Savannah Monitor

[RogerTheTortoise]

Hey I have a baby savannah and am a little over my head with her. If there is anyone on the Houston area that is interested please let me know. Thanks : )

 

[Laura]

are you re homing her or need advice? I think Tom has them as well..

 

[Tom]

I'd be happy to help you out. What's the problem? You can PM if you prefer.

 

[RogerTheTortoise]

I'm looking to rehome, a friend kinda talked me into one and I would really rather have a beardie

 

[Tom]

Well to each his own, but I've had lots of both and I would much rather have the monitor. I realize different people just like different things though...

Good luck to you. Hope you find a good home for him.

 

[RogerTheTortoise]

Thanks lol I need it!
There isn't a big market for them.

 

[Tony the tank]

You should reconsider... They make good low maintenance pets... They eat just about anything... Get tame the more you handle them and have a good disposition compared to other monitors...I personaly think savannah and argus monitors are they nicest...Also bare in mind a few states don't allow monitor lizards except by permit..

 

[RogerTheTortoise]

I mean I like him and he's becoming less skiddish, I'm just more for the hands on.
I really want a Beardie, but I don't have room with the savannah. And two, a beardie will get along with my girlfriends sulcata.

 

[Floof]

I mean I like him and he's becoming less skiddish, I'm just more for the hands on.
I really want a Beardie, but I don't have room with the savannah. And two, a beardie will get along with my girlfriends sulcata.

I hope that doesn't mean you plan to house them together or anything of that sort...

Anyway, a bearded dragon is DEFINITELY going to be lower-maintenance than a monitor, and consistently much better for handling--including easier and faster to tame down (beardies are naturally laid back, even as wee babies they'll sit with you as long as they don't think they're going to get eaten!).

Good luck with finding a good home for your Sav, and with finding the right beardie!

 

[fbsmith3]

I used to have a Thai Water Dragon and a couple of Iguanas when I was younger. The Water Dragon was fantastic and my ex-girlfreind ended up taking him away. The Iguanas were awful and I'd never get another one again.

My son has been begging me on getting a lizard. I was thinking about getting a young Savannah monitor or a Berdie.
Could you please tell me how a Savannah monitor is better than a Berded Dragon?

I know a lot of Berdie people but I know so few Savannah monotor people.

 

[RogerTheTortoise]

If you are interested in a monitor savannah is the way to go, they are a smaller monitor species and have a good disposition. By good disposition I mean they will never try to bite you and use defensive postures, hissing, and running. While a croc or nile can put you in the ER for stitches out of the blue. I really do like my monitor but I am a college student on a college budget and time crunch, so for me a beardie is what works. They do not require the same amount of work to be tame and are cheaper to feed. But on the other hand they are in my opinion much much less rewarding to keep. If I had the time and money to keep a savannah I would because they are amazing lizards, they truly are spectacular specimens that are very rewarding to keep. But like I said not for me, at least for the time being. If you have any questions feel free to pm me or if you are in the Houston area and interested in mine let me know

 

[Tom]

Hmmm... I've kept lots of both savannahs and beardies and I find the set up, maintenance and care to be pretty much the same. Of course the diet is different, but I find the monitor easier to feed. They are all individuals, but I don't find the savannas to be all that different in temperament to beardies either. I've seen calm and friendly, and nasty and bitey, in both species. I think its a matter of preference, but I find the personality of the monitor much more appealing than the beardie. I also find the beardies to be more messy and require cleaning more often. When the monitor lets loose, its nasty, but it happens a lot less than the beardies who drop nasty stinkers nearly every day. I just baby sat a couple of beardies for a few months and they stunk up the whole room. None of my monitors ever did that. It would stink momentarily until I cleaned it up, but then nothing for a few days.

Either way, neither species should be housed with any tortoise.

