Are savannahs good pets?

[neubauer geckos]

I am planning on getting a baby.how long can a baby live in a 20 gallon long tank(30x10x10).and once it out grows that,can I put it in the 6ft enclosure?any other info would be helpful.

 

[T&KBrouse]

Hey Anthony!

I raise Savannahs and IMO they are wonderful pets. BUT... They do require quite a bit of one on one attention when they're young, so you don't end up with 5 foot of nasty adult.

A 20 gallon enclosure will be fine to begin with for a hatchling, but keep in mind, these guys grow insanely fast and it will need to be upgraded with a few months. You can anticipate your tiny baby to be 5-7 pounds in the first year. At that point, a 6 foot enclosure would do fine. Make sure the enclosure is secure as these guys are diurnal and spend most of their waking hours trying to figure out how to escape.

Training your Savannah pup can be very rewarding. Food is a HUGE motivator for these guys, so they can pretty easily adapt to handfeeding and when you combine handfeeding with touch, they'll realize quickly that human contact is just as satifying as food. They're highly intellegent, so they can learn not to bite, respond positively to their handlers, etc.

Diet wise, Sav pups require more protein, but all in all, these guys are omnivorous. Chop up some greens, squash, sweet potatoes and a raspberry or two, mix it in with some cooked ground turkey and sprinkle it with calcium powder and you have a complete meal that will stimulate their inquisitive nature. (They'll try to sift through the greens to get directly to the meat.)
They do enjoy rodents... ALOT... But try to limit the whole prey items to usually once a month.
Now, there is almost an epidemic when it comes to Sav obesity, so monitoring your baby's diet will be essential. My female is a delicate eater, so she gets fed twice a week. One good meal on Thurday and a snack of scrambled or hard boiled eggs on Sunday. My male is a total pig and doesn't like to move around like my female, so he only gets fed once a week and is still pushing being overweight.

Personally, I couldn't imagine not having my Savannahs. They have been such a joy. Both of them are leash trained and we go for walks almost daily. Just like with alot of animals, though, you get out of them what you put in to them. Put some love and attention into them and you'll have a friend for life.

I hope I helped answer some of your questions. These are just my experiences, so others may be able to give you another perspective.

 

[BSM]

Diet wise, Sav pups require more protein, but all in all, these guys are omnivorous. Chop up some greens, squash, sweet potatoes and a raspberry or two, mix it in with some cooked ground turkey and sprinkle it with calcium powder and you have a complete meal that will stimulate their inquisitive nature. (They'll try to sift through the greens to get directly to the meat.)
They do enjoy rodents... ALOT... But try to limit the whole prey items to usually once a month.
Now, there is almost an epidemic when it comes to Sav obesity, so monitoring your baby's diet will be essential. My female is a delicate eater, so she gets fed twice a week. One good meal on Thurday and a snack of scrambled or hard boiled eggs on Sunday. My male is a total pig and doesn't like to move around like my female, so he only gets fed once a week and is still pushing being overweight.

Personally, I couldn't imagine not having my Savannahs. They have been such a joy. Both of them are leash trained and we go for walks almost daily. Just like with alot of animals, though, you get out of them what you put in to them. Put some love and attention into them and you'll have a friend for life.

I hope I helped answer some of your questions. These are just my experiences, so others may be able to give you another perspective.

Got pics of yours because your info's a little off. There insectivores in the wild and they dont eat plants plus they should only be fed whole prey items not what you are describing. Also whats your basking spot?

A 20 gallon is not suitable for a baby, your going to need at least a 40 gallon with a 125-130 f basking spot and most importantly cover the top or make a custom cover on the cage to keep the heat and humidity in. In a a few months you will need to update his caging to a 6x4 or 8x4 cage with around 2ft of dirt, 130-140f basking spots, a cat litter box for water, and retes stakes. The problem with savannahs are they are cheap and most people dont have the room or even know how to care for that cute 20 dollar lizard. If your going to get a savannah it would be a great idea to get a few colony of roaches going (hissers or discs) and then all you have to due is buy some quails, chicks and mice for it. I would advice you to go with either a yellow or red ackies as there much easier to care for and only require a 4x2x2 cage but would be happier with a bigger one. There a little more expensive then savannahs but in the long run there 100x cheaper


Bryan

 

[T&KBrouse]

Thats the other perspective I was looking for.