Alex you look Exhausted!! And your holding your baby in a swaddle!! Dont worry! Parenthood is hard! And though it may seem to be a unrewarding and unpaid full-time job,I know you will continue to be a GREAT MOTHER! 🤱
Have you done a video on reptile bites? I’m sure you’ve been bitten by a lot of animals so it would be interesting to see what you think on the pain scale for them.
Recently my cousin rescued a Savannah monitor lizard. Her husband works for a trash company and found a glass tank with the lizard and everything it had inside the trash can. They didn't know who did it but he decided to take it home and there building a big enclosure for them. They actually didn't know what lizard it was at first but my cousins cared for reptiles before so she thought she could do it. my mother showed me the picture and I recognized it immediately telling her it was a Savannah monitor lizard. But now we're working together to make sure the lizards health is stable.
Get it dewormed asap. Paracites are very very common in monitors, especially poorly cared for monitors. Its much harder for them to thrive if they have paracites so id get it checked right away. Also be aware that youll need an enclosure thats roughly 4ft by 8ft for an adult savannah/bosc monitor. Monitors are extremely intelligent and will not do well in cramped enclosures.
I'm sure they took it to the vet and have a good sized enclosure, you need to read dude, he said they had reptiles before and they are building a large inclosure for it
Aarya Patel All I've done is offer friendly, useful advice that would benefit any new savannah owner. Whether hes had other reptiles or not, monitors are a whole different ballgame and its better to be safe than sorry. If you've got a problem with that, thats too bad. I'm offering him my advice anyways because I care about that animals health MUCH more than I care about your opinion.
I think his creaky voice is kind of deterring and many people are scared of reptiles and amphibians heck my cousin ran screaming from the zoo because there was a 40-foot snake in a tank that scared him
It physically hurts me that people were asking if you released it or gave it to petco... It's like they didn't watch your videos on why doing both of those are bad...
Ive got a 6ft Male Nile and I get asked constantly if I still have him. The reason they ask is because its very rare for someone to keep a monitor for its entire lifespan. Its annoying though for sure though and even a little insulting.
ImIntheFnZone For me they never held humidity really well and sometimes they get caught under my Komodo’s scales, I would say metal shards are the best way to go with monitors and tegus
20% off goherping.com/shop with "Bonnibel" at checkout! P.S. Forgot to mention, she only has like an inch of substrate... I had a mix of coconut fiber and cypress mulch, but ran out while replacing it, and had to order more lol.
The Petco near me sells baby Savannah monitors and I personally hate that they do that because anybody could just get one and have no idea how to take care of it...
It's should almost be them asking people if they know how to care for said animal, such as temps, humidity etc and to prove that they have had experience in the past. Very sad though and I think something should be done, but people are just in it for money.
Josh 1275 I agree. I think certain reptiles should require a mandatory written test before purchase. If you dont score above a certain percentage you wouldn't be allowed to purchase the animal. Its a very simple solution, but i think it would be very effective. It would have to be enforced by the state though, not the shops themselves. If pet stores provided the testing they could easily lie in order to make an extra sale. Another issue is young kids buying large reptiles and then leaving them with their parents when they move out. I used to work at a reptile specialty shop and a large portion of the animals people would bring us were abandoned by kids who moved out and left them with their parents who didnt know how to care for them. Most of the time they were monitors, or even large pythons like burmese pythons and reticulated pythons. I think if you are under a certain age you should have to provide a "life plan" for the animal and explain how you will care for it once you move out (unless you plan to live with your parents until you are 40 lol).
@@alexcrowder1673 Yeah, I would love to see something like that take place and not just for reptiles etc. Maybe mammals such as Rabbits too. Like you said about working in a reptile specialist, I used to work at an animal rescue centre and the amount of rabbits they would have coming in and or there is just unbelievable. Such a difficult pet to own but people don't do their research and think it'll be fine for a young child. It's really sad. Though enforcing it would have some issues, like you said and also that people will just get annoyed if they have to prove it but I would much rather have something like that implemented. Maybe we should start a petition lol!
I love how you take responsibility for the influence you have on young people! Love your vids and how knowledgeable you are, and the genuine love you have for your animals.
