Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i was wondering what it costs everyone to feed their monitors a week? what species and what diet.

hi, i feed my ackie roaches, so the cost is very low once you have your roaches.i think most monitors love roaches and there is a roach for every size monitor.then there is rodents fewer the better, and other insects crixs locusts, these can be costly over a long period espesh if you have many monitors.hope this gives you some idea.

cheers danny.

Mixed diet is the key or so I've been told and found.. My Savannah gets rodents.. crickets.. chicken, superworms if he'll take em... I don't like roaches but all my other feeders I breed save for the chickens so I can't actually give you a cost figure.. if you were buying food everyday it would get pretty expensive at times depending on the size of your monitor.

I buy all of my monitors foods in bulk. I get adult mice and jumbos from rodentpro at .45-.55 a piece plus $20 delivery and I get some from a guy who raises his own for 400 mice for $60 (adults, a friend of mine and I use them at the shop and with his monitors mostly). I get crickets delivered for $12 for 1000 delivered, lobster roaches I bought one time $10 worth from someone and never bought any more they renew themselves constantly (my ackie loves lobster roaches and crickets). I get adult hissers from a guy next day air 100 for $30 which are fed to my albigs (they love em). My albigs eat jumbo mice and chicken peeps (day olds were dirt cheap, and week olds were .69-.89 a piece). 50 week old peeps lasts my big albig for 6 months or more along with hundreds of hissers, and jumbo mice 50 last her 3-4 months. Ive never figured out what it costs me because I get their food as they need it and dont worry about what it cost me. I figure if it worries you about costs of raising monitors then maybe its not for you. Its an expensive hobby, I figured that out when I had a different job and was struggling all of the time years ago, but even then I always made sure they didnt go without, it was the rest of my husbandry that suffered needed improvement then (cage size, substrates, ventilation too much, lack of a good knowledgable herp vet, experience recognizing problems and sexing some of my monitors, not recognizing an eggbound female once in the past, the old vet didnt either). I think housing and heating them is more expensive than feeding them. Good luck I hope if your interested in this hobby you stick with it and learn alot.

im not really worried about cost. i was just curious on how much people spend. i know it can be an exspensive hobby. try having paintball for a hobby.... now that gets exspensive!!!lol

where do you get your crickets from? $12 shipped is a good deal.

If you wouldn't mind me asking, who do you get your hissers from? I've been paying through the nose for them right now, and would really like to find a new supplier, or at least someone who is cheaper than what I'm paying for right now ($3 per adult)...

Also, do you think it is worthwhile to setup a smalling mouse breeding operation or just better to buy them? Since I work in a pet store, I can obtain large quantities of feeders, but since I'd be buying them every week, it might end up being cheaper to just breed them myself being that food and bedding if bought in bulk can be really cheap.. It's too bad I don't have the space, time, and money to breed chickens!