Here is my care advice on Savs.
Let me start by saying I do not recommend Savannah Monitors as pets. While a well tamed Sav is a wonderful animal many will never accept taming and a large untamed Sav can be a handful even for an experienced keeper. If you do decide to purchase a Sav have everything set up and running for it for a week prior to its arrival so it is all checked out and to make the acclimation process easier on you and your new family member.
In the wild Savannah Monitors are most commonly found in the somewhat temperate to hot regions of Central Africa. The primary diet of young Savannah Monitors in the wild consists mostly of insects. When wild Savs mature they eat huge quantities of snails as their primary diet, during their active wet season, supplemented with Insects, rodents, birds, reptiles, amphibians, eggs and even carrion when they can find it.
The average life span of a captive Savannah Monitor is around 10 – 11 years but they have been known to live for 15 or more given excellent care and habitat. In captivity they can be expected to reach 3.5 – 5 feet in length.
When purchasing a Savannah Monitor it is always best if you personally can hand pick your new friend from a selection of captive bred stock. The animal you select should be well filled out, active and alert. Its eyes should be clean and clear, the vent area should also be clean. Avoid any animal that does not display these characteristics or has any mucous, discharge or caking around the mouth, nose, eyes or vent areas.
If at all possible try petting the Sav that appears healthiest to you. If it is a good candidate for taming it should let you gently touch it without biting though that is not always the case. Also be prepared to jump when it startles you with a sudden movement or slap of the tail. If it does not react at all it may be sick.
If you are unable to hand select a Savannah Monitor you should attempt to purchase a captive born animal through a reputable breeder. If the breeder is reputable they should be willing to provide you with some guarantees on the health of the animal they will be selling you.
As a last resort, if you cannot wait to get a captive born animal and are willing to take the risk that you will incur high vet bills from the very start you can try purchasing an imported wild caught specimen but I do not recommend it.
These animals will need to be checked over by a qualified herpetological vet as soon as you get them regardless of any guarantees offered by the seller. Wild caught specimens are often tick and or
mite infested and will be are carrying internal parasites. Wild caught specimens are most often are very hard or impossible to tame.
Always quarantine any new reptile, captive bred or wild caught, well away from any other reptiles in you collection for at least 3 months to be sure there are no harmful pathogens present that could infect your already healthy reptiles.
When you get you new friend do not be surprised if it will not eat or come out of hiding for a few days to a week. This is normal during the acclimation period.
Give it some time to adjust to the strange new place it has been put into. Treat it like the most fragile thing in the world at first, move quietly and slowly, let it see what you are doing and that you are not there to harm it as you change the water daily and offer it food. I even talk to my lizards as I go through the daily routines telling them what I am doing in a normal but gentle voice. Ok, I’m strange but it seems to help.
The best sign that it has become accustom to its new home is when it starts eating well and wandering around looking for a way out. It is at this time you can begin the taming process covered below.
Housing
I personally recommend that you provide a well ventilated custom built enclosure large enough for your animal to stay in for its entire life from the start. This avoids the stress put on the animal with changing homes as it grows and is less expensive than continually upgrading enclosure sizes as the lizard grows.
If you calculate that the average captive size will be about 4.25 feet in length this means that for one Sav you need an minimum enclosure size of about 6.5 feet long X 4.25 feet front to back X 3 feet tall at adult size.
The enclosure will need to be very secure with locking doors or lid to prevent escapes. These are very intelligent and powerful lizards and once the find a weak spot to escape through they will continue to use it until you get it fixed.
If you should decide that you would rather go through the process of replacing enclosures every 6 months or so for about three years you can start out with a 30 - 50 gallon aquarium for a young Sav. Be warned they grow quickly and you will be buying a larger enclosure within a year or harming your lizard by forcing it to live in an enclosure that is to small.
Contrary to what some pet stores say, Small Enclosures Do Not Prevent Growth.
Substrate
The best substrates for these animals are Black and White News Print, Butcher Paper, Reptile Carpeting, Astro Turf, or Indoor Outdoor Carpeting. The last two should have the edges melted to avoid fraying that could lead to accidental ingestion of strings and cause internal problems for your lizard.
When using the above types of substrates you should cut multiple pieces of equal size to cover the floor with so and have spares ready to put in as needed when one becomes soiled. These guys eat and poop a lot!!
Another substrate I find acceptable is sifted peat or sphagnum moss.
