Opinions on raising Lace monitors

[cadwallader]

was it peas, serpant???
I think he means rats?

 

[serpenttongue]

was it peas, serpant???
I think he means rats?

Rats?? Hell no, it's mince!!

 

[cadwallader]

mince why mince?

 

[RSPcrazy]

Turkey and roo mince are best.
I mix them with raw eggs and calcium powder + peas and flatten onto trays and put them into the freezer, once frozen I cut them into cubes and defrost and feed.

Mince ,chicken necks ,roar beef chunks ,goat ,roar chicken chunks ,kangaroo are certain species eat fish ,yabbies and rats of all sizes. With the beef you should be careful because it can give them very mild runs ,as in poop soup yuck,. Everything else should be fine, lamb is a bit like beef, both should really be only offered as a treat. Giving lace monitors being so big I would most likely be confutable giving them a whole medium size goat steak as they can swallow at least 2 kg of meat at a time in the wild if they get the chance.

Get rid of 99% of these diets and keep the whole bodied small animals (rats, chickens, quails, rabbits, etc).
Whole bodied small animals is the only diet they should be on.

Do I have to remind everyone about one of my lacies that got Metabolic Bone Desease (from the previous owner) and bent her snout down, because she wasn't fed whole bodied small animals.

Just meat with calcium powder and the odd mouse every couple of weeks was her only diet.

I still have to force feed her to get food past her snout. She can eat pinkie mice by herself, but their not developed enough for her to get the vitamins she needs.

Diet should be taken VERY seriously, don't think that just because your lacies like the meat, that its any good for them.

 

[serpenttongue]

Diet should be taken VERY seriously, don't think that just because your lacies like the meat, that its any good for them.

Exactly. They need every part of the prey item, not just the meat.

 

[Reptiles4me]

The food items that I said were examples for all monitor species not just directly for lace monitors.

 

[saximus]

The food items that I said were examples for all monitor species not just directly for lace monitors.

And they are just as bad for all monitors as Lace Monitors. Whole prey items should be a staple for anything large enough to take them

 

[RSPcrazy]

The food items that I said were examples for all monitor species not just directly for lace monitors.

Doesn't matter what monitor it is, smaller monitors can have insects aswell, but monitors get their vitamins from animal organs (not just the meat), one of the most important being the liver, because vitamin D3 (needed to absorb calcium) is stored in the liver of the animal.

 

[sharky]

Sorry, please excuse if I am cutting into this thread but could monitors be fed liver by itself? I have seen liver in packs like mince in the meat section at super markets. Would this help a monitor recieve extra calcium if it was sick?

Sorry to but in!

 

[sd1981]

RSP- I've seen your guy on YouTube and it breaks my heart to see what people can do when they don't know what the dietary requirements are, or are too arrogant to accept assistance...

OP- whole food items, Rats, chicks, quails etc.... Doesn't need to have a huge variety for food. Heat wise, a good hot basking spot is imperative for good health.... I have mine at 50-55 degrees surface temp to aid in digestion of said prey items. Allow any interaction to be on the lacies terms. They start off fearful, then become less fearful, then become inquisitive, then become a little bold, and so on.... Gain its trust by allowing it to observe you spot cleaning, replenishing water and food without you dragging it from the safety of its hides...never remove it from its hides..... I have kept lacies for a number of years and have a young hatchy who ive seen a handful of times.... i can only guage that its still alive by the fact that its food disappears and the regular defacation in the enclosure, which i spot clean when topping up water bowl and food items ( joking, i see it occasionally, its very shy)....And take advice from guys like crocdoc, IV, RSP etc as they have a wealth of knowledge and are very helpful for people wanting to learn more.....Hope this helps

 

[Chicken]

Wow, I must be "old school". I'm still feeding all my lacies on whole rats, rabbits, quail and mice

Why do you include peas?

I always include some greens, whether i have peas or spinnach lying around.
Your not old school i just make it up to save money, it lasts for months and you can re-freeze it.

 

[RSPcrazy]

Sorry, please excuse if I am cutting into this thread but could monitors be fed liver by itself? I have seen liver in packs like mince in the meat section at super markets. Would this help a monitor recieve extra calcium if it was sick?


Sorry to but in!

If it was sick, whole bodied small animals are still your best bet, because of all the other organs and bones, vitamin D3 is very important, but that's just one part, if that's all you fed them, they would more then likely suffer from other deficiencies.


Avoid processed foods from the supermarket, they're bad news.

 

[sniffmylizard]

I always include some greens, whether i have peas or spinnach lying around.
Your not old school i just make it up to save money, it lasts for months and you can re-freeze it.

I am not sure if this is the case with monitors but spinach contains oxelates and messes with calcium absorption which can lead to kidney problems. I know this to be true for omnivorous lizards. Shouldn't'
we be just trying to mimic their wild diet as much as possible? Whole prey items have served them well long before we started to keep them. As for the raising them I think learning from people like crocdoc, IV, RSPCRAZY, CHri5 and several others would be a great start to any monitors upbringing.
All the best with your search for knowledge.

 

[cadwallader]

I would only feed one pea a week as the only plant material consumed of MOST varanus sp. is the food left over in the digestive system of the animals other then that their digestive system has not evolved the digestive tract or are host to marco organisms that can digest larges amounts of plant material

 

[Tsubakai]

Mince ,chicken necks ,roar beef chunks ,goat ,roar chicken chunks ,kangaroo are certain species eat fish ,yabbies and rats of all sizes. With the beef you should be careful because it can give them very mild runs ,as in poop soup yuck,. Everything else should be fine, lamb is a bit like beef, both should really be only offered as a treat. Giving lace monitors being so big I would most likely be confutable giving them a whole medium size goat steak as they can swallow at least 2 kg of meat at a time in the wild if they get the chance.

Others have commented but I wanted to reiterate that this type of diet is terrible for monitors and will result in all sorts of complications down the track. As has already been said, whole animals of the appropriate size should be the only staple diet for any monitor. They can be fed anything else as a treat (mince, steak, eggs etc) but not more often than once every week or two and certainly not as a routine part of the diet.

 

[cadwallader]

Whats everyones views on calcium supplements in mature lizards?

 

[RSPcrazy]

Whats everyones views on calcium supplements in mature lizards?

The previous owner of my Lacie with MBD was powder coating her meat with calcium powder, and I think he was coating with vitamin powder as well. In monitors I personally don't believe it does much, they get everything they need from whole bodied prey.

 

[cadwallader]

there is a veterinary liquid supplement that is available that can be injected into rodent which i know keepers use, that im intrigued to learn more about when i drop into the vets next?

 

[RSPcrazy]

there is a veterinary liquid supplement that is available that can be injected into rodent which i know keepers use, that im intrigued to learn more about when i drop into the vets next?

Ah yes, I know the one, I have some here. I thought you men't the powders.
I had to give daily oral injects of it to my MBD lacie. It helped, but it wouldn't be something you would use unless their was a problem.

 

[reptile_keeper_luke]

Thank you to all those who genuinely helped out. This was a question just to raise a bit of discussion on the topic, not to cause pointless arguments. Thank you again to those who had some really helpful points and discussions.
I have a lot of experience in different varieties of snake and lizard, including adult Laceys. This is my first juvenile, and I did hours upon hours of research before the purchase and saw (& heard) a lot of conflicting methods of what's best - mostly in terms of how to bond with your animal.
This post was an attempt to just get a wider, refreshed opinion from those in the know - I have already gained a lot of brilliant advice & know-how from crocdoc as he is the breeder (with the great reputation) I bought mine from.
I really just wanted a bit of discussion, so thanks for that those who helped - much appreciated