savannah monitor info please

[oogie]

ive wanted a savannah monitor for a few years and think iam finaly ready to get one but i have some questions(mainly on diet)that i need some advice on please:

ive read a diet of rodents is not so good(witch is what i planned on) is it that rodents are too fatty? the only bugs avalibel realy are crickets and i dont see how theyd fill up an adult sav(i plan on feeding the one i get crickets mostley untile its about a foot)by the time i get the monitor i should also have a good supply(breeding myself) of rodents(mice,rats and mabie hamsters gerbils)quail(cutornix, button witch also means small size fertile eggs & tiny chicks)witch is what i planned on feeding it mainly with only occashionaly crickets, would a diet of rodents/birds with occashional fertile egg/crickets be ok?

when small should i feed as many crickets as it whants a day? and how often should i dust them with vitamins?(iam not going to use a UVB bulb) at what size should i start with pinky mice and or quail eggs/chicks?

another main question is substrate i whanted to use a thin layer of cypress bark(if i can find it)or mabie indoor/outdoor carpeting or dirt but on a care sheet i read they should have upto 2' of yard dirt/bark multch to dig in, is this realy needed? i think it would be a nightmare to clean plus the place i whant the cage to be it can only be about 2' high.

last question(at least for now ) is just how fast do savannah monitors grow? saying it ate every day as many crickets or pinky mice as it whanted and had a basking spot of 110-130?

if theres anything iam forgetting please let me know sence this will be my first monitor(and just so everyone knows i know they get 3-4' long )

thanks

 

[Ophiuchus]

Rodents are fine, just not in large quantities and certainly not as the base diet. They should consist of no more than 30% of the diet.

I fed my savs on crickets, grasshoppers, superworms, eggs, snails, canned monitor food and occasionally mice, and he faired just fine.

They can reach over 12" within their first year if kept optimally, and an adult size in about 3.

I used aspen shavings with mine w/o any issues, but that was about 6 yrs ago. They do like to dig and burrow, so a large cage with several inches of loose substrate is ideal. Not sure what the best stuff to use would be.

 

[vicedretard]

i have read that insects should make 80% of the diet and hard boiledeggs/bird eggs and rodents should make the other 20%...they need to dig dirt works best but when the are young i would suggest paper ...one its easier to clean two its less as expensive plus they dont normally dig as hatchlings...once bigger and dont have to worry about injesting dirt i would use that with a thick layer to dig and feed the largest (non pesticide) insects you can find even roaches if needed...

 

[TheBloodyIrish]

To deal with insects... start breeding cockroaches and louscts if possible -- hissing cockroaches make good feeders for big boys. I think there are a couple of other big bugs as well.

The reason why people advise against feeding rodents to monitors is because people overfeed their monitors, which is quite easy to do with a rodent-based diet. This lead to overweight monitors and so on.

 

[oogie]

thanks i will see if i can get hissing roaches (i used to have some afew years ago and they bred)

off topic but thebloodyirish sence you live in alberta would you happen to know if there are any reptile expos comming up? i live in BC and theres none here at all and ive heard they have two or so good ones there a year, i was thinking of tryingto go too one if its worth it

 

[TheBloodyIrish]

There's one in Red Deer on August. Calgary and Edmonton will have their fall shows sometimes soon in September or October. Check with ERAS and TARAS for the dates.

 

[KenyanSandBoa]

The reason why people advise against feeding rodents to monitors is because people overfeed their monitors, which is quite easy to do with a rodent-based diet. This lead to overweight monitors and so on.

...and overweight monitors are unhappy monitors...especially when they have splayed ribs.

I agree with vicedretard as well...just the numbers I knew to be true vary slightly. I always used 75% inverts (worms, cockroaches, crickets, mealworms, etc.), 15%-20% ectothermic vertebrets (small snakes, frogs, and lizards),and 5%-10% "other" (Bird eggs, rodents, etc.)

 

[vicedretard]

true i categorized the "small snake,frog, and lizards/anoles" in with my rodent but forgot to mention them in it...it was more of a anything but insect category

 

[CTU2fan]

Looks like everything's been covered just about...

I use a mix of cypress mulch & yard dirt/topsoil, not really deep but enough for them to dig a little at least. I've used plain cypress in the past and it works OK too. It's nice because you can spot clean it.

Roach breeding is the way to go. Superworms are nice too, something to vary the roaches with. If you gutload you don't have to worry about dusting, but if not I'd dust 3 times a week. Also if you do feed 20-25% rodents he'll get calcium from the bones (try to get him to fuzzy/hopper size mice, more nutritious).

My sav was easily over 2' in his first year, but I think he was a little exceptional - no parasites, very aggressive feeder, and not timid in the least. Some savs come in with heavy parasite loads and are very stressed, so of course they don't grow at the rate mine did.

 

[oogie]

i found someone that has hissing roaches but i cant aford as many as ied like, could i start a colony with just 2 males and 4 females? can they eat through window screen like crickets?

i was talking to my moms friend about UVA/UVB bulbs for lizards and she used to own a tanning salon and said she can get 6-8' ones for 20-30$ and there the same thing(in a store 4' ones are at least 50$)would they work for lizards or are they a diffrent kind of bulb?

and is 80$ a high price for a hatchling savannah?, thats the cheepest i can find around here and they go upto 200$ for what they claim is CB..