There are no vegetarian monitors. They do not have a digetsive tract that can extract protein from leaves.
Walter Auffenberg calls V. olvaceus "omnivorous" in that its diet is 66% fruit, albeit of a just a few kinds of fruit. It eats plenty of animal prey to get its protein. Fruits lack protein and might even be dangerous to feed tree monitors.
The diet of V. mabatang is really an unknown. Very few specimens have been found. Mario, herp breeder on Mindanao, is trying to get permits to take 2.2 mabitang into captivity. If he succeeds, we will learn a lot more about this most enigmatic of species.

[ Hide Replies ]

• Does Anybody Know of A Vegetarian Monito - Paradon, Fri Aug 11 00:14:00 2006
• RE: Does Anybody Know of A Vegetarian Monito - johnsons, Fri Aug 11 00:29:19 2006
• Vegetarian Monitor? - HaroldD, Fri Aug 11 11:02:55 2006
• RE: Yes and - FR, Fri Aug 11 14:31:31 2006