I personally recommend against the use of chips, bark or gravel of any type though I know people that do use these successfully. Such products can lead to intestinal impaction if accidentally ingested.
NEVER USE PINE OR CEDAR both naturally contain harmful chemicals.
Landscaping
The best advice I ever got in relation to these animals and decorating their enclosure is best summed up with the initials KISS, “Keep It Simple Stupid.”
I have a tendency to try to elaborately decorate my enclosure which does not work with these guys.
First you need to take into consideration the needs of the lizard, they need 2 hiding places, a water bowl and a basking site. That is it, period.
These things need to be easy to remove for cleaning both them and the substrate beneath them. Though you can go to extremes decorating with real or silk plants etc the lizard WILL tear them up and the more stuff you add the harder your cleaning chore becomes.
Of the necessities you should have a shelter it can get into at each end of the enclosure and I like a nice flat basking rock directly under the basking light at the warm end of the enclosure.
Lighting
Since Savannah Monitors are primarily diurnal (day active) lizards we must provide lighting that not only meets their need for a warm basking spot directly under a basking light but also provide for their need for
UVB radiation normally supplied from the sun. To meet these needs there are a couple of options available to us. Both have positive and negative sides to them.
The first and the one I use requires two types of light, a reptile specific florescent tube such as the Repti-Sun 7.0 to supply the
UVB radiation to provide the vitamin D3 necessary for calcium absorption and an incandescent basking spot light to provide the warmth needed for proper digestion.
The draw backs to this set up is the need to have dual lighting sources and the fact that florescent source tubes need to be replace every 3 – 6 months and the florescent bulb must also be installed within 12 inches (30.48cm) of the basking spot to be effective.
The second set up utilizes only one bulb to provide for both the basking and
UVB requirements. This is done with a Reptile specific Mercury Vapor bulb such as the Solar Brite
UVB Mercury Vapor series. This bulb, correctly placed, can provide for both the basking and
UVB requirements of your lizard.
The draw back to these bulbs is that they cost almost twice what the florescent cost and they must be replaced every year.
Whatever types of lighting set up you choose the lighting should be on a timers switch set to provide 12 - 14 hours of light per day.
Also be sure that it is not accessible to your Sav to prevent your lizard from coming into contact with the bulbs and being burned.
*Please Note; Incandescent lights and non reptile specific lighting, even those that are called “Full Spectrum”, do not supply UV
B radiation in sufficient amounts for reptiles.
Temperature
Since Savannah Monitors come from a relatively warm climate you need to provide the proper temperatures in the enclosure to keep it happy and healthy. Like most lizards Savannah Monitors need to be provided with a temperature gradient, both a warm and cool end, in the enclosure so that they can choose the temperature they need at the moment.
During the day the cooler area needs to be kept at 84F (28.89C) and the warm end temperatures should be around 88F (31.11C) with the basking spot temperature directly under the basking light at 90 – 95F (32.22 – 35C)
At night your temperatures can safely be allowed to drop as low as 75F (23.89C).
It is very important that you monitor you area temperatures with a thermometer in both the warm and cool areas as well as one that monitors the temperature at the basking spot. Thermometers with cable attached probes like indoor/outdoor thermometers work best for this as the probes can be placed where needed while allowing the readout to be outside the enclosure where you can see in with ease even when the enclosure lights are off.
Heating
If heating is required in your enclosure for either day or night heat beyond what your normal lighting is providing there are a couple of options.
The most efficient and sure is the use of a Ceramic Heat Emitter in conjunction with a rheostat switch or a thermostat switch. Since Ceramic Heat Emitters produce a great deal of heat a rheostat switch or a thermostat switch in an absolute must.
A second option are incandescent bulbs like the T-Rex Infra Red Bulb. You may use incandescent bulbs in conjunction with a rheostat switch or a thermostat switch or simply try different wattage bulbs until you find the one that produces the temperatures you are trying to achieve.
As with light sources you must be sources are screened off to prevent your lizard from coming into contact with the bulbs or heat emitters and being burned.
NEVER USE HOT ROCKS AS HEAT FOR ANY REPTILE OR SEVERE BURNS COULD RESULT.
Humidity
This is a somewhat widely contested issue with one side claiming that they come from arid dry climates and the other side pointing out that they are not active during the dry months. In part both are correct.
The truth of the matter is that these lizards in all their sub-species are found across a wide enough range that they do live in areas that are reasonably arid some of the year as well as areas that receive rainfall for 8 out of ten months. Those months that are dry are also the months that these lizards are the least active as food and water supplies are low during this time.
