How much do I feed my juvenile Rusty Monitor (varanus Semiremex)?

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Dcevo

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Hi everyone. I'm new to monitor keeping. I got my first baby yesterday! He is a Rusty Monitor native to far north Queensland. I'm curious as to how much and how often I should feed the little guy while he's growing. I want him to grow up big and strong haha. I've set up a heat lamp and Uvb, I need to get a temperature guage tomorrow, but have been told his basking spot should be 65-70 degrees, I can feel it's pretty hot, but I'll Make sure it's perfect asap. Ive read this plays a part in their feeding habits and digestion so I've also got a timer for the lights and have ordered a heat mat for the night times. But back to my question, how much and how often do I feed him? I've got supplements, calcium and vitamin to dust his woodies and crickets!
 
I don't have any experience with V. semiremex specifically, but it appears that no one has come by with a definitive answer.

The general rule with young monitors is that they need to eat like crazy and should be fed generously.

Some people caution against 'power feeding' juvenile reptiles, which is to feed them even when they are not actively hunting food. I am sometimes guilty of this. When my juvenile ridgetails (V. acanthurus) come out to bask, but are just laying around, I'll often offer them a food item, which they eat 'reflexively'. I do this to both ensure even the smaller ones get fed well, but also as part of the process of acclimating them to my presence. This is not the same as simply having food available at all times in case one of them wishes to hunt down a meal, which most keepers seem to agree is good practice with juvenile reptiles. Having food available (but not putting it front of their faces) requires the animal to exercise both physically and mentally.
 
Hi everyone. I'm new to monitor keeping. I got my first baby yesterday! He is a Rusty Monitor native to far north Queensland. I'm curious as to how much and how often I should feed the little guy while he's growing. I want him to grow up big and strong haha. I've set up a heat lamp and Uvb, I need to get a temperature guage tomorrow, but have been told his basking spot should be 65-70 degrees, I can feel it's pretty hot, but I'll Make sure it's perfect asap. Ive read this plays a part in their feeding habits and digestion so I've also got a timer for the lights and have ordered a heat mat for the night times. But back to my question, how much and how often do I feed him? I've got supplements, calcium and vitamin to dust his woodies and crickets!


Hi, until you can get accurate temp and humidity readings you should not be offering any food. Can you put a couple of photos up of the whole enclosure?
You shouldn`t really need to use a heat mat at all, if the coolest ambient temps get too low, particularly during the night, you can use a ceramic heat emitter of suitable wattage.
 

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