Savanah Monitor feeding question
Fedz
hungery. What I really would like to know is if I can feed her canned dog
food (how much how offten) also I've heard hard boiled egg is good for them
too. I like to hear from anyone who has feeding advice cause running to the
pet store every two days for crickets and fuzzies is getting a little
bothersome. thanks.
Jennifer Sronce
http://www.sonic.net/~melissk/savannah.html
Jennifer
"Fedz" <Fe...@home.com> wrote in message
news:57yu5.21073$E_6.7...@news3.rdc1.on.home.com...
BobH (Who?)
From M.Kaplin's site:
A healthy savannah will feed just about any time you offer food; one that
does not willingly eat (and who is not in a seasonal hibernation or breeding
season), then your monitor is very likely ill. Healthy, well-fleshed
monitors can easily get through the hibernation and breeding season without
any serious loss; sick monitors should not be allowed to go that long
without food.
Hatchlings can be started on crickets, earthworms, Zoophorba ("king" worms)
and pink mice. Feed insects that are no bigger than 2/3 the length of the
lizard's head, and start on pinkies when the monitor is a couple of months
old and have grown large enough for them. As the hatchling grows bigger,
switch to fuzzy mice. Savannahs are secretive, especially small ones who are
prey for other, larger, animals. The exercise they get chasing the crickets
is good for them, so do feed them crickets during this period as long as
they will take them. A small amount of high quality, low fat, canned dog
food (especially poultry flavors) can be offered to hatchlings and
juveniles, but to adults only on an occasional basis, and to those who have
been ill. Too much of even safe dog food may be harmful. Cat food should be
avoided as it is very high in fat. Rodents should ultimately be the staple
food source in your monitor's regular diet.
Normally, savannahs will not eat prey that is too big for them; if they do,
it is usually regurgitated soon after. While this is not always harmful for
the monitor (there is a risk of irritation due to stomach acid and being
scratched by the rodent's backward-facing teeth and claws), it is an
incredibly aromatic experience for the keeper. Full grown monitors will eat
full grown mice, small rats and small hamsters. (Guinea pigs should be
avoided due their very thick-and difficult to digest-skin and fur.)
Savannahs will easily eat prekilled prey. If you are using frozen prey, be
sure to defrost it thoroughly and warm it slightly before offering it to the
monitor.
For safety's sake, offer monitors their prey by dangling it from forceps or
kitchen tongs. Note that wild caught specimens may take some time to convert
to a strictly rodent diet; in the wild they have been found to consume a
large variety of invertebrates, cobras, snails, frogs, caterpillars, lizard
eggs...even baby tortoises.
The greatest period of growth is within the first two-three hears, and this
is the period when the greatest amount of food will be required. Feed
hatchlings (up to one foot in length) one to four small mice or fuzzies
(depending upon the monitor's size) every two-three days. You can also offer
them 1.5 to 4 tablespoons of dog food once a week instead of one feeding of
mice (dog food can be very rich, so don't overdo it). Crickets can be
offered as long as they will go for them. Offer some variety with the worms.
Juvenile/Subadults (up to three feet in length) should be fed one to four
mice twice a week. Monitors who have been ill and need to put on weight may
be force fed a slurry of slightly diluted Hill's a/d or pureed dog food.
Prekilled whole prey may be injected with Nutrical, Endura-Jel or other high
calorie vitamin/mineral paste or gel formulated for dogs and cats (gently
heat the gel to make it less stiff, then use a needle-less syringe can be
used to suck it up and shoot it down the throat of killed prey.). Adults
(three or more feet in length) can be fed twice a week, adjusted as
necessary based on weight gain and amount of exercise; obese savannahs are
all too common in captivity. You will have to use your judgment, observing
how the monitor looks, taking into consideration the temperature and amount
of activity. Start with a couple of mice or weanling rats a week.
Due to a recent article that appeared in a herp hobbyist magazine, there has
been much discussion on captive diets for savannahs, with many people
unnecessarily - and possibly unadvisedly - switching their adult savannahs
from rodents to insects. Michael Balsai and I recently discussed this
matter; if you are interested, I have made them available in an article
titled Michael Balsai on the Savannah Monitor Diet.
****************************************************************************
*****************
Michael Balsai on the
Savannah Monitor Diet
In the aftermath of an article published in a herp hobbyist magazine about
savannah diets, there has been much discussion and radical changing of
captive savannah diets, from primarily rodent based diets to primarily, or
exclusively, insect based. Several individuals have written me telling me I
should change my savannah care article to reflect this "new" information. I
have some serious questions about this "new" information and as a result
will not be changing my care article at this time. If you are thinking
about, or have already changed, your savannah's diet as a result of the
article and panicked posts on email lists and newsgroups, you may wish to
read the following and perhaps rethink your decision.
The article in question claims that feeding captive monitors rodents causes
intestinal impactions by fur, kidney damage, liver disease due to fatty
rodents, and obesity. While I have not kept as many monitors as I have
iguanas, I have had several savannah monitors through the years and have
corresponded and talked with other savannah keepers. Those of us who feed
strictly or primarily rodent diets to our savannahs (as soon as they are old
enough to start on pinky mice, and working up from there as the monitors
grow) have not had any problem with impactions, kidney or liver problems
related to diet, nor obesity.
