questions on feeding savannah monitors

mouseboy · #1 (**permalink**) 01-20-2006, 10:34 PM

What do Savs eat and how often and are they hardy, how often do they have bowl movements????

Pork Chops N' Corn Bread · #2 (**permalink**) 01-20-2006, 10:41 PM

Ok, I have a sav as you may know. Her name is Tess. She is only about 14-15 inches now so she eats A TON!!! She eats 1-2 pinky rats or 1 fuzzy rat every 2-3 days and crickets by the dozen every week. I tried a more fancy snack that she LOVED. SHRIMP!!! The picture is of the mean mouse. That was her largest meal EVER. She didn't eat for a week after that. She poops about every other day or every 4. They don't smell bad but they eat a ton which gets pricey. I have also fed her canned tuna, snails, grass hoppers, boiled chicken, a baby quail, scrambled eggs, hard boiled eggs, worms, baby corn snake(never ate for 4 months so I froze him) and of course the good old fingers

Dachande · #3 (**permalink**) 01-20-2006, 11:51 PM

i'd 86 the shrimp. savannahs inhabit grasslands and i am puzzled as to why i keep getting told people offer theirs goldfish or shrimp. maybe a nile or water monitor, but not a savannah. even then with an aquatic monitor no goldfish. just minnows or catfish fillets offered every now and then.crawdads are okay as well.

for the first year a savannah grows fast like any other monitor. you will go through 1,000s of insects in a month's time.then whole prey such as mice, rats, chix and quail should be offered.
for insect prey: mealworms, superworms, crickets, and roaches can be offered to juvenile savannahs.
eggs, chicken livers, beef heart and such should be offered no more than once a week or 2. a treat if you will. i offer eggs maybe twice a month. they are not whole prey and lack nutrients that a whole rat or chick would posses:bone, eyes, liver and organs
main diet should be bugs until it gets large enough for mice. it will eat every day as a baby and at adult size will eat every 2-3 days.

Pork Chops N' Corn Bread · #4 (**permalink**) 01-21-2006, 12:12 AM

If you feed a sav rats and it doesn't get enough exersize it will get obese and have a shorter life span. I just fed the shrimp as a treat. Not like an everyday thing.

Dachande · #5 (**permalink**) 01-21-2006, 12:15 AM

not true.if temps are low it will get obese.and with enough dirt in the cage, it will have something to do for excercise.
rats are the best staple diet for monitors.it's been proven by the pros time and time again.insects, rats, mice and chix have everything a monitor needs.

Pork Chops N' Corn Bread · #6 (**permalink**) 01-21-2006, 12:24 AM

I agree but a small cage will cause the problems too. Not enough room to dig or run. Te,ps play a huge factor as well I must agree. I just keep her on a strict enough diet where she grows at what I see as a steady yet safe rate. I didn't feed her nearly as much as a baby as I should have and I regret that badly now. I used to feed her a dozen crickets every week and make a bunch of mistakes which is why she is about 15 inches and over a year old. Maybe about 1 and a 1/2 years old!!!

Dachande · #7 (**permalink**) 01-21-2006, 01:06 AM

she will still pick up in growth.a proper growth rate ensures that they are almost full grown by a years time.she is severely stunted and you can feed her everyday and that's the best you can do.savannahs becoming overweight is really a myth that pet stores tell ya because they want you to think it can eat like a snake.then you are more likely to buy it.honestly i'v eneverseen a truly obese monitor.
the closest i came was 2 rescues ago.
i had a yearling rescue come through a while back only 1ft in length.he grew another 6 inches within 3 months after being adopted.i did tell dude to slow down on intake.but only because it's tail got bigger than at it's base.he was feeding several rat pups a day.i told him take it down to every other day, but offer the same amount and it lost some of the bulge in it's tail.but is still growing like it should now.
the best thing to do in your situation is offer every day.the tail will be the 1st sign of if it getting too big.then cut back to every other day.once it is 2ft you can go every 3-4 days and stay with that for life.
size of food is a factor as well. say you had a larger savannah.instead of 1 small rat say you give it 5-6 mice.
now the mice will be digested faster than the rat and it will be hungry sooner.but it will grow like it needs to.it will be getting nutrients in faster and metabolizing them.

mouseboy · #8 (**permalink**) 01-21-2006, 01:09 AM

So once they reach a certain size they just eat rodent and maybe some prepared things???

Dachande · #9 (**permalink**) 01-21-2006, 01:13 AM

rodents and chicks are the best thing for them.they don't even need supplementation or vitamins on them.bugs do.so do eggs and anything prepared.but only prepared on some occassions.a staple diet of prepeared food will kill it on the long run.not nearly the nutrients of whole prey.

