More things I do not understand

A couple of things, I use ground up dogfood for cricket feed. I have kept and raised/produced crickets for many many years. I have fed these dogfood crickets to monitors and other lizards for those same many many years. And for this I got what is considered superior results.

Also, I have only been keeping and breeding monitors(bred over twenty species) since 1991. But before that, I kept bred and produced many generations of lots of other lizards, including collards. I bred those since back in the late sixties, off and on for many decades. And all without UVB bulbs, vitamins or gutloading.

In fact, my monitor husbandry was developed for other snake and lizard husbandry. That is, give them choices and see what works best. Snakes are no so demostrative so its a little hard to tell what they want(just a little) but many lizards, like monitors and crots, tell you exactly what they want. If you give them hot spots over 125F they both happily used them. Over 150F, Monitors kept on using them. Crots backed away, a little. They do know what they want. We are only guessing.

The point of that is, both types of lizards exsist in enviornments that "have/need" to include temps above what they will use. Thats how they are designed to work(exsist).

They are not designed to work in temps that only max out at their basic needs. This is the problem with current husbandry. A huge mistake in thinking.

In a nutshell, our local lizards do not start their breeding season until the daytime temps keep them holed up for most of the day, as in, its too hot to go in the sun or sunny areas(basking areas) During their season of actual progress, that is, growth and reproduction, Its so hot, they do not need to bask. During this time, the normal daily temps keep them in the shade for most of the day.

Yes, both types of these lizards will bask, but mostly in spring where prolonged basking is to ready their bodies for the upcoming active season(when its hot).

The problem with captivity is, most duplicate spring. When you should be duplicating summer. In summer, they have choices and are not forced to risk their lives to attempt to gain needed heat.

Oh by the way, we have crots within a stones throw of my house, and leopard lizards, and DI's.

The actual point is, I have raised beardeds, crots, many many varanids, and many more, super successfully, without the use of UV type bulbs, and without the practice of gutloading.

With that in mind, why do others "need" these things, If I not only have no problems, not using them, but have very good results without using them??? The question all of you SHOULD be asking is, why aren't my lizards falling victum to lack of commerical support. Why aren't they suffering the problems yours seem to suffer?

You see, this is a bit like the myth buster show. You only have to show one exception to bust a myth. The problem here is, I have busted those myths for decades with multitudes of different species. Also, we continue to bust those myths on a daily basis.

Lets use one tiny example. If you take one other monitor producer out of the question, Rare Earth with their original owner, we have produced and raised, raised means having monitors grow from hatchlings to many types that size, more monitors then the entire rest of the U.S. put together, and that INCLUDES zoos and universities. And all were done with incandesent normal cheap bulbs. Consider, to double or triple or more your body size means doing the same to your skeleton, which is the "greatest" need for calicum placement.

To make is a little more lopsided, we never have calicum def. desease. And we never gutload, and we do not have vitamin deficency problems either. You folks really need to learn why.

So that without question makes me wonder, what the holy heck are you all doing to "need" these things. Why all the problems? or why do you think you will have problems if you do not use them? You see, I do not understand why you or all these others, have problems, or preceive your going to have problems.

Its kinda like telling a Tarahumara indian runner he "needs" nike running shoes to run or his feet will fall off. Hmmmmmmm these folks have been running throught the mountains and deserts barefooted since before Nike was nike, and before the founders of Nike's parents were even born. Or their parents parents parents were born, etc etc.

Of course, if you do not allow them to run barefoot and MAKE them wear shoes since they were kids, then they will need those shoes.

The question is, why make them need something, they actually do not need??????? Why make them dependant on something they naturally never had and do not need? That is a great question. So anyone care to support the otherside of this question? Why not allow them to do what they do naturally, as opposed of bandaiding them with products that they clearly do not need.

So no, I am not telling you anything, I am asking you to explain why YOU NEED THIS STUFF? Explain please, Cheers

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