I did take in an obese savannah once. His prior owner got rid of him because
"he cost too much to feed." No wonder! The savannah was being fed a couple
of adult mice every other day! It was obese. It was sluggish. It was not
happy when I put it on a diet by drastically reducing food intake and making
him move around. Within six months, he was back to looking like a healthy
savannah should look, was alert and active and remained so on a strictly
rodent diet.
If you own any type of monitor and have done any reading on them, then you
probably already know of Michael Balsai. A long-time monitor keeper himself,
Mike has published many articles on monitor care, currently writes a column
for The Vivarium, and has authored books on monitors. Mike and I touched
base on this diet uproar and found that we were pretty much in agreement.
The following comes from an recent exchange of correspondence in which Mike
and I discussed savannah diet, both captive and in the wild, and issues
relating to research and interpretation of research findings.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
Kaplan: In light of the discussions as a result of the Reptiles article that
stated savannahs should be taken off rodent diets and fed mostly insects, it
has been suggested by several people that I change my care article to say
that adults should be fed insects rather than rodents and that I should
stress that only smaller insects be fed as large ones may pose a danger to
the monitor.
Balsai: I'd be more concerned that many readers will see insect prey and use
only crickets and/or mealworms. And for adult savannahs, I doubt any insect
that is readily available will be too large...rather I'd fear the opposite.
I have seen many adult savannahs totally ignore most readily available
insect prey that is normally offered to captives.
That has been my experience, too. Even moving insect prey (various worms,
crickets, snails, etc.) have been ignored, usually from the time they
started feeding on mice when very young. Speaking of worms, any thoughts on
crushing kingworm heads before feeding them to savannahs?
Probably a good idea for safety's sake, though the stomach of savannahs is
presumed to be very highly acidic and hazardous to most, if not all, animal
life forms.
In my experience, captive adult savannahs diets composed primarily of
domestically bred mice do not cause obesity and fur impactions.
This has never been a problem for me or many of my colleagues either. All of
us encourage varied diets, but I see no problem at present with rodent
biased diets when used responsibly.
One of the people who wrote me said that studies at the San Diego Zoo's CRES
demonstrated that obstipation and constipation occurred when the monitors
were fed mice, and that in the wild they tend to be scavengers and eat only
the meat and entrails and rarely consume skin and hair.
I disagree with this. They have not really demonstrated this at all. They
have failed completely to isolate problems stemming from obesity, from those
that arise from the diet itself. See my other comments for what we "really"
know about wild savannah monitor diets (as opposed to white-throats, and
even with this white-throated species, field studies are restricted to only
a few isolated populations rather than from studies more evenly distributed
in their range). For example, CRES has apparently only studied the
white-throat population in Etosha National Park, which I believe is in
Namibia. This is known to be a very arid region and it is known that
white-throats range through several other habitat types, in addition to this
region. What do white-throats feed on in areas that are not arid? I doubt
any long-term studies have been conducted on these populations to be able to
say anything meaningful about their diets in such areas. Naturally, such
studies will be expensive and time consuming, but they are needed, before we
can really have any true picture of wild monitor diets. In addition, we must
have a thorough knowledge of any human changes inflicted upon the habitat
that might actually indicate the lizards now have artificially induced food
preferences, as Gaulke suggested for water monitors in the Philippines.
From what I have read and seen of wild savannah and white-throated monitors,
there seems to be a tendency towards opportunistic feeding, that is, feeding
on whatever is around: reptiles, mammals, etc.
We actually know very little about what savannahs do in the wild, though
they probably are opportunistic feeders! Most information we have traces
back to a single study carried out on a single population in Senegal by
Mamadou Cisse in 1972. Even the much cited study by Losos and Greene from
1988 also relies on information tracing back to this study and stomach
content analysis done on museum specimens. In fact, the Losos and Green
study reflects taxonomic ambiguity from that time, because since then,
lizards called savannah monitors have now been recognized as at least two
species; Varanus exanthematicus and V. albigularis. Some of the lizards that
Losos and Greene called V. exanthematicus were V. albigularis. The animals
from their study that were unambiguous seem to be savannahs also taken from
Senegal and most likely the same population as Cisse's study.
Some of my recent columns in The Vivarium have taken pains to point out that
strident statements concerning savannah monitor diets made by certain other
authors at various times are not necessarily supported with adequate data
and are, at best, premature. My latest column, which I believe should appear
in The Vivarium Volume 9, No. 5, addresses the problem of inadequate field
data in more detail and points out some problems with David Good's recent
and in my opinion controversial article in Reptiles [volume 6(2):48-65]. In
addition, this author is a bit sloppy about some of his source material,
because after taking great pains to try and distinguish between V.
exanthematicus and V. albigularis, he cites field data for V. albigularis to
support claims about what V. exanthematicus supposedly eats in the wild.
I also point out the important point made by Gaulke (1991, Mettensiella 2:
143-153) that the apparent diets of wild water monitors in the Philippines
may actually be a result of habitat destruction rather than actual
preference. In a nutshell, much, much more field data is needed before any
kind of claims can be made about diets for wild savannah monitors (or most
other species for that matter) and anyone who claims otherwise, in my
opinion, neither understands how scanty such data presently is or possibly
even how the scientific method works.
