savanah monitor or argentine tegu

[brad67]

hi i am new to this forum and was wondering if anyone here has experience keeping both the savanah monitor and a tegu and can tell me which is more tame. also is there any good canned food out there to feed tegu and monitors?

 

[brad67]

does anyone know if the ESU slimline 7% uvb fixture would be sufficient lighting? also i have a 150 watt red infrared light bulb would that be good for a basking spot? would the combination of these two lights meet all the heating and lighting reguirements?

 

[DaveDragon]

I've never owned a Savanah but I've heard they're tame for a monitor. An Argentine Tegu will be much tamer, IMO.

ESU is known to make less than average bulbs. A ReptiSun 10 covering the full length of the enclosure would be best, as long a he can get within 12" for a young Tegu or 16" for an adult.

Halogen bulbs put out about twice as much heat as an incandescent. You might be able to use a 75W or 90W and save some electricity.

 

[brad67]

would a 65 watt halogen flood bulb work? also i am thinking of getting a 33x17.5x17.5 tub for a temporary house hoe long do you think this will last? do i have to feed crickets or roaches because i am not able to get either of these. thanks for the help

 

[brad67]

what is the best mercury vapor bulb. what wattage should i use if i just used this to heat and light the cage.

 

[BSM]

A monitor by no means can be tame unless there sick, but they can get use to your presents within time and are not ment to be handled only looked at. Monitors need a high basking spot 125 F + to properly digest food and a large cage with dirt to be happy. A savannah monitor will need at least a 8x2x4 cage with a foot of dirt to dig but a 8x4x4 would be a better choice. Savannahs are highly insectavorus so if you cant get crickets or most importantly roaches dont think about getting one. feeding a 3ft or 4ft lizard insects is not an essay and is costly unless you breed your own.
If you want a monitor or any other type of lizard i would suggest a smaller species as food,housing,etc is cheaper in the long run also dont buy WC monitors or any other lizards unless you plan on breeding which most people dont.. Buy CBB only if you want a pet and dont plan on breeding.

left female argus....... right male argus/flavi cross

 

[BSM]

forgot to post this
115 to 125 f is good for hatchlings then when they get older you can increase the basking temp to make food essier to digest

example adult basking spot

 

[Harveysherps]

Cool Monitors but I would vote Argentine. Especially a Bobby bred Tegu. They are the calmest out there in my opinion.