Best Care Sheet

[ApriliaRufo]

Hey guys. looks like drew and desi to the rescue again. some child's mother bought him a "cute little lizard" from a shop that told her it was an iguana. well it bit the kid and she was going to let it free and instead got ahold of my number. she sent me a photo on my pda and she apparently bought a sav. I searched for a view care sheets and am yet to be impressed. i'm asking for a favor because I have no net access to search except on my fone if someone could link me a good care sheet, I can transfer it to my printer in my work truck. please help me with temps and substrate and humidity and existing genetic problems. I have cared for them before, but plan on keeping this one as my own. thank you to those who help. if you have anything you need to discuss, please feel free to call me. many of you have my number.

 

[Mike]

Hey guys. looks like drew and desi to the rescue again. some child's mother bought him a "cute little lizard" from a shop that told her it was an iguana. well it bit the kid and she was going to let it free and instead got ahold of my number. she sent me a photo on my pda and she apparently bought a sav. I searched for a view care sheets and am yet to be impressed. i'm asking for a favor because I have no net access to search except on my fone if someone could link me a good care sheet, I can transfer it to my printer in my work truck. please help me with temps and substrate and humidity and existing genetic problems. I have cared for them before, but plan on keeping this one as my own. thank you to those who help. if you have anything you need to discuss, please feel free to call me. many of you have my number.

Here ya go.

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You're going to want dirt, along with basking temps of 120-145 depending on what it uses. An screen top, glass tank SUCKS for monitors. Cover up the top with foil if you must.

And about the substrate,

Dirt is what has been proven constantly to be the BEST substrate to breed and keep monitors in. Since you might not be breeding it, you COULD get away with cypress, but it's really more rewarding to keep a monitor with a substrate it can dig and make burrows in.

Read these monitor FAQs, they are quite helpful.

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In the middle it discusses caging, whole food etc.

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The most economical caging I have found is metal horse troughs.

A guide on building

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I also wrote one on this site. The dirt you see in the pic is an example of "good dirt". It should hold a burrow, along with humidity. Also, I don't measure humidity. Frank Retes of Goanna ranch (Biggest monitor breeder) doesn't either.

Good luck, I hope you give it a better life than 95% of them face.

 

[ApriliaRufo]

Awesome Mike. I use 100% organic worm castings for substrate usually. I don't love cypress as much as most. Thank you again bro. I will of course be building a front loading masterpiece of a cage for him, is 6x4x4 large enough?

 

[Mike]

I've never used worm castings, so I don't really know what to say. Tell me how it works out. Do they\it? hold humidity?

As for the cage size....

A large male savanna monitor can get 4 feet. The MINIMUM cage size for a monitor is 2x the length of the animal for the length, and the animal's length for the width. I, personally, have never seen a sav above 3.5 feet. It would work better, even if it didn't grow to 4 feet, to build him an 8x4x4.

 

[ApriliaRufo]

Alrighty then on the size. Worm castings are the best substrate imo. It's dirt that has been passed through a worm, simple as that. If you get the organic, it's got no pesticides, no minerals, no nothing and it's already been filtered.