SAVANNAH MONITORS IN THE WILD (are we keeping them correctly?)

[@teenahall6502]

I've always wondered about their upkeep. I did some research to find out about the way they live. About the dry seasons and wet seasons. What you taught will help improve their lives in captivity. If we are keeping exotics, it is our responsibility to give them the best live.

[@davkaufmansreptileadventures]

Couldn’t agree more!

[@pumpkinchow]

I’ve always incubated my Savannah monitor eggs at 85-87degrees. When I used higher temps I noticed a lot of tail kinks and other deformities. And humidity was basically 100%. I also take my monitors off food for 2 1/2 months every year and once I start to feed again I also raise the humidity in the enclosures to simulate there wet and dry season and I honestly believe this is one of the most important parts with keeping Savannah monitors healthy and living long life’s. Most reptiles that live in similar areas will go off of food and survive strictly on their fat reserves. This is most important with Savannah monitors specially with them prone to obesity. If they aren’t taken off of food and forced to burn their fat reserves they usually get fatty liver and pass away. I haven’t had that issue when taking them off of food for couple months and you’d be surprised that after the first month of no food they still look healthy and active and they barely loose any weight. The main thing you will notice is the tail base will shrink the area where they store their fat. Even my adults in this time of fasting only loose a couple grams it’s just super important to continue to give fresh water during fasting and make sure you aren’t seeing hip bones and checking to make sure their head/skull doesn’t start showing. If you see those signs this means they didn’t have enough fat reserved or more serious issues like parasites and they should definitely go back on food and possibly see a vet. This monitors are not for beginners because their care is more complex than what was thought. But they do make absolutely amazing and rewarding pets if taken care of properly and with the correct care being implemented. I really need to stop slacking and actually do a whole series on correcting the old knowledge and proper care for these amazing monitors. And thank you again Dave for doing this video it truly was needed and hope more people start to properly care for their Savannah monitors

[@davkaufmansreptileadventures]

Great tips! Thank you!

[@craigbowler5248]

@@davkaufmansreptileadventures The monitor you found most likely wasn’t starved from the planting of palm olive trees but a normal part of its cyclic ecology. It does show perfectly why it’s so difficult to keep Savannah monitors in captivity, the 5/6 months of fasting during their summer aestivation is hard to replicate in captivity.

[@brianpartlow5530]

As a Savanah monitor dad, I liked this video. Next time Ozzy is being bad, I'm gonna chase him with a jar of peanut butter. 😂 Actually he's a real good boy. I got him as a baby almost 5 years ago. I knew about most of the stuff you talked about. People are finally learning how to to give them a happy life. Mine has a big home I built with lighting, heat, lots of dirt, a big water bowl. In the summer I take him out in the yard to explore. He loves it! Too bad I live in NY so he only gets a couple months a year. He likes to wonder the house when it's cold outside but he gets in trouble. He hates cats and will attack them. I caught him sizing up the dog too. Not a food response either. He just wants to fight them. Maybe just letting them know he's the boss. He's great with people, he don't bully the kids, he actually likes them.

[@georgedowling7744]

I am so grateful for this video. I’ve been keeping a daily journal for my Savannah monitor with temps and I decided to go against “common” advice and up their humidity to about 60-70 percent with a humidifier. The difference in my lizard’s activities were astounding. And the numbers on my hot side almost exactly imitated what you found as of yesterday. Surprisingly I did know alot of this information, and I added the humidity based off googling Ghana’s humidity that day, but now I feel better that I’m on the right track with my Savannah monitor. Thank you for this video.

[@davkaufmansreptileadventures]

That's so awesome to hear!

[@shawnmaginness9872]

That savannah monitor nursery area seems to be a cassava field/plot. That makes perfect sense, because cassava is a root crop (very common in impoverished, hot, difficult growing areas like africa) that really loosens up the ground during harvest. Typically, you just yank the entire root ball out and start a new plant with a stem cutting. So, the soil will almost seem cultivated just from harvesting the crop. Easy digging for a young monitor, or a mother looking to lay eggs. Awesome video, man!

[@rontowndr]

These video series have everything I loved from the classic Animal Planet shows that fueled my love for reptiles, but they are 1000x better. They are focused on the actual animals we keep in the reptile community. I distinctly remember watching Animal Planet while handling my Savannah Monitor as a kid. Dav is spot on, we haven’t been keeping them correctly. I’ll be honest, my monitor was about a foot long and he was in a 20 gallon tank, with just a heat pad underneath. This type of work is exactly what the community needs to foster the youth into the next generation of keepers, breeders and conservationists. Thanks Dav!

