I know that the topic of feeding cat/dog/ferret/misc. mammal food to tegus has been hotly debated many times and I do understand that a tegu's dietary requirements are far different than any mammal's. My question is what should a tegu's daily intake of protein, fat, fiber, etc... be as compared to a dog's? I ask because I am a sales representative for a small (but growing) dog and cat food company that focuses on careful sourcing, high protein, and minimal starches/sugar (we use sweet potato and peas rather than white potato, tapioca or grains). I want to know exactly what I need to be looking for in making my own tegu specific diet.
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Dog vs. Tegu Diet
- Thread starter SJdport57
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Up front- I do not know. I hope someone does. A chart detailing fat, protein, calcium, calories, etc. would be useful for different life stages.
My constantly open for refinement understanding is that hatchling to adult diet is heavy on animal protein. They grow quickly. Once growth has slowed, adults take varying amounts of veggies. In the wild it miggt be necessary if prey are limiting.
So, for me, it's variety. Heavy on whole animal prey and some organ meat and high quality wet dog food. My adults eat some fruits.
My constantly open for refinement understanding is that hatchling to adult diet is heavy on animal protein. They grow quickly. Once growth has slowed, adults take varying amounts of veggies. In the wild it miggt be necessary if prey are limiting.
So, for me, it's variety. Heavy on whole animal prey and some organ meat and high quality wet dog food. My adults eat some fruits.
Interesting, I've worked in pet care for two years now and owned exotic animals most of my life but I'm yet to find a detailed breakdown of a predatory reptile's dietary requirements. I'm really hoping someone makes one for tegus and/or monitors. Here's a list of the ingredients in one of my company's canned formulas: anything in here that looks non-healthy for a tegu?
Turkey, Turkey Liver, Turkey Broth, Peas, Sweet Potatoes, Flaxseed, Agar-Agar, Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, Salt, Dicalcium Phosphate, Calcium Carbonate, Magnesium Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Zinc Proteinate, Vitamin E Supplement, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Riboflavin Supplement, Sodium Selenite, Calcium Iodate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Potassium Iodide, Biotin, Vitamin D3 Supplement.
Turkey, Turkey Liver, Turkey Broth, Peas, Sweet Potatoes, Flaxseed, Agar-Agar, Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, Salt, Dicalcium Phosphate, Calcium Carbonate, Magnesium Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Zinc Proteinate, Vitamin E Supplement, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Riboflavin Supplement, Sodium Selenite, Calcium Iodate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Potassium Iodide, Biotin, Vitamin D3 Supplement.
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What do you make of that? Seems less nutritious than steady supply of food I mentioned.
I'm not planning on feeding the dog food itself as so much using it as a blueprint for making my own. Cheaper and more room for variety that way. I just want to know how many calories a tegu needs per day and how those should be delivered. I'd like to make my own mix using various meats I have access to, I'm an outdoorsman and regularly hunt and fish, so I'm thinking catfish, bass, perch, deer, pigeon, crawfish, and the like. I've got the meat sourcing down and now I wanna know how many and what kinds of fruits, veggies, vitamins and minerals are needed in addition to various organ meats to provide a staple diet.
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Keep posted. Interesting.
Yeah let's keep this topic going cause I am interested. I would love to see the breakdown of whole prey so I would know what percentages of bone and other things need to be included or added to make a good diet for a gu, starting with meat or ground meat.
So many people say that dog food is terrible when I'm not sure why some of the all natural ones are bad for tegus. Mine really won't eat cooked foods very much so any canned food is out for me. I do feed a raw diet in a few different "flavors". A local company that sells a frozen raw dog food that is simply ground meat with the bones is a favorite. Quail is the favorite but chicken is also popular.
As a chef I have access to a lot of different foods and I make food for my gu with it. I use the San Diego zoo diet as a starting point, but change it up a little from time to time. I read somewhere that the guy who invented the SDZ diet used it exclusively with ackies for years with great success. I like to change up what supplements I use to cover all the bases. Crushed up centrum is regularly used, with bone meal. If I'm making something with no bones I make sure to use bone meal, which is easy to make if you have a spice grinder. Reptilinks seem very popular and like a good option, but they are very expensive and I feel like I can make a similar product for much less money (they seem like a great option if money isn't a factor though). Every week I make sure to feed at least 2 rats as well...
So many people say that dog food is terrible when I'm not sure why some of the all natural ones are bad for tegus. Mine really won't eat cooked foods very much so any canned food is out for me. I do feed a raw diet in a few different "flavors". A local company that sells a frozen raw dog food that is simply ground meat with the bones is a favorite. Quail is the favorite but chicken is also popular.
As a chef I have access to a lot of different foods and I make food for my gu with it. I use the San Diego zoo diet as a starting point, but change it up a little from time to time. I read somewhere that the guy who invented the SDZ diet used it exclusively with ackies for years with great success. I like to change up what supplements I use to cover all the bases. Crushed up centrum is regularly used, with bone meal. If I'm making something with no bones I make sure to use bone meal, which is easy to make if you have a spice grinder. Reptilinks seem very popular and like a good option, but they are very expensive and I feel like I can make a similar product for much less money (they seem like a great option if money isn't a factor though). Every week I make sure to feed at least 2 rats as well...
