I bought a baby savvie from a reptile farm when I was a preteen, I didn't know what I was doing and it was a miracle he lived past a year, but I took him outside with me every day, handled him almost constantly, and fed him everything that I could catch. He lived well into my 20s and got absolutely ENORMOUS, and I miss him terribly; by the time he got old he was coming to me for comfort and super calm during even the roughest bouts of handling. He was even used as an educational animal a few times! I would not, however, recommend them to someone who doesn't know what they're getting into.
I agree the tegu wins. It's not that the monitor isn't a great creature but I've heard too many people kill monitors by accident. They are super high maintenance if cared for properly. I cringe when someone I know considers even getting one.
As someone who owns a young monitor, I'd definitely say the tegu would hands down be better. I received mine from someone who couldn't look after it. The Savannah monitor is an amazing creature which you can tame with a lot of work, they are very dangerous but that comes with the territory imo. If you respect the creature and you respect what it can do, you can have an awesome animal in your care!
Australian monitor species (ackies, perenties, argus, lace monitors, ect) are just about bulletproof, very tough animals, sad most Americans cant get a hold of most of them
They are high maintenance but if you got the time and will properly care for it then they can be great pets because most monitors are pretty active, so you can interact with them a lot and they are generally more entertaining then other lizard species. Of course they are going to be high maintenance but there are some monitor species out there that are good lizards to keep as pets.
How’s it cringe? Clints list doesn’t really make any logistical sense. Why can’t we compromise in buying a large tank a tegu would require for a monitor instead? Also to add I own a Savannah monitor and she seems to be one of the calmest reptiles I own. Tegus are also beautiful in their own nature but in my opinion it’s a draw
I am surprised you don't mention tegu brumation in any of these videos. I feel like the fact that tegus can potentially sleep for 7 months of the year is pretty important
@@romdozer Required/desired or not tegus and many other reptiles can enter brumation even if temperatures stay the same. Its still worth considering imo.
I want you to know that after doing my due diligence, watching your videos etc.. I bought a male tegu! he is the trophy of my collection and has made reptile keeping even more rewarding. It truly is a labor of love. I remember when i first wanted to get an iguana, I'm glad I listened to you and changed my mind. Not all iguanas end up like Bryan's Barczyk's rhino iguana "Bella".
He is actually doing really well and is pretty huge. He hung out with me while i was doing some work on the garden today outside. He just walked around and stayed close by while I kept an eye on him. He enjoyed some fresh outdoor air. I live in Georgia so the weather permitted some outdoor activities.@@aprilmeowmeow
Great video. Would love to see a basic head to head for beginner species like Ball Pythons vs Corn Snakes and Leopard Geckos vs Crested Geckos. These videos are pretty common but I'd love to get your take on them. In my opinion you guys have the BEST (hands down) reptile videos on TH-cam.
Wow! That is high praise. Thank you so much. We will definitely do videos like that as well as compare those reptiles to other possibilities that are less common. Thank you so much for the suggestion and the great feedback!
I really want a tegu someday. Beautiful big lizards! Also just as a tip, making the table top a rough surface is going to help your reptiles feel way more secure in your future vids!
You gotta throw in the Green Iguana to!!!!!!!!!!!!!! People go into stores and say oh look at this cute little lizard its only 20 lets get it not knowing what that tiny little lizard is going to become.
Oh believe me, I know!!! My cousin had one when I was young. I an in college to be a veterinarian technician and I specialize in exotic pets. After I get my medical license I'm going to get my degrees in Biology as well
I held a Sav monitor today at a reptile expo and fell in love. I'm not getting one right now at least but to hold it and have it fall asleep on me was an absolutely awesome experience.
Thank you for putting the emphasis on Savannahs being for experts only. I've got a big beautiful Savannah myself, and trust me. He's a handful, but I love him so much. If you have the experience to keep them, you couldn't ask for much better of an animal. They're fantastic.
Wooo, a new video~ I found your channel just about a week ago, and I binge-watched all of it's videos pretty quick, so I'm so happy that there's a new one already. Even if I knew a lot of the things you've brought up in your videos already I love to learn more and refresh my memory about things. Besides that your good mood and upbeat personality feel very contagious. Keep up the good work
Wow, who said feathered dinos aren't awesome looking? I think they're super cool! Great video, as always! I'd love to see you do one specifically on the BCI!