[@davkaufmansreptileadventures]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed!

[@Lerrae1908]

I think people forget that it's NOT common for lizards of moderate size to subsist solely on mammals. I know so few species off the top of my head that specialize in mammalian prey at that size - almost all of them are either insects/shellfish (like snails and slugs), fish, or birds (esp eggs/nestlings). I believe, personally, it comes down to accessibility and habit. We're used to feeding snakes mice and rats, and anything bigger than a skink (esp when it comes to things that are not herbivores), we just assume will take the same prey. And rats and mice are available all over the place. Even some bigger species like Nile or Asian Water Monitors. They eat mostly fish as adults from what I know, and fishing birds; yet I see people feed them almost solely rats and mice. Even as babies. Well, there's also the risk of thiaminase heavy fish - people tend to buy goldfish for feeding piscavores which are one of the worst options. Then they get a sick animal and assume the food TYPE is wrong, and not the specific food species. It's the same issue with water snakes - I see a lot of people losing babies because they can't get them to eat, while trying to shove mice into their face and not offering toads, frogs, fish, etc. Hell, even hognose snakes are notoriously difficult, and it's because they eat a lot of amphibians in the wild. If you get a specialized eater, folks, be ready to offer some specialized food.

[@albertovaldivia6132]

My mom actually became extremely allergic to palm oil and because of that we always look at the ingredients. It’s gross how much food is actually made with palm oil. Cheap and horrible for the environment

[@RaymondSandoval123]

This is 100% the coolest series and all the challenges of traveling through Africa makes it all cooler.

[@davkaufmansreptileadventures]

Thank you!

[@scottdipasquale6776]

This is the best information on Savannah Monitor lizards since the Frank Retes interview. Love your stuff as always but you knocked it out of the park with this. This is quite possibly one of the best Reptile videos ever. You should be proud! Bravo! We need to figure out how to consistently and successfully breed these animals!. unfortunately it's probably their only hope.

[@derp_dragons]

OMG, those tiny, freshly hatched, upset baby Monitors are just precious!

[@Bunny-ns5ni]

Not only does this provide information on how we can give captive savannah monitor a better quality of life, but also every other animal in the trade that share the same habitat with them. Thank you for your amazing contribution!

[@leonardotheuseless4188]

14:40 palms are actually one of the most efficient way of producing oil when it comes to area used, all other alternatives use way more land and produce lower quality oil. The problem is not which oil is farmed, the problem is that the demand for oil is far bigger than how much oil we can produce sustainably.

[@leonardotheuseless4188]

Also saying to boycott palm oil is just so stupid, the farmers would have burned the forest to plant something else anyway, you cant just expect the locals to give up their only real export.

[@davkaufmansreptileadventures]

I strongly disagree with your sentiments.

[@leonardotheuseless4188]

@@davkaufmansreptileadventures look up "Palm oil isnt as bad as you think" on youtube, it explains the problem quite well.

[@pzupich]

Thanks for the fantastic video. Nice mention on Daniel Bennett. Sadly he passed in 2020. I had reached out to many people when I was trying to breed white throated monitors in the early 90's. He was very helpful as was his book "A Little Book of Monitor Lizards". Also incredibly helpful were Mark Bayless, Jeff Lemm, Ron St Pierre and Frank Retes. I had several successful clutches 1994-1998 breeding in my folks basement in Ohio thanks to all those guys ;) Largest clutch was 24. My first reptile pet was a Savannah monitor, it was a great experience for me. Thanks again, Pete

[@owlskist]

Thank you so much for this video, I found this very educational and helped me alot as I am in the process of building my savannah a much better enclosure. The UV readings were really eye opening as I did not expect them to be that high. I do have a question though, I would like to give my savannah a more "natural" diet (as natural as I could achieve as I know african land snails are illegal in the united states), I've been feeding mine dubia, superworms, mealworms, and hornworms as treats. What species of snails and amphibians could I get or even raise as a food source to add to his diet?

