# Cod Liver Oil???



## Dom3rd (Jul 6, 2009)

So how much and how often should i be giving my Tegu this???


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## VenomVipe (Jul 6, 2009)

I think a table spoon per pound of ground turkey. I might be wrong.


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## DaveDragon (Jul 6, 2009)

That's about right, although I probably dump in double that. DON'T get it on your hands!!! It stinks!!!


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## crox (Jul 7, 2009)

Where do you get it and how much does it usually cost?


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## DaveDragon (Jul 7, 2009)

We got ours at GNC, I think it was $10 for a large bottle. It was very hard to find around here. Most places only had it in capsule form.


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## VenomVipe (Jul 7, 2009)

Well, Bobby recommended Twin Lab Norweigen Cod liver oil plain. I think that is the actual product name but you might have to switch around a few words.

And I saw it on a website and it was around five dollars and then you have shipping so its almost ten. Thats if you cant find it locally though.


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## crox (Jul 7, 2009)

cool, thanks guys


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## CaterpillarGiraffe (Jul 7, 2009)

I get mine at Shopper's Drug Mart.


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## Dom3rd (Jul 11, 2009)

Ok one more question what all should the it be put on just the turkey or all meat?


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## Anthony (Jul 11, 2009)

as far as i know just the turkey its one table spoon for a pound of ground turkey.... i think u can feed it beef liver seperate or mix some with the ground turkey also..... i bought the twin lab unflavored cod liver oil at vitamin shop for like 8 or 9 bucks should last a long time


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## Dom3rd (Jul 11, 2009)

Yeah i already got the oil but i just was not sure if it was just to go with the turkey or everything


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## Jefroka (Jul 11, 2009)

This is straight from Bobby Hill's website, <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.varnyard-herps-inc.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.varnyard-herps-inc.com/</a><!-- m -->

Food: 
All Tegus are carnivores as hatchlings, which means they only eat meat. I do allow baby tegus to eat as much as they want to, except rodents. I feed them one once or twice a week, and also make sure they are the size that can swallow without too much trouble. Crickets dusted with vitamins dust, Captive raised roaches, Mealworms, Super mealworms, ground turkey dusted with vitamin dust, Pinkie mice and cooked egg (Not raw) scrambled or hard-boiled. The only reptile supplement I have any faith in is Zoo-Med Repti Calcium without D3. Most other products are made from crushed oyster shells, and are not able to be absorbed. Therefore, being a poor product for a good healthy tegu.
As for my adults, I feed them everyday, as in the babies, the get one whole rodent, chick or duckling once or twice a week. However, my tegus do hibernate up to 7 months out of the year. If you have a tegu that does not hibernate, you can cut back on feeding him as much, or as frequent. Judged by the animal keeping good body weight, and a fat round tail base. If he starts to look like he might be loosing body mass, you can always add more to the diet.
Please remember to remove any food that is not eaten right after your tegu has eaten his/her fill. Insects are well known for stressing reptiles. This also will help keep their cage cleaner. 
Adult tegus, for the Argentine Black and White and the Argentine red Tegu, the Blue Tegu and as well as the Extreme Giant tegus, they will take ground turkey; cooked egg (Not raw) scrambled or hard-boiled, rodents, fresh fish (Not from a pet shop, due to the chemicals used in these tanks), baby chickens, grapes, tomatoes, strawberries, melons, and just about any other soft fruits. Bananas can be given as well, but not as a staple diet, only in moderation. This is due to the high content of potassium (Known for not binding with calcium). Not more than once every couple of weeks. They also tend to have very high phosphorous levels. Some of my Argentine tegus will not eat fruit. They are just as healthy as any tegus that have fruit in the diet; they also have no shedding problems at all. The more I look into this, the more I see feeding fruit as being a waste of time and money. There are many things out there to feed your tegu that is much better than fruit. The Colombian Black and White, or (Gold Tegu) will take all of the above, except fruit. Also I suggest feeding only killed rodents. Live rodents can bite your animal. Dead do not; it is just not worth the chance. My choice of vitamin dust is Zoo-Med Repti Calcium without D3; it is made with calcium carbonate and not crushed oyster shell.

