Hiya Mike - it certainly has.......Originally Posted by qiksilver
Hi,
Matt did a great job collecting photos/info on the different species of the indicus complex just for a pic reference.
http://indicus-complex.webs.com/
Anyway, I swear I've seen a stomach content review for indicus, but cannot find it now. Lots of crabs...
Also, personal opinion, stick with the bugs, they're a perfect staple (I love dubia as a feeder)... crayfish and prawns get expensive
*just fyi, indicus used for example as they're better researched, and thought to be similar
Hi skip, been a while.
When I had more varanids, I took full advantage of being so close to Mr. Tuttle of Blaberus.Com..........roaches are the perfect varanid food - so easy to cultivate and so hard to have a monitor do bad on them.
A very close friend of mine keeps melinus. He lives in an Eichler home that has a fully enclosed open courtyard that measures 15x15. He has it fully planted with tropical plants and nice compact ( yet deep) pond. It's a pretty trick set up with times misters and supplemental heating. Next time I visit, I'll snap some pics.
During the latter part of the spring and through September, he keeps the melinus in the courtyard. They rarely climb the plants and instead tend to stay near the pond.
Watching them dive into the pond after crayfish is a trip - I mean the little buggers tear right after them and will dive all the way to the bottom to grab them.
He purchased several freshwater snails and plants to keep the algae down and the melinus will tear up the plants and depopulate the pond of all sizable snails.
Elizabeth:
Do not take the advice people are trying to give you the wrong way. Many dedicated varanid keepers are very sensitive to how monitors are kept. There is so much bad husbandry advice floating around that alot of these wonderful animals end up living unhealthy, uncomfortable and short lives.
I know that Repti-Racks is making aluminum-framed arboreal monitor caging. It isn't cheap, but then again, nothing about properly keeping these animals is.
The key is to provide proper space, proper heat, proper humidity and proper diet. Varanids like it hot, they need a lot of room to exercise not only their bodies but to provide room for exploration and mental stimulation, and they need a diet that is as close to what they would get in the wild.
Mike has already provided a link to Biawak - and most of the issues can be accessed on line. There are also a couple of dedicated monitor forums.
A word of caution - these forums are very intolerant and can seem downright rude when it comes to "newbie" questions. The best thing to do is join and then use the search function to expand your knowledge.
Check out:
varanus.net
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