I used to reptile sit for a friend who rescued one from a neglective home. And they were very difficult to care for. But I really enjoyed caring for him regardless of the difficulty. Like from a science perspective it was nice to try to learn and understand their needs. Our main concern was husbandry. And how much we had to pay attention to the little guy (not so little guy he's pretty huge 🙃). We built a huge indoor outdoor enclosure for my friends monitor. I wouldn't recommend as a pet either not without understanding it's a SERIOUS commitment. My friend is in his late 30s and has the time etc to care for him. I wouldn't recommend this pet for anyone who doesn't have a lot of time and patience. Or to anyone who wants a new one and not a rescue. I honestly feel like these shouldn't be sold. Bc of how they are usually wild captured. Edit: Friggen love her name!!!! 🌺🌼🌸 And how you went about naming her
Kudos for now sticking to an invertebrate only diet 👍🏾 The biggest problem with Savannah enclosures is that there's no attempt to accurately replicate their natural habitat or behaviours. This is because people don't want to take on the massive requirements and is why they die so young. Whilst these guys need very high basking temps to digest all the protein they eat, they also need to be able to escape from it, cool down and rehydrate. In the wild they do this by retreating into deep burrows that have close to 100% humidity at the base. To successfully keep these guys healthy you need at the very least 2 feet of damp burrow holding substrate. Ideally a bio active sand soil mix. For a full grown Savannah the correct enclosure weighs a hell of a lot. If you don't have that substrate depth your Savannah will be unhealthy and not live as long.
a_true_classic _never_dies Yes! I was hoping I’d see a “correct” comment. My girlfriend had an adult female Sav in a 8’x4’x4’ with two feet of soil to allow for those high humidity pockets! Lots of insects too and of course the high basking spot! Nice to see another comment on proper care!
Excellent advice! If you are in a pinch you can also use "humid hideboxes" to replicate the humidity inside a burrow, but I'd only use that as a temporary solution (like while a permanent tank with deep soil is being built). Monitors are actually so intelligent that they can suffer from depression just like people. Allowing them to dig does wonders for preventing that. Feeding them insect heavy diets like you mentioned helps keep them occupied as well. After all, happy animals tend to live longer! It helps with obesity too. Idk why but it seems like nearly 80% of adult savannahs are obese these days. As far as substrate goes I like using a mixture of sand and soil so that the burrows are a little more solid and less likely to collapse. Just make sure you dont use soil with any pesticides or fertilizers. I personally like to freeze the soil beforehand to kill any pesky bugs/parasites that may be living in the soil. It takes awhile, but it gives me a little peace of mind.
Dude I use very finely crushed glass as substrate for all my reptiles and it works _amazing!_ Seriously, don't knock it until you try it - it looks SO COOL the way it glistens and sparkles under the lights. The reptiles like it so much; they think it's so pretty that they actively avoid stepping in it because they don't wanna mess it up! That's evidence enough that it's the best substrate material.
Love your channel fyi, I’m 42 and will never retain the kind of knowledge you have, I’m so impressed with you, your maturity and modesty, humour too, and I just love learning from you
My Savannah monitor is probably my favorite of the group. He's totally a sweetheart, I did do the "swoop in and grab" him method and it works fine for me. He will let me know when to leave him alone tho, with hisses and jerky movements but he has yet to whip or bite or run. If I pick him up anyway he'll poop on me as a last ditch effort lol before settling down. Then he's perfect to handle. So I just prepare for that possibility when I want to hold him. Once he's in my hands he usually doesn't want to let go, so I just run some water over him while I hold him. He eats a pinky every week, variety of what bugs I have and yes, eggs. A good source of calcium is chopped up chicken feet from the grocery stores, but he also loves chicken hearts, ground, mackerel, salmon, shrimp, basically he'll eat whatever I offer, and I just give the fattier foods in smaller amounts. I keep his basking temp in the mid 140s and the gradient from high 80s to about 100. He's on a sand and peat moss mix substrate which does get ingested at times when he's in that "kill" mode and he grinds his food across the ground before swallowing. I keep the imagitarium XL corner water dish in his enclosure and he uses it as necessary. He's housed in a melamine enclosure that's tarped around the edge to maintain the substrate humidity and there's a potted plant in the middle of the enclosure that serves many purposes. He's still much younger than Bonnibel, but just about the same size. I still expect that puberty will be challenging, but he has been an amazing example of his species!!
