Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just got a juvenile Savannah Monitor from a friend, and he treated it very poorly, he didnt feed it, and when i asked to have him he said "sure, but its probably dead." he used to torture it just to hear him hiss.

so not hes very skiddish, he lets me hand feed him with tweezers but is still jumpy and doesnt like me touching or holding him. i do not force handle him b/c i dont want him more stressed. i also have about 6" of dirt with burrows for him to hide in to reduce stress. ill walk in and he will b basking but as soon as he sees me he runs to the burrow. i just wanted to know if im doing the right thing by slowly working with him or is there anything else i could do?

Hi, the best thing to do to make it easier to offer advise is to give a rundown on how you`re caring for the monitor; type and size of enclosure, and all the conditions inside. photos might help, too.

As you've been asked a run down of your set will help provide you with good info, as for taming/ trusting building what ever you want to call it!

it's easy, just takes time depending on how responsive you monitor is, a very shy one will take a long time ( maybe never), but most will come for food as long as your set up is right & that's the start of the process.

Do you find doing it at the same time and day help, trying to fit yourself into its schedules so it's less stressful for it when you are around? thanks!

assuming the set-up is right humidity/heat/basking flood spot covering snout to vent etc i feed in one spot am/pm everyday, the monitor quickly figures out where to wait.

I usually bull dog clip the food which gives some resistance when feeding ( no sharp edges) when their use to it i swop over to tongs & feed am/pm.

After some time when their use to me & their waiting for me etc, i start to change to 3/4 days am feeding's only & them a day or so break. Then 2/3 pm feeding's & then a couple of days break depending on age etc, then maybe back to am/pm feeding's for a few days just to keep them guessing!

Seems to keep them looking for food rather then becoming set in a routine the rest of their life, not what i want!

well as far as the setup. its in a 30 gallon tank i believe. i have around 6-7 inches of dirt and burrowing clay. i have a large water dish and small tree branch. and have a 100w basking lamp. this all i have for now being as i kinda took the monitor that same day.
all he had was about an inch of coconut bedding, a piece of tree bark and a dried water dish.

now as far as feeding, what should i feed it besides crickets and superworms? i read that they arent supposed to eat rodents very often. i will upgrade to a better enclosure but for the mean time this is what i have to work with since all my other tanks are being used.

Hi, I don`t know how big a 30g tank is, but I suspect much too small, but if it`s all you`ve got, and you can`t get anything else, I think the animal will not do well unless you upgrade very soon.
First thing to do is cover the back and sides with something (plywood or similar), just taped around the outside, that will offer privacy, and help stabilise the temps, there MUST be a solid top, anything other than a few small holes for ventilation will mean you lose humidity and heat.
I don`t know who told you Savannah monitors should not eat vertebrates (including rodents), but it`s NOT true, YES they can, if you support the monitor you can feed them without them causing "fatty liver disease", or any other health problems, those only come when the animal/s are undermetabolised.
Savannah monitors are NOT "specialist" feeders, they are generalists!
No handling whatsoever, the monitor must be given time to fully acclimate to the enclosure, so just placing food/water/ cleaning, etc.
Can you put a couple of photos up? It might help to see the animal`s condition, and whether there`s anything else to advise. Thanks!

i cannot get a picture tonight because i do not want to disturb him or any of the other reptiles. i know the tank i have right now isnt enough, i have two 55gallon tanks that are being used for now till i move in march. the monitor isnt very big yet, id say no longer than a foot. as far as the rodents, from what ive read it isnt good to feed them nothing mut rodents. ive heard mainly insects and rodents here and there. but thats why im asking, so i can get all the facts straight b4 i do more damage than good.
im pretty knowledgeable when it comes to owning reptiles, ill usually read up for hours so i can have the best setup possible. but i am new to monitors.

i also have an adult bearded dragon, ball python, 2 croc skinks, a hermit crab, and now the sav monitor. they are all very healthy and well taken care of.

Hi again, you need to give me the size in cm or inches.
If the monitor is 30cm (12 inches or so), it might be that he/she is already sexually mature, if this is a female, you need to provide a deep substrate for egg deposition asap, that must be of a suitable medium and be heated to around the mid 80s F. Can you provide those things? (I`m sure you weren`t aware that this might possibly be the case)!
There`s so much nonsense being talked about this species, not surprising you and many others are so confused. My adivise on diet is good. Of course you can offer inverts, even a full grown Sav (and many other species of large varanid) will take them, but how will you satiate a possibly 120cm (4ft ) adult male with only insects? Yes, it`s possible, but VERY difficult, and not necessary...

i was aware that i needed a deep substrate, and the proper temps. i have a heated room where he/she is right now. i have thermometers in place so i can regulate temps. i do have around 6-7 inches of substrate right now. i have more but am waiting till i can move in march. i dont believe the monitor is sexually mature yet b/c of its age. its fairly young still. when do they reach sexual maturity?

Sexual maturity is more to do with SV length than age in Varanids, in one study of this species in Ghana, the females were mature at a ToL of 27cm (10.5inches), so your monitor could quite easily be capable of reproducing at this time, if female.
If you don`t have the means to fully support the monitor, it`s not going to thrive, saying you don`t have anything other than this fish tank, indicates you cannot (good intentions aside, which I`m sure you have)!
If you can put a few pics up, maybe I/we can offer some advise on making it work for a very short time..

is it too soon to tell if its a male or female? also ill try and get some pics up tonight. i know the setup i have itnt adequate for a sav monitor but its alot better than where it came from. i do plan on building an enclosure once i move into the new house. also is the weather in savannah, ga similar to where they are navite? it gets very hot and extremely humid in the summer, so if i were to make an outdoor enclosure for it during the daytime would that be healthy for the monitor?

If the monitor`s 30cm (12inches) total length, it`s possibly sexually mature. I`m not sure what ga is? I`m Australian, but living in England at the moment!
I`ll make a guess Georgia, and then ask is it similar to the African savannah where these monitors originate from (tropical)?
If the temps and humidity are suitable then yes, it might benefit the animal to spend some time outdoors, obviously, you`d need to make sure there were cooler/shadier places to retreat to, and check the temps very carefully..