monitor has gas?

[jarich]

Originally Posted by crocdoc

Crayfish have an indigestible exoskeleton, so it may take a while for the monitor's digestive juices to cut through to the digestible bits inside.

Sorry Dave, I have to disagree with you on just that one point. They digest the exoskeleton quite readily.

Also, concinnus, simple surface to volume is not the only thing that matters with varanids. There are very many factors that play into the rate at which varanids cool, even within the same species. For instance, microhabitat is one of those things, as is hunting strategy. They have active control over their cooling, its not just passive decay.

[crocdoc]

Originally Posted by jarich

Sorry Dave, I have to disagree with you on just that one point. They digest the exoskeleton quite readily.

I think we're both half right on that one. The exoskeleton is a mixture of calcium (which they can digest) and chitin (which they cannot).

[crocdoc]

That's fair enough. It's been a long while since I've given my lace monitors crayfish (called yabbies here), but now that I think of it I don't recall there being exoskeletons in their faeces.