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Is it true that savannah monitors bites and scratches hurt more than a tegus?

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109
I want a savannah monitor but my mom would rather i get a tegu because she heard there ther bites and scratches hurt less and arent as reluctant to do so as the monitor, and if i were to scratch or bite anybody in the family when they feed him or clean his cage if im not ther they coud get injured. Is this true are savanah monitors defensive mechanisms more painful then a tegus?
 

bfb345

Member
Messages
571
Tegus are less likely to bite any one ive had both and would say tegus take more matinence the LOVE to burrow and when handling you do get scratched and they also get bigger and faster but savs can be just as tame as tegus but if an adult tegu did bite they could lop off a finger if they wanted to a sav probably not smaller mouth and teeth


these are the bites the bloodier one is the savannah
http://s1290.beta.photobucket.com/user/bfb345/media/savannahmonitorbite_zps25ff124f.jpg.html?sort=3&o=1
http://s1290.beta.photobucket.com/user/bfb345/media/tegubite_zpsb6722bc3.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0
 

TegusRawsome80

Active Member
5 Year Member
Messages
766
Savannah monitors take a lot more care than tegus do. If you are a beginner or anything less than experienced then I would suggest staying away from monitors in general. They require at least an 8x4x4 cage with 2+ feet of substrate(a sand/soil mix) to hold humidity and burrows, and extremely high basking spots. The way most people keep Savannah monitors is absolutely not humane or proper. Here's a link to a website where you can read up on their care. http://savannahmonitor.co/ Tegus still require large cages but don't absolutely require the deep substrate or quite as high of a basking spot. They also tame down easier in my experience. Either one can cause relatively serious injury if you take a bad bite from one so having your family members(if they aren't experienced), handle them/feed them is probably not a good idea.
 

bfb345

Member
Messages
571
Yeah my sav was not very friendly I got bit pretty good a few times drew a lot of blood and he wasn't even a foot
 

Dubya

Active Member
1,000+ Post Club
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1,006
For God's sake! I was selling Big Boy pants in another post. Buy a pair and get a tegu. Chuck Norris would never ask a question like that. [attachment=6544]
 

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bfb345

Member
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571
TegusRawsome80 said:
What happened to him?

He died I bought him from a really sketchy guy im pretty sure he was fresh out of Africa lol oh well obviously we didn't bond much haha
 

bfb345

Member
Messages
571
I cant even remember he was just a little guy this was years ago I think he was in like a 75 gallon with about a foot and a half of substrate but he never burrowed the temps were about 110 or more but that's all I can remember he was good for a while then he just stoped eating then just died it was weird
 

Dubya

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bfb345 said:
I cant even remember he was just a little guy this was years ago I think he was in like a 75 gallon with about a foot and a half of substrate but he never burrowed the temps were about 110 or more but that's all I can remember he was good for a while then he just stoped eating then just died it was weird

For Gods sake, years ago, you were just a bulge in a drunken sailor's pants! Years ago.
 

jondancer

New Member
Messages
230
bfb345 said:
I cant even remember he was just a little guy this was years ago I think he was in like a 75 gallon with about a foot and a half of substrate but he never burrowed the temps were about 110 or more but that's all I can remember he was good for a while then he just stoped eating then just died it was weird


Years ago? Aren't you only 15 yr old? I had a savannah one time that I traded for two bearded dragons because it was mean.
 

bfb345

Member
Messages
571
jondancer said:
bfb345 said:
I cant even remember he was just a little guy this was years ago I think he was in like a 75 gallon with about a foot and a half of substrate but he never burrowed the temps were about 110 or more but that's all I can remember he was good for a while then he just stoped eating then just died it was weird


Years ago? Aren't you only 15 yr old? I had a savannah one time that I traded for two bearded dragons because it was mean.

yeah I was like 10 or so I have a horrible memory, 2nd grade what the heck was that
 

TegusRawsome80

Active Member
5 Year Member
Messages
766
He died because of your care almost certainly to be honest. A prime reason why 10 year olds probably shouldn't be keeping Savannah Monitors.
 

Dubya

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Agreed. I feel that pretty much all reptiles are a bad choice for children's pets. Unless Laura is their mom!
 

bfb345

Member
Messages
571
TegusRawsome80 said:
He died because of your care almost certainly to be honest. A prime reason why 10 year olds probably shouldn't be keeping Savannah Monitors.

I bought him because I wanted to get him out of there because he was not looking good so I took him he only lasted a few weeks
 

chelvis

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1,445
Both can have nasty bites, trust me they both are more then capable of removing a finger when they are full grown.

As for kids with reptiles, general rule is not a good mix. However I got my first turtles when I was 8 and was breeding geckos when I turned 12 but I was a nerdy kid and was fascinated with recording temps, husbandry, behavior and all that stuff.
 

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