Acco *lots o' pics*

[RachelS.]

My Sav...

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Sorry modem/dialup users

[Emily-Fisher]

Woah! Adult savs look scary!! Although he has a cute mouth

[V.hb]

few suggestions for ya..

he looks awfully dark to me, and usually thats because of husbandry. what are your temps? try and get a bask spot of 140+ degrees.

If you want to keep using cypress it works ok, but dirt is better. if you supply adequate digging space you'll see your monitor making burrows in no time.

He looks healthy otherwise

[Dom]

Very nice boy .. although .. so dark... .. V.hb has great suggestions..

Dirt is the key .. cypress mulch, in my oppinion is horrible for them..

[RachelS.]

Well, these were old pics I decided to just now post. I thought he was a little dark, myself, but I didn't know if that was just his coloring or what. His all around temp is about 90+ because of the summer heat, and his basking spot is around 120 because I also have a heat lamp over it.

Anymore suggestions other than the substrate and temps?
Thanks!

[V.hb]

feed him daily for awhile if he's still new...

then every second- third day once he gets larger.. what advice do ya need?

[RachelS.]

I've had Acco for about a year now. Thanks for the tips

[Dragoon]

Hi!
I think your sav looks pretty good, he's a good weight, which is rare for savs. Good job.
Not sure about the color, savs are pretty variable, there is one listed for sale on the US site , as an "anery", and it looks almost black, with pale spots, its gorgeous, and a lot like yours. Yours might just be a dark one.

Your temps, though, are off. There isn't much of a range between 90 and 120. Thats only 30 degrees difference!
I have read that providing a larger range, like from 70 to 150, will cover all the bases, and give your lizard the opportunity to choose for itself to cool down or heat up. And it will be able to do so quickly. With only 120 available to it, it can bask all day, and still not be able to raise its metabolism to a higher level. Letting the animal choose what it wants is the best way. Yours can't choose anything higher than 120, because you didn't provide it. The whole point is, let the animal pick what it wants to. With a higher basking spot, they don't need to use it nearly as long, too.

I am wrestling with the problem of providing a good enough cool spot too. My monitors don't ever get it cooler than 80 (that is my apartment temp). I provide a tub of water on the cool side, and I measured it to be slightly cooler. I figure they can dip in and let evaporation cool them a bit if they need it. Not sure what else I can do?
Cheers. D.

[V.hb]

I'd like to add a bit on temperatures. An ambient temperature of 80 degrees is very healthy for savannahs, and most other monitor species.

All of my monitor enclosures have ambients of 80-85 degrees.

[RachelS.]

Thanks Dragoon
I also have a huge water bowl in there for him. And I too was thinking that if he needed to cool down he could take a little dip... and he rarely ever does! I usually take him inside about twice a week to soak in the laundry room sink. I will raise his basking spot to about 150 like you said and see how he does .

About the color... He's pretty much always been this dark... ever since I got him a year ago. I think it's just his color. Either that, or because he's almost always in shed, heh.

Thanks for the help, guys