Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I've always wanted a larger species of monitor. I've kept red ackies and really like them. But I want to move on to a larger species(maybe a lace or argus). My big concern is the feeding expense. Whats the least expensive way to feed an appropriate diet to such a species?

the least expensive way to feed any monitor is buying frozen foods in bulk but you have a bigger question can you build a big enough cage for it.

Bryan
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2.0 argus/flavi cross
0.1 flavi/argus/gouldi
0.1 Argus
0.0.2 savannahs
0.0.2 Argus

Yeah, the cage issue is also very daunting. I wouldn't get a larger species until I had an appropriate set-up. Its a lot of work but providing that sort of diet to a large reptile with a ridiculously high metabolism is a bigger challenge in the long term.

Do you have the room to breed your own rats? After the initial investment of buying/building the breeding cages, it's not very costly to maintain the breeding colonies.
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Mike Heinrich,
Mike@amazontreeboa.org
www.amazontreeboa.org

I do have the room to do that. However, I also have a wife who would not be too open to that suggestion.

i just spend 28 bucks on two weeks worth of adult mice the cheapest way to do it is to start breeding your own food

Breeding your own rodents for large monitors is not feasible for most people - the smell will overtake the entire house. It is also a lot of work cleaning, feeding and maintaining them. To cut cost I recommend buying larger food items like jumbo rats or guinea pigs and chopping them up. Pound per pound there's no comparison in cost. Feeding a colony of large monitors is often not much more expensive then buying crickets for a colony of dwarf monitors - if done right. To cheaply bulk out the diet, find someone who hunts and take their scraps. My freezer is overflowing with deer and moose meat, all gotten at no cost.

Heck. Get boxes of frozen Jumbo mice from Rodent Pro or somesuch. It is a good deal and chop if ou need smaller. Add cheap chicken parts from the grocery to your frozen stash. Nail ribcages from deer to cage walls for your animals to pull at, they love it. Mostly rodent based is best. Tell wife you Man. However she is right. Rodent colonys stink.

>>i just spend 28 bucks on two weeks worth of adult mice the cheapest way to do it is to start breeding your own food

I started breeding my own rodents about 10 years ago, it was the best thing I've done!

I have kept as many as 65 breeding boxes, right now only about 20. I spend about $25 a month on food and bedding (I get my bedding at a farm/feed store, a huge bail of shavings cost about $6, it's equivilent to about $35 worth of pet shop shavings). I feed all my critters and still make about $25-$40 a week selling pinkies to the local pet shop.

I use imitation vanilla in my rodent water, it kills the ammonia odor in their urine. It makes a world of difference, especially if you're keeping the rodent racks in the house.

I've been to houses where the rodent smell fills the whole house...that just means they're too lazy to keep their cages clean.
My rodent breeding page

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Mike Heinrich,
Mike@amazontreeboa.org
www.amazontreeboa.org

Purchasing frozen rodents in bulk is, in my mind, the easiest means of feeding a large specimen. I use this term literally - I have minimal time to spend with my animals due to work/school, and its simply more convenient (and infact, cost effective) to use frozen feeders.

Sure, you CAN breed rodents and such (and may well save/make some money in the process!), but reality is that you still have to feed your feeders, have to take the time to care for them, have to worry about various issues of cleanliness (smell, wife-factor, and child-factor if you have them; plus various environmental issues depending on where you live)...blah blah blah.

Long story short: Which is more valuable to you - time or money?

If youre short on time - go with frozen rodents.
Can buy them in bulk, and if you shop carefully you can usually find some really nice deals (especially on larger items, like jumbo rats/mice). I also mix in baby chicks/quail, which my animal loves (especially the quail). Throw em in the freezer, tell your wife to suck it up (if she cant deal with a few mice in the freezer, hows she gonna handle a large possibly-aggressive lizard?), and youre all set. I typically spend approx. $200 for a 6-8 month supply of rodents/birds; which really isnt a big hassel for me personally.

If youre short on money - go about setting up a feeder group. Depending on whether or not you plan to have more than one of these animals, a rather small feeder colony could serve your purposes well. If you plan on feeding a colony of monitors though, Id personally go with the frozen - less time spent worrying about feeder mice, more time spent enjoying your animal(s).

Then again, Ive also not had much success with feeder breeding. If you DO go that route, I would definitely suggest using rats over mice. Aside from the obvious 'more meat' aspect, rats are also (im told) less likely to become aggressive towards cage mates.

As someone mentioned above, hunters should be your new best friend - you might even consider looking up the local game butcher, who may well be able to provide scraps.
Other businesses Ive heard of people obtaining cheap feed from:
- chicken/duck farms
- rabbit farms
- fish markets
- butchers
- the road (I know of people who have little issue making use of a freshly road-killed deer - better than leaving it to rot and can provide a massive quantity of meat if you have the refridgeration space to keep it fresh)

Depending on just how large a species youre talking, you may also want to consider a colony of roaches. While your wife may not like the sound of that (could always post something like this in the basement/toolshed/garage), it could serve as a nice addition to your animals' diet - both large and small. It should also reduce your costs to some degree.

Monitors are expensive to care for properly, but not as expensive as carnivorous mammals kept the way they should be.
I order large amounts of rodents from Rodentpro at one time, enough for them for 6 months at a time. Now its gotten even easier, my collection is down to 3 monitors (got an offer on my female red ackie from someone I knew would take great care of her).