Feed savannah monitors responsibly with rodents and you should not normally
encounter any difficulties. As I pointed out in one of my other columns (The
Vivarium 8(5):18-19), I believe most if not all of these supposed "problems"
with using rodents to feed savannah monitors, is that many keepers,
especially neophytes, that do not apparently understand that reptiles do not
require feeding at mammalian levels, are overfeeding their lizards and that
the problems that result are due to obesity rather than use of rodents. I
have not read a single thing, yet, to convince me that the problems are
somehow due to the use of rodents because they, as food, are somehow
physiologically harmful to these lizards. Rather, all these problems seem
the result of seriously overfeeding the animal and that the detrimental
symptoms are actually the result of obesity instead! Admittedly, rodents are
a "richer" diet I suppose, but I advise people to use only lean adult mice
to feed adult savannah monitors. I rarely use adult mice over about 1 to 1.5
years old. I also avoid feeding pregnant mice to these lizards.
I also believe that advising people towards insect and/or invertebrate diets
is to encourage, particularly among newbies, situations that could
eventually lead to metabolic bone disorders in these lizards. In fact, after
Good's article appeared, I saw numerous postings on the rec.pets.herp
newsgroup, encouraging people to feed crickets to their savannahs. I am also
aware of many individuals being advised toward such a diet by many pet store
owners. Varied diets which utilize the judicious use of mice are a much
better idea at the present time in my opinion. In fact, in that same issue
that included Good's article, another article appeared which noted that a
diet for V. albigularis, which included even as much as 50% rodents, should
be OK if done judiciously. I will add that in the past I have used diets for
savannah monitors that were very heavily biased towards the use of lean
adult mice, but when done properly to ensure against obesity, the lizards
were fine. No impactions from fur (I have never seen this and I have kept
many, many savannahs over the years), no obesity, no kidney or fatty liver
problems; none of these things. I also never had a savannah monitor suffer
from metabolic bone disorders either.
As with many animals, food availability varies seasonally, especially in
areas subject to regular flooding or droughts. It has been my impression,
knowing what I do about the areas in which savannahs live as well as
learning about them in captivity, that they are gorge feeders. That is,
gorge when food is available to build up energy stores to get them through
periods of decreased food availability.
Many species of monitors do this, and this is why I mentioned that examining
how diet varies seasonally for various monitor species could be important.
In addition, some species have periods of inactivity (essentially
hibernation of sorts), so they may gorge in anticipation of such activity
(or inactivity, if you will). Savannah monitors and white-throats (V.
albigularis) are two such species where at least some populations may show
such behavior.
Obesity in savannahs seems to be caused by the same behavior that causes
much of the obesity in other captive animals: overfeeding by the keeper.
This seems to be a particular problem when the animal in question acts like
it is still hungry even though it has taken in sufficient amounts for its
age, health and physical status. This appears to be what happens with
savannahs in captivity - their gorge behavior is interpreted as actual
hunger, and so the animal is fed based on this behavior, rather than overall
physical appearance.
I think it is important to make more keepers aware of this "phenomenon" in
many monitor species. Another species that shows this gorge behavior is V.
gouldii horni (the argus monitors appearing in many pet shops of late). I am
considering how to work a discussion of this gorge behavior into another
column, at present.
Savannahs, from what I have observed and read, seem supremely lazy when not
actively hunting or engaging in thermoregulatory behavior. They are
similarly lazy (inactive) in captivity (unless given opportunity for
exploration or movement, outside of an enclosure, for example). Combine
overfeeding with lack of exercise, and you get obesity.
It is true that they appear lazy as captives. I am uncertain at present how
much of this reflects an artificial "behavior" induced by the abnormality of
captivity. However, I have learned that many will move about more than one
would credit them as doing, if they feel they are "safe" from observation
and disturbance. Given adequate space, they could actually exercise more
than one might suppose, so long as they feel safe from observation and other
disturbances (loud noises, sudden motions towards them, etc.). I have also
found that with tame specimens, if you place them in a safe area where they
might walk about under subtle supervision. In fact, they will actually walk
around and "explore" quite a bit.
But, in general, you are correct, Melissa, when you note that overfeeding
with the inability to exercise properly or at all, will quickly lead to
obesity.
Because of the above, I have not raced to alter the information in my
Savannah article. I would be interested in some in-depth articles on the
studies, rather than those written for the herp magazines, especially their
methodology, the diet fed to the rodents, etc.
We probably have a long wait, Melissa. I am not one of those people who
rushes to alter what I do every time somebody publishes something "new" or
"radical" about something I happen to know something about. In fact, my
dissertation area is vertebrate paleontology (I am studying the phylogeny
and related subjects concerning varanid lizards, as a matter of fact) and I
am notoriously conservative in my views. Usually I have found that most of
these "radical" new ideas die off quickly and turn out to be wrong.
I have shown above where some of my objections stem from. I agree that more
scientific approaches are merited before any of us, who have been working
with a particular species for many years, rush to change methodologies that
work for us. What we mostly read in these magazines are little more than
opinions, not much else. Why should I change what has worked quite well for
me all these years just because somebody else says so? None have presented
me with serious and well thought out experiments to support their opinions
and methods as better than mine.
