# Mertens water monitor help?



## Sean51 (Feb 1, 2012)

Hey guys and gals 
i was just wondering if any of you that keep mertens feed them fish and if so what type of fish. Also is there any risks with feeding fish 

Thanks Sean


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## dez86 (Feb 1, 2012)

Any sort of feeder fish from the pet shop are fine


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## Sean51 (Feb 1, 2012)

dez86 said:


> Any sort of feeder fish from the pet shop are fine



Ok cool thanks mate. Is there any risk of poisoning the animal cause i read not to long ago about a persons gts that they thought got poisoned from the fish and i just wanted to be sure.


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## ricky_91 (Feb 1, 2012)

i have a pair of mertens i don't feed them feeder fish but i have had friends that do. the only feeder thing i have fed them is shrimp. monitors have iron stomachs so most the time they can handle a lot of things. good pet shops know not to use any thing but water neutraliser in there feeder tanks so just question them. but honestly you don't need to feed them feeder fish chopped up chicken feet from day old chics chopped up adult mice( chop it up into little pieces while its frozen) or if its big enough just hole prey items if its basking surface temp is 45 50 degree feed them all those things. also if its small crickets dusted etc is good but they do need there whole prey items so chopping up the adult prey items is good. just feed it every 3 days so you get a good feeding response put the food on a plate put it in the enclosure and walk away


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## Sean51 (Feb 1, 2012)

ricky_91 said:


> i have a pair of mertens i don't feed them feeder fish but i have had friends that do. the only feeder thing i have fed them is shrimp. monitors have iron stomachs so most the time they can handle a lot of things. good pet shops know not to use any thing but water neutraliser in there feeder tanks so just question them. but honestly you don't need to feed them feeder fish chopped up chicken feet from day old chics chopped up adult mice( chop it up into little pieces while its frozen) or if its big enough just hole prey items if its basking surface temp is 45 50 degree feed them all those things. also if its small crickets dusted etc is good but they do need there whole prey items so chopping up the adult prey items is good. just feed it every 3 days so you get a good feeding response put the food on a plate put it in the enclosure and walk away



Thanks alot ricky  
he is big enough to eat whole fuzzie mice at the moment. So do you think i should just stick to them?


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## Karly (Feb 2, 2012)

My Mertens has a diet of mostly whole mice, chicken necks and we feed him fish whenever we get them, mostly little mullet or herring that my husband catches in the cast net. He also goes crazy for prawns! The previous owners used to catch little yabbies and let them go in his pool and watch him chase them around


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## waruikazi (Feb 2, 2012)

dez86 said:


> Any sort of feeder fish from the pet shop are fine



Nooooooope! There are vitamin issues (i think B) with goldfish and other carp breeds.


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## ricky_91 (Feb 2, 2012)

I would just go the hole prey items fuzzy mice chicken feet etc don't worry to much about the fish I've heard gold fish can be bad but I just don't use fish only shrimp every now and then or just cut up a adult mouse while it's frozen and let it eat that unless you think he can eat a adult mouse then just give him one


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## crocdoc (Feb 2, 2012)

waruikazi said:


> Nooooooope! There are vitamin issues (i think B) with goldfish and other carp breeds.



You're right - there's an enzyme found in many freshwater fish (not just the carp and minnow family) called thiaminase which breaks down vitamin B.


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## Sean51 (Feb 2, 2012)

crocdoc said:


> You're right - there's an enzyme found in many freshwater fish (not just the carp and minnow family) called thiaminase which breaks down vitamin B.



Thanks dave and waruikazi thats what i was worried bout i just couldnt remember what it was haha


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## dozerman (Feb 2, 2012)

Is the thiaminase present in wild freshwater fish or is it a c.b fish issue? Alternately is it really just a captive reptile issue bought about by diet and availability / lack of different sources of vitamin B ? cheers


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## NicG (Feb 2, 2012)

Don't get too caught up in the anti-thiaminase frenzy. In all likelihood, it makes no difference at all in a balanced and varied diet. Not that I'd necessarily recommend it, but I know people that have fed Common Tree Snakes on nothing but feeder goldfish with no apparent ill effects.

Here's the result of some of my research ... http://www.aussiepythons.com/forum/australian-snakes-37/thiaminase-colubrids-172414/


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## dozerman (Feb 2, 2012)

Apparently yabbies have high levels of thiaminase also:shock: .


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## ricky_91 (Feb 2, 2012)

problem solved just feed them chicks and mice


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## G.C.Dragons (Feb 2, 2012)

I worked with Mertens for several years at an Aquarium on the Sunshine Coast. They were fed a diet of chicken necks, mice, and live freshwater crayfish - they had regular health checks from our vet and we rarely had problems with them


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## dozerman (Feb 3, 2012)

ricky_91 said:


> problem solved just feed them chicks and mice



My guys would run past rodents to get to yabbies, and they love their rodents !


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