Savannah Monitor

[igman]

Common Name: Savannah Monitor
Latin name: Varanus Exanthematicus
Native to: Central to Southern Africa

Introduction

This monitor is not for a beginner you should have some experience in monitors before getting one. The average size of these guys is 3 to 5 feet long. They have very sharp teeth and very sharp nails they are good runners and they can dig. They can rip a piece of screen in a second.

Housing

For a young monitor a 55-gallon tank will be fine for a bet. Like 6 month then it will be time to either build an enclosure or purchase one at least 6x3x3 for and adult. By the way these guy can rip though screen like no ones business so the enclosure is best with out light screening.
Because you will come home one day and you will have to find your monitor. They are good at escaping their enclosures so you will have to make it escape proof. Now you should have some limbs in the enclosure so they can climb if they want and a bowl of water big enough for to soak in. Now they will need a place to hide once in awhile so a hide box or a cave for your monitor while work fine but put one at either end of the enclosure…..


Heating

These Guys come from a Hot and Dry climate. So if you live were it is colder in the winter time they may go in to a short hibernation but I think if you keep the temps up like in the day time 85-98F and 70-80F at night. The basking spot should be around 120F. The way you can do this is CHE heaters and bulbs. Your guy should do fine with these temps….


Lighting

Well I have read a lot on this and some sites say no UVB lighting and some say UVB lighting! Well I go with UVB lighting on this one they eat a lot of animal protein and I think (this is just me) that it is needed to get the vitamin D3 that they need to survive. So I go with UVB lighting in the basking area for your Guy. Plus make sure you have the temps up and this is always an experimental kind a thing. So if one bulb is not working for you. You may have to change to another…. Wattage that is.

Substrate

There is a lot of substrate out there well I have been reading like I always do butcher paper, newspaper, indoor outdoor carpeting, aspen shavings, or bark, I would chose the indoor/outdoor carpet or newspaper but that’s just me…

Now comes the good part Diet

Ok this is the part I really like for some odd reason these monitor like to eat and if they’re not taking food and not in breeding or hibernation then you have a problem and it should be seen by a vet! Ok as a baby monitor they will take Crickets, mealworms, king worms, and some times pinky mice. Now when it is about 2 to 3 month old it should be started on pinky mice, fuzzy mice and Crickets its good for them to chase it a round the Enclosure as long as they take them. Now a full-grown monitor you should feed mice to. Frozen of coarse make sure you defrost it be for giving it to your guy. Now at this time they will or should take crickets as well but try to stay away from canned dog food it not good for a healthy monitor and NEVER feed your guy Canned cat food!!!!

Well this is just what I have read and I really do recommend you do research on these guys before getting one!


These Guys come from a Hot and Dry climate. So if you live were it is colder in the winter time they may go in to a short hibernation but I think if you keep the temps up like in the day time 85-98F and 70-80F at night. The basking spot should be around 120F. The way you can do this is CHE heaters and bulbs. Your guy should do fine with these temps….


Lighting

Well I have read a lot on this and some sites say no UVB lighting and some say UVB lighting! Well I go with UVB lighting on this one they eat a lot of animal protein and I think (this is just me) that it is needed to get the vitamin D3 that they need to survive. So I go with UVB lighting in the basking area for your Guy. Plus make sure you have the temps up and this is always an experimental kind a thing. So if one bulb is not working for you. You may have to change to another…. Wattage that is.

Substrate

There is a lot of substrate out there well I have been reading like I always do butcher paper, newspaper, indoor outdoor carpeting, aspen shavings, or bark, I would chose the indoor/outdoor carpet or newspaper but that’s just me…

Now comes the good part Diet

Ok this is the part I really like for some odd reason these monitor like to eat and if they’re not taking food and not in breeding or hibernation then you have a problem and it should be seen by a vet! Ok as a baby monitor they will take Crickets, mealworms, king worms, and some times pinky mice. Now when it is about 2 to 3 month old it should be started on pinky mice, fuzzy mice and Crickets its good for them to chase it a round the Enclosure as long as they take them. Now a full-grown monitor you should feed mice to. Frozen of coarse make sure you defrost it be for giving it to your guy. Now at this time they will or should take crickets as well but try to stay away from canned dog food it not good for a healthy monitor and NEVER feed your guy Canned cat food!!!!

Well this is just what I have read and I really do recommend you do research on these guys before getting one!

