How often?

[aidenb]

How often should a 16-18" savanna monitor be fed, I've been doing every day and skipping one day a week but I feel like this might be too much as I don't want my sav to be overweight like many are.

 

[Joe M]

WAY too much. Twice a week as much as he could eat is what i did for mine. He ended up nice and heathy.

 

[aidenb]

ya I figured it was too much, I fed him lots when he was a baby cause he was skinny when I got him

 

[Joe M]

Yeah overfeeding doesnt seem to be an issue when theyre babies, as they only seem to grow lengthwise. Once they hit about 12-14 inches though, they start putting on that infamous savanna fat that is so hard to get rid of.

 

[LRM]

An important question to ask should also be "what do I feed it" not just how often. Too often people feed these guys on an inappropriate diet in captivity.

 

[aidenb]

His diet is mainly a variety of insects, he only gets the odd thawed mouse as a treat one, maybe two times a month.

 

[EricIvins]

Feed it every day........That's what they are designed to do........The problem lies in the fact that most aren't given the options to properly metabolize what they take in, which leads to obesity and other problems........That holds true for any Reptile, or anything ectothermic.......

 

[aidenb]

So smaller daily feedings then? He should have no problem metabolizing, he has a basking spot he can fit his whole body under that's between 125-130 degrees farenheit.

 

[chloe]

personally i feed mine every other day. insects, meal worms, pinkie mice, eggs and occasionally a little bit of cat food (usually if rep shop has sold out of everything i else i need).

 

[Toby_H]

I have a Tegu, which I understand is a totally differernt creature...

But I tend to feed smaller meals more frequently rather than the other way around. I believe this allows hunger to not be a factor in regards to handling/aggression. A hungery animal is much more likely to get nippy.