Baby Savannah Monitor help

[Cch9413]

Hi all, I’m on this forum for advice and things about my two dragons but I recently got a Savannah monitor and went to another forum directed at monitors because I had some questions and WOW, I did not know how judgmental and condescending the reptile community could be. Anyway, I am turned off from that forum and I’ve always had REALLY helpful advice on this one so I do not want to go back there to be ripped to shreds. I’m hoping maybe someone here has a Savannah monitor that I can connect with?

 

[Skybug]

Yea sav monitors are a touchy subject,…… I have no experience with monitors as a pet , but i have had lots of different reptiles and amphibians as pets, can u go over how your keeping it please? Im shure the other people told you it’ll “need” a 500 gallon tank a 300 degree light etc…jk…. if i can turn u to a guy i watch on YouTube, he has a savanna and 2 black throats, Animal1guy, how i heat and light my monitor
I hope it wasn’t an impulse buy, that’s probably why you got so much flak from them.

 

[Skybug]

It looks healthy though. It probably would of gotten bought by some unknowing kid and end up dying in their care, its good you (a certified lizard owner lol) took him in. Post some more pics if u can.

 

[Skybug]

Heres another guy i watch, Clints reptiles, is a savanna monitor right for you?
Dont be turned off by his first couple sentences, they can be “good” pets, if you change your idea of what a good pet should be, you’re gonna have a totally different relationship with ur monitor, hopefully with good care , a better relationship than ur dragons, but it requires ALOT of work and Repetition/consistency, its like training a horse , you stop for a week and you’re back to square one, they’re very very intelligent, they’ll need lots of enrichment and stimulation (unlike a bearded dragon who can sit in one spot all day)

 

[Cch9413]

Yea sav monitors are a touchy subject,…… I have no experience with monitors as a pet , but i have had lots of different reptiles and amphibians as pets, can u go over how your keeping it please? Im shure the other people told you it’ll “need” a 500 gallon tank a 300 degree light etc…jk…. if i can turn u to a guy i watch on YouTube, he has a savanna and 2 black throats, Animal1guy, how i heat and light my monitor
I hope it wasn’t an impulse buy, that’s probably why you got so much flak from them.

So this is what I posted:

I’m a first time monitor mom and I have questions. I have been researching everything I need and what to expect for a hatchling. I made sure the enclosure was set up and the humidity, basking spot, cool spot and regular temps were all regulated weeks before I got the baby. I’ve only had him for about a day and a half and I’ve handled him just a little because he’s not happy being held. He hisses and tries to bite. I respect his space and put him back when he seems too stressed. My concern is he has no interest at all in food. I am thinking I just need to give him time to get acclimated to his new home but I’m worried he’s hungry. Any tips? Advice? Is this okay that’s he’s not eating yet? I’ve offered him an assortment of bugs but he is oblivious to them.
Any help is appreciated

 

[Cch9413]

As you can see, I explained that it was a very thought out purchase. I had his enclosure ready almost 3 weeks at the exact temps and humidity levels recommended in my researching before I ever even put him in there. I’m so surprised at how rude they were to me. I’d rather stay here and find helpful advice vs being shamed for asking questions.

 

[Cch9413]

Yea sav monitors are a touchy subject,…… I have no experience with monitors as a pet , but i have had lots of different reptiles and amphibians as pets, can u go over how your keeping it please? Im shure the other people told you it’ll “need” a 500 gallon tank a 300 degree light etc…jk…. if i can turn u to a guy i watch on YouTube, he has a savanna and 2 black throats, Animal1guy, how i heat and light my monitor
I hope it wasn’t an impulse buy, that’s probably why you got so much flak from them.

I’ll check those you tubers out. I may have already subscribed to them. (I honestly have been reading and watching everything I can to learn as much as I can about them before I even got him) I’ve subscribed to so many reptile enthusiasts in the last 2 months.

 

[Skybug]

He’s getting just a tad bit too stressed out to eat when there that small they have an overwhelming flight response it’s actually good that he standing up to you and hissing that means he might have some personality in him be careful lol, with any animal You’re gonna have to earn his trust, and the best way is through his stomach I’d leave him alone for honestly a month with putting food in there of course have a towel draped over the enclosure at night time, offer lots of hides and spots to escape to, just let him sit basically, he’ll come around he looks like a good weight and over all healthy from what i cam see, he’ll eat when he’s hungry, just like with ur beardies, heat and uvb are #1 make shure those are right, ive heard they like it HOTTTtttt

 

[Cch9413]

Also his enclosure details are as follows:

55 gallon tank (he is still a hatchling)

