From wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savanna "Tropical and subtropical savannas are classified with tropical and subtropical grasslands and shrublands as the tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome. The savannas of Africa, including the Serengeti, famous for its wildlife, are typical of this type."
You can read the whole article, or perhaps use an image search feature in your favorite search engine, but the savannahs of Africa are lush green paradises for large parts of the year. Savannahs aren't deserts. Your monitor would do best with deep, sandy/loamy soil capable of holding a burrow and humidity. He'll need about 24 inches of soil as an adult. A couple hardy plants would be nice as well, grass-like plants being optimal. He'll need at least a microhabitat in the enclosure where the humidity is in excess of 80%, many monitor keepers whose monitors live longer than 5 years will suggest having a relatively large portion of the enclosure have high humidity.
Other than looking too dry, the enclosure looks good in terms of temps, water dish, hides, etc. Dump a couple bags of topsoil in there to mix with the sand and I'd say you're looking pretty good. You could also raise the basking temp to 130-150, but it is a little debatable about how hot a temp you should provide them when they're little.
If you're looking to "tame" him, try tong feeding him. Whatever you do, don't forcibly handle him. It'll probably take a couple months, but if you are patient and always let the monitor dictate the terms of your interactions, he'll willingly come over to see what you're up to. Keep in mind he'll probably never get "puppy dog tame" unless you make him obese, cold, and otherwise unhealthy. Mine is happy to come over to me when I'm in or near his enclosure, but he only tolerates handling on occasion, and once in a blue moon he'll grab some bit of me or another to see if I happen to be edible THIS time.
Enjoy the monitor, they're neat captives.