Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Okay, I hear so much about overweight monitors that I'm trying to figure this out. Everyone says how bad too much weight is... but how much weight is good? What should an average adult male Bosc weigh? Female? I've looked for this info and never really found it. So any thoughts would be helpful.
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Lucien

1.0 Columbian Redtail Boa (BCI)(Sutekh)
2.2 Leopard geckos (2 Blizzards (Caine and Goliath), 1 het Blizzard (Lilith) and 1 Tangerine Albino (Tequila Sunrise ...Tiki for short))
0.1 Savannah Monitor (Kiros)
13 rats
5 Gerbils
2 Dogs (Loki and Storm)
2 cats (Sahara and Hercules)

Go by appearance, a bosc monitor like all other species are long and thin not round and fat. For their length they are the shortest roundest species when normal and healthy. In Daniel Bennetts book he has some pics of wild boscs that are healthy, Id use them as your reference. I used a similar idea years ago when raising my big bosc who at 4.5 feet long was 10.5 lbs at his heaviest. Ive heard of and have seen boscs heavier and they were even shorter, but those are living blimps.

I just wanted a general idea of how much the average weight should be. My Sav is only about 27 inches long at the moment.. probably weighs 3 or 4 lbs...Maybe a bit more since I haven't been able to get her to sit still long enough to be weighed *L* She eats daily... rats that I breed myself and she's approximately 8 or 9 months old now. I figured I'd continue the feeding regiment until this May unless her growth slows down before then... She's my first monitor but I did alot of research before I bought her... and so far she's done well with me for 8 months.. I just want to see her healthy and happy..
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Lucien

1.0 Columbian Redtail Boa (BCI)(Sutekh)
2.2 Leopard geckos (2 Blizzards (Caine and Goliath), 1 het Blizzard (Lilith) and 1 Tangerine Albino (Tequila Sunrise ...Tiki for short))
0.1 Savannah Monitor (Kiros)
13 rats
5 Gerbils
2 Dogs (Loki and Storm)
2 cats (Sahara and Hercules)

My old female bosc was 30 inches and actually 3lbs and was a bit chubby. My friends 43 inch water monitor is only 4lbs 3 ounces, with a nice build to him. Id weigh it with a digital fishing scale to be sure, as they seem alot heavier than they are. My 2 Albigs are 8lbs at 4 ft, and 24lbs at 6ft 1/2 inch, both feel a lot heavier than they actually are. I use a good digital fishing scale that goes to 50lbs and put the animal in a cotton pillow case to hang on the hook.

I never even thought of a fishing scale *L* Thanks for the idea...and I'll do that. My estimate is probably off though she does appear heavier than she probably is.... she's yet got another growth spurt to hit I think so should slim down some in that.... Plus her new cage is in the works...
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Lucien

1.0 Columbian Redtail Boa (BCI)(Sutekh)
2.2 Leopard geckos (2 Blizzards (Caine and Goliath), 1 het Blizzard (Lilith) and 1 Tangerine Albino (Tequila Sunrise ...Tiki for short))
0.1 Savannah Monitor (Kiros)
13 rats
5 Gerbils
2 Dogs (Loki and Storm)
2 cats (Sahara and Hercules)