I had never heard of the Tegu before this and I’d only seen the Monitor Lizard on Rescuers Down Under. Great to see both of them! Great video, very informative!:)
I had a Savanna years ago! He was awesome!! Same size as the one you had on this video. His name was Murray. I had a large aquarium for him, but ended up just letting him roam my bedroom...😅 needless to say, my sisters, of which I shared my bedroom with, did not approve! I fed Him baby rats, wet cat food with vitamins. He was way too big for bugs. I bred the rats myself. I had chicken for a late night snack one night and Murry laid straight up my side for the warm.( He was VERY VERY tame!) His head was right at my armpit/shoulder area...I felt his tongue flicker my chin and it proceeded to quicken. I KNEW what was coming, I also knew if I moved, he would strike. He was about 6 inches smaller at the time. Needless to say, I moved he attacked. All I could do was lay there and contemplate how I was going to get him off my face. Hahaha.i wasn't scared, did not jump or freak out. I pinched his jaw line and after a few tries he released. I BLED A LITTLE AND THANK GOODNESS IT WASN'T A TEAR or WORSE. It then, AFTER the fact, it felt like I was hit with a baseball bat in the between my jaw and chin. No bruises. Just a bunch of little dot marks from his teeth... I washed my face and then we went to sleep. Lol. Being aware of having a food scent on you from most animals, (especially rodents) He was truly a beautiful and tame, cool buddy I had for 4 or 5 years. He was about 6 to8 inches when i bought him. I had to move to another state and could not take him with, so I have him to a friend who raised many reptiles and LOVED HIM! You did a wonderful job at explaining these reptiles!!!!!!❤ One thing I would like to add is that he NEEDED A LOVED a LARGE tub of water to poop in! It seemed that he needed to have that to go. and it also smells SOOOO BAD! It is easy: clean up and he didn't poop anywhere else in my bedroom! So I guess it was like a little box, right?! Thank you so much for all you do here. You where kind of like Steve Irwin in a way, thorough and excited to show and TEACH Avira what you love. It was Fun to watch, and educational too! Sincerely, Lanni
I had a Savannah monitor in my twenties. Picked him up from a breeder and it cost me around 80.00. I had it for about 4-5 years before I had to choose between it and my wife (Girlfriend at the time). I wasn't happy but I gave it to my wife's sisters boyfriend. It was extremely tame and 4" in length. Feeding time was crazy because of how aggressive it was. a few times a live rat tried jumping out and made it to the top of the enclosure about 2 and a half feet high and it would snatch it from the top of the enclosure and press it into the ground back and forth until he knew it was dead or you would hear the crunch of the skull. pretty awesome and I wouldn't mind getting another if I was aloud!
Thank you for this video. I am currently researching several animals before making a choice. I want the experience of having a large lizard. I own many reptiles and other exotic animals and feel confident in my abilities to do this and to acquire all the needed information.
When i got my first argentine tegu... i sold all my monitor lizards. Savanah and nile included. Going from vicious mad lizards to a lizard that actually liked me.... was a selling point.
Here’s some ideas I had: Corn Snake vs. Ball Python Blue Tongue Skink vs. Bearded Dragon Burmese Python vs. Reticulated Python Leopard Gecko vs. Crested Gecko Leopard Gecko vs. Fat Tail Gecko Rosy Boa vs. Sand Boa Hognose vs. Garner Snake Box Turtle vs. Musk Turtle Panther Chameleon vs. ??? Boa Constrictor vs. ??? Uromastyx vs. Frilled Dragon Russian Tortoise vs. Red Foot Tortoise Tokay Gecko vs. White-Lined Gecko Chinese Water Dragon vs. ???
As far as it goes with Savannah monitor "expensiveness" I built my 8'x4'x4' enclosure for less than $175, the lighting I was actually gifted but costs around $250 and the substrate is about $75 worth of topsoil and a few bags of play sand mixed up and compacted about 20" deep, as far as insect feeders go, rainbow mealworms sells 1,000 giant super worms for $30 shipping and all, all in all I have a third of the cost of a tegu and a light fixture in a Savannah monitor and he's growing just fine
Loved this video! I'd love to see more like this!! If you do decide to go ahead on this type of video, I know for myself, I've been stuck between getting a bearded dragon or a blue tongue skink as my next reptile. I think maybe other people may have this struggle as well, because they're both relatively similar in terms of care and handleability. I know beardies are WAY easier to find than skinks, but I think your take on them head to head would be awesome! love your videos!! :)
Hey, Cool you named your Savannah Jabba. My first was named Jabba and tamed beautifully with some work. I could hold him and stroke his belly like you could a cat. It was a very unusual experience. He was truly a wonderful.
Tegu is just a better pet. They’re less likely to hurt someone and easier to keep healthy and alive. The success rate keeping monitors is incredibly low, I don’t think we know enough about them yet to effectively keep them. They should live 20+ years but it’s rare to see a captive one live that long
Wow Clint, I thought the only Argentina tegu was the Salvator Rufescens, the red one, but I discovered the Salvator Merianae, the one you showed, also occurs in Argentina. Here in Brazil, the only argentina tegu is the red one, and I was almost correcting you before researched😂, very nice content and very nice video
There are many different colors, I've seen red,black and white,blue,a cross between red,blue and the black and white (called trichrome or some such) high white blues and albinos. There are possibly more but I've seen the ones I listed.
@@sivonparansun sadly he died he never got any bigger than my hand was only a year old the vets reckon he was inbred and possible damage from the high drug fumed place i got him from 😪
The tegu is pretty much the practice lizard for owning large lizards as they are definitely the easiest of the lot to deal with - if you can't manage a tegu then you definitely can't manage the other big lizards.
Great video as always, but Clint you are opening the door to a whole series of awesome head to head comparison videos! Please Please do Burms vs Retics!! Sooo many keepers who are ready to step up to the next level grapple with this choice, including me! After months of research and hundreds of posts in forums and groups i decided on a Burm, i've had him for 6 months now and it feels like the best choice i've ever made (might as well do a spotlight video on burms while you're at it, they may actually be the best pet reptile!)
Thank you for the awesome feedback and the great suggestion. I do think burms are the best giant pet snake. I don't think giant snakes are a good choice for most keepers. I will have to cover them for sure!
Big snakes are definitely not for everyone, although to be frank the popularity of breeding them has made them more readily accessible than ever (baby normal Retic is about $100) and perhaps that is an even greater incentive for you to do an informational/cautionary video sort of like your savanna monitor video.
