Savannah monitor diet

antwon

New Member
Joined
Jul 30, 2016
Messages
4
I am thinking about buying a Savannah monitor. Many people say rodents are bad, and they should be fed mainly insects. But in the future, with a 3-4 foot lizard, how would it be possible to supply enough insects to feed it. Does anyone know how much is too much and how much is too little to feed, and does anyone have a specific diet they recommend? Thanks.
 

Yvonne G

Old Timer
TFO Admin
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Messages
93,449
Location (City and/or State)
Clovis, CA
"Food options
Savannah Monitors are primarily insectivores in the wild, there is however, some controversy about feeding rodents in captivity. This is a long winded and foolish argument.

A properly supported Monitor can handle mice and rats in their diet without any problems. However, the vast majority of keepers do not provide the correct housing for their captive lizards and the resulting health issues are often blamed on the rodent diet, when in fact improper husbandry that brought on the failure in the animal's health. Be sure to read the dehydration and gout page carefully, or your lizard will not live to be very old.

A proper Savannah Monitor diet would consist of Roaches, Crickets, Night Crawlers (Large earth worms) Mice, Rats, Snails, Garden slugs, Superworms and Locusts (where available) and certified chemical free organic whole Shrimp, Crabs, Crayfish & Chicks."

http://www.savannahmonitor.net/
 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 9, 2010
Messages
63,220
Location (City and/or State)
Southern California
I am thinking about buying a Savannah monitor. Many people say rodents are bad, and they should be fed mainly insects. But in the future, with a 3-4 foot lizard, how would it be possible to supply enough insects to feed it. Does anyone know how much is too much and how much is too little to feed, and does anyone have a specific diet they recommend? Thanks.

Start your dubia colonies a good 6-9 months before you get your lizard...
 

jim taylor

Member
Joined
Aug 1, 2016
Messages
56
Location (City and/or State)
Morrisville pa
I had a savannah monitor about 10 yrs ago. Rex was close to 4ft and 18lbs when he died. I had built him a indoor enclosure that was 8ft long and 3 ft wide. The reason I'm talking about the enclosure is a heads up they get big. I live in Pennsylvania so outdoors wasn't an option except for summer. If you have the room and the understanding of what will come the 6 inch cool looking baby will be a 4ft 20 lb handful in a very short time.

When I got Rex he was about 2 yrs old. Already past the insect stage. When they little crickets and such work great. I feed Rex mostly feeder mice and on occasion I would feed him raw chicken, ground beef, steak or any raw meat I was having for dinner. Savannahs swallow food whole so food has to be prepared according to there size. After the insect stage you start with pinky mice. At first it's one or two at a time two to three times a week. At this point he is basically a meat eater for the rest of his life. The pinky mice thing will last about a year or so but like I said it all according to the size. You can feed a monitor every day and he will eat everyday. Some people call this power feeding it means you feed them to make them grow fast and they will grow fast. I my self am against power feeding I feel they need time to digest the first meal properly before you feed them again. That being said after pinkies comes fuzzys baby mice that have hair. This stage will go on for most of the big yrs fuzzys come in different sizes small to a full grown mouse. My feeding schedule at was one feeder mouse 2 to 3 times a week once they r big enough to swallow them. As Rex got bigger I would step up to 2 at a time same thing 2 to 3 times a week. When Rex was at his biggest it was 3 feeders 3 times a week. Now we get to rats I fed Rex a rat once. You have to watch rats many people thinks rats are dumb rodents they are not. Rats can be bought in different sizes so you will start at the smallest size again he has to able to swallow this thing once he grabs it. Even at 4 ft Rex had trouble with rats and rats tend to fight back ( no animal wants to get eaten ). The one time I fed him a rat it was an epic battle between the two although Rex caught him no problem the rat began to fight back by scratching and biting him. Savannah heads are as hard as rock and jaws like a steel trap Rex would not let go even tho the rat was fighting. The rat died but had its revenge the next day Rex's eye was swollen and turned red then I realized the rat had gotten him. So off to the vet with a now very big and unhappy lizard. I called the vet to explain that I had a savannah in need of urgent care he tells me bring him in. I box him up off we go. I walk in with pretty big box full of pissed off Rex. I go back into the room and the vet tech all 5 ft 80 lbs of her open this box and her eyes got as big as saucers I chuckle she grabs leather gloves up to her shoulders and grabs him. Them the vet comes him and tells me he needs antibiotics I say ok. Then he tells me this is the last time they will see him because they don't handle lizards this large. So I'm thinking time to find a new vet after they give me the meds. They give him a shot and then to proceed to show me how I'm going to give him the shots in the next coming week. Wait what I say I have to now give this thing the shots. Yeah it took three people to do this one to hold the front one for the back and one for the shot. That was the first and last rat from that point on it was mice I would just give him more. 3 mice is basically a small rat.

Sorry for the long post but just want to try to help you understand what ur in for. Rex was truly an awesome pet to look at as far as the lap dog iguana he was not that at all. If u have kids please careful they will lop a finger off wit no problem and they do not let go. Rex was pretty aggressive and I was not able to hold him without gloves and caution. A Savannah will not run away they will actually turn and face u waiting for u to make the first move. I was never bitten by him but he tried many time to get me. But he was one of the coolest reptiles I have ever had. These r just some of my experiences others may tell u something different. To sum it all up they eat meat and get big and have teeth there is always the chance for a serious bit no matter what the temperament is. I hope this helps with some of ur questions if there is anything else you need to know feel free to ask
 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 9, 2010
Messages
63,220
Location (City and/or State)
Southern California
I had a savannah monitor about 10 yrs ago. Rex was close to 4ft and 18lbs when he died. I had built him a indoor enclosure that was 8ft long and 3 ft wide. The reason I'm talking about the enclosure is a heads up they get big. I live in Pennsylvania so outdoors wasn't an option except for summer. If you have the room and the understanding of what will come the 6 inch cool looking baby will be a 4ft 20 lb handful in a very short time.

