Is this all true?

[Jer723]

Hey guys i have recently been reading this care sheet on Varanus Acanthurus (Ackie)

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When i read the section on feeding the author states that if the Ackie monitor eats too much meat, it will act as "lizard steroids" and make him more aggressive. Is there any truth to this? I understand, it is not great to give Just meat, but Ackie monitors in the wild do not need to eat crickets, or bugs for that matter, nor do they need to eat ground turkey, I know that lizards are scavengers in the wild, and if they find a rotton carcass rotting for weeks they arent going to turn it down, i have heard from many people on here that crickets and bugs dont have much nutritional value, so why should it make up most of their diet, he states that they should be fed 4 days a week. Also if i do need to feed my ackies crickets, could i give him freeze dried, or pre killed crickets, and put them in his ground turkey, so he still has them? thank you for reading this, any input on this matter would be greatly appreciated. Thank you

Jerry

 

[kaa]

When i first got my water from them, I didn't really believe that about feeding mice making them mean. I found out. Mine wouldn't eat roaches, or any bugs, but when offered a mouse, he took it, so that is what I fed him. He was supper mean. Tail whip the glass if I got too close, hiss. He was crazy. So one day,
I run out of mice, but have some ground turkey from the tegus in the fridge. I fed him the turkey, and it was like almost over night he calmed down. still wont eat bugs, he bites them, then lets them go. I would feed the ackie turkey and some roaches, the occasional mouse should be ok though.

 

[Jer723]

have you found that your monitor was in good condition from them would you reccomend buying a monitor from them? im thinking of buying a pair of ackies, and thank you for your input.

 

[White_Lotus]

i know a number of people who have dealt with proexotics and they al tell me the same thing..proexotics is the top monitor breeder like Bobby is with tegus proexotics is the same way with monitors...i have never heard of a complaint about them...they have a caresheet on ackies which does include their diet

 

[Jer723]

yes thats the caresheet i posted, i just dont understand why they cant go without insects.

 

[kaa]

I would recommend them, my water cam full of energy, and very beautiful. very healthy. I don't know if ackies can go without insects, I know the Savannah needs to eat mainly insects. Or a low fat diet, or it develops fld, and it can be deadly. Email robin, he is a great guy, you can also call him.

 

[Jer723]

do you know his email by chance?

 

[Jefroka]

do you know his email by chance?

<!-- e --><a href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</a><!-- e -->


Phone: 303 347-0500


...Jefroka

 

[Jer723]

thank you i just emailed him will probably call in the next couple days.

Jerry

 

[tupinambisfamiliaris]

I don't know why you wouldn't feed a varanid the size of an ackie a diet composed mostly of insects anyway. Whole prey is preferable if not neccessary to carnivorous reptiles and insects provide roughage that ground meats do not. Pinkies are about the biggest mammillian prey and ackie will tackle, and they are not the greatest staple due to lack of calcium and high fat content. Better as an occaisional treat to pack on weight if that's your goal. Reptiles don't do well if fed exclusively pinkies. I found this out the hard way ten years back. I'm pretty sure I read somewhere, maybe acanthurus.com, that they eat mainly roach-sized bugs in the wild.

 

[Pikey]

i don't know about them, but i know if you feed an iguana meat they get really big & really mean really fast

(i didn't do it a friend of a friend did, i held it & i almost lost a finger)

 

[DaveDragon]

i don't know about them, but i know if you feed an iguana meat they get really big & really mean really fast

And they get really dead in a few months (well, maybe a year). Iguana's are strictly herbivores. They can't digest animal protein, including insects. They need a diet of mostly dark leafy greens, veggies and some fruit. I think the animal protein destroys their kidneys and liver.