Reptile & Amphibian Forums

New on this forum. I keep several varieties of lizard, but this is my first monitor. Just got a Savannah that got dumped because the owner did not want/could not keep it anymore. He/she is 24" long and supposedly 2-3 years old. Appears healthy, although I did have to soak him to get old dry shed off him. He's tame, so he was handled, but he was living in a 20 gal.long (!!!)with 1/2 inch of wood chip substrata, no hide and just an under tank heater. All things considered, he's doing well, but I think he's 'way under size.

At 2-3 years, he should not have reached his full size? If he is small due to past husbandry, will he begin to grow with proper care, or is he as big as he's going to get? How much should he be eating, as I'm not sure whether we're dealing with a monitor that will still be growing or an adult? I don't want to short him, but I also don't want him to get fat.

Could anyone post pics of their Savannah enclosures, to give me an idea what is the best housing design for this guy? At present, "Bubba" is residing temporarily in my huge 6' x 4' garden tub in the master bath. We've rigged lights and heat, etc. for now, but I plan to have cage-building day this weekend, and I need some suggestions. Also, what's the best waterproofing for a plywood enclosure, how many coats, and how long should I leave it sit before it is safe to use? How do you design the enclosure so that he doesn't pile the dirt up against the door? Anything else I should take into consideration?

Thanks in advance for the help.

Leslie

I am a Bosc owner and have had my little guy/girl for 7 months which makes its age just over 8 months old and its exactly 24" from snout to tail. So i would have to agree that for yours to be that length at 2-3 years its really been thru a horrible ordeal. But yes it will continue to grow with proper husbandry but will most likely not reach its full growth potential. I feed mine twice a week- medium to large thawed mice(3 per feeding)along with a bi-weekly all you can eat day of crickets, hissers or worms. I house mine in a custom built 6' long x 4' wide x 4' deep enclosure(sry no cam) with a 2' natural dirt and screened topsoil mix for burrowing and 3 hidespots(1 on coolside- 1 in the middle of enclosure and 1 directly under its basking area to allow thermoregulation). My temps are as followed, 85 degree ambient with a basking spot of 142.8 degrees and a cold side of 78.0(I don't use a night drop but temps shouldn't drop below 78 degrees if you do). For a new owner such as yourself I'd suggest you visit proexotics.com care sheet. They don't sell or carry Savannahs so check under Ionides husbandry, they're pretty much kept the same. Now as far as waterproofing plywood(which i've also had to do with my Sav enclosure) I suggest using a waterbased polyurethane(3 to 4 coats). On the container it says it takes 3 to 4 days to dry but i found that though it was dry to the touch it still carried a strong scent of fumes so i would allow it about a week or two to completely air out. Then before you go and add your Sav, you should run your heat lamps/sources at temp for 24 to 48 hours because heat tends to release excess fumes. Thats pretty much it but if you have any additional questions pls feel free to ask. Thats what we're here for. Hope this helps.

so thats something to think about before hand as well as having it in a position that makes it easy to clean, change water etc. Depending on the size of the enclosure build(I suggest at least 6'x4'x3')you can pretty much put a door anywhere top/side, top, top/front etc . One thing i would add which i think is important is where to place vents so you dont lost all your humidity(which is why hes having shed problems) is placing your vents on the side of the enclosure for air exchange. Note: Your humidity shouldn't be high 30 to 40 percent should be sufficient along with weekly soaks in the tub for 1 to 2 hours in room temp water. Makes shedding so much more easier for them. No more rubbing up against objects and such.

Thanks so much for the great information. Yes, poor Bubba has had a rough time, but he's still a sweet tempered guy. It's amazing what they will tolerate from ignorant humans. He's been spending most or his time in his hide; he's never had one, so I guess it is quite a comfort. Do they prefer a low, smallish hide to a taller, large one?

I gave him some ground turkey today so I could get some vitamins into him, just in case he needed them. And yesterday he let me watch him eat a small, pre-killed mouse. Seems t like having his belly rubbed in his bath.

Is it better to have a sliding glass door, or a drop down? How do you secure your door so yours doesn't decide to wander?

Thanks so much,

Leslie

When it comes to hides they prefer something low and tight about the width of their body that they can squeeze into but anything will do if you have the proper substrate(ie. soil/dirt)that the can burrow into. I use the wooden log hides that they have in the pet stores and my sav has a burrow right underneath that.

As far sliding glass windows go, I guess they're fine as long as you have a lock on it because they spend most of their day looking for ways to escape. For my enclosure i used a small storm window from Home Depot that came with the frame and all, so all i had to do was measure and cut a rectangle in the wood, fit it right in the center and screw in a few screws. It has locks at top and bottom. All i have to do is turn each one parallel and take out the whole window. I can fit my whole body thru there so i can climb in and sit with him which hes gotten quite use to.
Anyway good luck and glad i could help.

I would go with a sliding door, normal sliding (side to side) windows are relatively cheap, have proper drainage, and a built in lock (mount it so the 'outside' part goes in the enclosure.

I have done hinged doors, and I am constantly getting clocked when they are open, not to mention the difficulty of keeping a monitor in the enclosure while doing water changes and feeding.

Good Luck,

--Robert

Thanks, I'll definately take that into consideration. Bubba is pretty placid, but I've got enough wrong with me without damaging myself further on a stupid door!

Bubba left a nice pile today, so it would appear that the plumbing works OK. He's settling in nicely.

thanks so much for all the help, guys!

Leslie