Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Do you guys/girls soak your rodents in a plastic bag in hot water, or let them defrost at room temperature? I do the outdated way of just soaking them in warm water. Then feed the mice to the monitors with soaking wet fur. I figure it just adds a little moisture to their digestive system and can't hurt. I don't use that method for snakes just monitors.

Some other items I feed are

dubia roaches
canadian night crawlers
crickets

I do not feed items like meal worms and ground turkey because some of mine will eat that stuff and some won't. I just feed items everyone seems to really like. It keeps it simpler. I also never fed dog food or eggs in any shape or form just can't be bothered.

Nope. I thaw out rodents in the firdge for one weeks worth of food and simply feed as needed daily, cold. No warm smelly messy crap to deal with. They easily last a week in the fridge and can be fed immediately no need to warm up. This is also the same for any rodents/birds that are cut up. Get what you need for a week or two from the freezer, defrost in the firdge and serve.

Cheers,
Mike.

You feed cold rodents...lol yeah right.

For five years and counting....

Isn't that kind of like givng cold milk to a baby.

Yes actually, exactly like it. Here is why. Some babies like cold milk, some do not, it was always thought that was harmful to babies when in reality some prefer it and is of no harm. Most of my babies (hatchlings and adults) eat cold milk. Some do not, I have many snakes that will not eat a rodent untill it is up to room temps, some won't eat dead period, so it is a game we play.

When speaking monitors, most all, actually, all of them will eat cold, some will leave it untill it warms up or untill they are ready to eat it this is the same from hatchlings to adults although the former get bugs mostly. I don't force them to do anything, I drop food in that is cold, they want it, they take it, they dont want it, they wait till later. Simple. The ramifications? None thus far, prolly becuase they are kept hot and have no problem heating the food to digest it with whats available to them.

Cheers,
Mike.

There is one big difference between a person and a reptile, one is cold blooded and can not create its own heat. Also, because an animal will eat something does not mean it is healthy for it. I'm glad the people that have had their reptiles eat a stuffed animal or a heating pad did not decide to make that a staple of their animals diet. I know thats not what you meant, I'm just giving you a hard time, thats kind of the thing to do on this site. I am pretty sure that a cold animal slows the digestive system down by drawing energy, whether or not this has any negative ramifications, I don't know. I've always tried to give warm food just in case. If i'm in a hurry, I'll use hot water in a zip bag. If I have time, I leave it on top of the cage.

Well I guess there is more then one way to thaw a rodent. By the way Mike, are you the one who keeps peach throat monitors? If so I remember seeing a pic of them a while back they were real healthy looking.

I only keep Red Ackies at the moment.

Cheers,
Mike.

Ive done it both ways, frozen in the cage which thaws pretty quick or thawed with hot water for larger rodents. Dont matter they eat it all. Monitors are not fussy and have survived through diversity in food/prey items for many years. I will never forget seeing a documentry on monitors that showed a monitor crawling inside the huge shell of a dead rotted putrified sea turtle lapping up the stinking rotten remanins, that says it all in a nut shell. Canadian night crawlers is someting to consider, although not found in OZ maybe the dwarfs would eat them? I think eggs of any form to be a more natural food selection as they are in the wild. A good friend of mine who specializes in Herp medicine [VET] raised up a baby beaded lizard I gave him on mostly hard boiled eggs, I couldnt believe it was just as large as my holdbacks who had been eating rodents. Eating alot of eggs produces some nasty fecal matter for sure. I try and spread the menu across the board of balance.
Bob
www.herphatch.com

I've heard that canadian night crawlers can carry parasites but I haven't experienced problems with that yet knock on wood. The good thing is they don't bite back, they are easy to find, and tasty(I've heard).

I had meal worms in a bowl in the cage they escaped the bowl on occassion and are breeding in the terrarium with the monitor. He will see one of those beetles walk by and he couldn't care less but if a equally sized cricket dares enter his realm. Crunch.

I dont think anything eats those beetles, they emit a foul odor but if you throw a few of those beetels in a glass tank with some rotting wood they will breed like crazy. The zoophobia worms will not morph into beetles unless they can isolate themselves from their peers due to cannabalism when they are in the defenseless morphing stage.
Bob

God I hate those things.......really, hate. They destroyed an entire colony of crickets I had beucase I didn't have it ventilated well enough for an ammonia producing larva. Then they got into my roaches....luckilly I saved them. Dang. Those breed like wild fire.

Cheers,
Mike.

The only creature that eat those beetles are the following.

Actually you forgot a few animals. my mink and skunk love those little beetles. the opposum eats them too, but she will eat anything.

Tom