Caging
In the wild Savannah Monitors mark and claim a "home" territory. The enclosure you have them in becomes their home territory so caging is very important. Remember they can also grow up to three feet in less than a year. Babies can be housed in glass tanks but will out grow tanks within a short few months. Some keepers will raise a baby savannah monitor in a adult size enclosure (6x3x2') but many choose to raise them in different sized cages as they grow usually a 3 step process. First size for hatchlings would be a 20-40gal tank until they reach around a foot in length, which then most will upgrade to a 4x2x2 (LxWxH)Critter Condo which is a cage that is basically a box with glass doors that slide in the front.
*For people wishing to add more substrate the height dimension will vary With caging there are many ways to determine when and how you go about doing it. We give very general advice but it does not mean this is the only way to house your animal. There are many reputable, and some not so reputable, enclosure manufacturers available. Or you can build one that suits not only your personal needs but , more importantly, the needs of your monitor. *Note: When upgrading to final enclosure make sure you know what size you can get in and out of your doors. Don't make the mistake many have made and order or build an enclosure just to find you can't get it in your home. Always remember Savannah Monitors are very smart and do require stimulation either from rearranging their cage and hiding food or letting them free roam in a monitor safe environment (we always recommend supervised). The room or outdoor run must be safe for them so they cant get stuck behind an object or get loose. Many people will board up places they can climb into and will rearrange things they can reach and climb on. Always remember they are very clever and never under estimate them. Choosing the right bedding for your monitor is important some can be harmful. You should stay away from sand because there is a high risk for your monitor to eat it and become impacted which is where the monitor can not pass it. Which is a very expensive vet bill, also any bedding that can be dangerous like sharp pieces of wood that could stab and even puncture them internally. Some of the most recommended substrates are :
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The third sized cage after they get almost two feet in length is a 6x3x2 (LxWxH) Critter Condo. After their first year they can get bigger so it's up to you to watch and judge if and when you need to bump them up to bigger caging. This is just a basic example as each monitor is different and will grow at different rates. For a full grown adult pair a (8'x3'x3') cage is the minimum we would recommend. Bigger is always better. General rule of thumb is minimum 2 times the length of your monitor long by full length of the monitor wide and full length of the monitor tall.
In the enclosure you should have :
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