I suggest that a normal mid level humidity range of 40 – 50% be established and maintained in the enclosure but drops below that are not likely to cause a problem if adequate water is provided.
Water
You should provide a water container in the enclosure large enough for the Sav to climb into and soak when it desires. This water will need to be changed at the very least every day and should be changed any time the lizard defecates in it. A good way to think about it is if you would not drink it your Sav shouldn’t have to.
Foods & Feeding
As mentioned in the introduction the primary diet of young Savannah Monitors in the wild consists mostly of insects. Adult Savannahs in the wild eat huge quantities of snails as their primary diet, during their active wet season, supplemented with Insects, rodents, birds, reptiles, amphibians, eggs and even carrion when they can find it.
Of course we are not able to completely replicate a natural diet so we attempt to come as close as we can to providing them with complete nutrition.
One of the first things you should remember with all age Savs is not to feed to large a prey item. Though Savs will often refuse large items if they do eat them they may regurgitate the food which is not good for them to do.
The prey you offer should be no more than 2/3rds the length of the lizards head. Remember that multiple smaller prey items are easier to digest and provide more nutrition than fewer large prey items.
For babies I suggest feeding a variety of prey items every other day including;
Earthworms or Night Crawlers, purchased from a pet store or other retail outlet, intended for use as animal food.
Crickets, these should be fed gut load for 24 hours before offering them to your lizard as when they come from the pet store they have usually been without food for some time and offer little in the way of nutrition.
Silkworms
Meal Worms, preferably freshly molted to avoid any risk of intestinal impaction.
Wax Worms, are alright but should only be used sparingly as they are high in fat.
1 or 2 Pre-killed Frozen Pinky Mice, these must be thawed and warmed under a heat lamp or in a bag in hot water.
For Juveniles I suggest feeding two or three appropriately sized mice every third day. This can be supplemented with crickets for as long as they will still eat them because chasing them is good exercise but most Savs will quit eating insect prey for the most part as they mature.
For Adults Three years old or older you can offer them one or two mice or small rats, again appropriately sized, twice a week. Due to the fact that adult Savannah Monitors seldom get the exercise they need in captivity they have a tendency to get over weight so the amount you feed may need to be adjusted up or down depending on the size of your lizard.
Cleaning the Enclosure
You should try to spot clean the substrate any time it becomes soiled and once a week completely wipe the cage and furnishings down with a mild disinfectant specifically made for use with reptiles or other exotic animals.
Be sure to wash your hands after coming into contact with anything in your lizards enclosure to prevent the spread of possible zoonoses
Taming
In my opinion this is a very necessary part of keeping a Savannah Monitor Lizard. An unmanageable, powerful, 4 - 5 foot lizard can be nightmare to keep and can make the yearly vet visit for a check up nearly impossible to manage.
Remember to always wash your hands both before and after making contact with your lizard for your protection and his.
As mentioned at the end of the introduction after your Savannah Monitor has become accustom to its new home and is eating well you can begin the process of attempting to tame it. Taming should be done quietly with no other persons or animals in the room until you get to the point it will accept being handled.
You should start by placing your hand in the enclosure where it can see it and slowly move to pet your lizard when it is aware of your presence in the enclosure to avoid startling it. I suggest that this be done for short, 5 – 15 minute periods, three or four times a day for the first week or so.
Next you can advance to attempting to pet and hold your lizard by first sliding your hand under it while still petting it with the other. Gently but firmly hold the lizard and lift it off the floor of the enclosure it will likely struggle at first but do not give up. Hold it for the amount of taming time you have established and return it gently to the enclosure and pet it a little more before leaving it alone.
One of the biggest mistakes you can make at this point is to let its dislike for the process dictate your taming program. If you allow it to think it is forcing you to leave it alone it will continue the behavior that made you leave it alone.
As time and training days progress gradually increase the amount of time spent holding and petting. If your lizard is tamable it should settle into acceptance in about a month.
YOU MUST BE PATIENT.
Remember even a captive born is still instinctively a wild animal.
And again
Remember to always wash your hands both before and after making contact with your lizard for your protection and his.
John E Dove
Me and My wanting
Eventually he'll trust you; signifyed by 'falling asleep' in your hand or on your lap. It's like he's saying, "I trust you completely," Litterily, "I put my life in your hands/lap." 
