Hey Mods, or anyone..:).. A lizard question..

[sclark]

Hi All,

I was gonna talk privatly and find out this info. But I think it may help others.

Now I have dealt with Sav. Monitors as rescues. mostly sub adults to adults and their temperment has been the full range from nice as can be, like the pics of the one with the mouse, to ones that have broken the glass sides in the tank charging it when people walked in front of the tank.

What is the normal temperment of these guys. I have never been bitten raw skin but I would assume they could do some damage to your finger. If anyone ever seen the way the grab a mouse and swing it side to side, you would have little doupt.

Also if you have good care advise, I know it could benifit others.

Last question. Someone emailed me about my fun post with the Sav pics and I mentioned that the Sav was 22-24 inches and this emailer said they don't get that big. Well I called the folks who took this guy and at last measument he was a sold 36 inches from head to tail. He may just be an odd one, but I did see him last week and he is giant.. So what is the normal size they get?

Thanks Guys
Steve

[Fonzy]

Re:Hey Mods.. A lizard question..

Steve,

I'm not a Mod, but I do know a little about a little!! An adult Sav will usually average 42-48 inches, at least in my experience. Their tempermant is almost always based on their care, treatment, and the amount of handling they receive. I too have seen Savs that are like puppy dogs, then I've seen the ones that think they are T-Rex's!! s35.gif If they do bite you and break the skin, they can cause an infection because of the amount of bacteria they have in their saliva. It is similar to Komodo Dragons, but on a much smaller scale. Here is a pretty good link on the history and care of Savs:

http://www.anapsid.org/savannah.html

Happy reading!

Jeff

[Red]

Re:Hey Mods.. A lizard question..

I didn't think they added the tail lenght with the larger lizards...? I thought it was snout to vent.. Am I wrong...??/
Eric aka....red

[sclark]

Re:Hey Mods.. A lizard question..

Hey Fonzy,

Sorry I never should have put mods in the title. Thanks for the info. It was very helpful...

And Red,

To be honest I have no idea what the proper measurment of a lizard is. Just the way I did with the resuces..

Steve

[J.D.J]

Re:Hey Mods, or anyone.... A lizard question..

Hi Steve,

Their temperament is based on handling, care, etc... an overly aggressive one will usually tame some what over time in captivity though.

Some have been known to reach nearly 5 feet, so the caretakers are including the tail length in this measurement.

Of course, cages need to be big, and don't use gravel as a substrate. The gravel can get lodged in the stomach and be painful and deadly. Temperatures shouldn't exceed 90 degrees in one section (so he can thermoregulate) and shouldn't drop below 73 degrees at night. They also need ultraviolet light.

Diet should vary from a mouse once every two to three weeks, this is because excess fat and protein will build up and turn into fat in the Sav. An adult Sav. can eat crickets, mealworms or anything of the sort twice a week. Crickets need to be dusted with calcium of course every other feeding.

Reptiles magazine September 2002

Jeff J.

[sclark]

Re:Hey Mods, or anyone.... A lizard question..

More helpful info..

Thanks
Steve

[Barracuda_41]

Re:Hey Mods, or anyone.... A lizard question..

8) My buddys Sav was close to 5ft and yeah that was meassured from snot to tip of tail, the normal way to do that is from snout to vent, like red said.. And yes they do carry bactieria in the mouth. You can feed them a big varied diet, you can use fruites and veggies mixed in with can cat food or scrambled eggs mixed in or cooked rice mixed with raw hamburger, even cooked pasta mixed with raw egg. My buddy used all diffrent types of food other than just crix, king meal worms, night crawler-earth worms, hissin cockroaches. heres few links for ya.. he also used a UVB light at one end of the cage and provided a huge soak water dish as they love water..

http://www.h2racer.com/pages/lizard.htm

http://herpboy.freeyellow.com/savannah.html

http://savannahs.dmglobal.net/SavannahHome.htm

http://exoticpets.about.com/library/weekly/aa073002a.htm

http://my.pclink.com/~dkelley/monitors.htm

http://www.serpenti.it/rivista/pubblica4/diet.htm

http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Stands/3075/bernard.html

http://home.earthlink.net/~forestgump/yoshi/

http://www.honoluluzoo.org/savannah_monitor_lizard.htm

Theres alot more but i hope this helps you out some....

[sclark]

Re:Hey Mods, or anyone.... A lizard question..

Thanks for the extra info Baracudda..

You guys are soooo helpful..))

Steve