# Feeding Schedule?



## VenusAndSaturn (Feb 7, 2018)

So I was making a few "mini care sheets" for my reptiles, including one non reptile pet being my hedgehog, so If I ever have to go anywhere my parents would be able to take care of them hopefully with ease. I tried to make it as simple as possible and restrict them to only be able to feed certain foods in only certain amounts, as I dont trust them entirely with not overfeeding or giving incorrect amounts or food items. 

Just a little background on one of parents and why I dont exactly trust them, one of them i trusted with my beardies for about a weak. I told her what to do, how to feed them, etc. Came home on Sunday and the cages were a mess, one basking log was down on the enclosure floor rather than up against the glass, she had only put a small piece of paper towels over the poop rather than simply cleaning it up, and instead of cleaning up the insects (I told her just feed superworms as they were easier for her to handle) there was about 10-15 of them in one of the corners munching away on one of my beardies log hides which left behind a sawdust like substance. There was also dried salad everywhere. 

Anyway doing this also allowed me to make a feeding schedule for Oreo so I wanted to know what you guys thought of it. I'll end up probably doing slightly different measurements depending on how much she eats of it. 
The package for the meats listed in there is all coming later today, shes not too fond of whole prey so I figured this would be good for introducing some bones and organs into her diet. 

Week 1 - One tablespoon of regular ground turkey, half a tablespoon of ground Salmon, one tablespoon of Ground Turkey/Bones/Organs, mangos, blueberries, kiwi, collard greens, turnip greens. 
Week 2 - One tablespoon of Ground Green Tripe, one tablespoon of 
Venison Beef Bone Blend, two slivers of regular salmon, mangos, banana, kale, grapes, mustard greens. 
Week 3 - Half a tablespoon of ground chicken feet, one tablespoon of ground sardines, half a tablespoon of regular ground turkey, watermelon, kiwi.
Week 4 - One tablespoon of Ground Pheasant/Bone/Organs, one tablespoon of Ground Rabbit/Bones/Organ, mangos, red raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, watermelon.

Also a recent picture of Oreo from yesterday.


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## Guman (Feb 7, 2018)

Are you only feeding bananas one or two days a month? That would be my recomendation because it should be a limited part of the diet. 

Next, if your parents are not active with your guys then maybe just have one meat and a veggie mix if you are ever gone. If it is only one week or less easy for them and Oreo is getting a nice variation in diet any other time.


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## VenusAndSaturn (Feb 7, 2018)

The bananas would only be one or two days a month. 
The package arrived a few minutes ago so I'm going to prepare a meal for her tomorrow as she already has food in her bowl for today. 

Yeah I'll probably end up making specific containers for each species of reptile just so they 99% wont mess up for the diet at least. 
If I go anywhere its usually a week at the most and a day at the least. 
Hopefully if I ever do go stay somewhere for a week I'll be back by Friday or Sunday so they don't have to deal with my ball python, I can't imagine how that would even go if they tried to feed her as in the winter time from what I've noticed every four weeks or so she'll miss a meal and then eat the next feeding day. One of my parents hates her quite a lot, while the other doesn't entirely mind her and thinks she's pretty cool but I can't see her feeding her without freaking out over if she would get bit or not.


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## Skeep (Feb 7, 2018)

Just as a note, if you're only gone one to two weeks you could just ask them to clean up poop and put in fresh water daily. Your tegu should be fine without any food. Maybe just shorten the daylight hours slightly before you leave.


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## Walter1 (Feb 7, 2018)

Skeep said:


> Just as a note, if you're only gone one to two weeks you could just ask them to clean up poop and put in fresh water daily. Your tegu should be fine without any food. Maybe just shorten the daylight hours slightly before you leave.


True.


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## VenusAndSaturn (Feb 8, 2018)

I like having everyone fed on their little schedule however that would be easier for them to do since im usually not gone long. Only feeding I may ask them to do is most likely to make salads with some formulated food for my bluey and beardies so they have at least something to eat during the day while I'm away, maybe having no insects for a week and just salad would get the beardies to like it more.


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## Zyn (Feb 8, 2018)

I'd just have them thaw out a rat every few days and toss it in till you get back


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## VenusAndSaturn (Feb 8, 2018)

She's not too fond of whole prey yet, but that would probably be good if I or they can get her to eat it without her just biting the head off and discarding the rest of it.

Maybe later today I could see if I can get a F/T fuzzy mouse, the hopper could have been too big for her I guess.
Also trying out some of that food I got her later today as well. Just have to go thaw it out and once she's up and looking for food I'll see what she thinks of it. Hopefully she'll like it since it's something new.


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## Guman (Feb 8, 2018)

Keep offering it until she takes it. Whole prey is a must!


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## Zyn (Feb 8, 2018)

Get some pinks or fuzzies. It needs to be no larger than their head. Sev takes down 2-4 fuzzies at a meal and then sleeps under his hot spot for the next 6 hours lol. He's about the same size as Oreo though he's a blue.


