my monitors

[Boostedneon04]

Originally Posted by allergenic

The average life span of the exanthematicus in captivity would disagree with plenty of "long time keepers".
theres a long time keeper i forget his name off the top of my head that only feeds his monitors frozen thawed mice and nothing else..this of course is in moderation since the mice are high in fat and has great success and never had an issue with mbd or impaction or anything soo like i said below its all about what has worked for keepers theres no real proof to what they eat since theres inadequate studies

Because he's in an aquarium.



It's a band-aided situation that doesn't allow for a proper humidity gradient.
see below

If you have been keeping monitors as long as you have, why are you so surprised that you are being questioned after posting photos of an albig eating raw turkey, living in an aquarium?

because ive never had a problem with the humitdy in the tank set up ever.that is why i use them till they out grow them then are placed into a large home built enclosure..

I just don't understand why it's so difficult for everyone to feed their monitors whole prey items. Is it an expense thing?

the reason why there are soo many different recommendations to feeding them various items is one most people cant afford that, two not every1 has a pet store near to get those needed insects so they feed them a mice\rat ground turkey diet that has a vitamin supplement mixed in to make up for the lack of all insects and birds etc..also there arnt enough studies out there to even say 100 percent what a wild black throat or savannah eats..soo technically till theres more proof every1 is just going by what has worked for them.

[allergenic]

Originally Posted by Boostedneon04

theres a long time keeper i forget his name off the top of my head that only feeds his monitors frozen thawed mice and nothing else..this of course is in moderation since the mice are high in fat and has great success and never had an issue with mbd or impaction or anything soo like i said below its all about what has worked for keepers theres no real proof to what they eat since theres inadequate studies

Mampam Conservation - Varanus exanthematicus:
"A recent article about the diet of this species (Good 1998) was very misleading on the subject of the diet of this species and on other aspects of their ecology. Most of the referenced information in the article is confused or in error. I have examined the stomach contents and fecal samples from over 200 of these animals in the wild. Only one specimen was recorded as having eaten a vertebrate, the rest had fed only on invertebrates."

Originally Posted by Boostedneon04

the reason why there are soo many different recommendations to feeding them various items is one most people cant afford that

People should not be buying enormous monitors that they cannot afford to feed. This is one of the many reasons why locales are considering putting restrictions on the keeping large reptiles.

Originally Posted by Boostedneon04

two not every1 has a pet store near to get those needed insects so they feed them a mice\rat ground turkey diet that has a vitamin supplement mixed in to make up for the lack of all insects and birds etc..

Pet stores are a horrible places to buy insects. Large roaches, for example, are incredibly easy to breed, and available to anyone with an internet connection. There are plenty of companies on the internet selling feeder avians, raising something like button quail is also very easy. Again, if feeding proper food items is going to be a problem or a challenge, then perhaps keeping a potentially six foot monitor like an albig might not be the best decision one can make.

Originally Posted by Boostedneon04

also there arnt enough studies out there to even say 100 percent what a wild black throat or savannah eats..soo technically till theres more proof every1 is just going by what has worked for them.

There are plenty of studies of the wild diets of those monitors. You simply need to be a better Googler. Regardless of whether they are 100 percent accurate or not, something tells me no monitor in the wild shops for ground turkey at Albertson's.

And is what "everyone" doing really working? Again, the average lifespan and overall health conditions of exanthematicus in captivity say quite the opposite.

[Boostedneon04]

oo and btw..those pictures are quite old..i ran out of cypress mulch that day and went and picked up another bag the next day..the tank is half filled with the substrate so hes got plenty to burrow and dig in..also since that isnt his cage its just a temp set up while his other is being done what type of basking area do you recommend??since u dont think the large peice of wood under the two lights is good enough??that savannah cage is also different than pictured..theres more substrate and a larger basking area now..ill take sum pictures tomm for you..

[Smilts]

Tanks probably are not the best, my tegu is in one while I work on her enclosure but prob not the best. I agree with you on the subject of substrate depth, I also dont care for that type of substrate at all.


As far as feeding you have inspired me to do more of my own research. How do you truly feel about the SDZ diet? It seems easy enough to follow, but is it just sort of a band aid diet? Finally you mentioned a few possibilitys for food items but what do you feel a well rounded diet for 1 week would be. I guess Im asking what one week of your monitors diet would look like or 2 weeks if that would be more thorough?

