Cricket Contest

[Natalie]

Blueberry! My rescue Savannah Monitor, she is unbelivebly sweet, and sassy, but she is quite the expensive lady. I spent over $300 building her a custom 5 ft by 3 ft enclosure with my friends, so she could finally actually have space to walk around. This poor lady was in a 40 gal her whole life before, as that was all her prevous owners could manage, but that is how I ended up with her!

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[Zoodulcis]

Blueberry certainly has a better home now. Good for you!! Does she eat a ton of crickets every week?

[Natalie]

Crickets, dubia roaches, eggs (which isn’t the best for her but she can be lazy and picky, but will always eat egg) And the occasional f/th mouse! They can get fatty liver disease pretty easily, as they are basically insectivors and that needs to make up the most of their diet, but there is a lot of contravery over every aspect of their care from diet to hot spots and humidity. I read a lot of research on captive and wild savannah monitors, and so I just try to do a bit of what everyone says. some say they need to be very dry, others say keep ther humidity 60-70, so I just give her a large humid hide which she spends a lot of time in!

[Zoodulcis]

You are right about the controversy. Much of the relevant advice is great for some parts of the country with certain heat and humidity conditions and terrible for others. Needs can change with seasons as well. And for feeding, reagardless of what this or that person recommends, when in doubt, variety, variety, variety. That way you can be sure you are covering all the bases, even the ones you aren’t sure of!! Good for you for doing the research and I hope this input is helpful.

[Natalie]

Thank you very much! One of the biggest issues I came across is if they should strictly eat protien, or if veggies are okay as well. I haven’r offered her any, but if ai did she wouldn’t eat them if she couldn’t digest them right?

[Zoodulcis]

These reptiles are obligate carnivores, so all of their vegetable matter must come from the stomach contents of prey items. This is just the way they evolved and long as the items are gut loaded with both non-oxalic greens and occasional foods high in beta carotene, she should be OK. If you haven’t already done so, check out the care guide on the Critter Depot main site on Savannah Monitors. There may be some feeding tips there you haven’t run across yet.

[Natalie]

Thank you!

[Zoodulcis]

No problem and please let me know if find the guide useful.

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