[@mrsb1212]

I knew they lived in trees for 3 months of the year…..ner ne ner ner ne 😂 Yay….I finally know something Dav doesn’t 🤩😂 It’s called diapause! Some people thinks that’s why they don’t do so well in captivity, because they don’t go through that “starvation period”. A lot of captive animals can suffer from fatty liver disease but in the wild, that retained fat actually fuels their bodies during diapause. But as they are not going through the diapause in captivity, the fat build up often leads to a premature death. You mentioned Daniel Bennett, he was from the UK, as am I, and he spent a lot of time studying savannah monitors, or Bok as he called them. Sadly Daniel passed away from cancer about 2 to 3 years ago. One of the last things he was working on, was sexing savs. Usually the only way to really tell if a sav is male or female is by watching them go to the bathroom and seeing if they avert their hemipenes. Males have to do this when opening their cloaca. But again, it’s not 100% foolproof as the females can avert their hemiclits too. There is a colour difference, but it is still a bit difficult to differentiate. Obviously if your sav lays eggs then it’s a female 😃 But Daniel discovered that males tend to have a dark patch of skin on the soles of the hind feet, females apparently don’t. But sadly Daniel passed away during this study, so we can’t say for sure if this is true. Anyway, I’ve gone on long enough now 😂 Great video once again and no, I’m not jealous you get to travel the world. Not jealous at all! 😩😩😩😂😂😂 Greetings from the UK 🇬🇧 🤘🏼

[@davkaufmansreptileadventures]

Lol! That's why I like making these videos so I can also add to my knowledge as well. I guess I didn't know that Daniel had passed. Sad to hear.

[@thinriches]

RIP Daniel. Fascinating insights. Thank you

[@mrsb1212]

I’ve been toying with idea of putting my sav through a diapause. He’s still a bit too young right now, it’s usually something they do after their second year. But if I’m honest, I don’t know if I could sit by and watch my animal basically starve for three months, some say even up to six months of the year 😳 But you don’t just stop feeding from one day to the next, it is a gradual process and along with withdrawing food and water you need to lower the humidity and up the temperature too. I don’t think I’m confident enough to try it just yet, but I’m doing all the research I possibly can, so we’ll see. Apparently the first couple of weeks is the worst for the animal, that’s when they look emaciated and on the brink of death but then the body starts tapping into the fat reserves and at the end of the diapause the animals really look quite healthy again. I know it’s the best thing for the animal but can I watch my baby go through that. It’s difficult. Gosh, I do tend to waffle on, don’t I. But there’s not that many sav keepers here in the UK so I really enjoy having a nice cup of tea and a good old chin wag when I can 😂🇬🇧🫖

[@mrsb1212]

@@thinriches You’re welcome ☺️

[@mrsb1212]

@@davkaufmansreptileadventures A good animal keeper is someone who is always willing to learn and to rethink/correct previous beliefs to better themselves and their animals. Daniel Bennett was the same. He wrote a book on savs a few years back, a book that a lot of people still reference to this day. But after studying the animals further for many more years, he realised that a lot of what he previously thought, wasn’t actually true. He did update his book but he was quite frustrated apparently that people weren’t listening to his updated views but were still pushing the now found to be false information from his original book. I was a member of his fb group back in the day before I realised how toxic the reptile community on fb truly was 😂 And it was quite funny to watch people trying to correct Daniel in the comment section, quoting things from his original book, not realising who they were actually talking to 😂 but compared to keeping other domesticated animals, keeping reptiles is still in its infancy and we don’t even know half the things we should…..even if we think we do 😂 Yes, I’m looking at you, fb 😂

[@nathanrupley]

I grew up in Burkina Faso, near the countries you were in. During winter it is often in the 60s without much sun because the dust from the Sahara blows South

[@musician200X]

I watched this video today and immediately after, my business partner said someone surrendered one to our shop. This information couldnt have come at a more perfect time. Thank you for all you do, Dav

[@musician200X]

Good lord he came to us in a cold 10 gallon and they had been feeding/offering greens for him. Hes hitting bugs like no tomorrow now. Thank you for doing the big job so we could take better care of these beautiful creatures.

[@heliumhubcryptocollective9337]

hint for savannah monitors feeding...goto the Asian market ...snails come in frozen pack for 3.99, the i get frogs legs 4 for 4.99 and quail eggs 18 for 3.99 (ha ha as i write this u mention the Asian market ) ..4 my monitors i would always rotate food, insects, mice, mealworms, hornworm, snails, giant grasshoppers, eggs, ..adding vitamins each meal ....asian market saves u money and adds necessary variety of food items. heat is def an issue i had, without that high tem u run into metabolism and even bacteria issues

[@davkaufmansreptileadventures]

Great tip! Thanks!

[@ziki4998]

I knew they estivate up in the trees, cooking themselves in the dry season. If you didn't know, they use this opportunity to get rid of parasites; before the dry season many monitors are covered in external parasites like ticks that can't stand the extreme insolation and heat. I guess internal parasites also die (it's been recorded how reptiles, not being able to have fever, overheat themselves when sick). In captivity is very difficult and expensive to mimic the hot dry season, but savannah monitors keep preparing themselves for it, accumulating fat, add this to the poor diet they get and... Disaster. I love this videos where you get actual readings of the natural habitats. Thank you.

