New Sav

[roastedspleen]

it looks really cool. i wish i could get one but i heard these lizards bite alot

 

[Shadowgamer21]

is that tin foil over the lid?

 

[Strange_Evil]

it looks really cool. i wish i could get one but i heard these lizards bite alot

Thanks and i read that a lot, that they we're skittish. Today was the first day i took mines out and handled him,to replace a few things and all he did was huff up a bit at me no bite or tail whip, but i guess only time will tell if he'll develop a little nasty attitude, hope not!

is that tin foil over the lid?

Yeah i did the tin foil top treatment thingy,
http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showthread.php?90187-Tank-Screen-Top-Foil-Treatment-Tutorial

It really helps A LOT when it come's to humidity.

 

[herpgirl2510]

If I were you I would wait until he stops hiding and then start with tong feeding as opposed to handling yours. They will associate you with food which is actually a good thing. I did not get Lilo untl she was 3 feet and I have barely handled her. I have had her for 5-6 weeks I use tongs and feed her and stroke when she is eating. I also go in the cage a few times a day without food I just present her with the back of my hand with my fingers curled under so she wll know I do not have food.

 

[james.w]

What are you temps on the cool side?? And what is the humidity at?

 

[Strange_Evil]

If I were you I would wait until he stops hiding and then start with tong feeding as opposed to handling yours. They will associate you with food which is actually a good thing. I did not get Lilo untl she was 3 feet and I have barely handled her. I have had her for 5-6 weeks I use tongs and feed her and stroke when she is eating. I also go in the cage a few times a day without food I just present her with the back of my hand with my fingers curled under so she wll know I do not have food.

Thank you for the great advice. Today was the first day i touched him since last week Friday when i got him. I sat him in a ten gallon with a few crickets because i wanted to add cypress to the substrate and a new basking platform and water dish. So i only held him for a few seconds really.

What are you temps on the cool side?? And what is the humidity at?

My cool side was tricky, my room gets really hot, but i manage to maintain a 80-84.3f cool side, and everything drops to 80 at night. I have three thermometers and a infra red temp gun so my temp readings are pretty accurate.

My humidity is always 58%-70% never lower sometimes higher after i mist but always drops back down to around 60% a few mins after i mist. If it were not for the tin foil top my humidity would be bad. Also i use a cypress/eco earth mix and its really good.

 

[Shadowgamer21]

what ratio do you use for the mulch/earth mix? or do you just eye it?

 

[james.w]

Cypress is no good for Savs, get yourself some dirt and soil. I'm not understanding how you can get cool side temps of 80 with the hot side as high as 122, but at night with all the lights off it is still at 80.

 

[Strange_Evil]

Cypress is no good for Savs, get yourself some dirt and soil. I'm not understanding how you can get cool side temps of 80 with the hot side as high as 122, but at night with all the lights off it is still at 80.

I basically have a raised basking plat form that doubles as a hide, thats why i have the huge rock acting as a ladder(rock is also another basking spot). And my cool side is pretty much my rooms temps at night time when i have my night bulbs on for my gecko's and ceramic heat emitter for my curly tails.

That sucks i hear cypress was okay to use. But i'll take your advice, but it'll have to wait a day because i just spend quite a few bucks on cypress and eco earth.

Sand/soil is always what i hear/read but it just seems like a pain to clean and i see no real difference. But i'll go pick some up tomorrow or sunday.

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what ratio do you use for the mulch/earth mix? or do you just eye it?

I kind of just went nuts and put two bricks of eco and one 4qt bag of cypress. I rounded up to about 9" i took some out and sat it aside for spot cleaning though.

 

[james.w]

Sand/soil is no different to clean than any other substrate. Everybody seems to think you will end up with mud, but I have no mud in any of my enclosures. My tegu doesn't even have any dirt on him when he comes out of the enclosure. Only negative is it gets in the sliding door tracks, but what substrate doesn't?

The reason dirt is better is Savs love to dig and burrow, cypress just doesn't offer this. As adults it is recommended to give them a minimum of 2' deep dirt.

 

[Strange_Evil]

Sand/soil is no different to clean than any other substrate. Everybody seems to think you will end up with mud, but I have no mud in any of my enclosures. My tegu doesn't even have any dirt on him when he comes out of the enclosure. Only negative is it gets in the sliding door tracks, but what substrate doesn't?

The reason dirt is better is Savs love to dig and burrow, cypress just doesn't offer this. As adults it is recommended to give them a minimum of 2' deep dirt.

Yeah that's what i though, Mudd! But i'll give it a go. Thanks James.

 

[james.w]

No problem, just want to make sure you don't end up like the majority of new Sav owners....with a dead Sav.

 

[Shadowgamer21]

Probably the most common rescue monitor, at least from what I have seen which in large part has to do with how inexpensive a young one costs.

Strange, are you going to house yours in a 8x4 like you would a Tegu? Once it gets bigger I mean.

 

[Strange_Evil]

No problem, just want to make sure you don't end up like the majority of new Sav owners....with a dead Sav.

Thank's, but i can promise you i'm not like the others, i've done my research and never rush in.

Probably the most common rescue monitor, at least from what I have seen which in large part has to do with how inexpensive a young one costs.

Strange, are you going to house yours in a 8x4 like you would a Tegu? Once it gets bigger I mean.

Yeah your right, we'll then again wrong because most don't even make it long enough to be rescued. The two most common things around baby Savs death i would say is Dehydration from owners putting huge wattage bulbs in a small cage just to get the wring basking spot and then letting the gradient go out of wack. It took sometime to set up my bulb and pick the wattage in order to achieve the temps i wanted. The second thing is parasites i say.

But i can assure i didn't just get a baby sav because it was cheap, i only paid $57 (thats plus shipping) but i got one because i find them interesting and always wanted one and finally after the right amount of time i think i can handle the task of owning one and so far so good.

I'm going to give him something more like a 7x4 or 6x4, the tegu is going to be on the bottom with the 8x4. I already found someone to build the enclosures for me, he'll start on them around December when he get's his break.

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I spent much more money on the set up than i did on him. And about three times as much for his permanent enclosure i'm going to have built for me.

 

[james.w]

I would go with a 8x4 for both the tegu and sav

 

[Strange_Evil]

I would go with a 8x4 for both the tegu and sav

Right now he is in a 5x3 enclosure with a friend, seems like a lot for the little guy but he looks happy. I re homed him with one of my co workers, he'll raise him up and keep him.

I decided to re home him (no re homing fee) because i'm going to buy an extreme giant next year and two large enclosures is my limit, i could only fit a 6x2 in the space i have left for cage's but that wouldn't had been fair for him at all. Good thing is i can go an see him when ever i want and still watch him grow.

I just picked up two new bearded dragons though.