picc pics!!!! of monitor eatin a rat....blood!!!!

[jonnysebachi]

hey wayne, how are those ackies? I was thinking about getting some but wasnt sure if they are good monitors for a beginner.

 

[sick4x4]

they are striking, i love reds but i wouldn't recommend babies for beginners... sub adults are alittie more forgiving imo but costly...honestly though for the price, i would always recommend timor, salvator and mangrove's....try your hand at these for a year and move up...you just might find, that monitors aren't your thing... soo always start on the low end...

wayne

 

[dtknow]

Its true a few animals eat only live...but considering snakes are often gotten onto prekill their is no excuse to feed live to a monitor except perhaps enjoyment(of the owner, which is deep down the true reason why most feed live). C'mon, monitors scavenge even in the wild..it shouldn't take much time to get one to take dead rats.

 

[RoachGirlRen]

Have we all forgotten the option of stunning live prey? For animals who refuse pre-killed, it is a good option to reduce the risk of serious injury. If you don't think live prey can wound or even kill a snake or lizard, do even an ounce of research and you will find plenty of information to the contrary. However, some reptiles simply do not accept pre-killed or frozen/thrawed. The best option in these instances is to stun the prey so it is still warm, breathing, and twitching, but desensitized to a degree that they seldom bite or fight back. We adopted this policy at the zoo I worked at for snakes who wouldn't accept pre-killed, as we lost one of our best snakes to the tiniest of mouse bites - caused a massive systemic infection. Aftering seeing the damage one of my own mice inflicted on a snake (the reason she was given to me), as well as the accounts of heartbroken herpers who lost beloved pets to mice, rats, and rabbits, I would absolutely never feed a live tooth-and-claw bearing vert if it wasn't stunned first.

 

[ArachnoCrazy]

I am not against feeding live pray, but I personally prefer pre-killed prey. For those who think a rat can not bite through a monitors skin. I grew up on a farm and know rats can chew through concrete if they decide it in their way so the monitors skin will be no obstacle. When cornered rats can become extremely vicious.

 

[edventurous77]

rats are extremely clever, and for those reasons i would never feed any of my animals a live rat.One of my friends had a 5 foot ball python killed by a rat, he found the rat happily munching away on the snake. reptiles just aint as clever im afraid, and while they often come out on top, i aint willing to take that risk

 

[MalevolentScorp]

There are down sides and upsides to live feeding. Live feeding to most seems cruel and unusual to most people, but it appears to be more stimulating for your animal. It provides exercise, and gives them a chance to hunt. Now most worry about your animal getting harmed in the process of live feeding. On a bosc monitor, or sav, truly the only thing that is vulnerable would be the eyes. Inner mouth possibly, but mainly the eyes. I live feed my savannah monitor frequently with mice, and mice have never penetrate their tough hide.

Funniest part, people don't really realize that savs are insectivores.