# fish for asian water monitor?



## 400runner (May 15, 2006)

I have been thinking about giving my asian water monitor a few small fish every now and then to vary his diet a bit more, they must eat fish in the wild. does anyone think this wouldn't be a good idea?
at the moment i feed him a combination of locusts, crickets, cooked chicken (which he loves) and the odd fluff! any other suggestions of things i could feed him would be appreciated too. i just feel i'd like his diet as varied as possible
thanks


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## Shiori (Nov 20, 2007)

I say feed him fish, its only what they would eat in the wild so theres no reason you shouldnt feed it in captivity. Our bosc occasionally has fish just because it varies his diet i believe the natural oils are good for them as well. Just remember not to feed sea fish as they are very salty.

Other suggestions are cockroaches, fruit beetle grubs, morio worms, boiled egg in small amounts and as a rare treat we give our bosc a bit of kidney.


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## Lee n his lizard (Oct 9, 2007)

feed him fish but dont go over the top. if u wanna vary his diet a little give him beef or lamb heart, chopped beef steak, chopped chicken with the bones still in it, prawns, eggs, crayfish if u can get them. they'll eat practically anythin and anythin is good in moderation. dont feed 2 many fish tho. its best 2 vary there diet. my bosc is different 2 a water i know but i feed him a diet of those things + mice and locusts and stuff and i record his growth. the last recordings i made were 9 days apart and he grew an inch and a half all but 1/8th of an inch


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## Lee n his lizard (Oct 9, 2007)

oh and DO NOT feed ur lizard pork or liver. im not sure about feeding the kidneys like the person above said. ive not heard of any1 feeding that b4 but all the stuff ive said i know people plus myself 2 of fed with great results of healthy boscs that arnt obese. its all about varying the diet over quantity of food. i got my bosc on october 1st last year. he was a 2007 baby and about 7 inches long. now almost 6 months later he's over 2 feet and perfectly healthy


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## Rick_Albig (Aug 29, 2007)

The key here is WHOLE animal foods. Fish are great as long as they are WHOLE (i.e. not gutted or scaled etc....) Try and find whole fish that are fit for human consumption and you shouldn’t go wrong. I have found Chinese supermarkets to be one of the best source, they tend to sell allot of very cheap and very fresh whole produce. I have also fed crayfish and prawns/shrimp to more aquatic varanids and they love um!

I know people have suggested heat, beef, chicken etc but these are lacking in allot of nutrients and vitamins. Stick to whole animals (as they would in the wild) and you won’t go far wrong!

Rick


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## 400runner (May 15, 2006)

thanks for the advice guys. i'll give him some fish then and also try and get some cockroaches and maybe try some meal worms and morio worms too, although he isn't keen on wax worms at all!
have also had it suggested to me, although i'm not overly sure, that asian water monitors may eat a small amount of fruit that they have forraged from the forest floor! does anyone have any opinion on this?


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## Rick_Albig (Aug 29, 2007)

400runner said:


> have also had it suggested to me, although i'm not overly sure, that asian water monitors may eat a small amount of fruit that they have forraged from the forest floor! does anyone have any opinion on this?


I’m not sure where that information came from but I am sure it could be true. A healthy monitor will eat just about anything that moves! I remember flicking a grape across the room at a hungry black throat and she ate it! 

They are master scavengers in the wild and will rarely turn down a meal. I would not recommend feeding then any fruit (chances are they wont eat it any way) as you are running the risk digestive problems and I don’t really see you gaining anything from this.

On a side note there is a species of monitor that eats almost exclusively fruit, Varanus olivaceus (Gray's monitor or Butaan) although you won’t find one of these for sale at your local pet shop! : victory:

Rick


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## DeanThorpe (Apr 9, 2006)

good luck with the monitor mate..

Rick..whilst you are here..do you have any experience with Varanus melinus? its a species of mangrove but is common named the yellow tree monitor or the quince monitor.
A friend of mine happened to get hold of one second handed from hamm last week.


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## Rick_Albig (Aug 29, 2007)

Hi Dean. i dont actually have any hands on experiance with V.melinus but i do with V.doreanus and V.indicus (both from subgenera Euprepisaurus as V.melinus)

Is there anything in particular you were looking for?

Rick


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## DeanThorpe (Apr 9, 2006)

Hi.
No, not really, just anything that wouldnt necesarily be documented in the little specifics about the species there is online searchable via google.

It is only a baby, about ten-twelve inches snout to tip id say, basically following care as for indicus.
Its in an arboreal set up [lhd] 4x4x2 with large water pool [lareg for it] with easy access in and out, 120f bask [via a 100watt megaray and a further 60watt reflector bulb]with an 80 cool end with the obvious variance all the way between.
Coconut husk substrate at the minute, few hides and at night temps ar ebeing kept to around 75-80 f via a redlight [over the pool] and heatmat [to take the edge of at the bottom as its at ground level]
With humidity about 70-80% with 2 sprays a day... as far as i know... helped a friend set the viv up after he was offered the monitor after hamm.

He is feeding it insects, along with a little tinned slamon and tuna so far ,I had sugested try to stick to whole food items, as said though he's very small at the minute, I thought maybe feed everyother day with 2 feeds a week being atleast mainly insects, one fish and soon get soem small rodents [pinks fo rnow] in there on a weekly basis too?

Was just after any tips really dude, i havent got to see it much and it seems to be doing fine, little skitty and shy but showing no agression at alll, assume its cb of course.
Very pretty little monitor actually...might have to keep a look out for one myself.


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## Rick_Albig (Aug 29, 2007)

Sound like you doing a good job there mate! Not really sure what else to add? 

The one thing i will mention is to watch out for him getting burnt on the basking spot, they have very delicate skin and will sit there and burn themselves if they feel too cold. Just make sure the basking spot covers at least the SVL of the monitor (im sure you have done this already though!)

Try adding a load of leaf litter to the enclosure too, oak leaves tend to work best as they take the longest to decay. This will not only make the enclosure look more attractive but it will help with the humidity and give some good cover for hiding.

Rick


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## DeanThorpe (Apr 9, 2006)

cheers dude, yeh he is only little at the minute but he has a good 18 inch area [length] that is well over 110 and another 2 foot area in the high 90's to low 100's kinda thing.. at the minute he is dwarfed by virtually everything but in a few months im sure ill sugest to my mate to add another basking bulb or 2 to increase the basking area further as snout to vent I agree is only fair that it can all be in similar warmth at once.
He is 12 inches away from any part of any bulb at any time the way its rigged up.

Yes, very delicate smooth skin compared to say a bosc, which is all i realyl have experience with monitor wise to be honest ,skin feels mor elike a young black and white tegu than anything else ive dealt with so far.

Will make sure the monitor, who is named mango by the way, is well looked after thats for sure.

Incase i didnt mention, he isnt mine, rather a friend of mine who works in the local rep shop who we have become closer to in recent weeks [erm..like a "couple" thing]
Anyway, he has gotten back into reps a bit more since seeing and spending time with our collection and this is thier [he and his mrs] first new arrival in a fair while.

Thanks for your help Rick.. will get hold of soem leaf litter for mango and for our lot [always wanted to use it, never actually got my arse in gear lol]


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