Pet Critique

Hi there, pet lovers! 🦎

Today we are diving into the Savannah Monitor, an iconic reptile species known for its striking appearance, high energy, and fascinating behaviors. However, despite these remarkable traits, the Savannah Monitor is not a reptile we would recommend for most pet owners. In this pet care article, we’ll break down the essential details about caring for a Savannah Monitor, along with expert tips to help you decide if this reptile is the right fit for you. Let’s head right into our categories:

Ease of Handling: 2/5

When it comes to handling, the Savannah Monitor is a challenging lizard to manage. While some may develop a tolerance for human interaction with consistent training, they are naturally quite aggressive, especially when young. Savannah Monitors are incredibly intelligent and can learn to trust their owners, but they require expert-level training. For novice reptile owners, this is not an easy feat.

Savannah Monitors are prone to aggression during their adolescent phase, and even those with prior experience handling large reptiles may find themselves struggling. Tail whipping, scratching, and biting are all part of the territory. If not properly socialized early on, a Savannah Monitor can grow up to be an unmanageable, aggressive adult. Working with them as juveniles is crucial to curbing this behavior, but be prepared for the possibility that they may never become fully tame.

One aspect that sets them apart from some other monitors is that they do not drop their tails as a defensive mechanism. This is a huge plus for anyone who might find themselves grabbing their Monitor by the tail when needed (though it’s best to avoid this). Still, as impressive as the Savannah Monitor is, it’s definitely not for a beginner or someone looking for a low-maintenance pet.

Care and Maintenance: 2/5

In terms of care, Savannah Monitors are a high-maintenance species. They have complex needs that go beyond what many first-time reptile owners might expect. One of the biggest challenges is their enclosure. Savannah Monitors are extremely active animals that require a spacious, roomy environment to thrive. We’re talking about an enclosure that could easily take up an entire room of your house, providing them with space to roam and explore as they would in the wild.

Without ample space and exercise, these monitors can quickly become overweight, leading to a variety of health issues. Ensuring that your Savannah Monitor has room to roam and explore is critical to their well-being.

Additionally, their need for a hot basking spot requires careful attention. It’s not enough to just place a spotlight in their enclosure – the basking area needs to be far enough away to prevent burns, but still hot enough to meet their needs. Achieving this temperature gradient often requires multiple basking lamps, which can be costly to purchase and operate. However, until now, there is still no universally agreed-upon standard for the ideal temperature and humidity levels for Savannah Monitors, as different sources and experts may recommend varying conditions.

Regarding substrate, these monitors need a deep substrate where they can dig, mimicking the natural conditions they would encounter in the wild. The substrate needs to retain moisture without collapsing under the weight of the monitor, which is no easy task.

Feeding is another area that requires careful attention. While many pet owners opt for inexpensive foods like rodents or canned dog food, this diet is not ideal for Savannah Monitors. Overfeeding them on fatty foods can result in obesity and fatty liver disease, which shortens their lifespan significantly. To maintain a healthy diet, you’ll need to provide lean meats and a large variety of insects. This can be costly, as these lizards are voracious eaters and need a constant supply of feeder insects to meet their dietary needs.

Ultimately, the care required to keep a Savannah Monitor healthy is not for the faint of heart. It requires significant effort, time, and money to meet their needs.

Health and Durability: 2/5

Savannah Monitors are not the hardiest reptiles out there, particularly in captivity. Most of the Savannah Monitors available for sale are imports, which often arrive stressed, dehydrated, and malnourished. These imported monitors tend to have a much shorter lifespan, mainly due to poor early care and improper diets. A healthy, captive-bred Savannah Monitor is harder to come by, but it’s the only way to avoid many of the early health problems associated with the species.

Even when well cared for, Savannah Monitors are prone to certain health issues, particularly obesity and fatty liver disease, which can be linked to improper diet and insufficient exercise. These issues are often a result of their previous owners feeding them fatty diets, such as rodents, in excessive amounts. Sadly, because of these complications, the lifespan of many Savannah Monitors is much shorter than it should be.

If you can find a healthy, captive-bred Savannah Monitor and are able to provide the expert-level care they need, they can live relatively long lives and be hardy pets. However, the chances of dealing with health problems, especially early on, are high.

Availability: 2/5

Although Savannah Monitors are not difficult to find in pet stores, the vast majority of them are imports. These imports, typically shipped in from other countries, often arrive stressed and underfed, which increases the risk of early death. While some breeders do produce captive-bred Savannah Monitors, they are much harder to find and significantly more expensive than their imported counterparts.

Finding a well-bred Savannah Monitor is crucial to ensuring its long-term health, but doing so can be difficult. If you are fortunate enough to find one, it is likely that you will need to go directly to a breeder or purchase online. Additionally, even captive-bred Savannah Monitors are not guaranteed to be trouble-free, as they still require expert care. But, they are a better option than imported monitors, as they have had a healthier start to life.

Initial Cost: 1/5

The initial cost of acquiring a Savannah Monitor may seem cheap, especially when purchasing an import. However, this initial cost is just the beginning of your expenses. The true cost comes with setting up the proper habitat for this large, active lizard. You will need a gigantic enclosure, which could easily take up an entire room in your home. Not only does this require a large investment in space, but also in lighting, heating, and substrate to maintain the correct environmental conditions.

The cost of running the necessary lights, heat lamps, and UVB bulbs is high, and your electricity bill will reflect that. Additionally, the food bill for a Savannah Monitor is significant, as they need a constant supply of feeder insects, which can become expensive very quickly. Despite the low initial price of purchasing a Savannah Monitor, the ongoing costs associated with its care and maintenance can add up to an eye-watering amount.

Final Thoughts: 1.8/5

Overall, the Savannah Monitor is an amazing creature with a unique personality and striking appearance. It’s one of the coolest lizards you can have as a pet, and its intelligence and energy are captivating. However, the Savannah Monitor is a high-maintenance reptile that is not suitable for the majority of pet owners. Its handling difficulties, complex care needs, health concerns, and high costs make it more suited for experienced reptile keepers who are ready for the challenge.

If you are a seasoned reptile owner with a lot of experience in handling large, intelligent lizards, then the Savannah Monitor might be the right fit for you. For most, however, it’s a pet that requires more commitment and expertise than is feasible. If you’re considering a monitor lizard as a pet, there are other species, like the Ackee Monitor or Argentine Tegus, that are more manageable and still offer the thrill of keeping a large reptile.

While we adore Savannah Monitors for their beauty and fascinating behaviors, we would strongly advise potential owners to seriously consider whether they’re truly prepared for the significant time, energy, and financial commitment required to keep one of these incredible reptiles as a pet. If you’re thinking of adding a monitor lizard to your collection, be sure to check out other reptile care articles and pet expert tips to help you make an informed decision. Have you ever owned a Savannah Monitor or considered adding one to your collection? Share your experiences in the comments below—we’d love to hear from you! 🦎