Need Advice on Adopted Savannah Monitor

Hello everyone, this is my first post. I recently just adopted a 1 year old Sav from a guy who couldn't financially support him. He seems active but is very skittish (which is understandable). my concern is that he is a year old and he is 17" long. I want to know: 1. With proper husbandry and daily feedings, will he grow? 2. How should I set a course of action given that he is behind on growth? 3. How can I Jump start his growth?
I am in the process of building him a 5x2.5x2.5 enclosure (which will be done by the middle of June). But for now he is in a 55 gallon tank. Yeah I know but before you start, it doesn't have a screen top, top is completely covered, it has 4-8 inches of soil/swnd mix, humidity is high, he has a large tub of water capable of him submerging himself, ambient temperature is around 90-100 degrees, and a basking spot of 130.
He is a ready and hardy eater. I feed him: crickets, mice, and mealworms mainly. I have fed him: dubia reaches, horn worms, and earthworms. I've had him for a little less than a month.

Hi, how big in cm or inches is the 55g fish tank, and when you say the ambient temps are "around" 90 to100f, and the humidity is high, how are you measuring those, and what exactly is the humidity range? And finally, can you put a few photos up? Sorry for all the questions, but it`s important to get these details!

4 to 8 inches of substrate is not going to cut it. You need 1 to 2 feet of substrate.

Mice should make up less than 50% of the diet if you choose to feed them.

He will definitely grow when properly supported, and as adults, savannah monitors require a space at MINIMUM of 8 by 4 by 4. You should build his adult enclosure now.

How are you verifying the humidity and temps? He needs a cooler area of 75*F for proper thermoregulation.

the tank is 3.5' long, 1' wide and 20" high. I have 2 thermometers on each side of the tank and a thermometer on the rock he basks on. since its a glass tank it fogs up, so I associate that with humidity. I had a a gauge (that read 70% humidity) in there but I accidentally broke it and since I haven't changed much I assume it stays the same. I will post pictures briefly

Thanks for the details, I`ll guess the gauges are analogue, if so, those can be very inaccurate, you need a digital thermometer with a probe, or a "Temp-gun" asap to check the surface temps, you cannot do that just by placing a themometer on the spot. You also need a digital hygrometer for the ambient temps and humidity, and you need to know those measurements quite precisely.
There is no way this tank is big enough even temporarily, mainly because it`s only 12inches wide. Do you have anything larger right now?

I'm currently, and I mean currently, building his enclosure. You gotta remember that I adopted him, I had/have the financial means to provide for him. I bought the wood yesterday. I'm writing down everything you guys are saying so that I can thoroughly provide for him.

Please read The Savannah Monitor, Varanus exanthematicus

Originally Posted by corderral

Hello everyone, this is my first post. I recently just adopted a 1 year old Sav from a guy who couldn't financially support him. He seems active but is very skittish (which is understandable). my concern is that he is a year old and he is 17" long. I want to know: 1. With proper husbandry and daily feedings, will he grow? 2. How should I set a course of action given that he is behind on growth? 3. How can I Jump start his growth?
I am in the process of building him a 5x2.5x2.5 enclosure (which will be done by the middle of June). But for now he is in a 55 gallon tank. Yeah I know but before you start, it doesn't have a screen top, top is completely covered, it has 4-8 inches of soil/swnd mix, humidity is high, he has a large tub of water capable of him submerging himself, ambient temperature is around 90-100 degrees, and a basking spot of 130.
He is a ready and hardy eater. I feed him: crickets, mice, and mealworms mainly. I have fed him: dubia reaches, horn worms, and earthworms. I've had him for a little less than a month.

1. He will grow, to about 3-4 foot.
2. Getting a new proper cage built ASAP is your first priority over anything else, this will stimulate his appetite and get him hydrated and acting like a normal monitor.
3. 24/7 light cycle, deep dirt substrate that he can burrow in and holds water, high humidity- release a lot of roaches/crickets into his cage and let him eat freely as much as he wants. He will grow and catch up in no time.

I would advise taking the mice out of his diet, savannah monitors don't gain much from mice at all, and it's mostly fat that they really don't need (they are prone to obesity), feed him a diet of insects/inverts and he will thrive and grow and his food items will be put to better use and your money will be put to better use

Originally Posted by corderral

I'm currently, and I mean currently, building his enclosure. You gotta remember that I adopted him, I had/have the financial means to provide for him. I bought the wood yesterday. I'm writing down everything you guys are saying so that I can thoroughly provide for him.

O.k, but you said the new one will be ready around mid june, that`s 3 weeks away, the problem for the monitor is now, not in a few weeks, the temps and humidity need fixing today. I`m not criticising you, just trying to get across how urgent it is to support the monitor in every way.
You say the ambient temp is around 90 to 100f, what about the cool side? And I can tell you if the air temp is 100f the surface at the basking spot will be significantly higher.
You only need to worry about two temps; the coolest ambient (air) temp in the enclosure of approx 24c (75f), then the SURFACE temp at the basking site of between approx 50 to 60c (120 to 140f).
The humidity should range between approx 50 to 70% (it may be lower in the basking spot, higher in the hides/burrows), which is acceptable.

Originally Posted by Dehlida

1. He will grow, to about 3-4 foot.
2. Getting a new proper cage built ASAP is your first priority over anything else, this will stimulate his appetite and get him hydrated and acting like a normal monitor.
3. 24/7 light cycle, deep dirt substrate that he can burrow in and holds water, high humidity- release a lot of roaches/crickets into his cage and let him eat freely as much as he wants. He will grow and catch up in no time.

I would advise taking the mice out of his diet, savannah monitors don't gain much from mice at all, and it's mostly fat that they really don't need (they are prone to obesity), feed him a diet of insects/inverts and he will thrive and grow and his food items will be put to better use and your money will be put to better use

Hi, perhaps you can explain to us all why rodents don`t offer much ( I take it you have some evidence)?? That being the case, please show it.
The TRUTH is, it`s the CONDITIONS that cause obesity/early death, and unless they fully support the monitor, no prey is healthy!
And what has a 24/7 light cycle got to do with health (as opposed to a 24/7 heat plus light)?