When I got Rex he was about 2 yrs old. Already past the insect stage. When they little crickets and such work great. I feed Rex mostly feeder mice and on occasion I would feed him raw chicken, ground beef, steak or any raw meat I was having for dinner. Savannahs swallow food whole so food has to be prepared according to there size. After the insect stage you start with pinky mice. At first it's one or two at a time two to three times a week. At this point he is basically a meat eater for the rest of his life. The pinky mice thing will last about a year or so but like I said it all according to the size. You can feed a monitor every day and he will eat everyday. Some people call this power feeding it means you feed them to make them grow fast and they will grow fast. I my self am against power feeding I feel they need time to digest the first meal properly before you feed them again. That being said after pinkies comes fuzzys baby mice that have hair. This stage will go on for most of the big yrs fuzzys come in different sizes small to a full grown mouse. My feeding schedule at was one feeder mouse 2 to 3 times a week once they r big enough to swallow them. As Rex got bigger I would step up to 2 at a time same thing 2 to 3 times a week. When Rex was at his biggest it was 3 feeders 3 times a week. Now we get to rats I fed Rex a rat once. You have to watch rats many people thinks rats are dumb rodents they are not. Rats can be bought in different sizes so you will start at the smallest size again he has to able to swallow this thing once he grabs it. Even at 4 ft Rex had trouble with rats and rats tend to fight back ( no animal wants to get eaten ). The one time I fed him a rat it was an epic battle between the two although Rex caught him no problem the rat began to fight back by scratching and biting him. Savannah heads are as hard as rock and jaws like a steel trap Rex would not let go even tho the rat was fighting. The rat died but had its revenge the next day Rex's eye was swollen and turned red then I realized the rat had gotten him. So off to the vet with a now very big and unhappy lizard. I called the vet to explain that I had a savannah in need of urgent care he tells me bring him in. I box him up off we go. I walk in with pretty big box full of pissed off Rex. I go back into the room and the vet tech all 5 ft 80 lbs of her open this box and her eyes got as big as saucers I chuckle she grabs leather gloves up to her shoulders and grabs him. Them the vet comes him and tells me he needs antibiotics I say ok. Then he tells me this is the last time they will see him because they don't handle lizards this large. So I'm thinking time to find a new vet after they give me the meds. They give him a shot and then to proceed to show me how I'm going to give him the shots in the next coming week. Wait what I say I have to now give this thing the shots. Yeah it took three people to do this one to hold the front one for the back and one for the shot. That was the first and last rat from that point on it was mice I would just give him more. 3 mice is basically a small rat.

Sorry for the long post but just want to try to help you understand what ur in for. Rex was truly an awesome pet to look at as far as the lap dog iguana he was not that at all. If u have kids please careful they will lop a finger off wit no problem and they do not let go. Rex was pretty aggressive and I was not able to hold him without gloves and caution. A Savannah will not run away they will actually turn and face u waiting for u to make the first move. I was never bitten by him but he tried many time to get me. But he was one of the coolest reptiles I have ever had. These r just some of my experiences others may tell u something different. To sum it all up they eat meat and get big and have teeth there is always the chance for a serious bit no matter what the temperament is. I hope this helps with some of ur questions if there is anything else you need to know feel free to ask

You made a lot of care and husbandry mistakes there Jim. Most of the reptile industry stopped feeding live rodents two decades ago. There is no need for it and you saw the primary reason why we stopped. Most snakes and lizards will readily take to pre-killed, frozen and thawed prey animals. Safer for the predator, and perceived as more humane for the prey animal by the general public.

There is also no need to feed pinkies or fuzzies to young savannas. They ail do just fine with out them. I've got no problem feeding mice to them when they are older as long as its done in moderation, as it sounds like you did.

Feeding raw meat is another practice that no one should engage in. Our predatory reptiles need all the organs, bones, and hair or skin in their meals. Organ meat can lead to all sorts of nutritional problems for captive reptiles.
 

jim taylor

Member
Joined
Aug 1, 2016
Messages
56
Location (City and/or State)
Morrisville pa
Disclaimer:

My previous post was not in any way intended to tell anyone how he or she should raise a Savannah monitor. This was just how I did it. I had already gotten him after someone else started him. At this point he was already eating live mice and would not take to frozen/thawed mice and as far as the raw meat it was little bits I had leftover and I no way intended to be part of his everyday diet. And although my monitor never once and any kind of illness please don't take my post as this is the proper way to care for ur Savannah monitor. I just didn't want to let him starve to death due to the mistakes that where made before I received him
 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 9, 2010
Messages
63,220
Location (City and/or State)
Southern California
Disclaimer:

My previous post was not in any way intended to tell anyone how he or she should raise a Savannah monitor. This was just how I did it. I had already gotten him after someone else started him. At this point he was already eating live mice and would not take to frozen/thawed mice and as far as the raw meat it was little bits I had leftover and I no way intended to be part of his everyday diet. And although my monitor never once and any kind of illness please don't take my post as this is the proper way to care for ur Savannah monitor. I just didn't want to let him starve to death due to the mistakes that where made before I received him

Thanks Jim. Heard and understood.
 
Top