Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Welcome to kingsnake.com's message board system. Here you may share and discuss information with others about your favorite reptile and amphibian related topics such as care and feeding, caging requirements, permits and licenses, and more. Launched in 1997, the kingsnake.com message board system is one of the oldest and largest systems on the internet.

Click for 65% off Shipping with Reptiles 2 You
https://www.crepnw.com/
Click here for Dragon Serpents

New baby Nile!

Herpitologer Jun 24, 2008 01:18 AM

I just got my nile today and i was wondering since i have him in a 4x4x4 cage i dont want the insects getting lost or escaping out of the cage..Should i feed him in another container or what?
Or is there any other foods i can place on a tray and leave in the tank while i go to school..Today i feed him some chicken gizzards and hearts by hand once heshe calmed down

Any info would be appreciated.Thanks

Replies (11)

JeffEvens Jun 24, 2008 09:29 AM

you should try feeding him/her by hand or with tongs. at first he/she might be scared of you so just get him eating then after you know he is eating just fine try and get him to come to you. when your lizard comes to you and is not scared of you then that is the first step to getting him/her to be tame. so you might need to start pulling off cricket legs for a few days just to get your lizard eating but when you see that your lizrad is more comfortable in his new home then you should start trying to get him to come to you for his food. oh and with mine scrambled eggs is what got him to come to me (he loves them lol =D)

swilson86 Jun 24, 2008 09:45 AM

how are scrambled eggs a good food for monitors? you both want to stick with whole food items. feed them just rodents and feeder insects. in the whole natural form.

scrambled eggs is pretty silly seeing as how they have no method of cooking them themselves.

JeffEvens Jun 24, 2008 10:21 PM

the scrambled eggs were just a treet to get my nile to come to me, after he started coming to me i started using his normal foods. and why are scrambled eggs bad? they eat eggs in the wild and i dont see how cooking the eggs changes them. if im rong please correct me.

-jeff

swilson86 Jun 24, 2008 10:40 PM

cooking any food changes the molecular structure and how it's digested. i wouldn't recommend feeding any reptile cooked food.

JeffEvens Jun 24, 2008 11:07 PM

thats very interesting but would it realy be that bad if i fed him that as a treet evry now and again?

swilson86 Jun 25, 2008 02:15 PM

i just wouldn't feed it to him at all, personally.

EricIvins Jun 24, 2008 01:15 PM

Why would you worry about the insects getting lost? Did you give them directions? Point is, your montor should be searching for those insects, and unless you have some super secret cricket sucking black hole in your enclosure, you shouldn't have to worry about it finding food. It already comes pre-programmed, the problem comes when you try to "fix" that programming yourself.

robyn@ProExotics Jun 24, 2008 02:18 PM

i don't know why you would start your first day of husbandry with odd foods, that baffles me. offer feeder insects, and rodents. done. proven, nutritious, economical, easy.

if you want to offer feeder insects without them getting throughout the cage, try using a feeder bowl lined with Bug Stop so the insects can't climb out. of course, that applies to crawling stuff, not jumping stuff like crickets.

we use a bug bowl to feed roaches every single day...
Image
-----
robyn@proexotics.com

Pro Exotics Reptiles

lizardheadmike Jun 25, 2008 07:36 PM

Hello Robyn,

Are those dubia's? Also, I want to thank you for the great service... The temp gun has been used everyday and the metal case has been a gun saver on more than one occasion. I believe my monitors are more greatful than I so thanks on their behalf. Best to you- Mike

orinoco Jun 24, 2008 05:50 PM

If the monitor is not eating, why on Earth are you handling him? And please dont spew any garbage about trying to 'tame' him.

Orinoco

Herpitologer Jun 24, 2008 07:38 PM

I never said he wasnt eating.
He gobbled up the gizzards and hearts with no problem..and today he ate 2 pinkies...and im trying to get him to eat wax worms

Site Tools