordyal's book The Savannah Monitor Lizard: The Truth About Varanus exanthematicus.

It'll answer all of your questions regarding housing, substrates, diets etc.

It's available directly from the authors, or from Amazon.com and costs next to nix. An excellent investment.

best regards,
Michelle