Savannah Monitor

Savannah monitors are large, food-driven African monitors, and overfeeding — not underfeeding — is their defining captive health problem: obesity and fatty liver disease (hepatic lipidosis) are documented medical concerns, historically caused by unlimited access to fatty prey like mealworms, superworms, and rodents. Dubia roaches make a sound leaner staple; mealworms and superworms should stay a minority of the diet.

What to Feed

Gut-loaded dubia roaches form the appropriate staple — at least 75% of the diet should be a variety of insects. Dubia's roughly 1:1 calcium-to-phosphorus ratio is notably better than mealworm/superworm (closer to 1:5–1:7), meaning a mealworm/superworm-heavy diet is both fattier and needs more corrective dusting. Pinky or fuzzy mice should be a rare treat, no more than about once or twice a month — rodent overfeeding is specifically named as an obesity driver.

Feeding Schedule

• Juveniles: daily to 5–7 times a week — Medium dubia roach nymphs (about 50/week)
• Adults: 1–3 times a week, adjusted down as body condition allows — Large dubia roach nymphs (about 25–50/week); sources range from a stricter vet-clinic 1–2x/week to enthusiast-site daily-to-2–3x/week; lean toward the less frequent end given the well-documented obesity risk

Note: no vet-sourced juvenile/hatchling-specific frequency more precise than "daily to 5–7x/week" was found — that range is used deliberately rather than inventing a sharper number.

Gut-Loading & Dusting

Gut-load feeder insects before offering. Dust with calcium carbonate/gluconate about once a week for non-breeding adults; target a calcium-to-phosphorus ratio of 2:1 or higher. Savannah monitors are heliothermic baskers typically kept under strong UVB — with adequate UVB, avoid vitamin D3–containing supplements, since the species synthesizes its own D3 and risks toxicity from added D3 on top of real UVB exposure. A D3-inclusive supplement is appropriate only if UVB is inadequate or absent.

Common Mistakes

• Overfeeding fatty insects (superworms, waxworms) or rodents — the most consistently documented cause of the obesity and fatty liver disease that shortens this species' captive lifespan
• Using a D3-inclusive supplement on an animal already getting strong UVB — a real toxicity risk, not a minor inefficiency
• Feeding adults on a juvenile-level schedule long after growth slows
• Treating appetite as a portion guide — this species readily overeats