Rudi dietary improvement help

[Akuma223]

Hey everyone, I want to lessen the amount of rodents fed to my roughneck monitor and want to know what size roach colony would be great to start with, and what kind of roach is large and easy to breed. Mice are the biggest part of his diet, with quail and crickets being the rest. I hear locusts are a good insect to feed, where would I get these? Can you breed a colony?

Also, as far as crustaceans go where can I find whole small crabs? I have tried feeding both live and frozen crayfish and he turns his nose up at them. He does the same thing with earthworms and it's very irritating as both would be healthier for him than mice.

Does anyone know where I can get fertile eggs that are smaller than chicken eggs to feed him occasionally? I would breed small quail myself if possible for both eggs and feeders.

Starting tomarrow morning I will be without Internet for over a week, so if people could post as much as possible and discuss while I am gone that would be great. Now that my boy is almost an adult I need to fix his diet so he can live long and happy, he is over 30inches now. Please give me any suggestions you have, and if possible direct any Rudi experts to this forum. Help is always, always appreciated!

[Starbuck]

i feel like quail are pretty easy breeders/keepers, and dont take too long to reach sexual maturity (6 weeks-ish? maybe a bit more?), of course if you start with adults you'll be off the ground a lot sooner.

Not sure r.e. the roaches

[Akuma223]

Yeah I plan to ask dad if I can get a few breeding adults and stuff.

[formica]

dubia are very easy to breed, not the fastest breeders, but they cant climb glass or smooth plastic, and breed only at higher temps so are less likley to infest your house if any should escape (unless you live somewhere that is hot all the time) - plenty of care sheets about on the web

[Akuma223]

Yeah dubias seem like a good species to breed, any idea as to how many I should start with? I would like to feed them sooner rather than later.

[murrindindi]

Hi, this is just a question not a criticism; why do you feel earthworms and crayfish would be healthier for the monitor?

[Akuma223]

I assume there is Less fat, and crayfish are crustaceans, apparently a few wild rudicolus have been known to eat crabs. I have him run after his mice so he gets a little exercise but want to include food more natural for him, so mice aren't the majority and more an occasional treat. Dubias, and locusts would be something good for me to shoot for as most of the diet right? It would be cool if I could find parasite free frogs for feeders as they have also been found to eat them a lot in the wild.

[Akuma223]

Also can people direct me to places I can get dubias for great prices?

[murrindindi]

I assume there is Less fat, and crayfish are crustaceans, apparently a few wild rudicolus have been known to eat crabs. I have him run after his mice so he gets a little exercise but want to include food more natural for him, so mice aren't the majority and more an occasional treat. Dubias, and locusts would be something good for me to shoot for as most of the diet right? It would be cool if I could find parasite free frogs for feeders as they have also been found to eat them a lot in the wild.


Thanks for the reply, I do believe they take some mammals in the wild, so perhaps rodents ARE natural prey after all, not to mention they are very nutritious.....
I`m not sure locusts are legal in your part of the world, but they too are a good addition to the diet if you can use them. Have you tried small fish?

[Akuma223]

I haven't tried small fish yet but I will try to catch some while I am on vacation.

I am sure they do take small mammals in the wild but those animals are also likely to be far more lean and the monitor constantly on the move. I am certainly not going to remove rodents from the diet, but I want to lessen how many I feed.

[smy_749]

Would be hard to find crabs small enough for your rudi on the seafood market, as there wouldn't really be any meat on them for humans to eat...

Dubia are so easy, you don't really have to do much of anything. But a full grown Rudi may devour your entire colony in a short period of time unless huge, which will come with a huge price tag. Have you tried feeding chicks?

[murrindindi]

I haven't tried small fish yet but I will try to catch some while I am on vacation.

I am sure they do take small mammals in the wild but those animals are also likely to be far more lean and the monitor constantly on the move. I am certainly not going to remove rodents from the diet, but I want to lessen how many I feed.

As always it`s the keeper`s decision as far as diet is concerned, but all the garbage that`s been banded around for years about rodents causing obesity needs to stop. The main reason so many captive Varanids become obese on such a regular basis is because they are undermetabolised, NOT because they`ve had a diet with a % of rodents in it.
Do you know if you have a male or female?

[Akuma223]

I haven't a clue as to the gender, and I know mice aren't the problem it's the conditions. I simply want to change his diet a bit :)

I do feed quail chicks at least once a week, I would like to breed them so I can get the eggs too. Is it possible to buy fiddler crabs in large quantities?

Does anyone know if it's possible for me to get Oliver to enjoy his crayfish? I have a small bag full of different sizes and don't want to just give it away.

[B_Aller]

Would be hard to find crabs small enough for your rudi on the seafood market, as there wouldn't really be any meat on them for humans to eat...


Check out your local Asian markets, they sell small crab, perfect for feeding to reps, just looked in my deep freeze, don't have any now to photograph but will pick some up when I get to the markets later this week and throw up a photo.
Many of the Asian cultures use whole small crab in soups. Look for the ones that don't say "cleaned" that means they've removed a part of the body, look for "whole".

[B_Aller]

Does anyone know if it's possible for me to get Oliver to enjoy his crayfish? I have a small bag full of different sizes and don't want to just give it away.
I've kept rudi's off and on for years (never was successful with them unfortunately) and had some that would go crazy for shrimp and crayfish and some that would refuse any shellfish, it seems to be a personal preference with them. Cockroaches though...they LOVE! The first thing Mark Bayless ever said to me was " a rudi will be your best friend for a cockroach"
If i remember correctly I had a few that loved snails as well and they would all refuse crickets as adults but always took mealworms, at least for me.
One thing I've learned over the years is that monitors of all species (That I've kept) change food preferences over their lifetimes, so keep trying different things, sometimes they'll surprise you.
Good luck!

[Akuma223]

Thanks B-aller, I will remember to check Asian markets when I get home (if we have any) I am off now, I won't be back with Internet until around the 25th.

[nepoez]

What kinds of fish can we buy that's safe for a sav to eat? Can we buy frozen fishes from asian markets?