sav q

[sunset]

what sort of dirt is best for a savannah monitor? is potting soil good, or just regular clean dirt? what would you all reccomend? i know it has to be deep.Thx!

[asphyxia]

while your answering the above question....is it the same for a black throat?

[sunset]

good to know im not the only one here who isnt sure, and where do you get the kind of soil you need?

[Jeff_Favelle]

You don't want soil, you want dirt. Silty alkaline dirt. Its free and its everywhere. Take out the rocks and stones as they are useless wastes of space.

[Dunner]

hey jeff just a quick question, the reason i am aiming it at you is you are a very knowledgable person who tells it how it is, and thats good, so here it is, the silty alkaline dirt your talking about is that just your basic dirt found everywhere, because i live in prince edward island, and i've yet to see dirt like ours anywhere else, you know the red stuff, would that be fine for a sav monitor, i have no idea whats in it that makes it so red though

[Dragoon]

Dirt for one species may not be acceptable for another species.

Silty desert dirt may be just as alien as wood chips to a mangrove species.

Look first to where the monitor comes from, and what areas does it inhabit. Something tells me that a rudicollis is going to LIKE a lot of organics and leaf rot in their soil. When I find out, I will surely post!

IT is sooooooooooo unfortunate that there is no easy answer. No recipe for new people to follow. Dirt is the biggest headache known to monitor keepers.
Well, besides sexing...

What we all need to do, is keep trying different dirts, until the monitors tell us they like it.
Better to try all the free dirt, than the store bought ones first. LOL

Dragoon.

[Jeff_Favelle]

Savannas, being the monitors in question, will benefit from a dirt that is uniform, silty, no big rocks/pebbles, and holds moisture. Grab a wet handfull of it and squeeze it to see if holds the shape of your hand. If it crumbles and falls apart, its most likely too sandy. This would be a good start. As Goon said, dirt is the biggest obstacle for monitor keepers. Aside from incubating eggs, it can make or break successful breedings.

Dunner, its iron that makes it red and I simply cannot tell you if it'll be good. If it has the qualities that I spoke of before, it will certainly be a good start. No question. When you put it in the cage, the top 2 inches should dry off after a week or so (with 140F basking spots) and the rest stays moist! Its a wonderful thing this dirt. Good luck man. Post some pictures of it when you get some set up.

[Dunner]

thanks a lot jeff, will do