The Savannah Monitor, Varanus exanthematicus

Housing Intro

To understand why husbandry methods have begun to change over the last seven years, we look to the Savannah Monitor itself. If observed carefully, the monitor is the greatest teacher. Everything from the food the monitor eats to the temperatures it seeks out, all have a purpose in regulating physical processes. A good keeper will attempt to provide an environment allowing these healthy, self-preserving behaviors to take place.

Savannahs in the Wild

The Savannah Monitor is a burrowing animal, spending time in burrows that have been measured as deep as 100 cm, and averaging 58.5 cm (~2 feet) 1. Being cold-blooded, the monitor depends on its environment to allow the opportunity to thermoregulate and find optimal humidity. To do this, it will often seek out or create a burrow as a way to be in contact with alternate temperatures and humidity.

In the wild, the Savannah Monitor inhabits countries of Western Africa 2 such as Sudan and the Republic of Congo, which are tropical to semi-tropical areas with defined dry/rainy/humid seasons. The activity level of the monitor changes with the seasons, they are more active and consume food during the humid season, and consume little to no food during the dry season 3.

It is a misconception that the “savannah” the Savannah Monitor inhabits is dry all the time. In fact, the period of dryness experienced in their seasonal climate is the period the monitor “waits out” before beginning to heighten its activity level and consuming more food.

Based on these observations, we can infer some definite suggestions as to the animal’s care needs in captivity. Though we realize that a microenvironment such as a cage in captivity does not lend itself to all the functions of the wild, our job as progressive keepers is to get as close as possible, and to achieve a few basic functions.