Savannah Monitor feeding question

I am experienced with snakes, but new to monitors. I would like to acquire a Savannah monitor as a pet, but am researching before I do so. I am not hearing anything consistent about an appropriate diet for them. I am hearing/reading from some sources that rodents are an appropriate diet. Other sources are saying that a diet of rodents is too high in fat and will cause the animal health problems down the line, and that Savannahs should be fed a "turkey diet". What exactly, is a "turkey diet"? What are your experiences/opinions in regards to feeding Savannah monitors? Thanks.

Isis Madec
Isis Reptiles

Turkey is raw ground turkey, it can be found in your super market in the frozen food section. It should be fed thawed and raw, you can also add supplements to it.

I have kept many monitors; I fed a diet of turkey, fresh raw fish and rodents. Babies will also take insects, roaches, crickets and mealworms.

I fed mine every other day, monitors can get over weight real easy, this can be very bad for the health of these animals

I've never had issues with feeding Savannas a rodent diet. My monitor is healthy and active, and eats 2-3 appropriately sized rodents every other day. I do vary his diet, so he also gets fish, quail, and shrimp, occasionally, as well as at least 100 superworms a week.

If this is your first monitor, you may want to consider getting an ackie, instead of a bosc. Ackies, are by nature, captive bred, and thus less prone to disaster during the acclimatization process. My bosc went through a dark period, when he was about a foot long, that we did not think he would pull out of. Care for ackies is almost identical to that of Savanna's.

The main thing you will want to watch out for, regardless of the species you decide on, is the basking spot. You will need a temp gun, to make sure that the SURFACE temperature of the basking spot stays around 130 f. I apologize for harping on this point, but it is the biggest one I see new owners miss. In most of the monitors I have seen that are over-weight, the cause has been low basking temperatures.

Varnyard,

There are many variations of what you can feed monitors. I feed my Black Throat monitors on the following diet:

Dusted Pinkie mice,
Comets (pond gold fish),
Dusted crickets,
Chicken hearts,
Shrimp (with out tails),
Meal Worms,
and Lobster Roaches,
The absolutely love the Snails (in nature is their main food for the time when they are still small)!

Its probably even not needed to feed them this many types of different foods, but as my guys are Farm Raised I wana make sure to provide as much variety as possible.

For you, I would say to definitely go with Coments, as they are very meaty and fish is always good for every one ! If they accept rodents, then your pretty much set as the bones and all of the guts will give your monitor the calcium it needs and among other things. Of cource always dust in multi-vitamines. Be very careful not to over give them Calcium as later in life, it will develop into Kidney Stones and will kill the lizard unless surgically removed.

Let me know if you have any specific question... feel free to email me at alex_panassov2003@yahoo.ca

Happy New Year every one !!

Originally Posted by Isis Reptiles

I am experienced with snakes, but new to monitors. I would like to acquire a Savannah monitor as a pet, but am researching before I do so. I am not hearing anything consistent about an appropriate diet for them. I am hearing/reading from some sources that rodents are an appropriate diet. Other sources are saying that a diet of rodents is too high in fat and will cause the animal health problems down the line, and that Savannahs should be fed a "turkey diet". What exactly, is a "turkey diet"? What are your experiences/opinions in regards to feeding Savannah monitors? Thanks.

Isis Madec
Isis Reptiles

they eat eggs fish super wormspinkies roaches crickets beef liver beef heart.dust crikets and roaches with calcium

Thank you to those who responded to my post. Your input is appreciated.

Isis Madec
Isis Reptiles

First off keeping reptiles is practice for being kept by monitors. You want to feed whole food items only. The turkey diet was one developed by the San Diego zoo to approximate the nutrional value of mice. Therefore mice are what should be fed instead of turkey diet or turkey pieces etc. Flesh i.e. meat is not what sustains them. Its the guts and bones and organs. Look at meat, fillets etc as a shopping bag and the bones and organs as the groceries. if you want to feed turkey feed poults aka baby turkey chicks. Goldfish are useless use swordtails or mollies instead or other larger whole fish. Approppriate size insects are also good. If montors get fat or obese usually it is due to insufficient basking temps. For savanna monitors 125+ degree basking is good temp warm end maybe in mid 80's and cool end maybe 68-69 degrees. A fat monitor is one that doesnt have acccess to sufficient temps to metabolize properly. Fertile eggs, quail, chicks, turkey poults, live whole fish (other than goldfish), silkworms, hornworms, mice, cockroaches worms and snails are all good foods and combinations of them are far better than other foods using supplements. Always feed whole food items not fillets or parts and diet will not be an issue.

Digby Rigby

balboa28279@mypacks.net


My feeders are cooler than your pets.

Looks like a lot of good info. A varied diet is the best be for Savs. Insects make a good diet along with pinkies and other meats. The fish thing I don't agree with. Pet store fish are full of parasites. But everything else sounds like good solid info. Monitors are the trash compactors of the reptile world. They will eat anything and everything. Mine will eat Dog and Cat food dry or canned. This is part of their appeal to me. Mine will eat table scraps they don't care. So just make the diet diverse and you won't have any problems

I'd stay away from the goldfish IMO. Due to the possibility for thiamin defiency. Im sure you could do it in moderation but why... Check this out, its done up for snakes not monitors but the concept is note-worthy. http://www.thamnophis.com/caresheets...title=Thiamin,

savannahmonitor.org

I strongly urge you to read every bit of this. THIS is with out a doubt thee most informative website on Savannas.

Sav's despite what has been written are specialized predators that hardly if ever eat rodents in the wild, nor should they have large amounts of them as captives..