Dog Food?

[Justinh789]

So the only pet store we have in town only carries food (no live animals) and nothing for reptiles. I noticed they have a brand called mountain dog food, advertised as natural raw food. I bought a 3lb pack of whole, bone in, ground up turkey. Is this decent to feed a tegu? It says it has no additives or vegetables/supplements added and the ingredients list is: Turkey.

 

[Jackie & Hellboy]

I have heard of raw dog food brands but not this one, if it only has turkey and bone I'd say no, look for kinds with connective tissues and organ meats included, vegetables and fruits aren't bad to have in the food either as long as they're grain free IMO.

Are you able to get any prey items at all (insects, rodents, chicks or quail)? If not locally you should order some from rodent pro or the other company that is similar. Whole prey is going to be best for staple meat items, the dog food meat pie is going to be unpredictable as to what each pound or so contains, but you know a whole mouse has a heart, bones, liver, some fat etc.

 

[Justinh789]

As far as I can tell it's the whole bird ground up. I also have hearts. I can get whole prey, but rodent pro is a no go I'm 13 hours north of Montana to give you an idea of where I'm at haha. I'll order some mice too but I would want to feed him a mix of stuff.

 

[Jackie & Hellboy]

I see lol, yeah it probably isn't bad then if it's the whole thing ground up. Maybe a once a week meal or something.

What kind of whole prey can you get besides mice? Small birds will be good if you can get them somehow, when your tegu is extra large in size (I'm not sure what size he is) you can get rats and guinea pigs if they're availabe to you also. Are you able to breed insects? Or purchase any that are large enough for your tegu's to want? I think roaches are a no go up there correct? How about locusts or grasshoppers? Is there a time of year when you can catch wild ones and start a breeding population? They are easy to produce, keep them hot dry and fed with grasses and greens and any other plant matter that they will eat, they get all moisture from food and don't canibalize their young unless they're food is too dry then they eat each others antennae.

If they aren't available sorry I cluttered you with all that info hahah.

 

[Justinh789]

Haha no I appreciate all the ideas I can get. I haven't found anywhere online up here that offers birds, just rats/mice or superworms/crickets. Roaches are a definite no go and with birds nobody really carries them up here. I don't have him yet I was told by the breeder he's 1.5 feet right now and feeding on cooked beef liver. I just finished making up some food for him so for right now I have mashed up balls made with ground turkey, chopped raw beef liver, blueberries and eggshells, then I have tilapia filets, the whole ground bird and turkey hearts. Then I'm gonna try out different things to see what he likes and try to supplement each portion with different fruits/veg to see if he might be a laid back eater and take any of that.

 

[Jackie & Hellboy]

Im not a fan of super worms or crickets, if locusts are available if go for them. But if not I would try to find some way to get him more whole prey, maybe some whole fish? The heads and all and chopped up into bite size if necessary.

 

[Justinh789]

I didn't really plan on feeding him worms either I always have some around for my beardie but I'd be shipping a lot in to feed a tegu and a dragon. I should be able to find whole fish. Thanks

 

[Jackie & Hellboy]

Fish, mice, and lots of fruits with occasional meals of the raw food and the mix you said is fine, the mixed meat diets usually cause runny poo's in my tegu's.

 

[Rebecca Stout]

That mountain dog food looks like it might be awesome. Nice meat to veggie/fruit ratio too. I can't find out via its web site or elsewhere exactly what the meat portion is made up of. I can't tell if it's whole animals ground up, what parts, or what type of animals.

 

[Justinh789]

I might give em a call and ask what exactly is in there. The nutrition info on the turkey is: Protein 16.5%, Fat 1.5%, Fibre 0.5% I'll also have to go back and check out the turkey veg mix and see what thats like. This stuff is super affordable too