monitors

[corrine]

My hubby is considering buying a 2 y/o savannah monitor. Are they easy to keep? Anyone have any experience with them I'd like to hear about it both good or bad. Thanks

 

[beardielover17]

Sav's can be difficult to keep mainly because of their dietary needs and space requirements. Most people can't foot the bill for their food since it's mainly rodents and buying frozen is expensive. They need a large enclosure too since they grow to roughly 4ft or larger (i may be wrong on their size). Their temperaments are another thing to watch out for. They get be aggressive and unlike beardie bites, these can do damage. I don't recommend them as a pet if you have small children unless the animal is kept away from them until it is calm enough (which it may never be).

My friend Mike had 2 adults and they were sweethearts but even still they had moments where they bit and whipped him and got him good. He had them in a room of their own as well. Their nighttime enclosure (only used for when they went to bed) was about 8 or more feet long by about 3 or 4 feet wide and about 3 foot high just to give you an idea.

 

[corrine]

Yeah not really the pet for me but my hubby loves them. I'll have to tell him we don't have enough space for them.

 

[Debbe]

I have a friend who has one. They can be aggressive. (biting, etc).

 

[beardielover17]

Yeah not really the pet for me but my hubby loves them. I'll have to tell him we don't have enough space for them.

Why not try a smaller monitor species like Ackies or even Tree Monitors. Usually they are nicer in temperament too.

 

[corrine]

He likes the sav's because of thier size but we live in an apartment and already have the 5 lizards so we will most likely wait until we can buy a house with more space. But when the time comes I will look into other monitors. Thanks

 

[Red Ink AUS]

I know you have said that hubby wants the big boy monitors, but if you do decide to get something smaller (Odatrias) I suggest getting Pygmy mulga monitors (Varanus gelleni). Best small monitor in my opinion. They can be housed either in an aboreal set up or terestrial. They require very little water and maintenance (easier than BDs IMO). The best part is they are non agressive to their cage mates and even males can be housed together (when introduced early) with no hassles. I had a trio of these living in a 4x2x2 ages ago.

 

[corrine]

I will look into those thanks Francis

 

[crypticdragons]

remember that many apartment complexes will not tolerate large lizards like that due to them being considered dangerous. you also need to check out your local state regulations as some states require permits/license to own large varanids.

Not to mention that as said above the cage requirement to house it correctly is huge and they need multiple basking sites with temps all the way up into the 140/150 range. And they are display animals more than a handleable lizard.

Just some things to consider. Varanids are upper echelon reptiles and are not anything for beginners (often beardie owners fall into this category) to try and keep.

good luck with your decision making process.