Savannah Monitor Care Sheet

Scientific Name: Varanus exanthematicus

Description

Savannah Monitors are one of the easiest monitors to care for and keep. Beginners to reptile husbandry should never start with a monitor however, as they are extremely strong lizards.

For more details about their characteristics, read about the Savannah Monitor In The Wild.

Take a look at these Savannah Monitor Pictures in our Lizard Pictures section.

Captive Care Information

Food & Water

Your Savannah Monitor should be fed a very mixed diet of insects, rodents (frozen then thawed), and goldfish. For insects, provide crickets, mealworms, silkworms, butterworms, superworms and earthworms, all gut-loaded and dusted with a multi-vitamin supplement. Frozen mice and rats can be offered, once thawed. You can give them live rodents as well, but they can seriously injure the lizard, so watch it at all times while hunting and eating the rodent. Adult monitors will need to eat once or twice a week, while juveniles should be fed 3 times a week. You must provide a sturdy container of water for the Savannah Monitor to bathe in, and drink from. Replace the water each day.

Lighting, Temperature & Humidity

Provide a 12 hour light cycle, using a full spectrum flourescent bulb. The UV rays are essential for breaking down and absorbing vitamins. Use an incandescent bulb or ceramic heat emitter to create a heat gradient ranging from 75 degrees F to 100 degrees F. The monitor will bask in the location that gives them the heat level they desire.

Housing

You need a very large enclosure for a Savannah Monitor. 5' x 3' x 3' should work, but the larger the better. Provide a peat moss, bark, soil or wood chip substrate, and lots of branches to climb over. The monitor will also need a large enough place for them to hide.