In fact, I recently cited a definite study to demonstrate that the use of
rodents does not necessarily lead to kidney disease in savannah monitors.
This was a study carried out some years ago to examine uric acid clearance
rates in savannah monitors (J. M. Maixner, E. C. Ramsey, and L. H. Arp 1987.
Journal of Zoo Animal Medicine 18: 62-65). No one has yet tried to show the
irrelevance of that study to my arguments. More real scientific studies are
merited to support the arguments of this "new" camp, but they never really
cite any true scientific studies...thus what they say is, in my opinion,
nothing more than their respective opinions.
I am well aware that, in the area of herp medicine and our understanding of
their environmental and nutritional requirements, there has been and will
continue to be changes as more research is done and they are studied more
under a variety of conditions. Because studies can conflict with one another
for a number of reasons, I feel it is sometimes better to sit back and wait
a bit before rushing in to change a regimen that has been working.
I, one hundred percent endorse this view, and it is how I view all these
articles that appear in these various herp magazines. They lack any real
scientific rigor.
****************************************************************************
*************
And this nice piece by
http://cold-blooded.net/monitor_nutrition.shtml
THE MONITOR DIET
Monitors are opportunistic feeders, eagerly accepting a wide diversity of
food items. Carrion, insects, mammals, birds, fish, eggs, fruits, snakes,
lizards, other Varanus, and more have been noted as withering in an
onslaught of digestive juices within some monitors warm abdomen. A V. e.
exanthematicus of mine once had a homicidal taste for tarantulas
(Aphonopelma chalcodes) and snakes; especially a taste for Diamondback
(Crotalus artox) and Southern Pacific rattlesnakes (Crotalus viridis
lutosus) seasoned with road-flavor and skid marks; dead or alive. The
Exanthematicus would go berserk as soon as she perceived the identity of her
meal as either a Aphonophelma or Crotalus ......never underestimate the
monitors taste for any type of animal as a potential meal.
Monitors nourish themselves by means of cranial kinetic maneuvers or
Mesokinesis (dislocation of jaw to swallow prey larger than head). The
muzzle scarcely dorsiflexes (2-40) as the monitor victimizes its prey.
During the strike both jaws adduct concurrently, grasping the prey and
propelling it into the throat, with the upper jaw ventroflexing past the
rest position. During subjugation and inertial consummation the skull
remains ventroflexed. Only after the prey advances into the esophagus does
the cranial foundations return to their rest position. Linear regression of
upper jaw movement demonstrates mesokinetic movement of the upper jaw
appearing to be immensely autonomous of lower jaw movement.
Juvenile monitors will tear into anything moving, crawling, or anything that
looks to the tiny lizard as prey (fingers). So be sure that the prey's width
is not larger then the juveniles head, to deter chocking or severe
dislocation of the jaw, as many monitors tend to swallow whole their prey.
Customarily insects, small lizards, and small warm blooded prey (pre-killed)
are the preferred menu for neonatal monitors. Feeding juvenile monitors
should be done every day or once every other day. I prefer to feed my
varanus insects, shrimp, or clams every day with pinkies or fuzzes as a type
of delicacy that is given once or twice a month. I choose to seldom feed my
children with canned cat food (never dog food), unless I deploy a cooked egg
with a banana mashed into it for added carbohydrates. I do, however, enjoy
the new canned monitor foods and low sodium canned tuna, turkey, and chicken
as a good alternative to canned cat food.
ALTERNATIVE TO THE STANDARD DIET FOR YOUR MONITOR LIZARD
Adult monitors will ingest anything that they can over power. Warm-blooded
poultry and rodents are a delight, yet I feel these phenomenal leguaans and
goannas merit more then the monkeys ancestor, the rodent, as a initial
foundation to the monitors veracious diet. Crayfish, snails, clams, and
large anthropoids make a delicious substitute to the hair-ball rat or mouse;
even a regular staple for Niloticus ssp. and others. Crayfish and snails can
be cultivated very effortlessly or can be found in local supermarket store
or backyard. Snails or crayfish that are wild caught from streams or found
foraging in the backyard must be rid of pesticides by either breeding out
the pesticides (best option) or waiting for a few fecal passes before
feeding to your monitor(an alternative) and therefore circumventing these
pesticides from suppressing your monitors immune system.
Clams and shrimp also make an excellent alternative prey item offered to
varanus. Clams are more of a treat, about 2 - 3 times a month, rather then a
regular meal given 3 - 4 times a week, unless a wide miscellaneous variety
of clams, from different water sources, can be offered to at least prevent
elevated plasma levels of mercury weakening the lymphatic (immune) system
(fresh water having lower levels compared to salt water clams). Shrimp, on
the other hand, can be even economically comparable to rodents, exemplary
replacement to the hair-ball, and whole shrimp and parts of shrimp seem
eagerly enjoyed by all the different genus of monitors that I have owned.
Poikilothermic (cold blooded) prey are usually more of a hors d'oeuvre then
a conventional diet item for vivarium species of monitors, yet usually the
cost of a small Green Anole (Anolis carolinensis) and the size, compared to
even a small adult monitor, seems an excessive prey alternative compared to
a rodent, which is often circumvented by the monitor's proprietor. Large
anthropoids also make a welcomed augmentation to the menu, yet again the
expense can be exceedingly costly for a few large spiders and scorpions.