Monitor lizards are awesome but you’re totally right, husbandry for many varanid species is spotty at best. From my experience with caring for smaller varanids and researching other species, you’re going about it correctly. They need more space than you think, high humidity, high (130 minimum) basking spots, insect based diets with occasional rodents, and patience.
I think mimicking their natural habit is good enough as a care sheet, obviously taking out any hazards such as substrate type,etc but imo where they naturally occur is the best reference.
What a wonderfully informative video. You have earned yourself a new subscriber. We adopted a Nile Monitor that had been abused a few years ago, and it was a terrible situation for a while. Luckily, he has learned that we are not the previous owners and he did a complete 180 in attitude. Good luck with Bonnibel. I’m glad she seems to be in a good home now. It’s slow progress with our monitor friends, but so worth it.
I wish i had known about you before as i had 2 bosc monitors both were rescued 1 samson had a big burn on his back from an oven i lost him after all the care due to his burns and then i had Zeus he ended up having fatty liver disease and i had to have him put to sleep he was 4 but i did have a 12 ft vivarium built and now its empty i have not got the heart to get anymore cos no care sheet is correct everone tells you something different.
13:56 Alex-"What's princess Bubblegum 's name? Bonnibel. So this is Bonnibel." Bonnibel-" I'm a beeeeeeautiful princess... who wants to eat your soul and destroy the world as you know it, leaving darkness, pain and misery in my wake. Fear me mortal...fear the princess."
Just wanted to let you know that your content is truly amazing. Not only are you a great public speaker and very educated, your video quality and editing skills are sooooooo amazing. Your videos are so professional and I don’t know how you have the time to upload so often and still care for all your animals! Your doing an amazing job. Also, I have to add that your are hilarious and quite handsome too:) just another perk of watching your videos!
I have two myself. They grow quickly. They used to hiss and whip as babies but now like you mentioned with time they realize you aren't a threat. I tap the corner of their enclosure and got them used to that when I'm going to feed them. They come running and jumping up trying to get what I have like hungry pups. At first I used to put their food in a dish and keep an eye out to see if they each ate. Then I gradually went to tongs. Now I hand feed them and they run over and get the food from my fingers. They ate a bit intimidating at first but they grow on you. I'm committed to keeping them long term. You are right about the care being controversial and people saying different things. I ended up just researching what their natural environment and conditions are and their wild diet. Super interesting animals. I'm at home almost all the time and stay up at nights so I spend time with them and check up on them. They are just awesome to look at. My son likes them because he says they look like Godzilla lizards. Haha. Great video and sorry about the long winded comment. Keep it up. I look forward to more of your monitor videos. You are a great kid and like others mentioned seem very responsible.
I believe Kevin over at NERD works with Savannah's - they are all captive bred and he works with them as babies to try and tame them down. Not sure if you've looked at his channels but he might have some ideas to get your girl more used to you. It really is a matter of slowly building trust between you and the reptile.
Man, I don’t know if you’ve ever used this stuff but I got it when I first adopted my second beardie because he was a rescue too and kept having stuck shed issues; you can buy shed aid and let me tell you it works wonders. I used the ZooMed one. I don’t know, this is probably old news to you, but you didn’t mention anything about it so I wanted to say something.
Great video! I have owned a Savana for 3 years. She is a great lizard but high maintenance for sure. I have mine trained so she comes out to eat in a plastic tub, I put a small cat harness on her and we go outside and walk. She poops outside then she can get on my shoulder and we walk around the yard. After that she goes into the shower for as long as I will leave her. She loves the shower. I wrap her in a towel after and we snuggle. I also spray her at least once a day. It may sound weird but she loves sardines (packed in water) and live shrimp or feeder fish. You seem to be doing a great job raising your lizards. Keep it up and don't listen to the negatives.
I've heard from some people (while of course some others have said the opposite) that, especially when she's bigger, you can just leave the cage open and let her walk around and explore you/the room to help her warm up to you more (note: she will hide under furniture)
Glad to see your channel exploding, you're totally honest when it comes to the care of these animals and that can save a person from making an impulsive mistake and the animal suffering. Some animals require more care than most people could imagine and some look cool (Looking at you Green Iguana)but can make difficult and even dangerous pets. Keep up the good work!
this is amazing. you're very helpful and detailed in explaining your reasoning's etc. I'm 17 and am an experienced reptile keeper, I have 6 geckos, 2 snakes and couple of frogs, and i REALLY want a Savannah Monitor but I am well aware that keeping one right now in my situation is not a good idea. I wish other people could understand that for their situations too, and not keep an animal that will be neglected or rejected. thank Alex :)
I have been researching them with experienced people for six years now I will be getting them in the future for a pet project type thing I want to do but you speak so much truth in this video for the sav thanks for sharing this bro 🤙❤️
Anyone thinking about getting one! Do your research! Their enclosure is gonna cost a couple hundred to build, their food gets expensive. You have to spend all of your spare time trust building at first. They are great pets but can be expensive.
