gold fish as food?

chrispaine · #1 (**permalink**) 03-25-2006, 03:43 AM

This It would be ok for an argus monitor to eat a few gold fish once in awhile?

I know gold fish are suppose to be full of parasites and stuff, but my guess would be that a monitor could handle all that...

What do ya think?

brownsfan222 · #2 (**permalink**) 03-25-2006, 03:46 AM

i would stick to the more nutritious mice and rats and insects then you dont have to worry about it

chrispaine · #3 (**permalink**) 03-25-2006, 05:28 AM

Think it would be ok****

unluckyseventeen · #4 (**permalink**) 03-25-2006, 01:52 PM

You should look for more nutritious fish like trout or something. Goldfish are a garbage fish. I swear you could throw a boot in their tank and they could live off of it for a few years.

Goldfish are pretty empty to nutrition and whatnot. They can also cause a breakdown of Thiamine in some reptiles, which will eventually starve and kill whatever you're feeding them to, if they do not have a resistance or some way to make up for that vitamin loss. And yes, like you mentioned, parasites are a big issue. My question is: why would you even risk that?

Try trout if you want to incorporate fish into their diet. I'd personally just not try fish at all because it can be quite the hassle (plus it's expensive).

Pork Chops N' Corn Bread · #5 (**permalink**) 03-25-2006, 03:55 PM

Different people have different oppinions on this. Most people say that if the monitor won't eat it naturally(Where they come from) then they don't need it. I wouldn't try gold fish for the reason that you are asking for a sick monitor. If its a nile or something, then some fish is ok. I fed T shrimp 1 time and he loved them. Would I do it all the time no. Try worms to vary the diet. Fish are just loaded with parasites.

Dachande · #6 (**permalink**) 03-25-2006, 04:06 PM

i have only offered fish and aquatic life to niles. if i ever had to work with a good sized salvator, i would offer fish. but never goldfish. Unluckyseventeen has a point and it goes beyond parasites. catfish fillets and feeder minnows offer better nutrition than goldfish.
however you also mentioned this is for an argus. i wouldn't even bother with fish. just try larger insects and mice. i give my 3 footer chicks as well. you could try quail for smaller monitors. for insects the grasshoppers in a can, hissers and discoid roaches.

Pork Chops N' Corn Bread · #7 (**permalink**) 03-25-2006, 04:10 PM

Yep, roaches are great. I offer them all the time now and they give your monitor a good work out. Hard to kill though.

Dachande · #8 (**permalink**) 03-25-2006, 04:14 PM

and hard to stop producing! i fed off nearly all of my adult lobster roaches thinking "this will help make room for the discoids and mealworms i'm gonna start on"
wrong, so wrong. there are hundreds maybe into the thousands of little nymphs and juveniles.

Pork Chops N' Corn Bread · #9 (**permalink**) 03-25-2006, 04:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dachande

and hard to stop producing! i fed off nearly all of my adult lobster roaches thinking "this will help make room for the discoids and mealworms i'm gonna start on"
wrong, so wrong. there are hundreds maybe into the thousands of little nymphs and juveniles.

lol, I just changed my ways of caging the roches since they weren't producing. I put then in a sweater box with holes in the side(like 200 of them) and then some holes in the top that I drape the heat rope through. Since last night, the 20 some roaches ate llike 2 handfulls of lettace. They usually eat a handful of dogfood a week. I am thinking now that the tub averages 90 degrees, I will have a bunch of babies popping out.

Dachande · #10 (**permalink**) 03-25-2006, 04:23 PM

what were you using before?
i use sterilite bins 62 quart. the only thing i use repti-bark for is roaches. the smaller ones can burrow under it while the larger stay in the egg flats.

Pork Chops N' Corn Bread · #11 (**permalink**) 03-25-2006, 04:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dachande

what were you using before?
i use sterilite bins 62 quart. the only thing i use repti-bark for is roaches. the smaller ones can burrow under it while the larger stay in the egg flats.

I had a large storage tote with an open top. The temps stayed about 78 or so before. Thats why they didn't produce. I currently don't use any substrate. Just a bunch of papertowel and toilet paper tubes.

chrispaine · #12 (**permalink**) 03-25-2006, 05:57 PM

I was only thinking about leting him try somthing differnt.... he has had crickets when he was younger and he now mostly eat hoppers. He just ate a scrambled egg becuase I am out of mice and going to get some more today. He has also taken a few shrimp and some sliced turkey. He isnt real picky, he just ate all the scrambled egg and is looking for more....

chrispaine · #13 (**permalink**) 03-25-2006, 06:20 PM

oh ya, and I was kind of thinking of getting live fish so that he could chase them in the water...... not sure if he would go for that, but just somthing to keep him busy because he gets bored.

unluckyseventeen · #14 (**permalink**) 03-25-2006, 06:45 PM

I wouldn't look into it too much. I also don't know if that would initiate much of a feeding response.

If you do wind up incorporating fish, DON'T use Goldfish. It'll bite you in the butt, man!

Pork Chops N' Corn Bread · #15 (**permalink**) 03-25-2006, 07:05 PM

He is growing man. I would suggest you get a colony of roaches set up and he will never get board. I'l get some pics of mine when I get the camera back. Roaches are great eaten' and entertainment for your monitor

chrispaine · #16 (**permalink**) 03-25-2006, 10:30 PM

ha, Alright so a No on the Fish, and ya he is growing fast.... And I dont know if i really want to go with the roaches just because of the probable stink and mess it would make. Is if hard to keep them? I dont really have a whole lot of room for them either. But if its easy to do then maybe, I would think about the ones that cant climb up walls because that would be no good.

Pork Chops N' Corn Bread · #17 (**permalink**) 03-25-2006, 10:40 PM

I keep discoids. They are a non climbing species that max out at about 2". I keep mine in a sweater box with tons of holes. Keep them at about 90 degrees and you have a breeding machine. You drop some food in every few days(Bread, fruit, vegies, dog food) and some people like a small water dish They don't usually drown like crickets. The only smell I noticed is when I try and pick a few out and they let off a smell. Its like a "herb" smell that goes away within seconds. http://www.wormman.com/pd_false.cfm is a good site. They actually seem to do better when not cleaned or monitored closely. You can leave them for months at a time without cleaning. Just drop some food in and add a sponge or 2 and there good to go for a while.

chrispaine · #18 (**permalink**) 03-25-2006, 10:55 PM

wow they are big money, I can see why people want to breed them. Maybe I'll try some, he loves the mice so far tho... but still eats everything. thanks for the link.

Pork Chops N' Corn Bread · #19 (**permalink**) 03-25-2006, 11:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrispaine

wow they are big money, I can see why people want to breed them. Maybe I'll try some, he loves the mice so far tho... but still eats everything. thanks for the link.

No problem. I would recomend them if you are willing to make the initial purchase then you will have feeders ready for the rest of your time as long as you keep a colony going. They are about the size of large mice so they take very few to fill your monitor up

chrispaine · #20 (**permalink**) 03-26-2006, 12:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pork Chops N' Corn Bread

No problem. I would recomend them if you are willing to make the initial purchase then you will have feeders ready for the rest of your time as long as you keep a colony going. They are about the size of large mice so they take very few to fill your monitor up

well they are not really alot of money, but compared to say crickets....they are. its not really about the money, but the time it takes to have them.... the monitor it self is alot of work ha, but im sure you already know that...!

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