However, Madagascar Hissing Roaches (Gromphadorhina portentosa) are a good
alternative for your children's diet and seem readily economical next to a
mouse or rat. Breeding of roaches also appears to be as simplistic as
breeding rodents. Other anthropoids, such as praying mantis, can be found
for a incredible low cost for neonates and even small lizards, yet arduous
to cultivate the mantis offspring to maturity due to their cannibalistic
demeanor. Roaches and praying mantis can be found on the Internet at
reasonable prices or at your local exotic pet store.
BEEF (cooked), CANNED CHICKEN, CANNED TURKEY, CHICKEN (live and
prey-killed), CLAMS (cooked; canned and raw), COCKROACHES, CRAYFISH,
CRICKETS, EGGS, FISH (canned, live and prey-killed), GROUND TURKEY (cooked),
KNIGHT CRAWLERS (a favorite for my V. niloticus ssp.), LIZARDS, MEALWORMS,
QUAIL, RABBIT, SCORPIONS, SHRIMP, SNAILS, SNAKES, SQUID, TARANTULAS, and WAX
WORMS are all alternatives I have found that can spice up the diet of your
varanids
....INSTEAD OF THE OLD ROUTINE OF OFFERING YOUR MONITOR THAT UNAMBIGUOUS
CANNED CAT/DOG FOOD or RODENT DIET.
Feeding your adult monitors three to five small meals a week will result in
a lack of obesity, which might be the underlining demise in most vivarium
species of monitors. Of course feeding a goanna enormous amounts of food
items twice a week will also result in a adipose-enriched (portly) lizard.
The animal should appear angular (thin), not to thin with a sunken girth at
the tail base, and seem vigorous instead of looking phlegmatic (lethargic)
after a day or two following a meal. My Niloticus ssp. (I have both species
of Niles at around five and a half to six feet in STT length) are feed 3.5
ounces of food, once every two to three days, and I alternate food items;
either an isolated prey species or a mix of prey butchered with Monitor
canned food or canned cat food.
Eggs, chicken, and turkey products sold in grocery stores for human
consumption should be precooked before being given to ANY REPTILE SPECIES.
Nearly all chicken and some turkey meats on the market will be contaminated
with Salmonella, which includes the eggs as well. Uncooked albumin (egg
whites) contains a protein called avidin which can result in a biotin
deficiency. Biotin helps in the manufacturing of amino acids and utilization
of fatty acids for energy or adipose. Impaired biotin levels can produce
psychomotor weakness (usually first sign), difficultly with shedding, and
seborrheic dermatitis (scaly bumps that can coalesce to form large patches
or plates; sometimes having an oily residue that collects dead skin or a
'knotted' mass of scales) can develop in a reptile. It therefore appears to
be a good idea to cook all types of poultry and meats (including their
by-products) before being offered to your monitor to eliminate bacterial and
viral infections.
CANNED DOG & CAT FOOD
And then we finally come to the staple in a monitors diet - canned dog or
cat food. I have no idea where the contemplation of dogs comprising true
omnivores came from; more like an optimistic vegetarian when the savor of
blood has been remote. I am alluding to this because it seems like most
commercial dog foods have extravagant levels of denatured vegetarian
proteins and lipids, yet a very small amount of animal by-products. Also
canned dog foods contain too much fat to protein and a high fat diet results
in added PHOSPHORUS to your reptiles diet. Fat always insures extra
phosphorus to the diet and dog food seems to be saturated with
triglycerides. Most commercial dog foods have a protein to fat ratio of 3:2
to 8:11. A few can be found to have a ratio of 5:2, but the sources of
protein are from wheat, oat, soybean, and rice. I am sure I missed that
television episode on the Discovery Channel that showed those V. komodensis
savagely feasting amongst the domesticate rice grain; before the grain could
flee in terror and leave the lizard with an vacant intestinal cavity.
Canned cat food tends to be the better choice over canned dog food. Cheap
commercial companies of canned cat food usually contain a protein to fat
ratio of 5:2. However, I have been finding this to be a lot harder to find
and seem to find canned cat foods in a ratios of 11:3 or 9:1. The protein
content within these canned cat foods are also usually more animal based
(though by-products) then from just a vegetarian source of protein such as
soy or rice. Remember not to stick with just the same brand of canned cat
food, the same flavor, and the same protein to fat ratio. Monitors and most
other reptiles have a wide range of preys that they feast vastly upon, never
possi ble eating the same prey twice in one month on some occasions.
Mineral content, resting in the ash, is almost always different from one
source of companies canned food to another. Mercury, arsenic, cadmium, lead,
and large amounts of sodium vary from one source of canned cat food to
another. This is why if you choose to feed this product to your monitor,
vary the macronutrient quantities and companies served to your reptiles.
