Adopting a Sav

until you get the little guy going strong, I would be inclined to keep him in the 20L tank. easy to heat to desired temps, and the crickets and superworms won't get out (*bonus*). At 12 inches, they will be the bulk of the diet (as has been stated), but I would try to get some animal protein in there, as well.
I never used UV lighting for savannahs, and I don't feel it is necessary.
As for water/dehydration. AVOID the use of a moist hide. High humidity and/or wet conditions cause problems for savannah monitors. let it soak for a while when you bring it home, then just include a bowl for drinking in the cage. periodic soaks are ok, and may be enjoyed, but keep in mind that savannahs are not like many other monitors - they aren't graceful in the water, and are not particulary good swimmers - keep the water shallow!!

Originally Posted by hhmoore

no, you're not confused. spiny tails and ackies are very different from Savannahs. different sizes, different appearance. Savannahs get bigger, and grow faster. And the size you mentioned 2 feet is very attainable by 2 yrs of age. when you get it, check some pics online to verify that it is, in fact, a savannah. the only monitors you might confuse it with would be whitethroats and blackthroats (which at one time were considered subspecies of V. exanthematicus). if you have a problem with identification, let me know...I can probably help you out.

Stupid question: Are ackies, spiny-tailed, and ridge-tailed monitors the same thing? I keep finding those names being used interchangeably. I'm almost hoping it's not a Savannah at this point since it's that small at that age. I emailed my aunt about 6:00 and asked for some pictures, so I'm waiting to hear back from her.

Originally Posted by TrpnBils

Stupid question: Are ackies, spiny-tailed, and ridge-tailed monitors the same thing? I keep finding those names being used interchangeably. I'm almost hoping it's not a Savannah at this point since it's that small at that age. I emailed my aunt about 6:00 and asked for some pictures, so I'm waiting to hear back from her.

Not stupid at all - V. acanthurus (ackies) are commonly called both spiny tailed and ridge tailed monitors. I apologize for any confusion caused by my previous post...it should have read

spiny tails (or ackies)

Alright, that makes more sense then. I wasn't finding much information on Spiny-tailed monitors last night, so this helps me out some. It seems to me that aside from the size of prey items offered, the basic husbandry of all of these monitors is pretty much the same, right? If it is an ackie, he's going to have ample room to move around, as I'm probably going to get this cage before I actually get the lizard...lol.

My aunt emailed me last night and she doesn't have a digital camera, but she said she'd try to borrow one to get me some pictures. I'm completely off today (from class AND work, which is a rare thing for me), so if I hear from her early enough, I'm going to make the 3 hour drive to get it myself tonight, rather than wait to meet her halfway like we were talking about the other night. Since my cousin is out of the picture now, I'm not even sure that this guy is even getting fresh water anymore, so the sooner I can get it, the better I'll feel. And I'll feel a lot better when I can find out what species it is for sure, because I'll have a lot of work ahead of me if it's a Sav and it's as small as she says (and the age is right).

I was talking to the other reptile guy from the zoo last night. He's kept all kinds of herps over the years, including Savs and a few other kinds of monitors. He said that it would be in my best interest to vary the diet (when it's an adult anyway) and not stick to just rodents. But he also told me that it would be okay if I could get him started on a carnivore diet (T-Rex was the brand name he mentioned). Anybody else have any thoughts on this approach? I'll admit, that sounds easier than 1000 crickets a week...

Originally Posted by TrpnBils

Alright, that makes more sense then. I wasn't finding much information on Spiny-tailed monitors last night, so this helps me out some. It seems to me that aside from the size of prey items offered, the basic husbandry of all of these monitors is pretty much the same, right?

There are some small differences in husbandry between various monitor species - high end temps, diet, humidity, preferred substrates, cage furnishings, etc - but the description I initially gave is a good basic model to follow. Again, as soon as you can verify the species, we can make whatever changes are necessary to the housing and care plan.

Originally Posted by TrpnBils

I was talking to the other reptile guy from the zoo last night. He's kept all kinds of herps over the years, including Savs and a few other kinds of monitors. He said that it would be in my best interest to vary the diet (when it's an adult anyway) and not stick to just rodents. But he also told me that it would be okay if I could get him started on a carnivore diet (T-Rex was the brand name he mentioned). Anybody else have any thoughts on this approach? I'll admit, that sounds easier than 1000 crickets a week...

I have not used any of the commercial diets, so I cannot comment on them. you can OCCASIONALLY supplement a rodent diet with fish, egg, ground or chopped meat, high quality canned dog/cat food (I recall that one of these was less desirable, but not which one - sorry). you can also add chicks and vary the rodents offered, as well as including invertebrate prey. An adult savannah will still eat bugs (and the act of catching them will get his lazy butt moving, lol), so crickets, superworms, roaches, etc are all acceptable additions.

Originally Posted by hhmoore

you can OCCASIONALLY supplement a rodent diet with fish, egg, ground or chopped meat, high quality canned dog/cat food (I recall that one of these was less desirable, but not which one - sorry).

That'd be cat food - too high in fat from what I've read.

Originally Posted by TrpnBils

That'd be cat food - too high in fat from what I've read.

Don't believe everything you've read. LOL. Cats, like most all monitors, are obligate carnivores. Cat food, if they will take it, is fine.

The cat food that I use for mine is "Pro-Plan Adult Indoor Cat Formula Turkey and Liver" which has:

Crude Protein (min) 12.0%, Crude Fat (min) 2.0%, Crude Fiber (max) 2.0%, Moisture (max) 78.0%

The wet dog food that I use as a supplement to my dogs' dry food is "Nutro Natural Choice" and has:

Crude Protein (min) 8.5%, Crude Fat (min) 7.0%, Crude Fiber (max) 1.0%, and Moisture (max) 78.0%

Canned cat foods are, I believe, in general, higher in protein and lower in fat than canned dog foods. I offer my monitors canned cat food occasionally. Some eat it avidly, some could care less. I suggest that whatever you buy, get it in small cans.

There's been some discussion about this over on the corn forum lately, and nobody's come to any kind of a conclusion about it.

Water.

I live in the city, so I know there's chlorine, etc, in my water. Is it safe to used untreated water for a monitor? I've been thinking about this, and although I don't know for sure, I would imagine that we have city water at the zoo as well since we're pretty much right downtown and we go through a LOT of water each day. We don't treat it with anything and we routinely mist, water, and soak our reptiles/amphibians in it with no ill effects.

Thoughts?

I use untreated (tap)water for everything but my amphibians. The only time I don't is when there is a quality issue (local breaks, discoloration, etc), in which case I just grab a bottle of spring water for those in need of a drink.

awesome... I use bottled for my cornsnake, but we're talking about a substantial difference in the volume of water that a corn goes through in a week and what a sav goes through in a week...lol