[@stormevans6897]

That is so fascinating, that they are so well adapted to dealing with that environment like that, they're like the cactuses of animals.

[@angelgreen3532]

I vended a reptile expo in Michigan, today, and pointed so many people to your channel just for your "Are we keeping them correctly," videos. Thank you for the priceless information!!

[@davkaufmansreptileadventures]

That is awesome! Thanks!

[@billythekid6509]

Dav i say this all the time but who cares im gonna say it again and keep saying it. U have one of the most underated channels out there. How they live in the wild i wish more and more people would watch these vids and take notes and put there egos aside that we know everything about our reptiles because we dont. Great educational vid Dav keep them coming please.

[@WastedTalent-]

I miss my Savannahs. Had them for around 20 years. Such great lizards and smart as hell. I'm thinking about another big lizard and I'm 95% wanting a Rhino, but Sabanna's keep creeping back into my mind. Back in the days of the 90's AOL chatrooms, Melissa Kaplan was talking shit about me and telling people not to listen to me, that I didn't know what I was talking about when I said not to feed Savannah's rodents and dog food as a staple and to feed mostly insects. I was warning people because my first Savannah died from fatty liver disease (a friend of mine is a vet and she did a necropsy) because I was feeding him rodents exclusively.

[@BirboBirbums]

It's so awesome to hear how the locals talk about them! Lots of interesting information to learn. This series is so awesome, thank you so much!

[@Streamer14]

I loved the goats in the beginning. On my African experience I will never forget the time I saw a goat climb a tree to lick the inside of a plastic bag. I knew about the fasting from Daniel Bennett. But, you still did an amazing job with this. There are still a bunch of people going heavy with the rodents. And the temp and humidity readings are great. Still tons of people out there that think the Savannah means dry, Now you just need to go back and do Nile Monitors!

[@larsdamen9115]

I love the people in Africa, such helpfull and caring people.

[@jdidle3130]

This is actually very helpful, I'm slowly working my way up to owning a savannah monitor so lots of info on this for that.

[@WildLife_Perspective]

I remember commenting that you should do a vid like this on them years ago. Awesome to see it finally

[@hollyodii5969]

This was absolutely incredible! Love seeing all the savannas in the wild!!

[@Dracobear13]

Thumbs up Dave! Another awesome video!

[@kim-urban-edwards2083]

Dav - please highlight: *SUSTAINABLY FARMED* palm oil is a very good thing. If we just boycott palm oil, we will move on to even less productive oil crops that are farmed the same monoculture destructive way, but with lower yields, needing even *more* land. Please, please - Support Sustainably Farmed Palm Oil!

[@stormevans6897]

I always thought the ingredient was generally cheap garbage with better alternatives, but maybe I'm just thinking about chocolate.

[@craigbowler5248]

Savannah monitors go through a summer aestivation period where they fast for 5/6 months, their body fat levels can drop below 8% which is most likely what is happening with the monitor you found (although habit destruction for palm oil production is still catastrophic and worth highlighting). This is why Savannah monitors are unsuitable as pets as it’s extremely difficult to replicate their cyclic natural ecology in captivity. This was recorded by Mamadou Cisse in the 1970’s unfortunately it’s largely unknown/ignored in the pet trade (although there are pet shops in the U.K. that don’t sell savannahs for this very reason)

[@davkaufmansreptileadventures]

Very good information! Thank you for sharing!

[@kellertwins]

Also why they are so prone to obesity as they are built to hold on to their fat storage for that 5/6 months. And that part about the baby being like a "puppy dog" was definitely not great. These aren't bearded dragons. They will tend to be feisty and aggressive. Some are more chill than others, but often it is a case of high stress and/or obesity that some owners find they have a "puppy dog" that likes to "cuddle".

[@craigbowler5248]

@@davkaufmansreptileadventures I do think this is a perfect example of how the hobby shoots itself in the foot by giving the anti’s more ammunition, promoting species that clearly aren’t suitable for the pet trade makes it very easy for them, this species can easily be described by them as being treated like a disposable commodity, when you look at how many are shipped in every year to cater for demand because they don’t last long and hardly breed in captivity. Promoting unsuitable species one week then promoting usark the next is such a blatant contradiction, if this is responsible self regulation then I would have to side with the anti’s maybe laws do need to brought in.