Below is a better understanding of the quality analysis that can be found in
both canned dog and cat foods:
Crude Ash
Inorganic minerals remaining after combusting organic material
Crude Fiber
Residue following ether extraction, boiling in acid, boiling in alkali -
then ashed
Crude fiber is the difference between the weight before and after combusting
organic material
Cellulose and lignin; undigestible by-products
Crude Protein
Detemines protein content; not digestion or soluble nitrogen
Nitrogen based proteins remaining after combusting organic material
Drugs and antibiotics that can be transferred from poultry and beef also
will be found in these canned dog and cat foods. The most common found
antibiotics in poultry, beef, and canned animal foods are:
Chlortetracycline, Monensin, Oxytetracycline, Sulfamethazine, and
Sulfaquinoxaline. Antibiotics consumed in food over an extend period of time
will build up an resistance to that family of antibiotics. If antibiotic
treatment is required, the antibiotic may not be able to accomplish its
ability to fight of bacterial infection due to the resistance of the immune
system, because of a diet on canned food, poultry, and meats (cat, dog, and
human consumption type products only) that possible contained the same type
of antibiotic or within the same family of these types of drugs. This is why
it essential to always change around your monitors food sources, whether it
is a live prey, pre-killed, or canned delight.
THE CARNIVOURS' ASPECT OF YOUR MONTIOR LIZARD
Monitors are carnivores because their cellular metabolism was formulated to
depend on carrion and 'live flesh' for a lack of a type of amino acid, fat
or other nutrient that the cellular system needs in order to survive; as is
unique to all animal species and humans. Sure, the gastrointestinal tract of
the monitors prey might be saturated with the decay of seeds, fruits, or
vegetable matters, but monitors must thrive on a high protein diet (for
essential dietary amino acids and/or fatty acids that they cannot produce
and found only in their choice of prey) that makes up the animal tissue.
Whether it is an all crustacean diet to endothermic diet, the monitor lizard
was created to eat high protein organisms (tissue and organs) instead of
photosynthetic producing multicellular eukaryotes. Liver disorders and gout
are not caused by high amounts of proteins, yet caused by purines (foods
high in Glycine and Aspartate) and a diet high in saturated fats. Remember,
there are essential proteins, vitamins, minerals, and fats - BUT NO SUCH
THING AS AN ESSENTIAL CARBOHYDRATE, because all reptiles and amphibians can
create sugars from fats and proteins. Besides, simple carbohydrates (or
simple sugars) in excessive amounts CAN and WILL BE CONVERTED TO A SATURATED
FAT. This also holds true to proteins, yet your monitor lizard will use
proteins in reconstructing and rebuilding their cellular system, always
converting fats into sugars before protein for this very reason. THIS IS WHY
NO REPTILE, including your monitor, SHOULD BE ON A STRICT FRUIT AND
VEGETABLE DIET. This is very unhealthy to humans and to your reptiles.
Proteins are essential to life, yet even overdoing this (AND OVERDOING OTHER
MACRO- AND MICROMOLECULES) will result in obesity and compromised disorders
of the digestive, lymphatic, and circulator system. VARIETY, VARIETY, and
more VARIETY of a diverse diet of food sources is the key to maintaining a
healthy and long lived monitor.
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Savannah Monitors
By: Joseph Smith
Feeding
As I mentioned earlier, monitors favorite thing to do is eat! Monitors will
eat just about any kind of meat. The best thing to feed juveniles is
crickets, they will also eat snails, slugs, earthworms, pinky mice
grasshoppers, beetles, even cochroaches! Adults will eat larger mice, rats,
chicken, and other rodents. The big question on feeding is, HOW MUCH you
need to use your own judgement. Adults will eat 1-4 mice or rats every 2-3
days. It’s better to leave your monitor a little hungry instead of over
feeding. Never forget the fact that Savannah monitors are always hungry, and
will often eat to much if given the chance. I don’t recommend collecting
food items outside or around the house, since they can have parasites. Since
Savannah monitors love to soke and use their water bowl as a potty, it needs
to be cleaned out daily.
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And
http://www.pclink.com/dkelley/monitors.htm#fee
Feeding
Savannah monitors are usually pretty eager feeders, unless they are sick or
in breeding season. Very young lizards(1 foot and under) can be fed baby
mice (pinkies, fuzzies, hoppers), crickets, and earthworms. They should be
fed one to four rodents every two to three days, supplementing their diet
with crickets, earthworms, etc. You can judge what size rodent you should be
feeding them by the size of their head and mouth when fully open. Sometimes
feeding them prey that is too large will cause them to vomit up the meal a
couple of days later. This is probably the worst smell in the world, so you
will definitely want to avoid this if at all possible! Juvenile monitors(1
foot to adult size) can be fed one to four adult mice twice a week. Adult
monitors(3 feet and up) should be fed twice a week. You will have to use
your judgment to determine how much to feed them. They tend to eat more than
is good for them if given the chance. We feed ours small to medium-sized
rats, one or two per feeding depending on the size of the rodent. We use
canned cat food occasionally, but we don't offer it as a staple diet. Cat
food is very rich and fattening and can cause diarrhea. Our monitors seem to
also like ZuPreem Tegu and Monitor food. We feed this to them only on
occasion, and it doesn't seem to cause the runny stools like cat food. Our
monitors diet is also supplemented with crickets. They seem to enjoy them,
and chasing the crickets around also encourages them to exercise.