[kap10cavy]

Hi Igman,
It looks like you put alot of thought into this, but if you'll allow me to make some correction I will.
On heating, You said they were from a "Hot and Dry climate". Accually they are from a semi arid climate.
People might read hot and dry and think desert.
You also forgot to mention they need humidity.
You covered the screen topic pretty good but need to mention that screen will allow heat and humidity to escape. With my savannahs, I keep my humidity at around 61%.
I am glad you mentioned a good hot basking spot.
I keep my basking spots at 140 degrees , thats the surface temps, not the air temps.
You can add that they need these high basking temps to help digest all those mice it just ate. Without a high basking temp your monitor might regurgiate and refuse food.
I have to totaly dissagree with your substrates.
You mentioned butcherpaper,newspaper, indoor outdoor carpeting, aspen shavings, or bark.
I can go with the paper for a new monitor so you can check it's poo and get a fecal done but beyond that it's no good.
Paper will not hold humidity or a burrow. As you mentioned, these buggers like to dig, so give them something to dig in. I like good old dirt and believe it is the best but you can experiment with other substrates.
You can mix your own if you don't have access to yard dirt thats free of pesticides and fertilizers. Some people use cypress mulch, some use peatmoss some add sand to the mix. It's all up to you to find what your critter likes.
Carpet can injure a monitor, these animals have sharp claws and can get stuck in the fibers. I know,I have made that mistake "Once".
If you can make a few changes you will have a real good caresheet. I won't go into the UV lights. no need to have a 60 thread argument.

Scott

[Patrick Kubeja]

Hey Scott

If you like you can write a care sheet on these guys or any other animal that is on the board. So feel free to write a care sheet I would love to see some more information on these guys

[kap10cavy]

Sav care for dummies.

This is a simple to read care sheet for Varanus Exanthematicus , also known as a Bosc Monitor and a Savannah Monitor. This can also be used for Varanus Albigularis. Also known as a White Throat, Black Throat and Banded Cape Monitor.
For some reason, most of these lizards are impulse buys. 99.9% of these animals are wild caught and in bad shape when bought. For some reason (I blame petstore clerks for this) a lot of people think savannah means desert, when in fact they are semi arid grassland monitors.
Before purchasing any of these animals I recommend some serious research. Read books, go to forums and read and ask questions.
A good place to start is at mampam.50megs.com/monitors/monitors.htm.
If you are getting a sav there are a few things you must have.
1. Vet. you will need to find a qualified reptile vet near you. Since your new lizard is more than likely wild caught, a vet visit is in order. Take a poo sample with you. Just because the ad in the yellow pages says exotic pet doesn't mean they have any idea what to do with a monitor. Exotic pets usually means birds and ferrets. Call and ask for references.
2. Room. You will need a place to build a large, sturdy enclosure. Although I start all my babies in 40 gallon breeders. For a single adult sav I recommend atleast a 3X6X3 but the bigger the better. I have 3 in a 12X4X3 enclosure An albig needs a minimum of 4X8X4.
3. Proper substrate is a must. I use yard dirt and highly recommend it, as long as it is free of pesticides and fertilizers. If good yard dirt isn't available to you, Cypress Mulch will work although it won't hold a burrow. You can also go to Lowes or Home depot and get some playsand, peatmoss and non-organic topsoil and mix it to get the right feel. Make it about 2 feet deep.
4. Temp gun. You can order these from Pro Exotics.com . You will need one of these to set your basking site up properly. I recommend the surface temperature be around 130 degrees.
Basking spots are easy to set up. Just build a sturdy platform with plywood and raise it or lower it to get the desired surface temps.
5. A digital thermometer with a probe and a humidity read out. This will allow you to properly set your temps. Remember, your lizard needs to cool of as much as it needs to warm up.
I keep my hot side at 90 degrees while my cool side is around 75 degrees and humidity between 45 and 60%.
You can adjust the temps and humidity by adding vents or just drilling holes or blocking them.
6. Lights. In my opinion UV and UVB is not needed. I recommend 45 to 65 halogen watt flood lights. Do not use the lights with the clear center. These can cause a small,very hot beam that can burn your lizard.
7. Food. You will need lots and lots of food. I feed my monitors crickets, roaches, chicken peeps, quail, crawdads and lots and lots of mice. I dust all the bugs with Zoo Med's Reptivite and Miner-All. Both are quality supplements and have calcium and D-3.
8. Water. You will need a large tub of water. Your lizard will drink this water, soak in this water and some will even swim in it, and almost all will poo in it. This needs to be changed daily
9. Hide spots. For you lizard to be stress free it needs a safe place to hide. A tight hide is a good hide. It also needs to be set up where you can't see in it. You can make these out of almost anything. I have one sav that will just dig a burrow and use it as a hide. I have another that likes to squeeze between some broken cinderblocks, sometimes squeezing under some wood I laid on the dirt and another that favors a taped up shoebox filled with cypress mulch. I give them a lot of choices to pick from. Never pull them from their hide. If you do they won't fill safe and secure and that my friends is the whole purpose of a hide.
10. Patience. This is necessary for your lizard to be accustomed to it's new home. Give it atleast 2 weeks to get comfy before handling. Change the water, offer food and do basic maintenance and let it get used to the idea that the big ugly creature (that's you) isn't going to harm it. I don't go for all the handling , but my lizards trust me and I can move them from their cages without too much fuss. I have never been bitten by a monitor (not that they haven't tried) When I do handle them for vet visits and major cage cleaning, I do it slowly and gently.
I have one sav that will climb in my hand if I put it down in front of him.
11. Furniture. You need things in the cage that will give your lizard things to explore. I use driftwood, large rocks and broken cinderblocks. I use these for a couple or reasons and the first one is they are all free if you know where to look. Another reason is it's fun to rearrange the cage to watch them explore it all over again. If you would like to see an active lizard, furniture is a must.