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## VenusAndSaturn (Feb 8, 2018)

I'll see if one of my parents can stop by one of the local petstores and pick up a F/T fuzzy on the way home to try it out with her, hopefully the smaller size will help.


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## VenusAndSaturn (Feb 8, 2018)

Thawed out some of the meat I got, decided to try it out first before moving her onto the schedule I made. 
Put some ground turkey, ground salmon and ground sardines together and she loved it, didn't entirely eat all of it but she seemed more interested in it than usual.


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## AlphaAlpha (Feb 9, 2018)

Wouldn't it be easier and more exciting for each meat to be ground up on its own and given a varied diet on different day?? I don't even grind mine, Alpha gets a varied diet of fuzzies, salmon steak, chicken slivers, duck slivers, pork slivers, lamb slivers or eggs.... plus extra vitamins


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## VenusAndSaturn (Feb 9, 2018)

I just use ground meat as it's easier for me, plus it's somewhat hard to find a variety of whole meat items where I live, or at least I dont know where to look. I couldn't get any fuzzy mice today, however I'm going to try tomorrow. Also fed Oreo from tongs rather than a bowl and she ate quite a bit earlier. She seems to really like the ground sardines.


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## Walter1 (Feb 9, 2018)

AlphaAlpha said:


> Wouldn't it be easier and more exciting for each meat to be ground up on its own and given a varied diet on different day?? I don't even grind mine, Alpha gets a varied diet of fuzzies, salmon steak, chicken slivers, duck slivers, pork slivers, lamb slivers or eggs.... plus extra vitamins


I think of that as ideal.


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## Walter1 (Feb 9, 2018)

VenusAndSaturn said:


> I just use ground meat as it's easier for me, plus it's somewhat hard to find a variety of whole meat items where I live, or at least I dont know where to look. I couldn't get any fuzzy mice today, however I'm going to try tomorrow. Also fed Oreo from tongs rather than a bowl and she ate quite a bit earlier. She seems to really like the ground sardines.


Try RodentPro. Affordable. Even my bruisers are fed only medium-sized mice. Here's why. More efficient digestion and more calcium in a young adult mouse than a large burned out breeder.


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## VenusAndSaturn (Feb 9, 2018)

I've ordered from them before for my ball python, though they are rat pups so quite a lot larger than what Oreo could eat. 
Once I get her on whole prey and she likes it then I'll probably order some for her from there.


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## Walter1 (Feb 9, 2018)

VenusAndSaturn said:


> I've ordered from them before for my ball python, though they are rat pups so quite a lot larger than what Oreo could eat.
> Once I get her on whole prey and she likes it then I'll probably order some for her from there.


Still, even with whole mice, be sure to dust heavily with calcium.


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## VenusAndSaturn (Feb 9, 2018)

I'll make sure I do.


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## Zyn (Feb 10, 2018)

What I do is mix the vits and cal in a bowl I just keep
Next to his enclosure. Dip the hind end in water then Dip it into the mix. He doesn't like to taste it on the head when he's takes it off tongs for some reason but once it's in his mouth he doesn't notice or care if the mix is coming in at the end of his big gulp lol. But that might just be sev being a picky little fella


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## Gary (Feb 11, 2018)

Walter1 said:


> Still, even with whole mice, be sure to dust heavily with calcium.



In the wild I can’t imagine them getting that much calcium from a meal. Do they get/produce more D3 in the wild and therefore have better absorption? 

I’ve always followed this advice, but I’m just curious as to the reasoning behind it. “Better safe than sorry” approach?


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## Walter1 (Feb 11, 2018)

From sun and food, calcium is more available in the wild. They grow fast and really need calcium for strong bones. Reproductive females then need lots of calcium for eggs. Calcium also used in physiological functions. 

Easy to under-feed them calcium. Seems like alot, for sure, but they need more than might seem appropriate.


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## VenusAndSaturn (Feb 11, 2018)

Hoping sometime this week I can get fuzzy mice, we've been a bit busy lately, one of our cats got stuck in the ceiling since yesterday at around 6 or 7 PM, still haven't gotten her out as she keeps moving from her spot and they don't want to break something if she finds her way out already. 
I don't even know how she got in there, I'm guessing some sort of hole from the outside. Though on one of the beams there may be a hole as well. 






You can somewhat see her eyes in the top right corner between the wood. Hopefully she'll either come out or we'll manage to get her out sometime today.


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## Gary (Feb 11, 2018)

Walter1 said:


> From sun and food, calcium is more available in the wild. They grow fast and really need calcium for strong bones. Reproductive females then need lots of calcium for eggs. Calcium also used in physiological functions.
> 
> Easy to under-feed them calcium. Seems like alot, for sure, but they need more than might seem appropriate.


That makes a lot of sense! Thanks so much


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