My varium cost 700 quid to build and would love to get another bosc but until some success information is available (i have done loads of research) i will have to let the vivarium stay empy.
I have always loved monitors for the fact that they are so smart and have tons of personality, I do have to say in my opinion your on the right track and I to have just rescued a monitor, granted it's a nile but still a monitor. Was flighty in the beginning and now I'm able to spot clean, feed and stroke its jaw without it running for the hills! Great vid man!!
I totally agree. I keep about 34 lizards at home and all of which with the exception of my Giant Day Gecko there is little to no info on. My Wall Lizards I used advice from people keeping them in Europe and just by replicating the conditions in the wild here in NY/NJ were they are introduced. But ones like my Anolis aeneus or Agama impalearis I care for totally off of reading scientific articles featuring them and replicating their natural environment which is my main method of caring for animals, no matter the species.
A tip for variations in care is to research their natural habitat and replicate it as best you can. It’s worked for me with hermit crabs and giant African black millipedes.
Great video bud I'm 34 yrs old and I have loved reptiles since I was like 5 everyone said oh he'll grow out of that but I never did if anything my love for reptiles grew more cuz I could afford more things anyway great to see young guys like u still into reptiles.keep up all the great work u do
We just put one down a wild one today that was raiding our chicken coup. (it might have been a rock monitor I did not look close.) They get huge and love eggs and tend to live in termite mounds. I could not imagine one in captivity they need a lot of space in the wild and typically raid the nests of birds, snakes and crocodiles for food. They will eat most anything they can catch that is smaller than themselves. Here air temp varies from 40F Night, 65F day to 80F night to 100F day Humidity goes from very dry to very wet depending on the time of year. Cold dry, hot wet alternating every 6 months.
I'm glad you made this video, I got alot of good info from it 👍 I recently bought a baby Savannah monitor from Petco & hes very skittish but actually does seem to enjoy head rubs. I did alot of research about the husbandry but how you got yours to be more comfortable with you was great info. I'd love to hear more updates on her to come :)
For anyone that’s looking into getting an animal that has extremely debated care: join a forum! I’ve found that forums are the best place to find info for tougher animals, like tegus, tortoises, monitors, and other large animals. However, also keep in mind that some forums are going to be incorrect, so be sure to search around a few.
Everybody has their own procedures In a snake or lizard room, I've learned that from my own experiences with snakes, 2 lizards, spiders, and scorpions. Keep up the good work and enjoy
Hi! I am planning on buying my first snake, a corn snake. I think I have read and watched every single guide of corn snakes on internet (I'm actually serious), and I feel pretty comfertable in what I am going to buy, but I still have a few questions. First one - I am planning on getting the Exo Terra Natural Terrarium Large/Wide (90 x 45 x 45 cm) www.exo-terra.com/en/products/natural_terrarium_large.php , and I'm going to have a mix of the Forest Floor Bedding and Eco Earth Loose Coconut Fibre on the bottom (both from your Corn snake kit). How big sizes should I have of each one of them? The area of the terrarium will as said be 45 x 90 cm, so maybe 8.8 litres of each? Is that too much? Basically, how thich should the layer at the bottom be? Then, I read that they can live up to 20 years. Even if I'm 100% concerned right now I ain't going to get bored of it, 20 years is a really long time and you know, you can never be sure what happends in the future. Would you recommend buying an adult corn snake, maybe around 5 years old if I can find one, or is it best to buy a young one from a breeder? Third question. Let's say that the humidity gets too high, what do you do to decrease it? Plus, let's say that it's a really hot summer day and the temperature is rising. Is it safe to use the heat mat to cool down the terrarium? I will use a heat mat, as already mentioned, to make a warmer area. Is a 20 x 20cm good enough? And, let's say you go away on a trip for a week or two, how does the snake handle that? EDIT: Which size of the habba hut do you recommend? Is medium too large, as I don't want it to be too big. Really enjoy your videos! :)
me watching this video: oh oh i see mhmm mhmm **writes info down** ahh yes very important my fish: ?? me: i mIGHt get one one day!! My two room apartment: ???
