sav on temporary 100% rodent

[jhinton6932]

just wondering on any sav owners take on the rodent diet. i do breed discoids however my new sav is just slamming them too hard for me too keep up (only like 1000 left) so i was guna switch him to 100% rodents along with any wild caught bugs i find on the job. i do have 3 other varanids i need to feed so im working on getting 1000 more discoids to start another 2 colonies or so but its hard to find them in bulk and someone willing to ship to me in fl even tho they are legal. infernalis your input would be great :)
note: i do make my monitors work to get their rodents its not just sitting there for them

[BarelyBreathing]

This subject has been beaten to death and causes some major arguments.

I don't believe in giving ANY rodents to savannah monitors.

[infernalis]

Monitors & Mice, The Myth Dispelled (http://www.savannahmonitor.co/mice/)

These guys eat rodents.

http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/varanid/91028-littlefoot-cera-new-video-pictures.html

If your caging is correct, they can eat almost anything. (as long as it's whole prey)

[Gregg M]

I have seen many savs live long healthy lives on rodents only.I personaly owned savs that lived very long lives on mostly rodent diets. Your sav will do just fine on just rodents for a while. Our savs are on a high rodent diet and they are doing great.

Dont worry, mice are NOT like McDonalds hamburgers and your sav will NOT die of fatty liver disease.

[jhinton6932]

its a 5x5x4 140 basking the rest of the temps allow for cool side warm side and warmer side on 18 ines of soil/sand hes only about 2.5 feet now. im not looking for a debate either just wanted someone with healthy savs to ok the rodent thing. how do people with 4+ monitors keep that many roaches lol i had about 1500 a week ago and since adding a new sav and another quince im so down on supply.im trying to get up too 5000 but i need like 5 more rubbermaid tubs and a supplier -_-..and more egg crates!

[jhinton6932]

and im going thru my own internal debate with my quinces too! the problem is hardly anything is known about them in the wild. im guessing being semi-arboreal theyd eat insects? but they prefer the fuzzies in captivity it seems...its all so confusing but that article you (infernalis) posted was very insightful...high temps, proper humidity and let them choose right?

[infernalis]

The choice is up to you not them. One of the biggest problems with monitors, if it is alive or ever was, they will eat it.

This causes people to do all sorts of stupid things like buying buckets of gizzards and canned dog food, hot dogs, you name it. There is even a guy in the UK who cooks sausages for his.

As long as you stick with whole prey, its hard to go wrong with a good setup.

I feed a lot of night crawlers too, they are cheap and sometimes free after it rains.

baby chicks are cheap, and filling too.

[jhinton6932]

canned dog food doesnt even get fed to my dog

[Aanayab1]

canned dog food doesnt even get fed to my dog

I'll second that! It is terrible for dogs so I can not imagine what would happen to a monitor???

[alessia55]

ANYWAY,
back to the original topic..........

[infernalis]

Any further discussion that does not pertain 100% to this Exanthematicus will not be allowed.

The 3 pages that had nothing to do with this thread have been moved to "Let's talk, I'm bored"

Thank you.

[AjaMichelle]

You can also use fertilized eggs. :)

[DiscoPat]

My Savannah, Steve, has been living on mostly rodents the last week or two, he is just as active and lean as he was when he was on mostly crickets. I also make him run around for and jump to get them.

Recently he would have 2 roaches 3-4 mice and 30 crickets every 3 or 4 days, it makes the rodents the main part of what he is eating.

I don't know how only rodents would work, I think you should do night crawlers as well because they are cheap and easy to find after rain, mainly just to add variety to it's diet.

[jhinton6932]

so far so good i did order a 100 4in hornworms for him and went and bought some nightcrawlers. ive been dangling the thawedmice from the ceiling of his enclosure with string and he somehow manages to tear the mice down. i havent seen him do it yet but id imagine its somewhat fun for him. i just use a sewing needle thread the string through the belly twice and let them hang incase anyone wanted to give it a go.

[Pirarucu]

so far so good i did order a 100 4in hornworms for him and went and bought some nightcrawlers. ive been dangling the thawedmice from the ceiling of his enclosure with string and he somehow manages to tear the mice down. i havent seen him do it yet but id imagine its somewhat fun for him. i just use a sewing needle thread the string through the belly twice and let them hang incase anyone wanted to give it a go.I saw some videos on Youtube where someone did this with a nile, and left a camera to record it. The nile would take big running leaps to grab them, it looked to be getting quite a bit of exercise and mental stimulation.

[infernalis]

Use a sturdy cord and a clip (like a clothes pin or bag clip) - it's reusable.

[Pirarucu]

Use a sturdy cord and a clip (like a clothes pin or bag clip) - it's reusable.That's what was used with the nile.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4XbDtm3tVc&feature=BFa&list=PL1A79D2DFC20ED682
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDMMhaleL7Q&feature=BFa&list=PL1A79D2DFC20ED682

[Kaetlinv]

That was entertaining to watch. :yes: