Diet Variety

[Lankyrob]

Arthur our Spiny Tailed Monitor currently has dusted crickets or locusts each day.

We have also tried him with a lizard "flower mix" - packet of dried flowers - and a bird seed mix - neither of which he is interested in at all.

In the interest of giving him a rich varied diet i was wondering if anyone has any suggestions that their Spiny tailed may like either as a treat or as a regular part of their diet.

He does love the odd pinky now and again - his strike is the fastest/hardest i have experienced so far when it comes to pinkys!!

[C.Phillips]

dont know about lizards to much but iv heard of fruits like apples cut up into peices maybe not sure

[infernalis]

Monitors are carnivores and want meat / insects.

Rob, try some lean raw meat, sliced chicken, turkey or beef once in a while will not hurt anything.

Also some recent research has shown that the "fatty buildup" in the centre of the monitor is actually natures way of storing up for the famine season, and mice fed in moderation is not as unhealthy as once believed.

Exercise is essential, so keep the monitor active as much as you can,.

[C.Phillips]

Ahh Like I said i dont know much about lizards.

[Lankyrob]

Monitors are carnivores and want meat / insects.

Rob, try some lean raw meat, sliced chicken, turkey or beef once in a while will not hurt anything.

Also some recent research has shown that the "fatty buildup" in the centre of the monitor is actually natures way of storing up for the famine season, and mice fed in moderation is not as unhealthy as once believed.

Exercise is essential, so keep the monitor active as much as you can,.

At the moment he gets pinkies when one of the corns refuses to feed (when sheeding for example) would you say we should let him have one a week same as teh corns??

Are there any greens taht he would eat "naturally" or just stick with the meat?

[blkjkoknhrt]

Check this out

Spiny-tailed monitor - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiny-tailed_monitor)

BLKJK

[infernalis]

No greens.

One thing to remember Rob, nature designed these animals to function in a certain way.

Deviating from the plan that nature laid out spells bad husbandry.

A good herp keeper will do his or her best to provide conditions as close to nature as we can for our animals.

Iguanas and Beardies may like greens, their physiology is "engineered" to include greens.

Monitor lizards on the other hand are ambush predators, they hunt food that moves, overpower it and consume it.

There is no nutritional requirements that cannot be met with meat and insects for a monitor lizard. ;)

[Lankyrob]

Your totally right mate - we are trying to figure out how to space out his food over the day. We have got a cricket feeder so that he doesnt just eat them all in 2 seconds - as the crickets escape from the feeder he picks them off - much more like natural behaviour. We just wondered if there was something else we could feed him in the afternoons once the crickets had been devoured and he sits there looking at us saying "FEED ME". :)

[infernalis]

Get a roach colony, Dubia roaches are easy to breed, they don't smell or chirp, and once you have a colony breeding, all the free food you will ever want.

[Lankyrob]

Lol - i can see how that conversation will go with the wife!! I have to feed the crickets cos she wont touch them! Even tho its her bloody lizard!!

Oh well - crickets and the odd meat treat it will be then - the cats like it when i feed the crickets cos one always escapes and they then chase it round the house before eating it!