Love your video. You have alot of passion for the animals. I feed my savannah monitor chicken, boiled or cooked on the bbq. I hand feed it strips. Very agressive at first but getting better.
Hi Clint. One thing i would want to see is a head to head video between the savannah monitor and the nile monitor. And there are 3 very good reasons for that. 1. They are both monitor lizards from Afrika. 2. They both eat similar feeders and need similarly sized inclosures with just a few differences here and there. 3. They both recieved the exact same score of(1.8 out of 5. And so with those 3 reasons in mind, why not make a video of that?
Savanah monitors need a much leaner diet! If you feed them rodents they get obese and die young. Niles can eat everything and anything including you. 😂. Savanah monitors learn to accept you and most calm down. Nile monitors seem to always be planning your death.
I have had my sav for almost three years, I love her so much, if I had to pick a favorite out of all my animals, it would be her That being said, I'm picking up a tegu this weekend lol
My husband and i just got a 4 month old tegu, this will be my very first tegu, but he/she (we don't know the sex yet) its such a lovely being,He/she is surprisingly very close to me and sweet. i am still learning many things about my tegu. i can actually see why its best for an intermediate/ advanced reptile owner. But overall, I have been spending a lot of time with it and trying to make it as happy as possible.. Right now I'm working on his feeding time. My tegu isnt used to eating in a different enclosure.. Im guessing the store wasn't exactly bringing him/her to the food but rather bringing the food to him/her. But i am here being patient :) In all. I am extremely happy with my tegu.
Savanahs r my passion . I have 4 very intelligent. Your lizards r very beautiful n look very happy . Nice post keep it up. People dnt understand wat it takes 2 take care of n grow big lizards
I had a savannah monitor, it was 70 cm when i took it over and the guy had prob never held it so i had my work trying to get it tame. 2 times i woke up by my girlfriend screaming that the monitor had escaped and she was afraid as f since it was in our bedroom and it had gone behind the closets and tangled up in all the power cords. The monitor didnt think 3000 litre terrarium was big enough. I bought a rabbits harness and walked it in my garden only problem is that they are smart so it tangle up in bushes to try to get the harness off.
Nice video! Only one I have any experience with is the Savanna Monitor. My experience is this: they can be tamed, it just takes a fair bit of work and handling, letting them just get use to your presence and letting them see you’re not a threat (even then, it’s not guaranteed that they’ll calm down). My first one was the definition of a lap lizard, only time he opened his mouth and put them on me was to let me know to move my hand, and even then I didn’t know he did until I looked down.
I really don't see what is so hard about having a savanah monitor. The one I had lived 12 years. An absolute babydoll. He was like a 12 pound version of the best bearded dragon I've ever had. The housing does need to be large but not a room of your house. Let them out on the floor a lot and let them roam. Mine would most of the time end up in my lap if it wasn't following the dog around. In the summer let them roam in the yard on a harness. The vet at the time recommended giving monkey biscuits soaked in water along with protein sources like pinky mice and rats. I found out never feed them something with feathers (constipation). Your videos are great, full of awesome information, but I think you forget to let people that have never had a monitor know how bad monitor poop can be. They love to do it in the water bowl, get it all over them, and then finger paint it all over the enclosure if you don't catch them in the act.
I owned the savannah and tegu and both are absolutely gorgeous reptiles to own, my savannah was puppy dog tame I worked with him everyday, the tegu was brilliant too friendly loved to chill on me I love both these reptiles as pets and I miss my savannah and tegu
So when I was in 4th grade, I was dead set of getting a lizard for my birthday. Now I had looked into lizards and somehow had found Argentine Tegus and I just fell in love so much. I wanted one so bad, I planed where we would put it, what I would name it, how I wanted to acquire the baby (expo). My dad thought they were awesome after doing a bunch of his own research, but my mother hated the whole idea of a reptile and was so not for this giant hard to handle lizard. In the end, it was a bit too big for our huge house. I looked into some other types and decided I liked bearded dragons a lot, and now I’ve had my baby (Carl) for almost 8 years. I would not change it for the world I love him so much and I’m really happy I started with him because eventually I want a tegu but I’ve realized I might need a few for years of experience.
Do Tegus ever need "retaming" after brumation? Another question: I saw a video in which the keeper put a slab of granite in the cage with his large lizard. As the lizard crawled over it every day it would blunt the claws a bit. Ever try this? Any reason it wouldn't be recommended?
I absolutely love Tegus and have had experience with large Boas, my last Red Tailed Boa was over 9 feet and she lived to be 34 before she passed. She was a beauty. I have had my heart set on a Tegu for years but unfortunately where I live there are no breeders! I am on the West side of Canada and the only breeders are in the East, mainly Ontario. It breaks my heart that I'll never be able to get one as importing and shipping a Tegu is extremely costly.
I just love seeing the close ups of Gus Gus. I'm trying to do a drawing of him to send to you! I haven't drawn many reptiles, other than Clever Girl from Jurassic Park when I was a kid. But I think he's so beautiful and when I'm done will send a copy!
I cannot keep this to myself anymore: i would choose you for the role of Mr. Rogers if Stephen King remakes Mr. Rogers Neighberhood. Oh, & love your videos! Keep'em coming!