If Savannah monitors are not allowed to exercise enough and fed too much,
they will get VERY fat. This is not good for them, in fact it can shorten
their life span. On the other hand, if young Savannahs are fed only small
amounts of food while they are growing, they can become stunted. Most
healthy Savannahs will eat at any opportunity, and like many of us humans,
they will eat more than is good for them if given the chance! Again, you
will have to use your judgment to decide what feeding regimen is best for
your lizard.
Savannah monitors also drink water regularly, and enjoy soaking if provided
with a large enough container of water. Your lizard should have water
available at all times, and the water bowl should be cleaned and disinfected
frequently.
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VARANUS EXANTHEMATICUS Bosc 1792
Boscs monitor lizard
by
Daniel Bennett
An extract from my Little Book of Monitor Lizards
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.
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Feeding Varanud albigularis
By Pete Zupich
Safety
A fair amount of caution should always be used when feeding large monitor
lizards. It could be very easy to be bit by even a "tame" animal during
feeding. Healthy White-throated and Savannah monitors tend to be extremely
excited when it comes time to feed. Fairly large cages with doors on each
side have been helpful for me. Food is placed in the door furthest away from
the animal and closed quickly. One Savannah monitor (V.exanthamaticus) I
have can not be tricked into this. He can smell food as I thaw it in another
room, and begins to pace back and forth as soon as he senses it. Fortunately
this animal is extremely "keeper friendly" and he is somewhat careful about
what he grabs onto. I also have some long tongs that can be used to place
food into the enclosure without fully opening the enclosure door.
Feeding in Captivity
Neither the White-throated monitor or the Savannah monitor have been noted
to feed heavily on rodents in the wild. Possibly because rodents are to fast
for the monitors to catch, or maybe due to their activity pattern. (rodents
are active at night and monitors are active during the day.) A diet
primarily consisting of rodents may allow these animals to become very
obese, eventually causing kidney failure (Lemm, 1994). Also I have heard of
several cases of V.exanthematicus having problems defecating and also
developing hair impactions due to diets primarily consisting of mice. This
problem has also been noted to occur in V.albigularis ionidesi (Lemm, 1994).
None of the items I feed my animals are living ( except for insects ). Food
items are all frozen and stored for later use. Any of the foods I offer raw
are first frozen for 30 days to eliminate any parasites or salmonella. A
container full of hot water is used to thaw the prey. Once the hot water is
room temperature it is heated again until it is slightly warmer than the
temperature in the enclosure (85 to 95 degrees). Always use extreme caution
when feeding thawed food. Be sure the prey is completely thawed.
The bulk of food offered to my animals are birds and bird eggs. Day old
quail chicks are the most eagerly eaten item. They are small and easy to
digest. Also quail eggs are sometimes offered, boiled for about 3 minutes
then cooled to room temperature before serving whole. (quail eggs are about
the size of a quarter)
Chicken and turkey breast is also fed to my animals, but not as often. The
food value is not as great because it is not a whole food item. (bone,
blood, internal organs, etc...) Vitamin and calcium supplements are always
used when feeding any food item. Fresh chicken or turkey breast is boiled
for about 30 to 45 minutes and cut into small cubes and frozen for later
use. Also on occasion chicken eggs are hard boiled and broken into pieces to
feed (none of my animals are large enough to eat one whole). It is best to
use embryonated eggs, or only the yolks of eggs. Non-embryonated egg whites
contain advin, and could cause a vitamin B4 deficiency (Balsai, 1992).
Mice are offered to my animals occasionally, but they do not make up the
bulk of the animals diet. I feed small mice (pinkies, fuzzies and hoppers)
because they are easier for the animal to swallow and digest than adult
mice.
Even large monitors will eagerly feed on insects. The only insects I have
fed my animals(due to easy availability) are large "meal" worms or "super"
worms, beetles, and crickets. As the animals grew it was difficult for them
to catch crickets, however worms and beetles are still offered.
Many other foods are offered to my animals in small quantities. A high
quality cat food is offered from time to time. I usually use Science Diet,
Iams or Max Cat chicken or turkey flavor. Usually cat food is only offered
one or two times per month. Cat food can be very messy to feed. I use a deep
ceramic food bowl that is very heavy and hard for the animal to flip over.
On rare occasion cooked shrimp and crab are offered. Also one specimen of
V.albigularis albigularis ("Hannibal") is extremely fond of fruit. I do not
feed fruit very often (only a few times per year) because V.albigularis is
not noted to eat fruit in the wild. She will eagerly eat
bananas,strawberries, grapes and melon. The Savannah monitor
(V.exanthamaticus) has been noted to eat bananas (Cisse, 1972). Three other
monitors I've had (V.exanthematicus, V.albigularis albigularis, and
V.albigularis microstictus) did not have any interest in fruit. However I am
aware of one specimen of V.albigularis ionidesi who would accept fruit
(Sylva, Pers.comm.).
You are the best judge of the amount of food eaten by your animal. The
metabolism rate of your monitor will depend on temperature of the enclosure
and activity levels. Less active animals should be fed less often, or they
will become obese. Juveniles (under 12 inches T.L.) can be fed 3 to 4 times
a week. Lager animals should be fed less often, one or two times per week.