JuliusSqueezer · #10 (**permalink**) 01-21-2006, 01:15 AM

Mouseboy, please don't create threads with the topic title "????" Later, if someone has a similar question, wouldn't it be great if they could hit the lizard forums and find a discussion that already took place and be able to navigate right to it by a topic title that somewhat described the content? I changed this one for you.

Pork Chops N' Corn Bread · #11 (**permalink**) 01-21-2006, 01:15 AM

A 8" savannah can take many pinkie mice a day. Maybe even a 7" one. I started Tess on Pinks as a treat when she was a tiny baby and she would eat them like crazy. I noticed her tail getting fat on a every day diet so I cut back a bit

Dachande · #12 (**permalink**) 01-21-2006, 01:56 AM

let her go back to as much as she'll eat.at her age she should at least be over the 2ft mark.

Pork Chops N' Corn Bread · #13 (**permalink**) 01-21-2006, 01:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dachande

let her go back to as much as she'll eat.at her age she should at least be over the 2ft mark.

She should probably be over 2' but I am letting her grow as much as I feel nessacary. I have to make sure she doesn't out grow her 40 breeder in the next 2-3 months since I will not have a bigger cage for at leats 2 months. Then she gets an 8' by 4'!!!

Dachande · #14 (**permalink**) 01-21-2006, 02:10 AM

sorry man but that's irrelevant.controling food intake to stunt growth is why she's over 1 year and just over 1ft to begin with.
i am just not a believer in stunting growth as it will cause a shorter life span.
any of the other monitor forums i frequent would flame you bad for that statement.i tend to be a little less rude, but i just want you to understand my side.and people get defensive quick so i don't mean to jump down your throat like the other guys do.
i had to learn just like everyone else.i would be lying if i claimed all the monitor si ever worked with or owned live long full lives.most have but only because i learned just in time how to correct the problems i made.a couple didn't because it was too late.just don't want anyone goingthroughwhat i already have.

Pork Chops N' Corn Bread · #15 (**permalink**) 01-21-2006, 02:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dachande

sorry man but that's irrelevant.controling food intake to stunt growth is why she's over 1 year and just over 1ft to begin with.
i am just not a believer in stunting growth as it will cause a shorter life span.
any of the other monitor forums i frequent would flame you bad for that statement.i tend to be a little less rude, but i just want you to understand my side.and people get defensive quick so i don't mean to jump down your throat like the other guys do.
i had to learn just like everyone else.i would be lying if i claimed all the monitor si ever worked with or owned live long full lives.most have but only because i learned just in time how to correct the problems i made.a couple didn't because it was too late.just don't want anyone goingthroughwhat i already have.

I wouldn't say I am stunting her growth that much. If you want me to most pics I will, she si by no means skinny and frail. She is as fat as any sav just a bit shorter. I just don't see a need to make her grow at such a fast rate. She will be large enough eventually so I am not going to rush it. I have no need to feed her a bunch of food and I will have a monitor that is too big to handle since she is so agressive. I am letting her take her time growing. She is slowely getting used to me and if she was 2 foot already I would be scared to handle her without gloves. Now she is at the stage where I a bite hurts like heck but I get over it quick enough.

Dachande · #16 (**permalink**) 01-21-2006, 07:02 AM

trust me.if anything i've said was to be doubted it is not this
she is too short for a year of age.she is stunted.
example 1.my argus.just under 20 inches last february and over 3ft now.that is a normal growth rate.

that's last february

this is 1 month ago

most growth is done in the 1st year with varanids.this is proven.there is no such thing as "power feeding" a monitor.

Pork Chops N' Corn Bread · #17 (**permalink**) 01-21-2006, 07:12 AM

I will take your advice now. She just ate an adult mouse today and a fuzzie rat plus 2 days ago she ate an adult mouse again. Do you think she will still be a midget in the end? lol I like that choice of words

mouseboy · #18 (**permalink**) 01-21-2006, 01:52 PM

ok sorry I was justa little rushed.

Dachande · #19 (**permalink**) 01-21-2006, 04:25 PM

with the temps in her basking area up to 110F air temp and 120+ on surface temp she should put it down and metabolize it fast.there will be some stunting, but what's done is done.
she may be slow due to winter and pick up again in summer.if not that's okay.just let her grow.she's gonna bulk up and appear fat, then she should shoot up in length and then bulk up again.let her get to where she'll refuse food.then just refreeze leftovers for the next time.
do you have a temp gun?

NicoleRussell · #20 (**permalink**) 01-21-2006, 06:24 PM

the argus is one of my fav monitors

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