Hi Mr. Clint & Friends, I really love your videos, I love to learn more about reptiles and learn about different species, yours and your team enthusiasm and happiness are contagious. Your videos helped me a lot while I was preparing for my beardie and corn snake (my first reptiles and I love them). As for future videos, it is possible for you and your team to make a video about Chinese Water Dragons?! I'm very interested on getting one, but I'm still wondering if I should or if I'm prepared to get one. Off course, extra knowledge never hurts. Thanks for everything, Carla
Hey Clint I just adopted a savannah monitor that my neighbor gave me. He is about half grown and occasionally he is a but head, so I was hoping you could make a video about how to tame savannah monitors
Andrew Blevins with food, the way to a lizards heart is through rewarding them with their favorite thing, food. The more they associate you with the thing they love the calmer they’ll become
I do NOT recommend water taming, do it the proper way, with lots of positive attentions in short bursts, never stress him out. Start with baby ant steps, one wrong move, and it's back to square one. Keep your interactions with him short and leave them on a positive note!
I have a monitor that is very tame he goes all over with me. I make him come out of his tank and put him in a huge tub to feed him. He knows he has to come out to eat. I don't know what water training is but he loves water. I have a huge pump spray bottle to keep his tank moist when he hears me pump it he comes running to get a shower. He also loves being put in the shower for some play time. We got him as a baby and wore gardening gloves the first few weeks but not an issue since then. He is leash trained. After he eats we go out for a walk and he poops in the yard never in his tank. He is a great pet but as much work as a dog.
If ever I'd get a tegu I'll most likely have him free roam around the house and garden. He'll have his own personal enclosure if I'm not home but most of the time he'll be chilling in the house. I'll have his enclosure open for him if ever he wants to basks. I'll most likely potty train him too so I'll basically just have a weird dog in the house.
After watching many videos and doing some education I got a tegu. I started right off training it...: this thing is ridiculous smart. I hand built a pvc and somehow...he managed to get through this little crack. I noticed he was interested in the crack but it was smaller than his head so I thought it would be fine. Obviously not... (if your reptile somehow gets out always check the closet) thank lord I found him!
Awesome video I have a savannah monitor you pretty much nailed it with everything you said about the monitors is always spot-on I enjoy watching your videos keep them coming and that is an awesome savannah monitor must be albino it's cool that you can find morph Gene monitors but they are crazy expensive I wish I could afford them!
I bought a baby savvie from a reptile farm when I was a preteen, I didn't know what I was doing and it was a miracle he lived past a year, but I took him outside with me every day, handled him almost constantly, and fed him everything that I could catch. He lived well into my 20s and got absolutely ENORMOUS, and I miss him terribly; by the time he got old he was coming to me for comfort and super calm during even the roughest bouts of handling. He was even used as an educational animal a few times! I would not, however, recommend them to someone who doesn't know what they're getting into.
I agree the tegu wins. It's not that the monitor isn't a great creature but I've heard too many people kill monitors by accident. They are super high maintenance if cared for properly. I cringe when someone I know considers even getting one.
some monitors do fine as pets, the dwarf species even more, like the ackie monitor Clint made a video about
As someone who owns a young monitor, I'd definitely say the tegu would hands down be better. I received mine from someone who couldn't look after it. The Savannah monitor is an amazing creature which you can tame with a lot of work, they are very dangerous but that comes with the territory imo. If you respect the creature and you respect what it can do, you can have an awesome animal in your care!
Australian monitor species (ackies, perenties, argus, lace monitors, ect) are just about bulletproof, very tough animals, sad most Americans cant get a hold of most of them
They are high maintenance but if you got the time and will properly care for it then they can be great pets because most monitors are pretty active, so you can interact with them a lot and they are generally more entertaining then other lizard species. Of course they are going to be high maintenance but there are some monitor species out there that are good lizards to keep as pets.
How’s it cringe? Clints list doesn’t really make any logistical sense. Why can’t we compromise in buying a large tank a tegu would require for a monitor instead? Also to add I own a Savannah monitor and she seems to be one of the calmest reptiles I own. Tegus are also beautiful in their own nature but in my opinion it’s a draw
I am surprised you don't mention tegu brumation in any of these videos. I feel like the fact that tegus can potentially sleep for 7 months of the year is pretty important
Brumation is not required for pet (non-breeding) tegus.
@@romdozer Required/desired or not tegus and many other reptiles can enter brumation even if temperatures stay the same. Its still worth considering imo.
Brumation, good to know
Must be planning on breeding
@@M0oseTacularyh for someone looking buy one its an important thing too know
I want you to know that after doing my due diligence, watching your videos etc.. I bought a male tegu! he is the trophy of my collection and has made reptile keeping even more rewarding. It truly is a labor of love. I remember when i first wanted to get an iguana, I'm glad I listened to you and changed my mind. Not all iguanas end up like Bryan's Barczyk's rhino iguana "Bella".
how is he doing?
He is actually doing really well and is pretty huge. He hung out with me while i was doing some work on the garden today outside. He just walked around and stayed close by while I kept an eye on him. He enjoyed some fresh outdoor air. I live in Georgia so the weather permitted some outdoor activities.@@aprilmeowmeow
I can nearly hear GusGus purring when you pet him..;-)....
Dawww me too
If lizards evolved to purr, they would be forever sanctioned by 99% of humanity.
I just commented yesterday about wanting a tegu video and wake up to this in my recommended videos! Love this channel!