[@pumpkinchow]

I had to watch this episode multiple times and love the fact that you spoke about how the will shake millipedes to get their poison out before ingesting them. I’ve witnessed this with my monitors and it seems that behavior is ingrained in them since birth which is amazing. I’ve always wondered why they would violently shake hornworms and superworms while just swallowing other insects and now it makes sense. And the info on how they eat a lot as babies makes a lot of sense as well. I’ve kept track of growth rates with my babies and even adults and the babies will grow the most in their first year and had some that reach 2ft before their first birthday. And each year after it’s around 1ft per year until 4years old than it’s around 6in a year and then down to two inch every year. My oldest adult was almost 6ft and he never stopped growing until he passed away at almost 20years old.

[@svenvalcke8640]

What a cool video and calling out Palm oil industry.💪 Former co worker was always talking with love for Ghana and it looks amazing.

[@Reptielenfreak]

This is the info we need as keepers to know how to keep them as natural as possible UVI, Temp and humedity and surrounding. I have learned something today! Thank you and Keep this content comming 😁👍

[@carschmn]

I’ve been looking forward to this. I think Savanna monitors are adorable and almost perfectly sized but we are totally letting them down.

[@pumpkinchow]

I’ve been waiting for this topic to be covered for long time and can’t wait to go study them in the wild myself soon. I’ve been keeping and breeding Savannah monitors for over 30years now and they are my favorite monitor species. It’s sad they are so underrated and treated as cheap disposable pets. I have almost 40 captive bred babies at the moment and 2 adult breeding pairs. They are such amazing monitors and it’s sad most don’t make it past 5years old because people aren’t keeping them correct and their care guides are far from accurate. My oldest Savannah monitor lived over 15 years old and my oldest breeding adult female at the moment is going on 8years old and still thriving. If anyone wants any information on keeping Savannah monitors or captive bred babies let me know I’d be glad to help. Thanks Dave for doing this episode it’s definitely needed and way past due. I hope you have a great day and enjoy your weekend bud 🙋‍♂️✌️

[@davkaufmansreptileadventures]

Really glad you enjoyed!

[@tylergoldstein]

It’s more likely that insufficient temperatures play a larger role in the obesity of captive savannah monitor than diet, as most monitors don’t eat rodents as their main wild diet,but most do great on rodents when kept well, but most people who keep Savannah’s don’t give them enough heat, space, or choices. That said, they likely do eat mostly snails and other slow invertebrates in the wild. Great video though. Keep up the great content.

[@mikeayers8951]

Man, I've literally waited years for this video. Thank you!

[@davkaufmansreptileadventures]

Hope you enjoyed it!

[@zacg_]

I totally understand the point you are making regarding Palm Oil. That said, the usual response to that type of situation is "but that's how the local people earn their money and if they don't do it they'll starve." I've seen this response several times in the comments section already. I am not personally as familiar with the specifics of the local situation there so I won't take a side on that matter other than that obviously we would all like the monitors to thrive and for the local people to have a stable economy that allows them to support their families. I know, hot take, right? I think it would be interesting and productive (if this is done in a good faith respectful way) to have a discussion with local people, local environmental scientists and local economists to establish if there is a better alternative. I'm not saying that the responsibility to do this ought to fall exclusively on you Dav because these issues come up all over the world where human beings find themselves developing the peripheral areas of our civilization. But since you made such a strong recommendation I think it would be interesting if you could reach out when situations like this come up to see what alternatives (if any) have been discussed. It's always a difficult topic and does necessitate a sincere and open respectful conversation. Anyway, much respect for what you do Dav! It's a fantastic educational service.

[@gameravodak589]

still not good idea to rob them of there habitat

[@_dboy_]

Holy crap!? Was that tree that the monitors stay in during the dry season just a huge Jade plant? That's absolutely crazy, I've had some for years and it's cool to see how large they could be outside of a pot. The lizards were awesome too lol

[@AlexsAgamids]

Excellent video! So happy to see some of the real dietary information being shared. I'm tired of seeing "football" shaped savannah monitors from people who just pound them full of fatty rodents. Insect diets FTW!

