Get rid of the turkey. Your so missing the point.

Varanids are not snakes. They do not stop feeding at the littlest mistake. You do not have to trick them. They pound food. If not, something is wrong with their set up, or them. Period. Being a picky feeder is the monitor telling you something is VERY WRONG.

Monitors feed daily, a lot. They eat alot. They will feed a few weeks after they have died(its funny but true) That is, high stress situations cause organ damage, such as liver and kidney. They can survive that for short periods(weeks to months), but if the damage is extreme, they perish and appear healthy while doing so.

Its so very common to read on this forum. My poor(name) ate yesterday, and was so happy and looks so healthy, but died today.

Healthy animals, do not die. Only sick ones do. So while it appeared healthy and feeding, the animals are terminal.

In your case, you have two options, take it to the vet and have it checked for organ damage(bloodwork) or try and support it with very good husdandry.

The point is, you do not have to trick monitors to feed, they feed well on anything(within reason), unless serverely compromised. ALways feed whole prey items and in my experience, rodents work best. BUt other prey items work well.

In most cases, if your monitor is near normal, the problem is heat. As in, not enough useable heat. This is important for newbies.

Well adjusted individuals will go and get the heat they need, compromised wild caught individuals, may not bask in the open and seek the heat they need while hidden. So provide a heat range both in basking form and in sheltered form. Cheers

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