We have more tegu videos than this :)
Hey Clint could you show where you keep all of your reptiles?
archers of Roderiek the way Clint looks in the camera makes it seem like he keeps people in his basement
I third this
Great video. Would love to see a basic head to head for beginner species like Ball Pythons vs Corn Snakes and Leopard Geckos vs Crested Geckos. These videos are pretty common but I'd love to get your take on them. In my opinion you guys have the BEST (hands down) reptile videos on TH-cam.
Wow! That is high praise. Thank you so much. We will definitely do videos like that as well as compare those reptiles to other possibilities that are less common. Thank you so much for the suggestion and the great feedback!
Clint's Reptiles sounds awesome. Really looking forward to em.
Can you do an in-depth video on Tegu care? Bathroom training, feeding, cage maintenance, etc
Could you make A video on trust exercises with a large lizard?
Drop it, then catch it just before it hits the floor.
user.equalto.Null lol wtf
Good idea 💡
Have your dog come bother it then save it from your dog
He did actually. Even though its been a bit lol :P
You should do a reptile room tour or let us meet all your reptiles. Or talk about mites
I really want a tegu someday. Beautiful big lizards! Also just as a tip, making the table top a rough surface is going to help your reptiles feel way more secure in your future vids!
At 1:25 that monitor is just like, "This is my life now..." lol
😂
Love watching GusGus just chill out and enjoy some pats. 😁😍
3:12 What an absolute charm of a lizard. Who would have known they could enjoy being pet.
Thanks for the vid buddy. You have helped me decide that I want a Tegu, as I was going back and forth between a Savannah and a Tegu. 😊
You gotta throw in the Green Iguana to!!!!!!!!!!!!!! People go into stores and say oh look at this cute little lizard its only 20 lets get it not knowing what that tiny little lizard is going to become.
Kendall Peyton there is only 2 outcomes with them:
1. They will only like you
2. They become a nightmare
Oh believe me, I know!!! My cousin had one when I was young. I an in college to be a veterinarian technician and I specialize in exotic pets. After I get my medical license I'm going to get my degrees in Biology as well
Kendall Peyton you can do it!!!
100% lol
I currently have an iguana. He is about 2 1/2 ft long atm. Apparently I’m treasure to him because there’s an X on my arm from him scratching me.😂😂
Me and my mum love to watch your videos, your such a breath of fresh air and so happy! Keep up the excellent education.
I held a Sav monitor today at a reptile expo and fell in love. I'm not getting one right now at least but to hold it and have it fall asleep on me was an absolutely awesome experience.
WOW, dude, I really liked your video. Very informative! Wish you were around when I was a kid!!
Thank you for putting the emphasis on Savannahs being for experts only. I've got a big beautiful Savannah myself, and trust me. He's a handful, but I love him so much. If you have the experience to keep them, you couldn't ask for much better of an animal. They're fantastic.
Wooo, a new video~
I found your channel just about a week ago, and I binge-watched all of it's videos pretty quick, so I'm so happy that there's a new one already. Even if I knew a lot of the things you've brought up in your videos already I love to learn more and refresh my memory about things. Besides that your good mood and upbeat personality feel very contagious.
Keep up the good work
Wow, who said feathered dinos aren't awesome looking? I think they're super cool!
Great video, as always! I'd love to see you do one specifically on the BCI!
Great work as usual buddy! As a reptile zookeeper I keep reccomending you for your excellent videos! Keep it up.
I had never heard of the Tegu before this and I’d only seen the Monitor Lizard on Rescuers Down Under. Great to see both of them! Great video, very informative!:)
this is such a great idea for a series! so excited for more
Excellent video I look forward to every Saturday watching you on my break at work. I was really happy because I was rooting for the Argentine tegu!!!
I had a Savanna years ago! He was awesome!! Same size as the one you had on this video. His name was Murray. I had a large aquarium for him, but ended up just letting him roam my bedroom...😅 needless to say, my sisters, of which I shared my bedroom with, did not approve! I fed Him baby rats, wet cat food with vitamins. He was way too big for bugs. I bred the rats myself.
I had chicken for a late night snack one night and Murry laid straight up my side for the warm.( He was VERY VERY tame!) His head was right at my armpit/shoulder area...I felt his tongue flicker my chin and it proceeded to quicken. I KNEW what was coming, I also knew if I moved, he would strike. He was about 6 inches smaller at the time. Needless to say, I moved he attacked. All I could do was lay there and contemplate how I was going to get him off my face. Hahaha.i wasn't scared, did not jump or freak out. I pinched his jaw line and after a few tries he released. I BLED A LITTLE AND THANK GOODNESS IT WASN'T A TEAR or WORSE. It then, AFTER the fact, it felt like I was hit with a baseball bat in the between my jaw and chin. No bruises. Just a bunch of little dot marks from his teeth... I washed my face and then we went to sleep. Lol. Being aware of having a food scent on you from most animals, (especially rodents) He was truly a beautiful and tame, cool buddy I had for 4 or 5 years. He was about 6 to8 inches when i bought him. I had to move to another state and could not take him with, so I have him to a friend who raised many reptiles and LOVED HIM! You did a wonderful job at explaining these reptiles!!!!!!❤
One thing I would like to add is that he NEEDED A LOVED a LARGE tub of water to poop in! It seemed that he needed to have that to go. and it also smells SOOOO BAD! It is easy: clean up and he didn't poop anywhere else in my bedroom! So I guess it was like a little box, right?!
