Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Sorry if this has been answered before, but it seems as most things have...

I've read that many African monitors eat snails in their natural habitats. I currently have two Black throats, and was wondering if they could eat American snails. I live in the California's Central Valley. Can they eat snails that are natural to this area? There are many snails around, but I have refrained from feeding them these snails because when you really bother these snails, they excrete a sort of bubbly substance, which I assume is poison and could possibly kill my monitors.

Any response is appreciated. Also, if anyone else is familiar with the area, any other suggestions on natural prey would be much appreciated. I live in a fairly rural area, and feed my monitors many birds through the aid of a BB gun. Plus, my monitors have lived outside for about 7 months, and are probably pretty used to natural bacteria, etc.

They're kept in a former sand box that has been modified with hide spots and foliage to give them plenty of shade from the sun. There is also a pond they have access to everyday (the water dries almost completely by the end of the day, but is refilled in the morning an additional water dish). It wavers from about the high 90's to the low 100's these days which can yield some pretty high basking areas (I use wood that is partially shaded by foliage which hits about 138 degrees in the hottest parts of the day, give or take a few degrees). Pics if needed.

THANKS! Sorry for the length!

Sorry, can't answer your snail question (though, I wouldn't bother with them for my BTs - parasites?)

I saw were you said you have Albig eggs incubating? That's great!
Will it be your first clutch? I wish there were more CBB African monitors.

Can you post pics of your guys together and their outdoor enclosure please?

Thanks!

Susan.

I'm no expert but I feed mine snails when I can find them, which isn't very often in vegas. I used to live in Houston and found them all the time and would like to start a colony since the shells are high in calcium. However, I always freeze them before feeding them to the monitors and only more common ones not known for being toxic. I also fed my monitors wild anoles that I froze first. Obviously the freezing is to kill parasites but like I said I'm by no means an expert and couldn't say for sure that freezing would kill all kinds of parasites. I'd be interested in what someone like Frank Retes would think about it. I've always thought the more varied the diet the better myself.

I really do not have to much to say, I would base a diet on rodents then add whatever else helped the monitor progress.

If wild snails would keep the same growth and progress as a rodent diet, then I would use them as convience permited. It seems to me it would be a ton of work to feed snails on a regular basis.

As to his husbandry conditions, again its all about results. If the animals grows and progresses, then great. Cheers

Makes sense to me, I would like to start a colony of snails but they are quite a bit of work overall to keep cages up and clean. It's not like they could be a significant part of the diet anyway... could imagine trying to sustain a large or even med sized monitor on snails.... no thanks. Thanks Frank.