Scott

[loulou]

alot of caresheets and books still state that mice should be fed as part of a staple diet but new research and a newish book has been released to state that this is not the case please have a look at this book if you think of purchasing a bosc this is much more upto date and will tell you the real dietry requirements "The Savannah Monitor Lizard: The Truth About Varanus Exanthematicus
by Daniel Bennett, Ravi Thakoordyal "

me and my partner wrote this between us for another forum and i thought it apropriate to add it here for the dietry content just so people look at both points of view:

"Whilst I'll agree that they are opportunist feeders in the wild and will take anything that will fit down their gullets I still think you need to restrict the amount of mice and the like. To many boscs end up obese due to the fact that they are overfed mice and rats and don't get the excercise that comes with chasing live food. And a diet to rich in mammal protein can also lead to problems with kidney and liver damage.
As to the problems with feeding an adult 4 foot bosc on insects alone and the lack of variety afforded by crickets and locusts alone, there are a variety of other options you can use as well , Crickets, Locusts, Snails, Earthworms, thingyroaches, mealworms, silkworms, grasshoppers, occasional eggs, bits of fish, though the latest research does show that their diet mainly consists of two items in the wild, scorpions and large Brachyllowotsits (a giant burrowing cricket) which in itself is not that varied.

Dietary knowledge is always changing and evolving as we learn new things about the animals we keep, many moons ago it was the done thing to feed iguanas on dog food as they seemed to grow big and strong, never mind the fact that they were all slowly dying of kidney and liver disease but to my mind no responsible iguana keeper would dream of feeding their iguana any form of animal protein and the same goes for boscs and their diets in my opinion, as new dietary information comes forward we should move and and accept and implement the changes necessary for our animals well being.
How many boscs do you hear about being dogtame and very 'relaxed' all the time, is this really the case or are they in fact lazy and/or actually ill through bad diets?"

i know this might offend but i really recommend you get the book and take all this into account the book does state facts taken from the actual stomacs of boscs in the wild and its a very good all rounder as said research is changing all the time lets move with it for the sake of our reptiles and avoid feeding mice except as treats every now and again.

[Marie]

Loulou,

You are right. Information is always changing and we must strive to keep up with it for our animals. Thank you for your book recommendation and your informative post. It is very appreciated.

Take Care

Marie

[Patrick Kubeja]

Yes Thank You Lou

Can you Write up a Care sheet for them for us? I would appreciate it.

[kitsune]

we just recently got one and alot of people and books say to never use repti bark and the carpet stuff

[prismwolf]

Because they dig a lot the repticarpet is a bad idea...but if you feed your monitor in a separate feed box outside of it's living quarters then using the bark is safe. It's during feeding time that the bark gets ingested for these guys. Not only does the bark give a sav something to dig in, but it helps keep up the humidity. I would not use reptibark, however. The cypress mulch from the garden dept. is a better choice.