What are the bad effects of different foods on Bosc (Savannah) monitors.

Posted by Dale on August 31, 2000 at 07:06:53:

In Reply to: Re: what are the bad effects of dog/cat food on savs?? posted by Annaka on August 31, 2000 at 00:37:59:

: 1. Diarrhea. Canned dog/cat food has no roughage, and is too digestible.
A steady diet of rodents can cause constipation and impaction from too much roughage, the hair.
The "correct" diet is probably large African insects, with just a few vertebrates. This is not available in the USA.

: 2. Too high in fat, esp cat food. Bugs, rodents and reptiles which they eat in the wild are lower in fat.
Canned dog and cat food is LOWER in fat than domestic rodents. Monitors in captivity are typically fed too much food, that is why they get so fat.

: 3. Not balanced for monitors. Monitors are not cats or dogs. Look at the nutritional difference between dog and cat foods. Cats and dogs are closer related to each other than to monitors, yet look at the difference in nutrients needed by these carnivorous mammals. And their diet needs have been researched for at least 40-50 years. Reptiles have been around much less, and proper husbandry is still a grey area. How do we know what a monitor's needs are?
No food presently available is "balanced" for monitors. What studies that have been done, indicate that most monitors are obligate preditors with nutritional needs similar to cats. Certainly adult Komodo dragons eat essencially the same diet as a large cat. Small preditory mammals such as wild cats and foxes have a diet which includes lots of insects. Some have come to specialize on insects. Iguanas are more closely related to monitors than are cats or dogs, should we expect monitors to eat what iguanas eat?

The bottom line is that no one food is perfect for a Bosc monitor. In the wild they do not eat just one "perfect" food. Larger Bosc (Savannah) monitors can benefit by modest amounts of good quality canned dog food. Young monitors grow faster with some good quality canned cat food in addition to crickets and other insects.

• My monitor

Follow Ups:

• Re: "The "correct" diet .......? Andy 09/01/00 (0)
• Re: What are the bad effects of different foods on Bosc (Savannah) monitors. Annaka 08/31/00 (0)

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: : 1. Diarrhea. Canned dog/cat food has no roughage, and is too digestible. : A steady diet of rodents can cause constipation and impaction from too much roughage, the hair. : The "correct" diet is probably large African insects, with just a few vertebrates. This is not available in the USA. : : : 2. Too high in fat, esp cat food. Bugs, rodents and reptiles which they eat in the wild are lower in fat. : Canned dog and cat food is LOWER in fat than domestic rodents. Monitors in captivity are typically fed too much food, that is why they get so fat. : : 3. Not balanced for monitors. Monitors are not cats or dogs. Look at the nutritional difference between dog and cat foods. Cats and dogs are closer related to each other than to monitors, yet look at the difference in nutrients needed by these carnivorous mammals. And their diet needs have been researched for at least 40-50 years. Reptiles have been around much less, and proper husbandry is still a grey area. How do we know what a monitor's needs are? : No food presently available is "balanced" for monitors. What studies that have been done, indicate that most monitors are obligate preditors with nutritional needs similar to cats. Certainly adult Komodo dragons eat essencially the same diet as a large cat. Small preditory mammals such as wild cats and foxes have a diet which includes lots of insects. Some have come to specialize on insects. Iguanas are more closely related to monitors than are cats or dogs, should we expect monitors to eat what iguanas eat? : The bottom line is that no one food is perfect for a Bosc monitor. In the wild they do not eat just one "perfect" food. Larger Bosc (Savannah) monitors can benefit by modest amounts of good quality canned dog food. Young monitors grow faster with some good quality canned cat food in addition to crickets and other insects.

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