Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello,
My dumerils is doing well....still a bit shy.....but hopefully that will get better.
As far as diet goes....I am still learning or should i say being taught by my dumerils,,,,hahah
So far in order of acceptance...it seems to prefer pinkies then crickets....tried superworms and thawed/room temp shrimp to no avail!??
It actually like f/t pinkies just as much as live ones.....
I am concerned the pinkie cricket diet is not enough variety?
should i be using vitamin or calcium dust?
Thanks!
Bryan in Va.

Hi, I think if it were me, I`d cut up a fuzzy mouse instead, because at least the skeleton`s formed, and there`s more protein. Pinkies are said to be "full of milk", but as far as I know, Varanids cannot process the lactose, so it`s of no benefit. (Not to say they don`t have a part to play in captive diet, because they do).
Variety isn`t as important as the nourishment value the prey offers. Inverts need supplementing, vertebrates don`t!
They are sometimes said to be a "specialist" crab feeder, but that is only thought to occur in the mangroves, and in other locations, they take a wider variety of prey...

Ok....so pinkies dont carry much calcium content?
If I use pinkies do they need dusting?
Someone here once said mice of various stages make monitors fat and lazy?
Bryan

If they are calm and not pacing around, it means you probably kept them properly. They must feel save enough to let their guard down and lounge around...

I know Im gonna get dack for this, but I use Calcium Plus.

Hi,
It doesnt pace around at all....ever since i went the topsoil route instead of cypress mulch he has been so content...spending hours on end making burrows.
I have "rep-cal" and "rep-vite" that I lightly dust the pinkies and heavily dust the crickets.
Bryan

Hi again, many people say mice etc make monitors fat and lazy, they are telling lies. The main thing that makes them fat, lazy, and in the overwhelming majority of cases DEAD long before their time, is keeping them undermetabolised!
Rodents and other whole vertebrate prey are a "complete meal"...
Try some small fish, no need to supplement them.

Fish.......Specific type?
Bryan

Try a fishing shop, they usually sell small bait fish (or a fish market). It doesn`t matter whether they`re salt or freshwater fish...

On the whole mice thing, they can make monitors fat. That's because they're over feeding adults. I've read an account of argus monitor being raised to maturity and laying viable eggs in 6 months on a rodent heavy diet.
-----
Jason

Hi Fabrizio13, ANY food item can make an animal overweight if too much is fed; "too much" just means the animal receives more energy than it uses in all it`s activities, it`s that simple.

Guys,
I guess I should state that my dumerils seems to be on a pinkie a day diet right now.....he has a daily ritual...wakes up...explores cage...eats....swim/soaks a bit.....explores/basks....poops in water then retreats back to burrow.
Bryan

I have raised 2 Dumerils from orange heads on up to beautiful full-size adults. Anyway, as young they ate an assortment of things: shrimp, crickets, dubia roaches, clams (shelled...not one of their fav items) and pinkies. They wouldn't touch fish...I tried several times. As they got older, they definitely decided that mice and chicks are their favorite. I still offer shrimp once in a while, but not a staple.

I would definitely try them again on the shrimp...mine loved it. My male actually preferred shrimp to pinkies and he was probably 6 months old before he would start taking mice. As far as insects go, dusted crickets are okay, but if you can get dubia roaches they make a much more substantial meal. I started a colony, they are easy to keep, breed like crazy, don't jump or climb or chirp. And maybe best of all, they don't stink like crickets.

Small newborn mice are often harvested before their skeletal structure is formed...so you need to supplement calcium. I use Calcium Plus...the best suppelment out there.

by dusting pinkies?

Yes, you must dust the pinkies. These guys grow really fast and grow big, so the require a lot of calcium. That's why monitor do better on a diet base on rodents.

THANKS EVERYONE!

Hi everyone,
Its been a while since I have been on but wanted to give a update on my dumerils.....when I got the baby it still had a orangeish head and fit in the palm of my hand.....today it is well over 2 ft from nose to tail tip..maybe longer....growth seems to be slow????
I dont know.....but we hit a milestone today for us and he readily came to my tongs and ate a f/t fuzzy right off of the tongs!!!!
Up until today it seemed as if i tried to do this it would shy away and mostly retreat into its one of many burrows.
So I am very happy!
Next step is hand feeding.....but I am not rushing anything!
Bryan in Va.