Reptile Forum, Reptile Classifieds - CaptiveBred

arch · Posted: Tue Jun 12, 2007 9:40 pm Post subject: feeding adult rudicollis.

Hi all wanted to ask what people are feeding there adult/large roughnecks? as they are mainly insectivores, my one isn't very big but is growing/eating fast! I've been feeding him every insect i can buy from crickets,locusts,roaches,mealworms but thought when hes big hes going to need rather a large amount of these to even nearly fill him up! i do give him the odd mouse or chick but was told by most that its not ideal
to give him often, on the other hand a shop near me have a pair of adults
and they feed them rats as a main diet.
So any ideas? mine really seems to love the chicks but i dont want him getting fat and ill, ive read that in the wild they eat alot of fresh water crayfish+crabs anyone know where you can buy these other than for pets.
Thanks.

martin day · Posted: Wed Jun 13, 2007 9:14 pm Post subject:

you could proberly get crayfish and crabs from any fishmongers
you could try adding snails to his diet
i cant see adding a few rodents will hurt in the wild when there not up in the trees im sure thell be scavenging like most monitor do on the ground
and will eat whatever`s available
have you any recent pics of him i think theyre amazeing monitors

arch · Posted: Wed Jun 13, 2007 10:25 pm Post subject:

Cheers i shall look around, i did think about snails there easy to come by.
I shall be putting some new pics of him up soon (soon as i take them)
as hes become alot bolder now and will stay in view rather than running
away like before.
The only problem is hes hardly ever out when i get home from work so
i shall have to wait until the weekend. So they should be up sat/sun
Cheers.

christophermchale · Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2007 11:16 pm Post subject:

day old chicks. they have far more protein than rats or mice.
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cardboard city.

arch · Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2007 11:51 pm Post subject:

Cheers, he seems to be addicted to chicks every time i put my hand in the viv hes expecting a chick! i even got a rather unpleasant shock in the form of a quick nip on the end of my finger the other day, my fault for wiggling it around in front of him. How many would you suggest giving him weekly/monthly? hes got to be getting on to 2ft (mostly tail) I've not been giving him them all the time as i was worried about over feeding him.

christophermchale · Posted: Fri Jun 15, 2007 1:35 am Post subject:

another plus to that is that chicks are SIGNIFICANTLY cheaper than rats as well.
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cardboard city.

lol93 · Posted: Fri Jun 15, 2007 8:56 am Post subject:

They're also a lot higher in cholesterol. Wink

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martin day · Posted: Sun Jun 17, 2007 3:11 pm Post subject:

rats havemore calcium in them thats part of the reason they are more expensive
chicks may be cheaper and can fill up your monitor for under a quid but for nutritionall value rats are alot better

christophermchale · Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2007 12:18 am Post subject:

you can also dust chicks just as you would with crickets.
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cardboard city.

arch · Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2007 9:03 pm Post subject:

thanks, i have been dusting them, how many chicks would you recommend feeding him in a week? he seems to always want more!