Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just received my baby blackthroat, as some of you may remember from about 30 posts down. He's in a habitat that conforms to his needs, according to my research. One thing I didn't think of to research, is how do they eat. I'm used to lizards who eat every day. My blackthroat has had two huge meals among his avid cricket hunting: a lizard half his size, and a live mouse that he could barely finish eating, but boy, was he highly motivated. I'm getting him hoppers for next week.

My question: *Is my blackthroat a natural binge eater* who when he gets a big meal, he spends a few days lazing around between his cool end and his basking zone? (He drinks from his bowl, to my relief.)

Roger

These monitors eat a lot, when kept in good conditions you can’t over feed them, but you will be surprised on the amount of food they can eat.

I feed all they can’t eat every day, or should I say offer, because sometimes they refuse a feeding, but it’s rare. I feed a lot of roaches but supplement them.
Adults are fed grown rats and chicken parts (these are entire chickens with feathers and all)
I posted below.

You've got blackthroats too! Mine is just a bit bigger than yours. I have a colony of those kind of roaches. I keep them at 80F with an under-tank human heating pad, with a cool spot retreat. I feed them raw hard yellow squash. The adults asre very reactive and try to crawl in my hands like crazy when I pick them up, so IMO they are healthy. I haven't seen any young produced, my colony is stagnant. I'm stumped. Supposedly they are viviparous. There are a few really tiny ones running around, but the adults just cluster and sit.

Roger

I don’t keep any African monitors anymore! Other then meat and skin I see no use for them, they are way too big and take too much food and space for me to keep them as pets.
However I find them awesome in every way.

I still keep 10,000s hissers and feed them only carrots, yet they produce like crazy.
I think you need to change diet or feed more?

Your research(as you call it) is only for you to get a decent start. Its no more then that. To read something that is applied is NOT research, its reading. To test, is research. Not something written on the internet. I guess it would be research trying to find out which of the internet dribble is right. Some is, most isn't.

Why you have a living animal, instead of plastic models is, they actually have behavior and do things. In this case, eat. They as all animals do, eat until full. Then when hungry eat again, much like you I suppose. Ask the monitor.

With mammals, they have a consistant metabolism, so they burn energy at a kinda steady rate. Reptiles are dependant on their enviornment, SO THEY "DO NOT" BURN ENERGY AT A CONSISTANT RATE(you should have come across that in your research) So no one can tell you what your monitor wants in the way of food. ONLY the monitor CAN.

Sorry for the caps, but that is soooooooo very basic. It has to be understood BEFORE YOU GET AN ANIMAL(reptile)

Now if you report behaviors or times between behaviors, someone can actually get an idea of what your doing(right or wrong) Then possibly someone could offer help.

Now a bunch of years ago, SHvar, reported the growth of his Blackthroat, I am sure its in the achrives. He reported it on what seemed like an hourly basis. Yes, the dang thing grew between reports. Weight, lenght, and pics to boot. Till I was blue in the face. But I know one thing. He was doing something right, his monitor grew up right in front of our eyes. Consider all monitors eat like pigs and grow like weeds.

Many of you folks get all in an uproar because of the stern way I write. But consider, your much much worse with your own beloved animals. You sternly hold back food and necessities. because of something some other, hmmmmmmmmmmmm(bad word) person told you. And may I add, without proper or any real evidence to work from. Another answer to your question, it will eat, what your conditions allow. It will change if you change your conditions. Guezzzzzz, a perfect thing to test(research) conditions.

In other words, ask the dang monitor, if it begs for food, feed it. It surely knows more about it, then you or I do. Not so cheery Aye

Shes amazing, almost 6 and a half feet, 33 lbs.
Thats 67 lbs of siberian husky just over 1 ft away from her.
I have to get some newer pics soon.

Im glad to see Rob Faust is getting more eggs, although a smaller subspecies they are great animals.

np

wow she's gorgeous.

Tom