Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I take care of the reptiles at my local humane society and we recently got in a ~30lb Savannah. I was just wondering if it was normal for them to be very sedentary? He's super tame, I picked him up and gave him a bath today, but he barely moves. He seems fairly alert besides that, flicking his tongue frequently. Any thoughts?

Peter

Hello,

A 30lb Savannah Monitor is obese. Plain and simple. It's extremely overweight which is why it is not active. Put it on a diet high in insects, low in rodents and other fatty proteins. If you want more specific information check out "The Savannah Monitor Lizard: The Truth About Varanus exanthematicus" by Daniel Bennett and Ravi Thakoordyal. This book is hands-down the absolute best and most up-to-date on Savs out there.

Matt Campbell

N/P

A 30 lb bosc seems very high considering my 4.5 ft male bosc was 10.5 lbs at his highest weight. They are somewhat sedmentary animals but if he weighs that much or close to that he cant move much. Thats like a human weighing 450-650 lb, no wander why he cant move he wont live long being in that shape. My 5.5 ft albig only weighs 18lbs 4 ounces.

I'll weigh him today, maybe I overestimated. He's definitely bigger than a large cat however and definitely could use to lose some weight. If someone calls in about him, I'll talk to them about getting him on a diet/excercise program. If nobody calls I will probably foster him for a while. Would an 8'x4' cage be a good size for him? Any suggestions on a lightened feeding regimin / excercise routine? I will get a fecal into my herp vet to check for the possibility of high parasite loads.

Peter