Hi Chelsea,
I`m sorry you lost your monitor, 18 years is a good age for a captive varanid of any species, let alone a Savannah monitor. It must be a great loss....
I lost my V. ornatus after 14yrs last yaer, he was tractable/trusting too. I think that unless people have experience of these animals in that way, it`s difficult to get across what it means (no, not kept undermetabolised/ cold), they just learn the keeper means no harm, and is actually beneficial to them!
Maybe you might consider an Ornate monitor, or even a Water monitor if you have the space? (There are smaller sub species of salvator, as I`m sure you know).