Thank you so much for all you do here. You where kind of like Steve Irwin in a way, thorough and excited to show and TEACH Avira what you love. It was Fun to watch, and educational too!
Sincerely, Lanni
AUTOCORRECT WAS WRONG.... WAS SUPPOSED TO SAY ----
He needed a very large, tub of WATER...
LITTER BOX
Love the format for the new vids!
I would love to see an Asian Water Monitor in a video!
i love your videos clint. you helped me decide what snake is good for me. Youre entertaining and informative, keep up the great work man
i really liked this video, how you handle your tegu is just adorable
I had a Savannah monitor in my twenties. Picked him up from a breeder and it cost me around 80.00. I had it for about 4-5 years before I had to choose between it and my wife (Girlfriend at the time). I wasn't happy but I gave it to my wife's sisters boyfriend. It was extremely tame and 4" in length.
Feeding time was crazy because of how aggressive it was. a few times a live rat tried jumping out and made it to the top of the enclosure about 2 and a half feet high and it would snatch it from the top of the enclosure and press it into the ground back and forth until he knew it was dead or you would hear the crunch of the skull. pretty awesome and I wouldn't mind getting another if I was aloud!
I would've chosen my lizard. Your wife's a b**** for that sorry not sorry.
Hello mr. Clint, why does your videos looks cool very awesome I love all of your videos cause I do like reptiles too
Oh lord. This makes me miss my savannah monitor and want both so much 🥺❤️❤️❤️
Both Lizards are Beautifully Awesome, But I really love that Argentine Tegu!
Clint you are always so enthusiastic!
Thank you for this video. I am currently researching several animals before making a choice. I want the experience of having a large lizard. I own many reptiles and other exotic animals and feel confident in my abilities to do this and to acquire all the needed information.
When i got my first argentine tegu... i sold all my monitor lizards. Savanah and nile included. Going from vicious mad lizards to a lizard that actually liked me.... was a selling point.
Hey Clint awesome video love all ur videos!!
Great info was scared the Savannah monitor part was going to be wrong, but I gotta give it to you awesome video!
The comparison videos are my favorite
Here’s some ideas I had:
Corn Snake vs. Ball Python
Blue Tongue Skink vs. Bearded Dragon
Burmese Python vs. Reticulated Python
Leopard Gecko vs. Crested Gecko
Leopard Gecko vs. Fat Tail Gecko
Rosy Boa vs. Sand Boa
Hognose vs. Garner Snake
Box Turtle vs. Musk Turtle
Panther Chameleon vs. ???
Boa Constrictor vs. ???
Uromastyx vs. Frilled Dragon
Russian Tortoise vs. Red Foot Tortoise
Tokay Gecko vs. White-Lined Gecko
Chinese Water Dragon vs. ???
Boa constrictor vs carpet python maybe?
Cole Butterfield
Iguanas vs. Chameleons 🦎
And Chinese water dragon versus ackie monitor
Blue tounge skink vs beardie would be awesome since they are some of the most highly praised reptiles for keeper
CWD vs basilisks
Boa vs anaconda
Panther chameleon vs Jackson chameleon
As far as it goes with Savannah monitor "expensiveness" I built my 8'x4'x4' enclosure for less than $175, the lighting I was actually gifted but costs around $250 and the substrate is about $75 worth of topsoil and a few bags of play sand mixed up and compacted about 20" deep, as far as insect feeders go, rainbow mealworms sells 1,000 giant super worms for $30 shipping and all, all in all I have a third of the cost of a tegu and a light fixture in a Savannah monitor and he's growing just fine
Now every time my tegu does a roll I say death roll...you’re the man Bro!
Loved this video! I'd love to see more like this!! If you do decide to go ahead on this type of video, I know for myself, I've been stuck between getting a bearded dragon or a blue tongue skink as my next reptile. I think maybe other people may have this struggle as well, because they're both relatively similar in terms of care and handleability. I know beardies are WAY easier to find than skinks, but I think your take on them head to head would be awesome! love your videos!! :)
Hey, Cool you named your Savannah Jabba. My first was named Jabba and tamed beautifully with some work. I could hold him and stroke his belly like you could a cat. It was a very unusual experience. He was truly a wonderful.
I love seeing videos about Tegus!!
That's funny when the savannah rolled out of your hands!
Tegu is just a better pet. They’re less likely to hurt someone and easier to keep healthy and alive. The success rate keeping monitors is incredibly low, I don’t think we know enough about them yet to effectively keep them. They should live 20+ years but it’s rare to see a captive one live that long
Hey have you ever kept an Argentine tegu before? If so can I have some tips especially on lighting? That’s what I’m worried about.
I wanted this video. thank you! I love my savannah monitor.
Wow Clint, I thought the only Argentina tegu was the Salvator Rufescens, the red one, but I discovered the Salvator Merianae, the one you showed, also occurs in Argentina. Here in Brazil, the only argentina tegu is the red one, and I was almost correcting you before researched😂, very nice content and very nice video
There are many different colors, I've seen red,black and white,blue,a cross between red,blue and the black and white (called trichrome or some such) high white blues and albinos. There are possibly more but I've seen the ones I listed.
I love my Savannah Monitor (I make lots of videos about her) but tegus generally are better for a large majority of people.
I have a 5 month old Savannah ive had him since 8 weeks he still wants to eat me
@@sexitats42 that sounds rough, is that still happening
@@sivonparansun sadly he died he never got any bigger than my hand was only a year old the vets reckon he was inbred and possible damage from the high drug fumed place i got him from 😪
You're the best!! Love your videos!
