Hi all, i have a 16 month old savannah monitor that is now just about 2 feet long and weighs over a pound. I take him to the vet regularly and by all indications he is very healthy. i feed him three adult mice a week as well as egg whites once a week. my question is, how long does it typically take these guys to reach full adult size. does the size of mine seem adequate for his age? should i be feeding more? i have seen some giants in pics online, and it's not that i necessarily want mine to get that big (i know most are probably obese and unhealthy), but i would like him to reach a respectable size. I'm just having a hard time getting any good information on growth rate. any help would be greatly appreciated.
savannah monitor growth rate
- Thread starter JeffLeMay
- Start date
Take all rodents completly out of his diet.
Only feed him eggs one month out of the year.
His diet should be made up up bugs.
Your vet sucks if heshe didnt alraidy tell you this.
Now to your question. Your lizard is growing very well. The ones you see on the internet are all fat and obesse because their diet is not correct. They usualy slow down at this size. I have had mine for 4 years and he only got 33 inches long. He is great, fat but great. I never knew I ws supost to feed him bugs and now hes over weight. I hope this helps you out.
Only feed him eggs one month out of the year.
His diet should be made up up bugs.
Your vet sucks if heshe didnt alraidy tell you this.
Now to your question. Your lizard is growing very well. The ones you see on the internet are all fat and obesse because their diet is not correct. They usualy slow down at this size. I have had mine for 4 years and he only got 33 inches long. He is great, fat but great. I never knew I ws supost to feed him bugs and now hes over weight. I hope this helps you out.
i appreciate it. my vet actually told me that mice were better than the insects. i do feed him grasshoppers when i can get them, and he loves them. by the way, what size enclosure do you keep yours in at that size? substrate? thanks for the help
I know I've had this discussion before with other sav owners.
These lizards mainly eat invertebrates in the wild (grasshoppers, locusts, worms, beetles & their larvae, snails, etc). This constitutes about 75% of their diet (not really sure on the statistics, but easily over half). Vertebrates make up most the rest, and include other lizards, small tortoises, snakes, ground birds, and probably the most rarest of these, rodents). In addition to the above, some savs have been known to occasionaly take vegetation, and many breeders have started including this in their animals' diets.
The point is that while the occasional rodent is fine, too much can lead to obesity (like Ztrip mentioned) and also, impaction, because savs digestive tract aren't meant to process large amounts of hair. This is why rats are the worst choice because their fur is thicker and coarser. I would recommend small mice or rat fuzzies for your rodent supplementation. A diet primarily of rodents is like us eating McDonalds and Outback every day.
Also, I've notice with many savs that feeding live mice can lead to a potentially more bloodthirsty and aggressive monitor. At least try to convert him to F/T rodents. And of course, there's always the risk of a rodent inflicting a nasty bite to your lizard.
Jeff, it does sound like your monitor is appropriately-sized for his age. His body should be well-rounded, but not like it's swollen and about to burst. When I had my sav, my diet was:
45% insects (crickets, superworms, canned grasshoppers)
45% canned monitor.tegu food
10% other (either eggs or rodents) In fact, I think in the year or so I had him, I fed him one mouse, only because none of my snakes would eat it. So personally, I think a sav could live a long healthy life w/o eating a single rodent. That's just me.
Here's a pic of "Titan" while he was my ward.
He was in 75 gallon tank but probably would need something larger when he got fullgrown. I used aspen shavings without any major issues.
These lizards mainly eat invertebrates in the wild (grasshoppers, locusts, worms, beetles & their larvae, snails, etc). This constitutes about 75% of their diet (not really sure on the statistics, but easily over half). Vertebrates make up most the rest, and include other lizards, small tortoises, snakes, ground birds, and probably the most rarest of these, rodents). In addition to the above, some savs have been known to occasionaly take vegetation, and many breeders have started including this in their animals' diets.
The point is that while the occasional rodent is fine, too much can lead to obesity (like Ztrip mentioned) and also, impaction, because savs digestive tract aren't meant to process large amounts of hair. This is why rats are the worst choice because their fur is thicker and coarser. I would recommend small mice or rat fuzzies for your rodent supplementation. A diet primarily of rodents is like us eating McDonalds and Outback every day.
Also, I've notice with many savs that feeding live mice can lead to a potentially more bloodthirsty and aggressive monitor. At least try to convert him to F/T rodents. And of course, there's always the risk of a rodent inflicting a nasty bite to your lizard.
Jeff, it does sound like your monitor is appropriately-sized for his age. His body should be well-rounded, but not like it's swollen and about to burst. When I had my sav, my diet was:
45% insects (crickets, superworms, canned grasshoppers)
45% canned monitor.tegu food
10% other (either eggs or rodents) In fact, I think in the year or so I had him, I fed him one mouse, only because none of my snakes would eat it. So personally, I think a sav could live a long healthy life w/o eating a single rodent. That's just me.
Here's a pic of "Titan" while he was my ward.
He was in 75 gallon tank but probably would need something larger when he got fullgrown. I used aspen shavings without any major issues.
awesome info guys, thanks. soon i'll be moving mine into a 6x 4 x 4 foot cage. ztrip, any pics of your monitor and snakes?
that's cool, no prob. anyway, i took a look at the enclosure i was supposed to buy last night, and decided i can build my own for cheaper. any suggestions? i'm thinking about making it 8x4, since the plywood would already be that size. plywood would make up all sides except for the top (screen), and the front (probably plexiglass). did you build your own ztrip? never done this before and any help would be appreciated
do i need to worry about slivers using plywood? is there something i should cover or treat the wood with?