A side note on feeding: Tegus can get cage aggressive. They can get to where they will associate their keeper with food. There are a couple of ways to keep this from happening. The first is to feed your tegu in a separate cage or area than his home. Have the food there when you put him with it. 
Another way, would be to feed him at night or when he is in his hide. Then he will not see you with food. The first suggestion is the best for a few reasons. One you handle him every day, which helps with the taming process. Another reason would be to remove all chances of him ingesting substrate. And last, but not least, the food would be fresher than feeding at night. 

In my opinion, feeding fruit for skin problems has no solid ground to back the claims of some keepers. There is nothing in most fruits to promote good sheds but moisture, all though some fruits do contain some vitamins that are good for skin. There are other sources of these vitamins in much higher concentrations, these are found in meats. Feeding fruit seems to be nothing more than a wasted meal, and is not needed to have and keep a healthy tegu. There are other things that do contain the right vitamins, such as beef liver and cod liver oil. These need to be fed in conjunction with each other. Another words feed both of them once a week as a meal. 

The way I mix my beef liver into the ground turkey: 

I use one part of beef liver to three parts ground turkey, just mince the liver, or you can use a food processor. You can mix it together and then portion pack them into meal size zip-lock bags, freeze them and then thaw them as needed to feed. As in the little stamp zip-locks for hatchlings, up to sandwich bags for adults. You can make up a bunch of them and freeze them. Also this is fed raw, I do not cook anything for tegus but eggs. 
Raw beef liver contains:
Vitamin A iu (ug * 5) 35346.000 10020.591 39940.98 706.9% 
Vitamin B1 (Thiamin) mg 0.260 0.07371 0.2938 17.3% 
Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin) mg 2.780 0.78813 3.1414 163.5% 
Vitamin B3 (Niacin) mg 12.780 3.62313 14.4414 63.9% 
Vitamin B5 (Pantotheic Acid) mg 7.620 2.16027 8.6106 76.2% 
Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine) mg 0.940 0.26649 1.0622 47% 
Vitamin C mg 22.000 6.237 24.86 36.6% 
Vitamin E mg 0.670 0.189945 0.7571 4.4% 
Water g 68.990 19.558665 77.9587 0 
Zinc mg 3.920 1.11132 4.4296 26.1% 

The way I mix my cod liver oil into the ground turkey: 

I use one tablespoon of cod liver oil to one pound of ground turkey. You can mix it together and then portion pack them into meal size zip-lock bags, freeze them and then thaw them as needed to feed. As in the little stamp zip-locks for hatchlings, up to sandwich bags for adults.

Cod liver oil contains more vitamin A and more vitamin D per unit weight than any other common food. One hundred grams of regular cod liver oil provides 100,000 IU of vitamin A, almost three times more than beef liver, the next richest source; and 10,000 IU vitamin D, almost four times more than lard, the next richest source. Of course, cod liver oil is only consumed used in small amounts, but even a tablespoon (about 15 grams) provides well over the recommended daily allowance for both nutrients in humans. Cod liver oil is a natural source of vitamin D3.

In addition, cod liver oil contains 7 percent each of the elongated omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA. EPA is the precursor of important prostaglandin, localized tissue hormones that help the body deal with inflammation; and DHA is extremely important for the development and function of the brain and nervous system. So it's no surprise that in numerous studies cod liver oil has proven to be a powerhouse in fighting disease. 

They both must be fed in conjunction with each other, the Cod liver oil is needed to metabolite the vitamin A in the beef liver. 

This diet is the best way to promote good sheds in tegus, if you have a tegu with shedding issues, or even impactions, the combination above will be the best solution.


...Jefroka


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## Dom3rd (Jul 15, 2009)

Awesome ty, out to sea i cant get on Bobby's site


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