The tegu is pretty much the practice lizard for owning large lizards as they are definitely the easiest of the lot to deal with - if you can't manage a tegu then you definitely can't manage the other big lizards.
Great video as always, but Clint you are opening the door to a whole series of awesome head to head comparison videos! Please Please do Burms vs Retics!! Sooo many keepers who are ready to step up to the next level grapple with this choice, including me! After months of research and hundreds of posts in forums and groups i decided on a Burm, i've had him for 6 months now and it feels like the best choice i've ever made (might as well do a spotlight video on burms while you're at it, they may actually be the best pet reptile!)
Thank you for the awesome feedback and the great suggestion. I do think burms are the best giant pet snake. I don't think giant snakes are a good choice for most keepers. I will have to cover them for sure!
Big snakes are definitely not for everyone, although to be frank the popularity of breeding them has made them more readily accessible than ever (baby normal Retic is about $100) and perhaps that is an even greater incentive for you to do an informational/cautionary video sort of like your savanna monitor video.
just found this channel and its awsome
Please do a video on boa constrictors!
LOVE the rant about dinosaurs and feathers and therapods! xD thats how you know there is more than meets the eye!
Great content as always! Thank you! I think I’ll stick to my Leopard Gecko and Crested Gecko for now though.... 😉
Love your video. You have alot of passion for the animals. I feed my savannah monitor chicken, boiled or cooked on the bbq. I hand feed it strips. Very agressive at first but getting better.
I adore Gus Gus too! I want a big lizard to love!!
Hi Clint. One thing i would want to see is a head to head video between the savannah monitor and the nile monitor. And there are 3 very good reasons for that. 1. They are both monitor lizards from Afrika. 2. They both eat similar feeders and need similarly sized inclosures with just a few differences here and there. 3. They both recieved the exact same score of(1.8 out of 5. And so with those 3 reasons in mind, why not make a video of that?
Savanah monitors need a much leaner diet! If you feed them rodents they get obese and die young. Niles can eat everything and anything including you. 😂. Savanah monitors learn to accept you and most calm down. Nile monitors seem to always be planning your death.
I have had my sav for almost three years, I love her so much, if I had to pick a favorite out of all my animals, it would be her That being said, I'm picking up a tegu this weekend lol
My husband and i just got a 4 month old tegu, this will be my very first tegu, but he/she (we don't know the sex yet) its such a lovely being,He/she is surprisingly very close to me and sweet. i am still learning many things about my tegu. i can actually see why its best for an intermediate/ advanced reptile owner. But overall, I have been spending a lot of time with it and trying to make it as happy as possible.. Right now I'm working on his feeding time. My tegu isnt used to eating in a different enclosure.. Im guessing the store wasn't exactly bringing him/her to the food but rather bringing the food to him/her. But i am here being patient :) In all. I am extremely happy with my tegu.
Savanahs r my passion . I have 4 very intelligent. Your lizards r very beautiful n look very happy . Nice post keep it up. People dnt understand wat it takes 2 take care of n grow big lizards
I had a savannah monitor, it was 70 cm when i took it over and the guy had prob never held it so i had my work trying to get it tame. 2 times i woke up by my girlfriend screaming that the monitor had escaped and she was afraid as f since it was in our bedroom and it had gone behind the closets and tangled up in all the power cords. The monitor didnt think 3000 litre terrarium was big enough. I bought a rabbits harness and walked it in my garden only problem is that they are smart so it tangle up in bushes to try to get the harness off.
Nice video! Only one I have any experience with is the Savanna Monitor. My experience is this: they can be tamed, it just takes a fair bit of work and handling, letting them just get use to your presence and letting them see you’re not a threat (even then, it’s not guaranteed that they’ll calm down). My first one was the definition of a lap lizard, only time he opened his mouth and put them on me was to let me know to move my hand, and even then I didn’t know he did until I looked down.
I really don't see what is so hard about having a savanah monitor. The one I had lived 12 years. An absolute babydoll. He was like a 12 pound version of the best bearded dragon I've ever had. The housing does need to be large but not a room of your house. Let them out on the floor a lot and let them roam. Mine would most of the time end up in my lap if it wasn't following the dog around. In the summer let them roam in the yard on a harness. The vet at the time recommended giving monkey biscuits soaked in water along with protein sources like pinky mice and rats. I found out never feed them something with feathers (constipation). Your videos are great, full of awesome information, but I think you forget to let people that have never had a monitor know how bad monitor poop can be. They love to do it in the water bowl, get it all over them, and then finger paint it all over the enclosure if you don't catch them in the act.
There's Argentina. Then there's Argentine. Clint once again, nails it. Stinkin' rad!
I owned the savannah and tegu and both are absolutely gorgeous reptiles to own, my savannah was puppy dog tame I worked with him everyday, the tegu was brilliant too friendly loved to chill on me I love both these reptiles as pets and I miss my savannah and tegu
Congratullations for your love to them!
“U won’t wanna keep it if it wasn’t STINKIN AWESOME”😂😂
Yessss Clint 👌 getting my argentine tegu this summer :-)
Get a sav dude there the best
Maddox Davidson nah, im in love with the argentine 🙂
WolfStack I want both of them.
@wiolfstack Tegu all the way! I just got mine a month ago, and he is awesome! :)
@@studioseven9 How they doin rn?