[@diarirapley6229]

Hey just watched your monitors in the wild, was very surprised to learn they stay up a tree for 3 months without food or water

[@DeathHornDisst]

I miss my savy Rex. He lived to be almost 10 years old. Had an outside enclosure for him. 6’ long, 4’ wide, 7’ tall. Had three levels. Bottom was substrate and water tub. Substrate was a mix of 50% sand, 25% red clay, and 25% topsoil, almost a foot deep w/ a hide box. The water tub was 2’ long and 4’ wide (the whole 2’ of the right side of the enclosure). Again almost a foot deep with a ramp to get in and out of the water. Middle was a basking board made plywood, painted dark brown that also acted as the lid & ‘lean to’ of the hide box/ substrate. Top lvl was two logs in an ‘Y’ shape. The enclosure was made of thick screen wire so that it was all climbable. I fed him raw chicken, mice, rats, and boneless beef tips. (I was a butcher at the time). One of my greatest pets to this day. Miss you Rex. Glad you made a vid about them and wish I’d known then what I know now. Could’ve kept Rex a little longer. Thank you for all that you do!

[@DeathHornDisst]

I live in south Alabama.

[@damongaudette5618]

You rock Mr Kauffman! I met you once. I love this series of visiting our reptiles natural habitats. It is very enlightening and well necessary. Keep it up we need such content!

[@kated3165]

You, good sir, do SO much good for the reptile community!!

[@FenrirYT13]

I have 2 Savannahs and I have been doing lots of research to learn more about their natural habitat everyone says its desert but its not they LOVE grass and digging. I have always wanted to go to Savannahs of Africa, after doing research I started using certain sand that holds water or stays lightly wet and the tank he has he has a 12X10 but has a big backyard to go out to any time

[@HeliosLeon]

Thank you! This video will help tons on savanna care and hopefully save them from the 5 year death sentence most savanna monitors have in captivity. Keep the videos coming I thirst for more knowledge lol. I hope for more new information on monitors to be out and we can move on from outdated methods in savanna monitor care. Thank you again

[@davkaufmansreptileadventures]

Glad you enjoyed!

[@Tarras.Snake.Treasures]

What a great, helpful video. Thanks Dav!!

[@davidrogers6694]

Always a pleasure watching and learning from you and your videos thank you for all you do dave 😁

[@chuaanthony4230]

Outstanding “rediscovery” video. Keep learning & teaching us the best way of herp care. Thanks Dav!

[@rachaels8leggedwonders448]

My savvy has an 8x4x4, and he uses every inch of it! I started breeding roaches just for him 😂

[@reptilesandbugs2703]

AHHH YOU FINALLY MADE IT 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 thank you 🙏🏽

[@wanderingangelstudio1359]

Outstanding video! I’ve never smashed a subscribe button so fast.

[@susanfarish7451]

I don’t know much about these guys and aren’t the stunning , wow it just shows you can always learn something new. I have to say I appreciate this video more after seeing what you had to go through xx

[@CricketsMa]

Those babies are adorable! Sad their futures are so bleak. I began boycotting palm oil years ago, because of habitat destruction, and it’s not good for you. Thanks for the video, Dav!!

[@rikersreptiles]

Nailed it again bro....I hope you got hours and hours of footage for us.

[@lukemorgan8447]

I will rattle on 🤘 after I love the planet and feed my reptile obsession!

[@wpsreptiles]

I've been waiting for this video!! Great job Dav!!!

[@vikingvixen13]

I LOVE your “In the Wild” series. Hands down top 3 series on my KZbin lists. We can’t thank you enough for going through the trials and tribulations to get deep into these animals habitats and educate us on how they live and help us at home create the best life we can for our beloved pets!! THANKS Dāv 💚💚💚 I’m gonna Rattle On until your next video 😋

[@skidmark5766]

Thank you Dav to provide us all this priceless information. You’re doing an amazing job going trhough all of this for us. Respect dude!👊Long live Reptile Adventures!🤘

[@davkaufmansreptileadventures]

Thanks for watching! Glad you enjoyed!

[@420bandit]

Great video. I keep my sav in a 4x6. Hot spot about 130-135 ontop of flat rocks. And during the day i keep the enclosure open and she has my whole room to roam which she does alot. Lots of borrowing and big hides. Shes also trained to go to the bathroom in the bathtub for easy east cleaning. She knows her name, and really only likes me, not a fan of any1 else but with me shes super tame. I feed her calicum and vitamin dusted snails, canned grasshoppers and quail eggs. More eggs threw the spring months then the rest of the year, i hide them thru out the enclosure in the dirt and she hunts them and digs them up, i figure theyd be hunting plenty of ground bird eggs in the savanah. There awesome monitors, my female is solid 31” and been that bug for a coulle years now shes dont growing. She has a beef with my jordans, the leather or something, shes always fighting them rolling around with them wrestling biting them i dono why.

