Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Somebody mentioned feeding goldfish to a Sav... made me think about this. I've got three Sav's of different ages- all over 1 yr old. Of these three, only one seems crazy for goldfish! They all share the same varied diet ('cept for the goldfish course) but Dimples goes whacko, chasing goldfish around in a shallow dish of water, plunging his head under to snatch one, slurping it down like a well-oiled noodle.
So the question is... why don't they all like 'em? Seems like they would be delicious fun for all. Maybe they just don't know what they're missing

Fish are not a part of most Savannah monitor's diets. Especially goldfish which are more garbage fish and will probably end up doing more harm to your monitor than good. Non-coldwater fish have an enzyme that inhibits the absorption of some vitamins... I would advize removing the goldfish entirely from your sav's diet... for its own health...if you want to feed fish stick with something like pollock, mullet, etc. Though not as any sort of staple as Sav's are not fish eating monitors unless they find one dead or dying somewhere... they're big insect and small vertebrate eaters...
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Lucien

1.1 Columbian Redtail Boa (BCI)(Sutekh and Isis)
3.5.3 Leopard geckos (2.0 Blizzards (Caine and Goliath), 0.1 Tangerine Albino (Tequila Sunrise ...Tiki for short), 1.0 Rainwater Albino (Mycah), 0.4 Poss. Het. Albino (Annika, Lace, Rain and Aris) and 2.1 dbl. het blizzard x tang albino (Malice, Malfeas, and Mystic))
0.1 Savannah Monitor (Kiros)
13 rats
2 Dogs (Loki and Storm)
3 cats (Ashe, Sahara and Hercules)
6 Fish (4 Red Danios, 1 Cardinal Fish, and 1 Tiger Barb)
8 Ramshorn snails
"And a Partridge in a Pear Tree!"

Goldfish are not good food items for Savannahs! I don't know who told you that, but I would stop feeding them those nasty things. There are other food items out there that are way better suited for Savannahs. There is alot of speculation between monitor keepers about what to feed them. That is why I posted a question on Ground Turkey Dec 1, 2005. I would like to hear what people have to say. Different monitors have different diets. Water species obviously would probably get more water dwelling prey (fish, amphibians, etc.), while desert species don't. In captivity they do well on the basics. Young eat insects as a main diet, and as they grow mice and rats come into the diet. Some people feed baby chicks, quail, ground turkey (preparred differently), hard boiled eggs, and larger insects. This all depends on what type of monitor you have and the size. I would never feed reptiles or amphibians to my monitors just because of parasite and disease transfer, so don't think I was suggesting that earlier. More thought should be put into the purchase of monitors since many people buy them thinking they are going to provide for them untill they realize just how much they cost. Large cages, heat lamps, heat pads, substrate, some vet visits, and of coarse the amount of food a monitor can eat. I wish that when any reptile was sold it came with a care sheet for beginners or people that think they know all (which I don't either). If you want I will post a question on here to bring up food items. Well, have fun and I hope this helped you some. Good luck with your monitor.