How much to feed my future tegu?

[Kevin.L]

Hey guys, so glad I found this place. I've done lots of research about tegus and their requirements, but I've had some trouble finding information on the amount of food to give a tegu during the stages of their life. I'm planning on getting an Argentine Black and White male hatchling in the near future and am trying to figure out how much food to mix up for the little one. I understand that he'll need to eat his fill and then I'll need to take away what isn't eaten within an hour of being offere,( most common advice I've found listed), but I'm concerned about offering 'too much'. I want my future pet and companion to be healthy and not obese, so any advice on how much to feed a hatchling, yearling, etc up to adult would be appreciated. Thank you guys!

 

[ferociouscorpion]

Well I've only had my tegu for 7 months but I feed it daily. Only once a day because I find that mine isn't interested in a second feeding. From what I've read once they get to an adult size they only need to be feed 2-3 times a week.

 

[tegu.crz]

We are offering food to our female adult every other day. We can easily offer this often as she is not by any means overweight. She decides how much she wants and stops/turns away when she is done.

 

[Kevin.L]

I think I was perhaps too vague on my question. I'm more looking for an amount that is good to offer than a frequency of feeding. I've read that tegus have a tendency,(like many large reptiles) to gorge themselves and become obese, so I'm wondering how much food to offer at a time? I also thought that this would help me to know what amount of food to buy and how long I could expect it to last, roughly.

 

[Mootworm]

Here's what I do, although my girl is by no means a hatching: I offer 2-3 golf ball sized helpings of protein (turkey, salmon, etc), 2-3 rats or ASF, about 1/4 cup each of berries and fresh veggies. I'll also dump crickets in her enclosure every week or so, and she has some dubia crawling around in there. I could probably cut down on the produce, as she usually goes straight for the meat. For a little one, you could try halving those portions, and adjust how much you offer once you can get a reading on how much he eats in a sitting. I think I read that obesity isn't a huge issue in hatchling, it's more something to watch for in adults.