[@DoorsToHideBehind156]

20:37 I literally laughed out loud 😂 that pause and then going right back to what you were saying was gold! I love the facial expressions and commentary Dav

[@christophersharp7198]

Absolutely fantastic!! One of my favorite videos you've made! Thanks and keep em coming!!

[@cara9648]

Seeing the habitat loss is heartbreaking 😢 The babies are so tiny and adorable though! I've never seen fresh hatchlings, so that was so cool to see. I don't buy a lot of food with palm oil in it, but I will make sure to cut it out completely now. As always, loved your video and all the effort you put into making these for us, Dav!

[@davkaufmansreptileadventures]

Nice! Glad you enjoyed!

[@fastbreak0822]

Great content Dāv........ I understand how challenging your trip to West Africa was this year bro.... Appreciate you sticking it out.. Surely hope the peeps watching this clip paid close attention to your stance on palm plantations and to boycott ALL palm oils... A life without wildlife and all flora and fauna is not worth living. Peeps can live without Doritos .... One x

[@sherrybrzeczka7966]

Kusko's Rattle On is back!! Yayyy!

[@davkaufmansreptileadventures]

The fans speak and Kusko listens lol

[@Pringless16]

Dav being surprised by the high UV index of 11 is pretty funny as an Australian. Every summer day in Australia is above 10, barring exceptional circumstances.

[@mos1019]

as a kiwi, that's just because of the remaining hole in the ozone layer being directly above us pretty much haha

[@SuperNoseFace]

I’m in Las Vegas and I believe that range is similar to ours!

[@tjreptiles2019]

Awesome video I don't have a savannah monitor but if I ever get one I know now how to keep at care for them thanks Dave!!!! Can't wait for the ball python movie I am so excited 😊

[@kristincooper4078]

I absolutely love your content. You truly go above and beyond for the correct keep in or reptiles. I love that yo up share your knowledge with the world. Keep up the great work!

[@dinodal]

He needs to do an Australian species and parter with the Irwin family for it would be amazing the information they would put out

[@deafpleco1602]

Dude incredible what an awesome series. I love the concept the best way to take proper care is straight up go to where they live and you’ll get your answer. Keep making these.

[@davkaufmansreptileadventures]

I will :)

[@kellybraun7048]

It would be neat to see what would happen in an experimental captive setting- like a super long enclosure with a range of different temperatures and humidities and see exactly where different reptiles choose to spend their time using a 24hr camera setup. Using the most recent information about wild animals’ habitats in choosing the range, of course (offering a little higher and lower than the extremes of the natural range). It would be a very time consuming and tedious experiment, but I suspect we could get further insights from something like that.

[@WarfelsMorphs]

Great video Dav! I’m really enjoying these videos from your trip to Africa! I really can’t wait for the ball python video because these others have been so good!

[@davkaufmansreptileadventures]

Glad you enjoyed!

[@kgconstrictors]

Fantastic adventure showing how these reptiles live. I had one about ten years ago and definitely did not feed enough insects. This was extremely informative and surprising to learn all the things I was doing wrong 😬 So incredible to see the little hatchlings. So sad about habitat destruction. Fantastic Video as always and educational for those keeping them as pets.

[@frogeyesexotics5082]

Fantastic video. Thanks for making and sharing. Some wonderful information. Out of curiosity is the Nursery site used to produce the hatchlings we see in the pet trade?

[@MIKEJUGGALO17]

This is amazing information! Great work Dav! Loving this series!

[@ScottLupien]

Hey, Dav! Love the videos! I run a safari business, so I am often in Africa and have found quite a few monitors in southern Africa. These are the white-throated monitor, which is very similar to the savannah monitor. They probably thrive in such hot temps, but I'm never there in the summer months. The monitors I find are almost always in the dry season, and they are definitely not fasting in trees then. In fact, they can be quite active. I did once find one as badly emaciated as the one you found, but that same day I also found a very robust one not far away. That area was not destroyed -- it was in Kwa-Zulu Natal in April, which was before the dry season and it was pretty hot (so his poor condition was due to some other reason). A couple of times I've been sitting in a blind at a water hole and had monitors come in for a drink. They are super cool and I always love to see them!

[@shvlhed1975]

My savanna monitor is going to be 6 years old soon. He was about 3 to 4 inches long nose to tail when I got him.

[@seanjones9279]

Another great video and loads of helpful advice, will certainly be looking into getting snails for my little guys diet now. 🙏🏻

[@davkaufmansreptileadventures]

Awesome! Glad you enjoyed the vid!

