Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I want to dissipate an other misconception about varanids husbandry vs. tameness.
In the last few years many came to me with the idea that feeding rodents or high proteins diet causes monitors to be more aggressive, they apparently noticed a temperament difference when feeding an insect based diet.
Well just to inform you theirs no difference whatever in any of my animals, doesn’t matter if fed insects or rodents, there behaviour is almost the same. I say almost because insects are more rapidly digested, witch in turn makes the monitor hungry faster. However when monitor are kept a tad under my usual temps, its quit possible that rodent fed monitors be a little more monitor like, why? Because once for once digesting meat raises internal heat by 70%. Don’t believe me! experiment.
You see with varanids it all boils down to heat.

You think that an ectotherm like a monitor lizard that eats a meal can raise its internal Tb by 70%? So if that lizard is around room temperature, at ~25 degrees C, it can raise its internal Tb to oh, around 40 degrees C? Maybe you didn't mean what you wrote because it doesnt make any sense. Yeah, they might raise their Tb by a fraction of a degree, but that is NOT 70%. More like 1 or 2%.