Lighting / Humidity
Savannah Monitors need heat, humidity, and UV rays to maintain proper health. Savannah Monitors are very active, especially when their needs are met and each husbandry (term to describe the environment your monitor will live in) factor changes them in some way. They rely on external heat to regulate body temperature because they are cold blooded animals. The enclosure should have a warm side and a cool side so the monitor can move freely into varying temperatures as needed. Humidity helps the monitor shed and is very good for its health. There are many ways to get humidity including humidifiers, adding more water dishes, and spraying down the cage. Always remember that there are many ways to successfully house your monitors. We offer a very basic amount of information as each animal is different. For your animal's best health and happines you should experiment with heat, humidity and substrate levels and always pay attention to how they respond to find their personal comfort. What works for one savannah monitor does not mean it will work for all as they are independent thinkers. Your monitor knows better than any keeper or "expert" what it personally needs and wants to be healthy and happy.
Heat
Humidity
UV Lighting
Remember Natural Sun Light is the Best source of UV
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Why UV Lighting?
Not only does UV lighting help Savannah monitors color, it also allows them to recognize other reptiles of their same species and detect movement. It also stimulates appetite by making food more appealing. The presence of UVA light promotes proper foraging, feeding, digestion, activity levels, social behavior, reproduction, and basking. Using artificial lights that have been designed for humans or lights that do not provide full spectrum light deprives reptiles of UVA light and causes serious behavioral, physiological, and health issues. Lack of UVA light impairs their ability to interact with their environment and other animals within it, causing unnecessary stress and affecting their overall well-being. UVB Light is necessary to maintain proper Vitamin D3 and calcium levels in your reptile's system. When a reptile is exposed to UVB light, the UVB light regulates the synthesis of Vitamin D3 in his skin. It is Vitamin D3 that allows reptiles to properly absorb and metabolize calcium. In fact, UVB light is the primary source of D3 for many reptiles. While you can purchase Vitamin D3 supplements to give to your reptiles, many herps will utilize the Vitamin D3 they make much more efficiently than what they ingest. Vitamin D3 functions in a number of different capacities in a reptile's body, including:
Reptiles that do not get enough UVB light do not make enough Vitamin D3 and they suffer from chronic calcium deficiency, or hypocalcemia. Lack of calcium can cause painful diseases, such as MBD (metabolic bone disease). While it is highly important that reptiles of all ages get sufficient exposure to UVB Light, it is crucial that young and juvenile reptiles get enough. If a reptile does not get UVB light after he is born and during the first couple years, he will never be able to properly use UVB light to synthesise Vitamin D3. Your monitor could then suffer from calcium deficiencies the rest of it's life. To serve its purpose UVB light must fall into the proper wavelengths between 290 and 320 nm. UVB light that is too low will not induce the synthesis of Vitamin D3. UVB light that is too high can raise the skin temperature too high, which also impairs the reptile's ability to create D3. And UVB which is too high can create sunburns, just like on our own bodies. |