# Can I feed my tegu this?



## Aidan Morrison (Jul 14, 2016)

Hey everybody, I'm new to this forum so if I do anything wrong don't hesitate to tell me, but I think I'm getting the hang of things. Anyway, I'll be getting a baby (a male hopefully) Paraguayan Red tegu in a couple weeks. I am an avid fisher, hunter, and trapper and I ALWAYS seem to have leftover meat or fish. My question is: Is it safe for my tegu to eat some of the fish and animals I shoot/catch in the wild? Thanks


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## dpjm (Jul 14, 2016)

It should be ok, but that should not make up a major portion of the diet. I'm sure that the wild game and fish is very healthy, probably loads better than supermarket stuff. But to thrive, tegus need to eat whole animals, not just meat. Meat is very high in protein but really lacks in minerals. They benefit greatly from consuming the entire animal, which includes the meat, organs. bones, skin, blood... well, you know what is in there. If you could work that in somehow that would be more along the lines of a staple diet item. But to answer your question, it should be fine to feed this type of meat. I guess another concern could be parasites, I'd watch for that.


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## Aidan Morrison (Jul 15, 2016)

Ok thanks, yea that's why I asked because my main concern would be about parasites. But then again, I guess I could throw the fish/animals in the freezer for a week to kill any (and all) of the parasites if it had any. And about the tegu eating the whole animal, couldn't you just put calcium and D-3 on the meat? OR since a chipmunk is about the size of a small rat (I'm talking about for when the tegu gets older now) wouldn't that be a good food aswell (the whole chipmunk)? The chipmunk population is OUT OF CONTROL where I live, there's literally hundreds of them!


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## dpjm (Jul 15, 2016)

> couldn't you just put calcium and D-3 on the meat?



You would definitely want to add an appropriate amount of calcium to plain meat, as it is very low in calcium by itself. I don't recommend supplementing D3 because you should be using a UVB lamp instead. Calcium is a very important mineral but there is far more that is lacking in meat than just calcium. You won't be able to approximate a whole animal by dumping supplements on meat. 

I don't see a problem with chipmunks.


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## Walter1 (Jul 15, 2016)

dpjm said:


> You would definitely want to add an appropriate amount of calcium to plain meat, as it is very low in calcium by itself. I don't recommend supplementing D3 because you should be using a UVB lamp instead. Calcium is a very important mineral but there is far more that is lacking in meat than just calcium. You won't be able to approximate a whole animal by dumping supplements on meat.
> 
> I don't see a problem with chipmunks.


Dpjm- what are tour thoughts on parasites from mammalian wildlife?


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## dpjm (Jul 15, 2016)

Even though they are infesting mammals some of the parasites are generalists when it comes to hosts and can be transferred to reptiles. I only said I don't see a problem with chipmunks because Aidan seems aware of the issue and has a plan to get around it. Otherwise I would probably advise to steer clear from wildlife because there are safer options available.


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## Walter1 (Jul 16, 2016)

dpjm said:


> Even though they are infesting mammals some of the parasites are generalists when it comes to hosts and can be transferred to reptiles. I only said I don't see a problem with chipmunks because Aidan seems aware of the issue and has a plan to get around it. Otherwise I would probably advise to steer clear from wildlife because there are safer options available.


Thanks.


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## Justin (Jul 20, 2016)

I do a bit of fishing and I have been feeding my Tegu wild caught fish with no issues so far. Granted these are saltwater fish we catch in the surf with a cast net. He does seem to love fish.


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## Justin (Jul 20, 2016)

I also freeze them prior to feeding.


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## Aidan Morrison (Jul 22, 2016)

ok, I would probably freeze mine for a week just to make sure that if they have any parasites, that they would all freeze.


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## DreamsOfTegus (Jul 25, 2016)

My understanding from ferrets (which I have had much longer than my tegu!) and raw feeding them is that all wild prey must be frozen first. I believe for longer than a week.


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## Aidan Morrison (Jul 27, 2016)

DreamsOfTegus said:


> My understanding from ferrets (which I have had much longer than my tegu!) and raw feeding them is that all wild prey must be frozen first. I believe for longer than a week.


I already realize that it must be frozen, because as I said before that I am an avid hunter, trapper, and fishermen. And in other responses. No offense, but ferrets are MUCH different than Tegus , and I know from personal experience that it DOES NOT have to be frozen for more than a week. I usually eat my kill/catch fresh; like ASAP for the best flavor. Thanks anyway though....


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## Justsomedude (Jul 29, 2016)

Very I very interesting I was unaware that freezing would kill parasites however would it have the same effect on bacteria?


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## dpjm (Jul 29, 2016)

Freezing will kill SOME types of parasites, not all. Bacteria will survive freezing.


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## DreamsOfTegus (Jul 29, 2016)

You don't eat your food raw though, animals do. Cooking kills the nasty stuff. But since tegus (and ferrets) eat their prey raw there's definitely concern about contamination. If it were me I'd freeze for longer than a week.


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## Walter1 (Jul 29, 2016)

Also, bear in mind that parasites from North America are not the same as those in South America with which they have evolved placing them at greater risk.


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## Retnoo (Jul 16, 2021)

dpjm said:


> Freezing will kill SOME types of parasites, not all. Bacteria will survive freezing.


I've been thinking of including wild caught fish in my tegu's diet since I like to go fishing with my family and there are a multitude of brackish/saltwater fish in the rivers/mouth of the bay. mullet (_mugil spp._) and hard head catfish (_Ariopsis felis) _are the species i've been thinking about feeding him in particular since they are extremely common and don't contian thiaminase. Parasites are my greatest concern though. that and the nutritional value of these fish species.


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