# Why is canned dog food bad?



## Green Siren (Feb 15, 2012)

I've researched a bunch and know what's good for my baby but I need a thorough explanation of why canned dog food is bad for tegu's when it has real shreaded chicken and beef, peas, potatoes, and carrots and smells like something that came out of my crockpot.

Looking forward to your answers!


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## Bubblz Calhoun (Feb 15, 2012)

_ Hi and welcome to the site. To answer your question besides the fact that it's made for dogs and tegus are not dogs. It depends on the type of food since most dog foods aren't even good enough for dogs. They're more fillers than anything else, plus preservatives and other things added to it that tegus don't need. 

Some people offer it as a treat once in a while and a lot of shops use it because it's cheap and easy. For me using it as a treat every once in a while is fine just don't make it apart of their staple diet. _


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## laurarfl (Feb 15, 2012)

It depends on the brand of dog food. In the past, the main ingredients for dog food were fillers like corn, soy, and wheat. There are some really awesome brands of food coming out now. Evangers can be fed to dogs and cats because it is 100% game meats and has absolutely no preservatives. It is also $1.50 for a 6oz can. In the past, one of the additives of canned food was dicalcium phosphate and most reptiles do not need added phosphate because they are already off in the Ca : P ratio. I think this is also being corrected in premium foods. So just like I wouldn't feed my dog or cat food bought at the grocery store, I wouldn't feed it to my tegu either. But if I read the label and rice, corn, or wheat is not one of the first few ingredients, then I may try it once in a while.

This label would be good to me:

"Chicken, Chicken Broth, Chicken Liver, Fresh Sweet Potato, Bacon, Pumpkin, Dried Egg, Dried Peas,Natural Flavor, Spinach Flakes, Dried Potato, Calcium Carbonate, Sodium Phosphate,Carrageenan, Canola Oil, Salt, Choline Chloride, Yucca shidegera Extract,Lecithin, Zinc Amino Acid Complex, Mixed tocopherols, Iron Amino Acid Complex,Vitamin E Supplement, Manganese Amino Acid complex, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Vitamin A Acetate,Copper Amino Acid Complex, d-calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Niacin, Riboflavin Supplement, Biotin, Ethylenediamine Dihydriodide, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Folic Acid, Thiamine Mononitrate, Sodium Selenite"

This would not:

"Lamb Broth, Lamb, Beef, Beef Liver, Brown Rice, Egg Whites, Potato Starch, Carrots, Spinach, Apples, Eggs, Guar Gum, Oat Fiber, Natural Flavor, Calcium Carbonate, Sodium Phosphate, Potassium Chloride, Minerals (Iron Proteinate, Zinc Proteinate, Cobalt Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Sodium Selenite, Potassium Iodide), Tricalcium Phosphate, Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin A Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin B-12 Supplement, Vitamin D-3 Supplement, Biotin, Riboflavin Supplement), Choline Chloride, Mint, Rosemary, Sage, Thyme."

Sounds great for dogs who can digest carbs better, but the rice would be a turn off for me. Like Bubblz, said, it is fine as a treat, but I wouldn't use it as a staple.


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## frost (Feb 16, 2012)

i got this stuff from the fridgerator section of the dog food. their is a little thing of meat that looks like a sausage packet its $8 for a bunch of it and i have been feeding it to my skinks along with turkey and eggs among other things. the bts site says it a great staple and i sontimes feed it to my tegus.


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## Dana C (Feb 16, 2012)

There are some frozen raw dog and cat foods which are suitable for Tegus. They are grain free and can be had in a variety of meat bases anywhere from chicken, beef, lamb, duck, quail, rabbit and more. They contain ground bone, vegetables, and fruit of various kinds. I would buy some but it not available around here and shipping makes it cost prohibitive. 
I feed my kids all the usual stuff like turkey/liver/gizzard/calcium mix and other lean meats on occasion. I also try buy small Tilapia which I grind whole in my food processor. I have to be careful adding veggies etc because if they get a hint of it, the deal is off.


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## Maro1 (Feb 16, 2012)

Most of it is not even good for dogs. In fact roadkill would have more nutrition. Most canned dog food is more grain and fillers than meat,fat and organ.


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## Rhetoric (Feb 16, 2012)

I haven't used dog food as a staple but when they roam around they sometimes eat the dog food on their own... Most dog food is garbage. We switch here and there depending on the season and the activity level of the dogs. They've currently got taste of the wild. It's grain, soy and corn free. 

I wouldn't use it as a staple but if the ingredients/nutrition content are decent it would be ok to use as a treat.


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## larissalurid (Feb 16, 2012)

What about Organic Cat food like I use a little for my BTS? I buy ones without those fillers and all that and get the healthiest kinds around. Could a little of this be used sometimes for a tegu?


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## laurarfl (Feb 16, 2012)

Read the label and see what it says.


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## Grendel (Feb 17, 2012)

They can eat the dog food you describe ( from time to time). However, just as you (or other humans) should not live on fast food ( McDonald's etc) alone, the tegu should not live on dog food as its primary food source.


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## johin david (Nov 22, 2012)

Canned nourishment does NOT obliterate a puppy's teeth and it is NOT unfavorable for dog. DRY FOOD HAS MORE CHANCE OF GETTING LODGED BETWEEN TEETH AND STUCK UNDER THE GUMLINE. With the expectation that the puppy is getting fitting dental bites (like tendons and flossies) or fitting dental forethought, canned sustenance is impeccably fine for a puppy's teeth. It is a lot of water substance for my dog (gives her loose bowels), be that as it may provided that it works for your canine, then there is no disgrace or situation in giving it. Particularly assuming that you get one without byproducts, corn, and different fillers.


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## Dana C (Nov 22, 2012)

johin david said:


> Canned nourishment does NOT obliterate a puppy's teeth and it is NOT unfavorable for dog. DRY FOOD HAS MORE CHANCE OF GETTING LODGED BETWEEN TEETH AND STUCK UNDER THE GUMLINE. With the expectation that the puppy is getting fitting dental bites (like tendons and flossies) or fitting dental forethought, canned sustenance is impeccably fine for a puppy's teeth. It is a lot of water substance for my dog (gives her loose bowels), be that as it may provided that it works for your canine, then there is no disgrace or situation in giving it. Particularly assuming that you get one without byproducts, corn, and different fillers.



I'm sorry but where did you come up with this and how does it relate to the subject of the thread?


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## Dubya (Nov 22, 2012)

If you just even look at the cost per pound of the ultra premium canned and frozen dog and cat foods, it's ridiculous. If I was going to pay that, I'd sooner sit my little guy at the table with me and share grilled shell steaks with portobello mushrooms with frizzled onions and bleu cheese. Those premium foods cost more than fresh stuff. BTW, I once compared the vanilla sandwich cookies made for dogs with the regular Pathmark store brand vanilla creme cookies and they were EXACTLY the same. Same sugar and everything. But the dog ones cost way more.


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## Roadkill (Nov 22, 2012)

To add to what Laura has stated, grains, corn and soy are basically types of carbohydrates that are undigestable to reptiles. I don't know for sure about potatoes, but these being a high starch root, I'd be inclined to think they would lead to a similar situation. The undigestable carbohydrates can and likely will lead to fermentation in the digestive tract and this can be very uncomfortable (ask anyone that is lactose intolerant what it's like to eat dairy products without lactaid, it is assumed to be a very similar feeling). Prolonged "exposure" to this phenomenon can lead to more serious complications.


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