Ok, a couple of things, You keep a Sav for eight months. Scientifically, that makes you an expert,(hahahahahahahahahaha joke, humor, and bad attitude) Science does not keep them, in general, but only to do an experiment or two before the semester is over.



About me mentioning the fasting. This does not have to be applied. I only brought it to attention because its important you understand what the animal is designed to do and why. That way, you can make decisions on something sound(about the actual animal).



This whole senario about feeding is funny to me. ITs kinda like when I was bit by rattlesnakes(yes, more then one) The doctors have two areas of concern. One to get control of your condition, protien levels, etc. Then two, attack the destructive agent. But there is only one way to attack, that is to apply antivenom. Which often times is more destructive then the actual bite. So whats a doc to do? So, for good bad or indifferent, they attack and often cause harm to the patient(at this time, you are losing patience)(pun intended) This paragraph means, the tool that fixes is also the tool that harms.



So, the keeper adjusts by feeding differently, but its still feeding. Ain't going to work. Why you ask, because if you cut back food, the monitor adjusts by cutting back of metabolism. "Stalemate". You see, thats the other thing inherent to reptiles, they run at a speed conditional to their energy intake. So you think its hard for humans to lose weight, hahahahahaha what if humans would cut their metabolism each time you lower calories.



Lets use a scale of 1 to 100. Now relate that to degrees of temp which equals metabolism(the burning of energy) Humans run at 98.6 or slightly above when needed. But to drop below that causes serious harm. So for a human to decrease weight by metabolism, they exercise(to burn more). But it will not work if they increase calories at the same time(to consume more). So, you increase your metabolism and decrease your calories. You have to burn more then you take in.



With reptiles, they run at no set speed. They run at 40 or 50 or sixty, or 90 or even 98.6. or above. depending on age, size, and task and CALORIE INTAKE. Lowering one, lowers the other and more. Much more difficult.



You see, the prime task for reptiles and particularly this type of reptile, is to not waste any energy. As in, to conserve as much energy as you can. Then expend as much as you can, to only conserve as much as you can. In other words, if you do not have it, you cannot use it. No credit cards in nature. Their task inherently is to GET FAT. But by design, that fat has a use.



The problem with most captive conditions is, there is nothing to spend your savings on. Therefore its nearly impossible to balance design of the animal with any normal scheduled feedings. The point of my previous post was to make that apparent.



I choose to let them do what has the highest energy cost, to reproduce. So females use all and more, available energy in reproduction(another inherent design) Males often spend more time seeking and securing female companionship during this time. Therefore, keeping their youthfull physique.



But then, its not hard to find a lady in a bar, hahahahaha I mean a cage. So there is very little energy costs there. Make the bloody males work for their joy. Hmmmmmm it appears they take joy in their lady friends. They want to work. let them.



REMEMBER, deep substrate is like a treadmill. Its a constant abiltity to burn energy. Dig, dig again, dig somemore. An exercise wheel is you will.



In otherwords(lots of otherwords) for males, its a balance between energy intake and the ability to use that energy.



Which sadly leads back to this. If there is nothing to do, digging, walking, climbing, including BREEDING, then there is nothing to expend energy on.



Wait, I have to ask, why do you feed in the first place?????? There is a circle somewhere in here.



Monitors are obligate energy conservers.



All you have to do is look at them. A sav is fat, and for good reason, its food in seasonal. A tree monitor is not fat, its long and slim. So it can "only" come from a habitat that has a somewhat consistant prey base.



What is funny to me is, both are kept alike and both fail from being kept the same way(averaged). Yet they are "THE" extremes. hahahahahahahaha Sorry again I rant. Cheers

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