Reptile & Amphibian Forums

ok, i have received many helpful thoughts and words on the rodent vs. insect debate. now my question, for those that feed strictly rodents to their adult savs and other monitors, what is a good schedule / amount of food to feed? what i have been doing is 2 thawed mice every other day... just curious about what some other peoples' feeding schedules look like, and if mine is too little or too much.

thanks.

My savannah is almost 3'. I feed him 2 rats about 6" on monday and two on fridat if I have some on hand some insects in the middle of the week but he is almost strictly rodents. Anymore than that he starts getting fat lol.
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Tom
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cant really answer that because that amount will depend on how you're keeping them. Just use common sense. Feed as much as they will take. If they start getting overweight, cut back?

I feed my ackies just about everyday, and I include quite a bit of pinkies along with crickets. I feed them as much as they will eat and they aren't overweight. Thats just what works for me

you need to get away from the rote care information.

the key to becoming a good monitor keeper is learning to read and react to your animals.

there is no simple answer for the question that you asked.

a great caresheet is a base to start from, but when it comes to something like feeding, feed according to your animals and their needs.

for monitor babies and juvies, you can almost free feed. for adults, you feed according to need.
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robyn@proexotics.com

Pro Exotics Reptiles

my monitor will eat as long as i keep presenting food though, as i am sure is probably true for most others. i'm just trying to see on average what some feeding schedules look like. god! stop yelling at me! ha ha.

That is absolutely false. Monitors are the same as any animal, they will eat until full. You just have no idea how much that is. So you feed it partical meals and think or call that full.

I have to ask, how would you like that? You know, get a cup of peas a day and have those feeding you think thats plenty. And they have no idea that you actually want more.

So, I agree with Robyn, you must learn to create conditions that allow your monitor to feed as much as it wants and have the metabolism to use all that energy without getting fat. Which is very doable until they are old. Cheers

FR, you seem like a wise person. thank you.

nobody is yelling. THIS WOULD BE YELLING.

you are not getting it though. i didn't just recommend to feed all they want.

lots of folks have obese Waters and Savs because they feed all they want, with poor husbandry.

given ideal husbandry, a fat animal is eating too much. a skinny animal too little. in a way. it still isn't that simple, but it's a start.

cycling females need more food. sedentary ones need less. read your animal and react accordingly.

get the Bennett Savannah book. read it. read it again. and again. and again. and again. and again. provide a great setup. read the forum here and at varanus.net.

but don't post. just read, observe, and it will get clearer and clearer.

best of luck.
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robyn@proexotics.com

Pro Exotics Reptiles