Savannah Monitor Lizard Setup

[sikxkidd]

was it hard to set all of that up

[animalman04]

@MDFMONITOR I was planning using uv lights. But I was wondering about the uvb. Uvb bulbs are about twice as expensive if not more. Pending on the uvb levels and brand you buy.

[MDFMONITOR]

@animalman04 i always use them, i just stick a spiral one in sometimes next to the basking lamp. :)

[animalman04]

Is uvb lighting a must fot savanas? I have read a few things online saying it is not because of their diet. Do you know if this is true? Do you use uvb or just uv lighting in your cages?

[MDFMONITOR]

@animalman04 i would stick it in, but many experience keepers have bred monitors without uv, not much more of a cost so why not!

[TarantulamanNC]

Any advice or thoughts would be appreciated. I know people say dehydration but if he has a Huge water tub to soak & drink in I don't see how he could dehydrate? Thanks ahead of time

[MDFMONITOR]

@TarantulamanNC it's due to the air they breath in, if they breath in 50% humidity hot air, then when they breath out it will start to dehydrate them basically, some of their tunnels will be 80/90% humidity allow them to keep hydrated.

they can't take water in through the skin, it's got to be took in by food or drinking, very hard to re-hydrate a dehydrated lizard, hope this helps.:)

[TarantulamanNC]

Want to add sand/soil of he doesn't seem interested when it was on sand? I live in NC and we have high humidity for the most part & I have no prob with humidity in my enclosures with just heat & the big water tub

[TarantulamanNC]

Question, I have a Sav almost 2ft & a baby. I use to keep my oldest on sand. He never even tried to dig like others speak of. He just walked around at times, ate great & that's about it. I now have him in a custom box I built 6ft by 4ft. I have a concrete mixing tub for his water. The Sav poops in it and that's about it. So far all I have is newspaper on top of a rubber liner I put down to keep water from getting on my wood. Every one mentions soil/sand; but if he doesn't dig why would I really

[Lovermelons]

Hey im about to buy a sav when repticon somes around, ive been seting up the cage and i havent decided which substrate to go with. ive done lots of searches on this "sandy soil" and got no results. if you could give me any info on where i can acheive that and what it is it would help me out alot. thanks

[MDFMONITOR]

@Lovermelons basically it's river bed sand soil mix, you need 50% playsand & 50% top soil (not peat or fertilised soil) mix together to about a foot depth for your young savs & eventually end up with 2 foot in your final cage, if you can't do this get a big bowl & stick it in there, remember it needs to be misted to stop tunnels collapsing!:)

[SavannahMoniter4eva]

i like ur savannahs setup sub back

[MDFMONITOR]

@djh9595 you can pause the speech boxes, that's why i did it that way. :)

[MrEyefi]

Just like to say all your vids have been really helpful with regards to setting up sav vivs. Since I built my sav a 8x4 viv I've been using 3 filament reflector bulbs at 75 watt which give a basking site of 139f. Would it be better to move over to the flood bulbs you are using? What's the difference between using filament and halogen? I would appreciate it if you have a look at my viv build vid and leave your thoughts.

[MDFMONITOR]

@MrEyefi Thank you!:) the best bulbs to use are hals floods, bright crisp light, i would also stick a T5/T8 tube light in there as well for back ground white light effect.

Use 50/60w hals FLOOD ONLY not spot, use a bank of two/three etc for bigger lizards so the basking light covers all the body with no gaps.

[ExoticFactory]

if the cage is 8x4 is it 4 feet high also?? please get back to me i want to make a cage soon. Thank you

[MDFMONITOR]

@ExoticFactory no it's only 3 foot high, one of my failings in monitor keeping, ideally they need 18/24" of sandy soil substrate pesticide free, this helps avoid dehydration & other common problems when keeping monitors,, good luck!!

[LuckyLynchV8]

is A 6Ft by 3 by 3 big enough for a full grown one please reply cuz in febuary march ill have the money

[MDFMONITOR]

@LuckyLynchV8 If your mon's about 30" yes that should be fine, but bigger is usual better if you can afford to heat it of course lol!!

i would really advise a good depth of soil if you can provide it, 12" upto 24" would be great for them!

[XslowmotionriotX]

its not good to use play sand from diy because of the silica in it which can cause lung problems in the long run so dont buy play sand unless it states that its silica free otherwise

[MDFMONITOR]

@XslowmotionriotX

New to me that one, but your suppose to mix it with top soil ( pesticide free) so not sure it would make much difference to them, maybe if you have sandy soil mix in the garden this would be more suitable, pesticide free of course.

[MDFMONITOR]

@aleoparddragon6778 Local diy shop garden top up soil & play sand mixed together:)

[08wallic]

I know theres a debate on this- but what are your feelings for uvb on monitors?

[MDFMONITOR]

@08wallic cost little so put it anyway in my opinion:)

[08wallic]

@MDFMONITOR Alright thanks- yea thats what the guys on my forum said. But since your th only guy with GOOD videos on varanids on youtube. I wanted to consult you

[MDFMONITOR]

@08wallic that no probs at all & i hope it works out well for you:)

[spookygodd]

I must say your sav is one lucky little bugger. Your set up is beyond amazing. Mind me asking what humid/thermometers/temp gun you use?

