1: a water proof solid topped 8 x 4 x 4 enclosure for an adult and about half that for a juvie. if keeping a pair together the size of the enclosure and all fixtures like basking spots and water bowls must be doubled.
2: 2 feet of a nice moist dig able soil. you can buy top soil and play sand from home depot and mix it in about a 50/50 ratio. your going to have to get your hands dirty to find the right amount of water to add. you want it to make a dirt ball in your hand but still fall apart when you poke it with your finger. with out this any female you have will get egg bound and die.
3: a 130F+ MINIMUM basking spot (realize we are NOT talking about air temps. we are talking about the temp. of a SPOT in the cage. in this case a raised plywood board) this can be provided with a couple of 45 watt halogen FLOOD lights like in my pic to the left .suspended about 8" over an elevated wood stack.(that sav. is basking on a surface temp. of at least 160F!!!!)
4: air temps ranging from 85F or so on the warm end down to 70F on the cool. the best part is in a solid topped water proof cage with that nice dirt in it all the heating(basking and ambient air temps) can be achieved with just the basking flood lamps(ha ha! to the guy using that 150 watt what ever, with the screen lid and still cant get the right temps and humidity!). in a setup like this your basking lights can be run 24/7 for providing heat and basking opportunity's on the monitors schedule not yours.
5: food should consist of rodents and bugs. thats it
here is a pic of a raise up cage of mine http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u161/jayhardcore/Picture301.jpg
its 4’x2’x2’ and is constructed of melamine way over sealed with poly. and silicone. the top is plexi. the substrate is a foot of topsoil/playsand and all heat is provided by one 45watt halogen flood set 2 provide a basking temp. of 125F.
and this pic shows very clearly the benefits of using deep dirt as a substrate http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u161/jayhardcore/Picture370.jpg
now this adult savannah monitor setup http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u161/jayhardcore/DSC04484.jpg is made from 2x4’s and plywood sealed with linoleum sheeting and LOTS of silicon. its 7’x4’x4’ and the hinged top is plywood with plexi cut outs. heating is done with three 60 watt floods run through a rheostat for one basking spot set to 155F and a second basking spot of 130 provided by 2 60 watt incandescents. the substrate in the pics is a top soil/playsand mix. again all my heating and lighting are provided by low wattage halogen flood lamps run 24/7.
its very easy 2 get eggs from savs.(or any monitor for that matter) when their basic needs are met. the problem is most people dont know what a monoitors basic needs are and success fully incubating any eggs you do get is a b@#$h to say the least. like the poster above me i 2 have had a male kill a female but i have also gotten eggs (very few fertiles but LOTS of infertiles)non of which i could get 2 hatch.
p.s.geting your monitor sexed huh? how?
i just fixed the pics