Nate, I have no formal study info regarding diet that I can point to about ants currently. But to compare different types of mammalian diet with different insect diets may not be the best way to go. Ants certainly have a far different chemical makeup than probably most other insects. Which would explain why other opportunistic reptiles in the same habitat will have little or no ants in their scat vs an HL, which will have primarily ants depending on species of course. Also, there have been quotes from field observations about HL scat being primarily beetles in some habitat, which would seem to lend credence to ants not being required. I have had a chance to observe several species in the wild over time and have found scat is primarily ants, but at certain times of year can be primarily beetles or what have you. I think this type of thing is very seasonal and that the ants remain the primary choice for most of the year, but this is based on non-scientific observation. Could be an interesting study in itself.

I also wanted to say thanks for the web site compliment and for your very healthy attitude in looking into your HL husbandry requirements.



Cheers!
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