I do listen by the way. And research what Im reading.

[Boostedneon04]

dehydrated??how are they dehydrated??please explain this to me??and the tank is only till his cage is done soo relax already with the tank b.s..the savannah was over weight from the day i got him..hes sliming down and getting back to a good weight..the bone meal is to supply calcium? so whats any different than using a calcuim powder and a vitamin supplement instead of using the central vitiamin and bonemeal???or should the centrim vitamin and bonemeal be used instead??

[Smilts]

The Monitors look to be in great shape.

[Boostedneon04]

ill try and keep this short but i cant lol..most people that own them are uneducated about the animals. so right there thats the first problem. second problem is people most of the time buy monitors to feed them live prey as an entertainment thing..which is bullshit..combine them both together and u get people that now have a 4 foot monitor and cant house it or take the proper care for it. where i live i know all about how hard the restrictions are to keep them..due to people that shouldnt be owning them they screw people who take pride in there reptiles and cause bans on them..the ground turkey is not there main diet..they get that one or twice a week so enough of the ground turkey bizz..i could sit and search on google all day and find half of the people say its good half say its not.then youll have the half that said feed only insects with 1 or 2 mice a week and then u have people who only feed there monitors a mice based diet..i understand everything your saying 100 percent but im not going to change whats been working for me since ive owned monitors simply because online it says i should do this..ive dont my own testing with feeding them and the diet there on is perfect..at the end of both monitors life spans ill come back to this thread to let u know how there diet worked out..but i bet youll be waiting 20 or so years for that answer lol..i take pride in my monitors and if i feel the slightest thing is effecting them or notice sumthing ill change\do what ever i have to to correct the problem..im just wondering do you own any monitors allergenic???if u do please post pics of them..have a good day
uneducated people are the main problems for monitors or any animal for that matter..so weather its feeding,housing,heating and uneducated person will likey ruin it for the people who are die hard reptile or other animal owners

[allergenic]

Originally Posted by Boostedneon04

ill try and keep this short but i cant lol......im just wondering do you own any monitors allergenic???if u do please post pics of them..have a good day

Threads like these are filled with talking to brick walls. It doesn't matter what I say, it's not going to change anything. I'll post a few old pics I happen to have here at work, and leave you to your turkey and aquariums.

Here's a pic of the beginnings of the raise up cage I built for my v.panoptes.



Here is one of the pair, playing games.



Here is me and one of the Savannahs, with me at age 17 (I'm quite a bit older now, don't ask by how much).



A bunch of hatchlings from an unfortunate rescue situation

[allergenic]

Looks like I am limited to 4 images at a time.

Since we were talking about feeders, here is the beginnings of an old roach colony



Take care and good luck

[Boostedneon04]

Originally Posted by allergenic

Looks like I am limited to 4 images at a time.

Since we were talking about feeders, here is the beginnings of an old roach colony



Take care and good luck

nicee how many do u keep normally??and ur not talking to a brick wall you have ur way and i have mine your way works for you and my way works for me lol

[allergenic]

Originally Posted by Boostedneon04

nicee how many do u keep normally??and ur not talking to a brick wall you have ur way and i have mine your way works for you and my way works for me lol

It's not required that you believe me. Post your reliance on processed meats on other forums and see the responses you get.

Threads like these, for example:
Monitors - Feeding raw meats..

[Boostedneon04]

Originally Posted by allergenic

Threads like these are filled with talking to brick walls. It doesn't matter what I say, it's not going to change anything. I'll post a few old pics I happen to have here at work, and leave you to your turkey and aquariums.

Here's a pic of the beginnings of the raise up cage I built for my v.panoptes.



Here is one of the pair, playing games.



Here is me and one of the Savannahs, with me at age 17 (I'm quite a bit older now, don't ask by how much).



A bunch of hatchlings from an unfortunate rescue situation

whats wrong with a glass tank when the top is plexi glass??screen i can see problems with but i have plexi on top soo no humidity escapes.

[Boostedneon04]

[Boostedneon04]

[Aaron_S]

I read that. It's interesting but he's got key words in there. "Judiciously" feed LEAN mice. Not rats, but mice. He also stated that a varied diet is also a very good way to go.

This interview is also done in 2000, which leaves us 8 years of captive research that isn't in there. It's also done by Melissa Kaplan who is very against the reptile industry.