An excellent
reference for feeding schedules and quantities can be found in the book
"General Care and Maintenance of Savannah Monitors" by Michael Balsai.
White-throated monitors at the San Diego Zoo's Center for Reproduction of
Endangered Species are fed; Eggs (cooked), garden snails*, ground
turkey(frozen 30 days), zoo carnivore diet, and occasionally road-killed
snakes (frozen 30 days) (Lemm, 1994).
* Jeff Lemm (Research assistant, Keeper) also notes(VaraNews 2(2/3) before
feeding snails, the area where they are collected should be carefully
researched. Snails can carry pesticides for up to 7 years. (also it is noted
snails carry a number of internal parasites, however none of the monitors at
the Zoo have had a problem).
In the Wild
It should always be taken into a fair amount of consideration what all
captive pets eat naturally in
the wild. Often the pet store recommended diet does not give you this data
due to lack of information. Also many of the foods these animals eat in the
wild are not available at your local pet shop, therefore other foods may be
recommended for convenience.
Note: Use extreme caution if feeding any food collected in the wild.
Pesticides and poisons from snails(Alberts, 1994) and diseases of other
reptiles (salmonella,..etc..) can be fatal to your pet if eaten.
In the wild monitors are reported to feed on any animal they can overpower.
Varanus albigularis (White-throated monitors) have been noted to eat;
Snails, grasshoppers, sand snakes, beetles, crickets, bird eggs, birds, and
on rare occasion small mammals(Phillips, 1995)
In the Time Warner video series "Predators of the Wild: Snakes" there is
some footage of a Varanus albigularis microstictus feeding on a spitting
cobra.
Also an article published in the Varanid Exchange (Bayless, 1992, African
Varanids: Diets in Captivity and in the Wild) Mark Bayless notes the
following references for foods eaten by Varanus albigularis;
Rhino dung-middens (inter alia) (Bourquin, O & A. Channing. 1980.
"Herpetofauna of the Natal Drakensberg; An annotated checklist".
Lammergeyer, 30:1-20.)
Moth eggs, Agama lizard, Coleoptera (tiger and Ground beetles), locusts,
snake, crested grasshopper, mole cricket, Aethomys chrysophilos (mammal),
quail chicks, large White-chick, gecko eggs, tortoise (Chersina angulata),
hatchling tortoise (Homopus femoralis), cockroach, spiny cricket pupae,
scarab beetle, hedgehog spines, termites, puff adder (Bitis arietans)
Branch,
1991. ( "The Regenia Registers of Gogga Brown (1869-1909): Memoranda on a
species of monitor or varan". Mertensiella. 2:57-110.
Carrion (Broadley), V.albigularis subadults/juveniles (Carpenter), Young
mountain tortoise (Testudo pardalis), grasshopper (De Waal, 1978) Juvenile
tortoise (Green) Branchystegia crickets (Loveridge, 1953) Millipedes,
centipedes (Michell) Chicks, chicken eggs (Penrith)
Achatina ssp. (Giant African land snail) (Pienaar) Sunbirds, Bulbuls (birds)
(Rose, 1950).
(Also in this article noted above from Varanix 2(5) foods are listed for
V.exanthematics and V. niloticus
niloticus.
Foods consumed in the wild by the Savannah monitor (V. exathematicus) are
similar to V.
albigularis. However, V.exanthematicus usually feeds on smaller animals,
insects and
crustaceans.
Bibliography
Alberts, A. 1994(?) " Lessons from the Wild." Vivarium 5(5): 26-28.
Balsai, M.J. 1992. The General Care and Maintenance of Savannah Monitors and
Other Popular Monitor
Species. Advanced Vivarium Systems, Lakeside, CA. 55pp.
Bayless, M.K. 1992. "African Varanids: Diets in Captivity and in the Wild.
VaraNews, 2(5):2-3.
Bennett, Daniel. 1995. A Little Book of Monitor Lizards. Viper Press,
Arberdeen, Great Britain. 208pp.
Cisse, M. 1972. "L'alimentation des Varanides au Senegal". Bulletin de
I"Institut Fondamental d'Afrique
Noire. 34(2);503-515.
Lemm, J. 1994. "Captive Husbandry of White-throated Monitors(Varanus
albigularis) at the San Diego Zoo's
Center for Reproduction of Endangered Species(C.R.E.S.) . " VaraNews,
2(2/3):4-5.
Phillips, J.A. 1995. "Rhythms of a Desert Lizard". Natural History,
104(10):50-55.
"A Little Book of Monitor Lizards" by Daniel Bennett has an excellent
chapter pertaining to the
feeding of monitor lizards.
© Pete Zupich 1996
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Monitor Owner's
"Buyer's Guide"
by Roman Diaz
Mice seem to be the staple diet of the monitor lizard in captivity although
they aren't the best choice. The best diet is a varried on with mice offered
only as a treat. If bought in bulk and frozen, mice can cost as low as 30
cents a pop or if bought live they can be as much as $1.50. Other common
food items include crickets, mealworms, gold fish, dog food (not dry), and
the famous San Diego Zoo Turkey Diet. The turkey diet is probably the
easiest to use as it can be frozen and thawed for later use, also it is a
very balanced diet and is readily accepted by many monitors
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etc.
GL
/s/
BobH