THAT is a hot spot

[SPJ]

He is eating crickets, mealworms, hard boiled eggs and thawed pinkies.

[jjmitchell]

savannah's are primarily insectivores right? not trying to sound stupid just have very little experience with monitors

[RichsBallPythons]

savannah's are primarily insectivores right? not trying to sound stupid just have very little experience with monitors

When younger they eat insects with the smaller rodents. But as they age their diet does consist of larger rodents more often.

[gbassett]

When younger they eat insects with the smaller rodents. But as they age their diet does consist of larger rodents more often.

They are primarly insects eaters,and should only be feed rodent sparingly.





These pictures where taken in a outdoor enclosure on an 85 degree day

[Patrick Long]

They are primarly insects eaters,and should only be feed rodent sparingly.

WHAT????!?!?!?

Where are all these people getting this info?????

[SPJ]

Huh?
I feed mainly a rodent diet.
Even with babies that eat crickets, they should still be getting whole rodents.

Wow. Hot spot I have is too hot. These should be fed insects.......Sounds like the petstore by me that insists corn snakes will eat crickets and don't need to be fed anything else.

[gbassett]

WHAT????!?!?!?

Where are all these people getting this info?????

May I ask you the same question?Where are you getting your info from?Is it what you heard or read about,or is this based on personal experince?


Savanna monitors are a little different from other African monitors,in the fact they can not be baited.Which means carrion is not apart of there deit.They very rarely eat lizards,frogs,and other small vertebrate.Why are there no Savanna monitors over 6 years old in captivity,and why are they not being bread(even by advanced keepers)?The reason why is because they have a more specialized diet than we originally thought.


Greg

[Patrick Long]

I have owned several monitor species.....and NONE of them...were on an Insect based diet.

The fact that you truly believe that is quite astonishing.


And its not bread....its bred.

[slayer]

WHAT????!?!?!?

Where are all these people getting this info?????

.................................. Here is one source of that info


CISSE,M. Bulletin de L'insitute Fondamental d'Afrique Noire. 1972 34 (2): 503-515. The diet of
Varanids in Senegal. Translated by Daniel Bennett
on page 21. Its a translated to english in the field study on the diet of Savannah and Nile monitors that proves how specialized an invert feeder Savannahs are.
http://www.kingsnake.com/aho/pdf/men...tt_undated.pdf

Heres an excerpt that cuts to the meat of it all. I added the common names that are highlighted in red.

"In total we analysed the stomach contents of 28 animals. The results are presented by monitor
and by month in table I. The identified prey was made up exclusively of invertebrates except
for the eggs of Agama agama and V. exanthematicus. The following were found
1. Insects.
a. Coleopera:
- Carabids: Ctenosta senegalense, Megacephala megacephela, Scarites sp.......................... (Ground beetles)
- Curculionids: Episus sp......................................... ( Weevles)
- Dytiscids: Cybister sp............................................ ( Water beetles)
- Meloids: Psalydolytta fusca.................................. ( Blister beetles)
- Scaribids: Adoretus sp. Anomala sp. Oryctes sp. Schizonycha africana ............................ (Scarab Beetles)
- Tenebrionids: Pimelia senegalensis, Phrynocolus dentatus, Vieta senegalensis............................. (Darkling Beetles)
b. Dictyoptera: Mantes: Epitenodera gambiensis........................................ .. ( Mantids)
c. Hymenoptera: Aphids: Xylocopa sp............................. ( Carpenter bees )
d. Lepidotera: chiefly Chenilles and Sphingids................................ ( Moths)
e. Orthoptera:
- Acridids: Acanthacris ruficornis citrina, Anacridium sp., Kraussaria angulifera, Cataloipus sp.,
Oedaleus nigeriensis, Humbe tenuicornis.................................... (Locusts)
- Gryllids: Gryllus bimaculatus................................ (Field Crickets)
- Pyrgomorphids: Zonocerus variegatus............................. (Grasshopper)
- Tettigonids: Homorocoryphus nitidulus vicinus.......... (African Bush Cricket)
2. Arachnids: a scorpion of the family Buthidae.
3. Myriapods: Diplopodes (Iules) and Chilipods (Scolopendra)................................... (Millipedes and Centipedes)
4. Molluscs: Gasteropods pulmones Helicarionines.................................... ... (Snails)
5. The eggs of Varanus exanthematicus and Agama agama
In order of number, prey was distributed as follows;
Myriapods 48.32%
Insects 45.49% of which 21.22% were Coleopterids, 15.21% Lepidoterans (Chenilles) and
8.84% Orthopterans.
Eggs of Agama and V. exanthematicus 3.75%.
Gasteropod molluscs 2.35%.
Arachnid scorpions 0.11%.
These results interpret the respective percentages of prey items, but they do not give
information on their distribution in the predators. This we have indicated by the degrees of
prescence (LESCURE). The number of animals containing each prey is given. In other words,
it shows the percentage of animals containing each prey.
Table II shows the different prey with their percentages and frequency of prescence. The prey
most frequently consumed by V. exanthematicus in the area where our research was based
was the Coleopterids (64.28%), the Myriapods (53.57%), larvae of Lepidopterans (46.42%)
and the Orthopterans (35.71%).
If we consider this diet by month we need to establish whether it reflects the availability of the
large invertebrates of that period. In fact, the Coleopterans, larvae of Sphingides and the
Myriopods, which are abundant during the first half of the winter constitute the main items of
prey during this season, whilst they are absent from the intestines towards the end of the
season, replaced at that time by the Orthopterans which become more numerous. Otherwise,
except for the reptile eggs (Agama and Varanus) we did not find any trace of vertebrates in the
diet of V.exanthematicus. This species feeds exclusively on invertebrates and eggs (including
those of its own species). Towards the end of December all feeding ceases until favourable
conditions return.
Is this diet different from that of Varanus nilocticus? This is what we are going to find by
examining the stomach contents of the second species......................"

[slayer]

Heres another two field studys on the subject
http://library.mampam.com/bennett200...thematicus.pdf
http://library.mampam.com/bennettbullchicherpsoc.pdf