Now when it comes to lizard pets and kids, there is NO better pet than a Northern Blue Tongue Skink. Seriously. Don't buy anything until you look into these. You might have to wait until spring for a baby, but they are so worth it. Friendly, easy to set up, easy to feed, super hardy... the perfect reptile pet in every category. PM Jeff G, here on the forum. I got mine from him and the guy is First Class all the way.

 

[RogerTheTortoise]

First off no one is housing two different species together, but if my beardie wants to hang out the sulcata outside the enclosure they won't fight. Secondly a monitor should be pooping everyday, even a few times a day when younger. I will agree that savs are easier to clean up after because they are potty trained to their water bowl. But as far as smell, savs poo stinks more, the high protein diet breaks down into a lot more nitrogenous waste then an omnivorous diet would, the only reason it seems like it smells less is because it's in water. As far as disposition goes bearded dragons are much more calm across the board. Now each specimen is an individual but in general savannah are much more skittish. Most people who keep monitors are extremely under educated about monitor care and there is a ton of bad information out there regarding monitors. I can get my monitor puppy dog tame by providing an incorrect diet and poor cage setup, this does not make him tame just to weak to put up a fight. I hear tons and tons of people that keep the basking spot at 105 and feed ground turkey with a tiny cage and a screen lid, an yes they have very "tame" monitors. My point being there is a lot of talk about calm savannah monitors and most of it can be traced to poor husbandry. On the other hand I have seen some very trusting monitors that have good setups, but this is the exeption not the norm. 90% of savs don't live to see their first year, adding to the problem is people saying that savs are tame lizards that are easy to care for, this is a completely false and entices people to make an impulse buy and not properly care for them.

If you want a challenging but rewarding lizard I would go for the savannah, but they are a HUGE commitment.

If you want a very docile very easy to care for lizard go for the beardie.

 

[Tiger Cowboy]

I would submit ackie monitors to the mix. Similar sizing to the beardies, monitor personality. The initial price is higher, but the feeding cost are nothing compared to a larger cheaper monitor. No need to make a salad either, just bugs.

 

[Tom]

First off no one is housing two different species together, but if my beardie wants to hang out the sulcata outside the enclosure they won't fight. Secondly a monitor should be pooping everyday, even a few times a day when younger. I will agree that savs are easier to clean up after because they are potty trained to their water bowl. But as far as smell, savs poo stinks more, the high protein diet breaks down into a lot more nitrogenous waste then an omnivorous diet would, the only reason it seems like it smells less is because it's in water. As far as disposition goes bearded dragons are much more calm across the board. Now each specimen is an individual but in general savannah are much more skittish. Most people who keep monitors are extremely under educated about monitor care and there is a ton of bad information out there regarding monitors. I can get my monitor puppy dog tame by providing an incorrect diet and poor cage setup, this does not make him tame just to weak to put up a fight. I hear tons and tons of people that keep the basking spot at 105 and feed ground turkey with a tiny cage and a screen lid, an yes they have very "tame" monitors. My point being there is a lot of talk about calm savannah monitors and most of it can be traced to poor husbandry. On the other hand I have seen some very trusting monitors that have good setups, but this is the exeption not the norm. 90% of savs don't live to see their first year, adding to the problem is people saying that savs are tame lizards that are easy to care for, this is a completely false and entices people to make an impulse buy and not properly care for them.

If you want a challenging but rewarding lizard I would go for the savannah, but they are a HUGE commitment.

If you want a very docile very easy to care for lizard go for the beardie.

No need to argue, but I don't agree with most of this. I'm aware of the ignorance you speak of, but you are painting with a VERY broad brush here.

My savannahs never pooped in their water and their poop stunk a lot less than any of my beardies.
Mine never ate ground turkey.
Mine ALL lived well past their first birthday and were never in tiny cages.
Tameness for either species really depends on the individual. I've seen the full spectrum in both species.

Sometimes different people have just had different experiences. That's all. And TC, I'd love to try an Ackie someday. I've never had one, but heard great things about them.