So when I was in 4th grade, I was dead set of getting a lizard for my birthday. Now I had looked into lizards and somehow had found Argentine Tegus and I just fell in love so much. I wanted one so bad, I planed where we would put it, what I would name it, how I wanted to acquire the baby (expo). My dad thought they were awesome after doing a bunch of his own research, but my mother hated the whole idea of a reptile and was so not for this giant hard to handle lizard. In the end, it was a bit too big for our huge house. I looked into some other types and decided I liked bearded dragons a lot, and now I’ve had my baby (Carl) for almost 8 years. I would not change it for the world I love him so much and I’m really happy I started with him because eventually I want a tegu but I’ve realized I might need a few for years of experience.
Do Tegus ever need "retaming" after brumation?
Another question: I saw a video in which the keeper put a slab of granite in the cage with his large lizard. As the lizard crawled over it every day it would blunt the claws a bit.
Ever try this?
Any reason it wouldn't be recommended?
Great video man
Very important video! Thanks😇
Are you planning on doing more videos on other monitor species? I would love to see something on giants like the water monitor. :)
Loved this! Can you do a Uromastyx video? Would love to see an Omani but any Uro will do!
yh that would be great! I've got a friend who wants one and more information would be cool
what an amazing bunch of big lizards!
That subtle shot fired at feathered dinosaurs XD
That Savannah monitor sure is tolerant.
I absolutely love Tegus and have had experience with large Boas, my last Red Tailed Boa was over 9 feet and she lived to be 34 before she passed. She was a beauty. I have had my heart set on a Tegu for years but unfortunately where I live there are no breeders! I am on the West side of Canada and the only breeders are in the East, mainly Ontario. It breaks my heart that I'll never be able to get one as importing and shipping a Tegu is extremely costly.
I just love seeing the close ups of Gus Gus. I'm trying to do a drawing of him to send to you! I haven't drawn many reptiles, other than Clever Girl from Jurassic Park when I was a kid. But I think he's so beautiful and when I'm done will send a copy!
I cannot keep this to myself anymore: i would choose you for the role of Mr. Rogers if Stephen King remakes Mr. Rogers Neighberhood. Oh, & love your videos! Keep'em coming!
I love your channel
:D
Hey Clint, would you ever make a video showing the enclosure of your tegu? I see some online but curious what your setup looks like
I’d say your best bet is osb 2x4s and hardware cloth and make sure it’s big enough
Hi Mr. Clint & Friends,
I really love your videos, I love to learn more about reptiles and learn about different species, yours and your team enthusiasm and happiness are contagious. Your videos helped me a lot while I was preparing for my beardie and corn snake (my first reptiles and I love them).
As for future videos, it is possible for you and your team to make a video about Chinese Water Dragons?! I'm very interested on getting one, but I'm still wondering if I should or if I'm prepared to get one. Off course, extra knowledge never hurts.
Thanks for everything,
Carla
Hey Clint I just adopted a savannah monitor that my neighbor gave me. He is about half grown and occasionally he is a but head, so I was hoping you could make a video about how to tame savannah monitors
Andrew Blevins with food, the way to a lizards heart is through rewarding them with their favorite thing, food. The more they associate you with the thing they love the calmer they’ll become
Water taming it's so easy
.
I do NOT recommend water taming, do it the proper way, with lots of positive attentions in short bursts, never stress him out. Start with baby ant steps, one wrong move, and it's back to square one. Keep your interactions with him short and leave them on a positive note!
I have a monitor that is very tame he goes all over with me. I make him come out of his tank and put him in a huge tub to feed him. He knows he has to come out to eat. I don't know what water training is but he loves water. I have a huge pump spray bottle to keep his tank moist when he hears me pump it he comes running to get a shower. He also loves being put in the shower for some play time. We got him as a baby and wore gardening gloves the first few weeks but not an issue since then. He is leash trained. After he eats we go out for a walk and he poops in the yard never in his tank. He is a great pet but as much work as a dog.
Sigle calmest Savannah i have ever seen.
If ever I'd get a tegu I'll most likely have him free roam around the house and garden. He'll have his own personal enclosure if I'm not home but most of the time he'll be chilling in the house. I'll have his enclosure open for him if ever he wants to basks. I'll most likely potty train him too so I'll basically just have a weird dog in the house.
After watching many videos and doing some education I got a tegu. I started right off training it...: this thing is ridiculous smart. I hand built a pvc and somehow...he managed to get through this little crack. I noticed he was interested in the crack but it was smaller than his head so I thought it would be fine. Obviously not... (if your reptile somehow gets out always check the closet) thank lord I found him!
Hi Clint! Can you do a head to head on bearded dragons and ackie monitors!? Thanks :)
Agreed
I have a Savannah monitor and he is very cool. And there very easy to tame.
Very cool. thx Brosef.
clintrock very rad*
I don’t have to room, time, or money for any of these 👌
Nice video. But would have been nice to have some numbers
Monitor: $100 a month for food
Tegu: $50 a month
Cage sizes
Something like that.
Awesome video I have a savannah monitor you pretty much nailed it with everything you said about the monitors is always spot-on I enjoy watching your videos keep them coming and that is an awesome savannah monitor must be albino it's cool that you can find morph Gene monitors but they are crazy expensive I wish I could afford them!
I don't know how I missed this one, but it just came up as a suggested video.