Reptile & Amphibian Forums

are crayfish a good food source for bluetailed monitors.... what about them harming the monitor should the crayfish be killed fist somehow? also do you have any suggestions to give a bluetail as far as 'river food' goes? i want to try as large of variety as possible and get it as natural as possible. thanks in advance!

k

A monitor kept in proper conditions can digestalmost anything. They would rip the crayfish apart but the issue of parasites and bacteria etc can be a problem in captivity from stress.
For over a decade the issue of what to feed a monitor in captivity been figured out, whole rodents, insects, peeps etc, cheap easy and excelent nutritition, with very little to no vitamin supplementation (except insects). I wouldnt feed uncooked seafood to any of my monitors especially if I caught it, I might not eat anything I catch around here anyways, unless I had to.
In the wild they eat what they need to eat to survive as best they can with whats offered to them. Rodents are nocturnal and so are most insects but they work incaptivity, as proven by all of those who actually breed monitors. The other way to see what I mean, try both diets over a period of time say a year or 2 or more each with several animals and then tell me you dont see the obvious difference.
Good luck with your monitor.

Hi K,

Yes, crayfish is fine - they might even remove the pinchers off themselves before they swallow them, like V. albigularis do...any assortment of foods is good to offer, including (fresh)fish, prawns, shrimps, rodents, birds, etc. Vary the diet, feed live if possible, and exercise to keep the obesity down. Plenty of fresh water to soak and (other basin) to toilet into is good (although they will probably use both for both, but "sometimes" they do not!)...what Shvar said is right as well, we're all more or less on the same page as far diet goes here...

Good Luck,
mbayless

My recomendation would be to establish any wild caught monitor. That means to allow the monitor to do all normal events. Please do this with known methods and diets that are known to work.

In my opinion, To try to make it "natural" is only left to experts, as most of us, do not know what that "natural" means. If you understand how this species interacts with its enviornment and what it chooses to hide, nest, bask, in and on, then please share with us. If you understand what they consume when successful in nature, again share. Or what they consume when merely trying to exsist. Or what they are consuming on their path to death, let us know.

Remember, in the past, people have tried to keep and feed monitors "naturally" and by todays standards, they failed miserably.

I do have a pair of wildcaught "orangespot bluetails" whatever they are, I have had them for 14 months, they have grown from 18 inches, to over 3 1/2 feet, they have done this on mice. That is suitable growth for nasty wildcaughts, but fairly slow for captive born.

So, you have a choice, use something that is known to work, here in captivity, or use something that you think, or hope worked in nature. F

I have great success feeding chix, mice and small rats. After going through importation or poor care, get some meat on their bones and eliminate the chance of increasing their parasite load which unfortunately comes from aquatic inverts (crayfish, crab, snails).

I have found the doreanus to love mice regardless of whether they eat them in the wild or not. The few I have cared for never seems to attack large prey very well. They like it quick and easy. Some upset easily and will regurgitate so leave them alone and don't sit and watch them eat because some won't until you leave. I have tried other types of inverts such as roachs, superworms etc and some will eat it and others won't, but all eat the mice without a problem. Don't forget to give your doreanus a big enough place to soak and crap (one in the same).

Once fattened up and active and the parasites are reduce or gone, try feeding live fish. They love these as well and I have found them to be quite adept and catching them.