Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I need some help. I think my new baby Savannah has some kind of parasites. After I handle it, I feel itchy and such. He's not really active(anymore, he stays on the cool side under his other hide box, now), has a nice round tail, kinda skittish, loves chasing crickets, and has developed an "ambush" technique under his hide to catch crickets. Right now, I have him in a 10 gallon, until I clean up and fix the nice 40 gallon I bought. I have aspen bedding, UTH, UVB heat basking lamp, temp at around 95 - 100 during the day and about 75 - 80 at night. He stays in the cool side more often after the first day, is it too hot? Should I raise the heat lamp above the cage? He eats like a pig, he can go forever, but I keep it at around 6 - 10 crickets a day. Is 10 too much? Can someone give me a GOOD care sheet or just tell me how I can care for it better? Thanks a lot.

check out our caresheet at our site, and also seriously consider Dan Bennett's new Savannah book, it is available on the classifieds here at kingsnake, and it covers all the details very well, a must have for Savannah keepers. your setup is definitely less than ideal, so you have a lot that you could do : )
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robyn@proexotics.com

Pro Exotics Reptiles

Well, here are some good places to start.

1) For your savs basking area, increase temps to 120 - 130 degrees F.
2) Aspen is OK, but ideally some other substrate it can burrow in is generally good. Topsoil, dirt, or cyphress mulch are decent choices overall. Remember make it deep.
3) Start feeding your baby pinky mice, along with the insects, or switch him over to pinkies moving up to fuzzy mice as your sav grows.

Remember, your little guy will grow fast. So be prepared to build him a custom enclosure when he outgrows its 40 gallon tank. That will be sooner rather than later.
One of the best places I've found for a good care sheet is at Pro Exotics, www.proexotics.com. It covers the general "rules of thumb" for keeping monitors.
Right now, read as much as you can about your monitor, with the right information intelligently applied you will hopefully have a rewarding experience with it.

Take Care,
-Kit

Thanks for all the help. And yes, I'm actually trying to find another cage right now. The cage that it'll spend the rest of it's life in. Cage designs would help. Thanks a lot.

>>I need some help. I think my new baby Savannah has some kind of parasites. After I handle it, I feel itchy and such. He's not really active(anymore, he stays on the cool side under his other hide box, now), has a nice round tail, kinda skittish, loves chasing crickets, and has developed an "ambush" technique under his hide to catch crickets. Right now, I have him in a 10 gallon, until I clean up and fix the nice 40 gallon I bought. I have aspen bedding, UTH, UVB heat basking lamp, temp at around 95 - 100 during the day and about 75 - 80 at night. He stays in the cool side more often after the first day, is it too hot? Should I raise the heat lamp above the cage? He eats like a pig, he can go forever, but I keep it at around 6 - 10 crickets a day. Is 10 too much? Can someone give me a GOOD care sheet or just tell me how I can care for it better? Thanks a lot.

It is not possible to get any sort of thermal gradient in a 10gal. He can't choose a temp and that can't be helping him. Itching could be he has bugs or that you are allergic to aspen bedding. Feed him all the bugs he will eat. And do get the book, it will help a lot. Get the 40gal ready asap.
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Sonya

Thanks... REALLY helpful. I also want to know how to handle it and how much time I should spend handling it. Thanks again.

If his little claws are scratching you a bit but not breaking the skin that can be very itchy in itself.

>>Thanks... REALLY helpful. I also want to know how to handle it and how much time I should spend handling it. Thanks again.

You will get totally divergent opinions on handling. Some will say handle it a little every day and only put it down when it is calm and others will say don't even pick it up until it is trusting you near it in the cage. You really need to decide what works for you. Don't hold them so much that they seem upset or are 'off food'
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Sonya