[@fndzyn]

That thin savmon is on a normal phase of its life cycle. It’s called diapause (some kind of brumation) and could last as long as half year

[@lizdyson3627]

Great video Dav.😀

[@davkaufmansreptileadventures]

Glad you enjoyed Liz!

[@TheJLAMAR23]

Hands down my favorite of your content. This stuff I truly believe is revolutionary to all us keepers out there and there needs to be more of this information out there for us all so that we can better care for these animals we love so much.

[@angielovesowls]

I thoroughly enjoyed this video ! Those tiny little Savannah monitors are adorable, thanks for sharing your trip Dav it is greatly appreciated.❤️❤️❤️

[@motopacking]

Absolutely phenomenal video, man!

[@brianparker5323]

I am loving this Africa trip. You showed several countries when looking for the monitors, and it was Togo where the palm oil plantation was. Was this a particular problem in that country or just happened where you were and its widespread in all of west Africa? Just curious where the worst of the problem is. Keep up the great information. Speaking of that, your guide is amazing. Hope he got 'something nice' for his troubles. (I mean that in a positive manner. He seemed great.) -As for my Savannah monitor husbandry tip: Where I live the climate is unsuitable for an outdoor enclosure. I don't have a lot of room for an enclosure in the house. I have never kept something similar before. I do not have an exotic vet anywhere close. Getting feeders for it might be a problem. In short, I am incredibly unsuited to having such an animal in my care, so my decision is to not have one, no matter how cool they are. So. That's my incredibly lame tip. Plan first, consider your circumstances, never impulse buy. Keep up the great work, can't wait for more.

[@papyrusthegreat457]

Hey, could you do Chinese Water Dragons in the wild? I love them, and I’d love to see more about their behavior in their natural habitat

[@Peanutsworldofreptiles]

please Dav keep doing these type of vids man going to where these animals actually live and giving us the truth and info we need on them helping to make us better keepers and not trying to sensationalize anything just to gain followers and views!! Much Respect Homie!!

[@elvisphillips787]

This is a video that needed to be made. Great job Dav!

[@joenjodi]

You should get with ziila and come up with the right soil substrate.

[@billythekid6509]

If u watch one of Steve Irwins old vids where he travels to Africa he catches a pretty big savannah or a white throat sorry my memory isnt what it used to be. But any ways he explains the big head and teeth on the lizard is made pacifically for crushing the shells of big snails and thats one of there main foods. Its just funny how alot of these wholesalers came up with there mainly rodent eaters and put that on there caresheets i would really like to know how they came to that conclusion.

[@Chopingporky]

Pretty sure they thought "we sell rodents, not snails. That would be our loss. Let's say they eat rodents and fit in a 20 gal aquarium so that we can sell the ppl everything and earn lots of money"

[@stormevans6897]

pacifically

[@kylehelton432]

The monitor by the palm oil farm actually broke my heart. So sad..

[@bludodge2008]

Thank you SO MUCH for this information!!! This has answered so many questions for me. The only way to really know how they should be housed is to go and see where they live! This legitimately gives me the direction I needed. Any chance you will be going to see where the dwarf caiman live??? 😂😜. Seriously, THANK YOU!!!

[@RealJRoyall]

You're doing these animals an amazing service

[@zachdillon275]

Cool video, I would love to see you do a black throat monitor video in the wild.

[@victorcantu5659]

Go to Tanzania and study black throated monitors!!!! That would be awesome!

[@Peanutsworldofreptiles]

i'm with you on that!!

[@kitsune0rei]

Thanks so much for doing this for savannah monitors! I think the caresheets like to say rodents because it makes them seem easier to feed and keep. They will certainly eat anything that is or was once living and will fit in their mouth. I've tried some seafood, I know that's not available to them either but it's not as fatty. They like things like crayfish and shrimp. I've considered trying small crabs. I think because of their high temp natural environment, it is very important to give the choices for where to thermoregulate. I had heard of their period of aestivation and being in the trees, but that seems like it's been really hard to replicate in captivity. They seem so adapted the extremes of their home environment. Usually if something eats snails, it means they pack a good bite. It's unfortunate what's happening to so many habitats, but while we're clearing out more areas in Florida for condos, I don't think we have room to complain about what other countries are doing to try to survive.

[@libertyhill9098]

I learned so much from this. Great footage EXCEPT for the fact I was eating while watching the stew part. I don't recommend doing that while watching whatsoever.

[@sayurikitamura7109]

Amazing content, again 👏 I was very moved by the hole palm oil situation. Thanks for sharing.

[@TheJoshBartlett]

Amazing video! I learned so much Thank you for putting out awesome and enjoyable content !!!