Savannah Monitor

[olablane]

Can a savannah monitor eat ground beef?

[skippy]

they can eat it but for nutritional reasons it's recommended to feed whole prey items(so they get the bone mass and insides as well)

it works in a pinch but they can't live off it is what i'm getting at

[olablane]

Ok She eats roaches, crickets and froen-thawed pinkie rats. thought it might be a good treat occasionally. Thanks

[clam1991]

or add calcium powder

i do that when i need to for my red tegu

[skippy]

i used to feed chicken hearts and gizzards as treats but i don't think it gets much better than pinkie rats! ( i fed a live one to my black throat and after he knocked it back i could still hear it squeeking! always dead after that)

[LeilaNami]

I believe a variety is best. A diet consisting on just one animal isn't necessarily bad (because people do it with snakes all the time) but I think it is limiting.

[olablane]

i used to feed chicken hearts and gizzards as treats but i don't think it gets much better than pinkie rats! ( i fed a live one to my black throat and after he knocked it back i could still hear it squeeking! always dead after that)

Mothing like a little squeeeeeeekkkkk to make you feel guilty, is there. She is sbout 28 inches now. Up til about 2 weks ago she would not eat anything but bugs.Can I also feed her chicken and stuff as long as I put calcium powder on it? How about boneless fish. I just want to keep her healthy and happy!!

[skippy]

i also used to cut whole mackerel in half and give it to him it was the only time he ever snapped at me! the bones shouldn't be a problem as long as they aren't sharp but whole fish would be best(human quality only-no feeder fish) like fresh anchovies, sardines or mackerel

[skippy]

although, i'm not sure what kind of fresh fish you can get in idaho- sorry

[AudreyElizabeth]

Ugh. I just finished reading Fast Food Nation and cringe to think of anything eating raw ground beef.
I always fed my monitor crickets and pinkies.

[olablane]

Mine eats pinkies and roaches. Its just that I live 2 hours from nearest pet store and occasionally I run out of frozen and live mice. She needs to eat something in the mean time. I also think she needs a variety of foods. Any other suggestions are welcome and appreciated.

[AudreyElizabeth]

That is a problem. Have you thought of starting a roach colony or breeding mice or crickets? I've always wanted to do that, but I don't have enough animals to really warrant such a project.

[olablane]

I have , but I have a skunk that likes to eat the same things as my lizards and Ts so Some times I dont have enough live ones that I can part with and still maintain my supply.

[AudreyElizabeth]

LOL You have the opposite problem then!
Not to get you off topic, but I've always wondered how it would be to keep a skunk. I've heard they can be great pets.

[jr47]

I use to feed mine raw chicken and most of the time she would regurge it all over the side of the cage. Nasty, Half digested chicken. What a smell. So, I just stuck to mice and pinky rats or hoppers.
I am not saying the chicken could hurt it. Could be it just didnt agree with mine. They get hungry they will eat about anything. Also, If you have a bait shop close they usually sell crickets and stuff that would be better than feeding hamburger. I would rather get them at the pet store. Its a bit safer but when I have to I will get crickets at the bait shop. So far I have had no issues with them.