Substrate: a mixture of soul and bark, moss placed around the water sources

Lighting: I have 2 lamps for basking, both 50watt which bring his basking spot temp to about 108 but it ranges between 105 and 115 throughout the day. I check with a temp gun a few times daily.
He does have a T5 5.0 UVB bulb half the length of his enclosure. It sits on top of his tank but I have one of those UV sensors and it shows the UVB reaching the bottom of the tank is good. (I’ve read although it is not required, it’s always a good option to provide UVB especially to hatchlings).
His cool side runs about 78 with the majority of the enclosure being around 85. The humidity levels throughout the tank range from 60 on the cool side to 35 under the basking spot and 48 throughout the majority of the enclosure.
At night I turn the lights off but keep a heat bulb (no light) on each side of the enclosure to keep the temps from dropping below 75 at night.

Food: I’ve been offering him gut loaded crickets, mealworms and waxworms (I had the worms in a bowl but decided to put them on the substrate after reading they like to hunt and dig after them.

Water: I have a large shallow water dish, where he can soak (which he spends a lot of his time in) and also a small waterfall on the other end of the enclosure to help with the humidity levels. I have 4 hygrometers through the enclosure to read the measurements.

Hides: he has a large hollowed out log that acts as a basking platform and a hide. He has 2 additional hides, one near his water dish which is a ceramic rock, he uses this one a lot. Then there is a round hollow moss ball near his waterfall that he uses occasionally.

please let me know if I left any info

 

[Cch9413]

He’s getting just a tad bit too stressed out to eat when there that small they have an overwhelming flight response it’s actually good that he standing up to you and hissing that means he might have some personality in him be careful lol, with any animal You’re gonna have to earn his trust, and the best way is through his stomach I’d leave him alone for honestly a month with putting food in there of course have a towel draped over the enclosure at night time, offer lots of hides and spots to escape to, just let him sit basically, he’ll come around he looks like a good weight and over all healthy from what i cam see, he’ll eat when he’s hungry, just like with ur beardies, heat and uvb are #1 make shure those are right, ive heard they like it HOTTTtttt

Yes he is sassy for sure. I can’t wait to see his personality develop. I’m looking forward to binding with him. Understandably at his pace.

 

[Skybug]

All that sounds wonderful, im stupid though, can i see a picture lol? And whats soul and bark? Did u mean sand? If possible id do a mixture of coco fiber70% to sand 30% they need a little humidity (which u have) The temps sound good, but id see what 1 75watt do temp wise, im 90% shure they need 120f+ or close to it as possible, and they definitely need uvb as babies, you might want it inside the enclosure (i used zipties to hang mine) screen blocks out up to 30% uvb depending on the holes size, the uvb and heat are gonna control his intake of nutrients, Id lay off the meal worms, and switch to super worms, meal worms are just all chitin and are known to be harder to digest, whereas supers, have more fat and protein , if you can (and i know its difficult) but if u can keep him on a super worm, roach, wax worms, hornworms, that’ll keep him healthy (when hes older u can start feeding meat chunks with a lil fat) , next stool take a picture and ill tell ya if its looking right, its good hes in the water bowl, they love soaking, and it helps them poo. If you can go off of Animal1guys care i think thats your best person to mimic, ive been watching him for a while now and he puts out good videos.

 

[Cch9413]

Okay, so I meant to type soil and bark. It’s a mixture, the soil holds a lot of moisture. I have superworms but they seem so big for him. I’ll throw a few in. I don’t have a very good photo of the full enclosure at the moment (which seems silly since I put so much effort into it) but I’ll attach what I have. I’m having new flooring installed in my house today so I’m not home to take a better photo of the entire enclosure but I’ll be there in a few hours and I’ll upload.

 

[Skybug]

Are your supers 2 inches? Their jaws are strong they can handle it, Id say thats a pretty good enclosure, if i may , hows the dust level? , if there’s alot , wherever it sleeps u need to put down a cloth, or some slate, or a brick or two aswell, rocks larger than its headhold heat nicely aswell.

 

[Cch9413]

Dust levels are low. The super worms are not quite 2 inches but close to it. I also have hornworms but they grow really quick. I’ll try adding a brick or slate once he gets a little more acclimated to his new home. I hope he eats soon. I feel bad. My dragons would eat non stop if I let them.

 

[Skybug]

Dust levels are low. The super worms are not quite 2 inches but close to it. I also have hornworms but they grow really quick. I’ll try adding a brick or slate once he gets a little more acclimated to his new home. I hope he eats soon. I feel bad. My dragons would eat non stop if I let them.

He can take on the supers just fine, but I would leave some in a “anti-escape” bowl so u know he’s eating, i think in a week or two he’ll be acting different, you got this

 

[Cch9413]

You are amazing. Thank you for your support.