[MDFMONITOR]

Thank you & just google them, there's plenty online nowadays.

[hoobastank1]

my enclosure for my baslisk is crap comapred to this one

[MDFMONITOR]

If they do the job that's all your looking for!!

& thank you.

[Cbob222]

lol no great music

[MDFMONITOR]

you could be right!!

[reptiles4everguy17]

that is an awesome 5 star enclosure.....but just one thing. What the hell is that gay music about

[MDFMONITOR]

oh dear is it that bad!!

[BoyBlueberry]

Should the temperature on the basking area really be so high? I don´t know much about Svannnah monitors, but what is the best temperature on the basking spot?

[MDFMONITOR]

yes it should, juvenile about 120f & adult anywhere from 130 to 150f. They need that amount of heat to digest there food properly.

[stokedformula]

i see you have the uvb light what uvb are you using. i have a little on that wouldnt shed i went and bought a slim line 7% bulb and fixture and swapped out the bulb for a 10% and started shedding but now he doesnt bask like he use to but he is still in shed. is it the bulb or that he is shedding get back at me soon please

[MDFMONITOR]

could be a higher basking spot, so he needs less time to bask, is he crapping ok?

many monitors have been bred & raised without uv bulbs so that shouldn't cause a problem, i would always say use one though.

lack of humidity is usually the problem with shedding, screen top! cage needs sealing substrate to shallow, just a few things to look at.

Regards Mark

[stokedformula]

he is only about 6 months at the most he was bred with uvb lighting. he is about a foot long he is eating 2 to 3 full grown mice a week. he is in a 75 gallon aquarium with a wood lid that just has holes for the heat lamps the uvb lamp is screwed in to the lid (im in the process of building a 10' x 4' x 3' cage as we speak) the humidity never drops below 55%. he is pooping every 1 to 2 days and a lot at that. i have a thermostat from zilla. air temp is at 95 hottest part of the day.

[MDFMONITOR]

I'm not sure then, it could be a number of reasons, up his humidity (make sure temps are right if you do this or you could face R/Infection ) or just soak him in luke warm water once a week with a lid on the container for 15mins ( with air holes in & room temp water only). not sure after that without vid/pics.

[machadoraposeiro]

Hey where did you buy your temp/humidity guns from?

[MDFMONITOR]

just over the net, google temp gun & choose a well known shop for delivery, that's all i did.

[Shimmy3Shammy]

Amazing setup, substrate?

[MDFMONITOR]

mine are in the loft, so i have to use soil boxes, containing sandy soil mix to keep the weight down & thank you.

[AmorGR8]

That's nice how much did this setup cost you? Send me a message or comment on one of my videos I like the way you set up this habitat and I dont like my Sav in the tank he's in so any pointers would be great and let me know the LxWxD of you set up I'll get started asap

[Adam4850]

can i use gardening soil for the nesting area?

[MDFMONITOR]

As long as it's pesticide free yes & add some play sand to it. Remember it takes some time for the soil to warm through.Stand it in your room for a week or so, or add warm water & mix it, not to damp.

[nitroslayer2]

do u talk??? just asking

[MDFMONITOR]

yes i do, but the info i've given needs to be in the right order & there's a lot of info there & i'm crap at public speaking.

[Hughjass505]

will a length 36in, width 18in, and height 24in be enough for one fully grown sav monitor

[MDFMONITOR]

My males about 38" & the female is about 30"

so not really.

Min for male i would say 6x4 foot & female 8x4 foot.

[Hughjass505]

ouch

[RichardsElite]

Great set up. 5*! Do you know any places I could go to get digestable soil? I don't trust my backyard soil.

[MDFMONITOR]

Eco -soil from pet shops or better still pesticide free sandy soil mix from a local DIY centre/garden centre, or your back garden.

[Boids007]

where did you buy that temp gun from, and great setup, you seem to know what your doing

[MDFMONITOR]

I got mine off the net, just google temp gun & decide who you want to but it off!!

[DallasHerps]

Thats a awesome setup! 5* i see you use UVB bulbs, is it true that savs dont need uvb, or do u think its just more helpful? Also what brand, and wattage are your heat bulbs

[MDFMONITOR]

they say you don't need it, but for what it costs & rather stick one in there!!

my spot floods are 50w if you google halogen bulbs there's plenty on the web, just make sure there floods & not close beam spots.

[DallasHerps]

ok. can you get the flood lights at home depot?

[MDFMONITOR]

not sure i live in the uk, to get mine i had to google them.

on my box it says HI-SPOT 80/ FLOOD 25 DEGREE/ E27

[sidbarvin]

That's a top notch setup for sure Mark. Do you have more than one nest box in that cage?

[MDFMONITOR]

Cheer's Roger, i'll tidy it up a bit more then.

There's 2 more in there, i'll see how she goes with that, i can fit more in if need be.

[mikesreptilenclosure]

your setup is so nice 5 stars forsure

[MDFMONITOR]

Cheer's Mike.

[MDFMONITOR]

I know it's a bit messy but is this worth taking further???

[gohrisch]

you should of talk us through it but good set up and vid any way first comment and view yay