Alex you are such a great ambassador for the awesome critters you caregive over and share with the public, You give great tools and skills, you express with such detail and knowledge....you have agreat wisdom and practical way in education, Thankyou for giving of what you know... and helping folk become better more informed at really honouring and taking responsibility, when they choose to invest in these special animals that deserve nothing least than the respect yougive and teach....Thankyou you are such a lovely, special soul... keep up the good work.... and let those that make uninformed choices of comments that critisize,....dissolve from your space, so you may keep up the good work so many are grateful for,and that you help...It unfortunate that there are many mean spirited people with so much to learn....Stay true to you... you are a gift to many...Thankyou..
sounds like u r doing things right. U r right about getting information and general care and the contradicting forms around. U r at an advantage though, i had mine in the 80's where there was virtually no information around. They can make great pets if u take the time as with all things. Great job love the vids! cheers.
My savannah monitor was my favorite reptile I have kept. Sure he hid for the first year and a half but after that and with regular work taming him down he became one of the best lizards ever. Like a big puppy woddling around my house XD Only reason I had to get rid of him was because I got an actual puppy and it looked like he wanted to eat it a lot of the time. The risk of injury between them was high and he wasn't getting the exercise he needed so I regretfully had to pass him on. The rehoming people that took him loved how tame he was and still use him in their interactive talks they do for parties and whatnot.
Great job so far with your monitor. It looks stunted as far as growth goes. I bought a 6 inch baby in May. It's a 16 inch monster now. Training was easy because it was a baby. I just hung around during feeding, helped find bugs that were hiding. He comes right to me now. He thinks he is a fellow human or accepted me as a fellow monitor. They are super smart! If you work with them, you end up with a cool reptile friend. Don't give up on building him a big cage. It pays off. It's easier to maintain temperature and humidity with a big mostly sealed cage. Your monitor will enjoy having dirt to dig and hide in.
Great video Alex! Super informative. You're very mature and I respect that IMMENSELY! I wish you had more merchandise and that it shipped to Canada :D You're one of my fave youtubers right now. Keep up the great work :3
You know what you can do? Make sure she has deep dirt to dig in..it really calms them. Mist the dirt sometimes like it's raining. Also leave Dubia roaches in her home. They are a good food source and also clean up the dirt. Another thing...make panels (make are removable) for 3 sides of the tank. On days she is stressed put the panels up...I make them from foam board. Just some ideas..It could help.
bonnibel is such a fantastic animal, she’s come such a long way! i’m looking into the reptile hobby and i want a ball python, but my mom refuses to let me get a snake. i’m not interested in leopard geckos or crested geckos, so what beginner reptile would you recommend for someone who has never had any reptiles?
I am so glad you warned people not to just jump into owning any pet but especially reptiles. I have rescued 3 so far all who came from homes with insufficient or no heat, no uvb, no vitamins, and an insufficient diet.. please guys dont just own a pet for the sake of it being cool.. these animals rely on you for absolutely everything.. research research and more research!
Good on ya for the "please don't." They're one of the cheapest monitors in the pet-trade but their needs are WAY higher than a lot of other reptiles. I almost got one a while back (I saw one in a pet-store and it looked absoluetly miserable and that tugged at my heart-strings.) But in hindsight, I know I wouldn't have been able to provide it a good place to live. I realized that if I wanted to keep a reptile, I should start with a crested gecko... And I did. He's a rescue as well, and he's a "no touchy" reptile (he went too long being neglected that he reverted back to his natural impulse of avoiding handling... which hammered in the lesson that reptiles really don't like being handled. At best they'll tolerate it, but it's still going to be a source of stress.) But that's okay. I find myself appreciating him just the same as if he was handle-able. Probably more so since I don't have to freak out about not missing a handling session. A lot of people seem to think reptiles are affectionate... No, not really. If you want a pet to cuddle, get a mammal. I would personally suggest a pair of rats.
I’m semi experienced with reptiles and got to the point where a Savannah monitor wouldn’t be a big deal. I decided to go with an iguana instead because of care requirements.
