# My Tegu diet mix



## Dana C (Mar 21, 2012)

This is just my $ .02 in the what to feed discussion. It is based upon variety, economy and balance. Note that I don't show any veggies or fruit.
"We" are still working on accepting that.

I have read that other people, keepers, zoo's etc. feed ground turkey as do I as well. Ostensibly the claim is that it is lower in fat than other meats. Well, I did a little research on the matter. Virtually all ground turkey is a 85/15 ratio, lean to fat. However, I bought some huge on sale boneless, skinless chicken breasts for $1.78 a pound, a full $.50 less than ground turkey and it is around 95/5 %, much leaner than turkey. The same market had various grades of ground beef as well. A medium lean mix was the same as turkey in terms of fat to lean. If I would have bought a rump roast at $2.70 per pound it is about 90/10 or LESS in lean to fat. I did buy 13 # of beef heart which once the external fat is trimmed is about 95/5% lean to fat. I also picked up some way marked down center cut pork loin chops which beat turkey hands down in the lean to fat ratio.
Ground turkey is in the $2.50 per pound or more around here as a rule of thumb. I can and have begun to feed a ground mix of 4# of turkey 3# of chicken breast, 3# of beef heart, 1# of chicken gizzards, 1/2 pound of liver and fish, usually whole very small tilapia. I grind it in a big Cuisinart food processor adding vitamins and powdered egg shells and Flukers calcium with D3. If I can find any other lean meat, it goes into the mix if it is on sale. 
I portion the meat into sandwich sized bags and place them into plastic containers or freezer bags which I freeze. In other words I make about 12# of the mix and freeze it into meal sized portions. 
IMHO, this provides a health mix of meats, organs and vitamins / calcium for a well balance diet and a mix of flavors so no one gets stuck or spoiled on one thing. As treats once a week I feed mice or a drum stick portion of a chicken wing, both of which makes Gordo think he is high on life.


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## Wil (Mar 21, 2012)

I would avoid feeding pork as there is always a chance of trichinosis.


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## Compnerd7 (Mar 21, 2012)

The price of ground turkey keeps climbing and climbing where I live at least, because it's become trendy to eat ground turkey which is " leaner ". It use to be dirt cheap, now it gets more expensive every time I see it in the market. Thanks for the info, I will shop around next time I go to to the store to stock up, which is actually going to be tomorrow.


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## Dana C (Mar 22, 2012)

Thanks for reminding me Wil about trichinosis. I will avoid raw pork.


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## tommyboy (Mar 22, 2012)

Thanks for the good info Dana. I did this today ( minus the pork) and it took me about an hour from start to finish. This will last me quite a while and really saves time and money in the long run. How much vitamins and calcium do you add to this amount of meat?


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## Buda87 (Mar 23, 2012)

i did smilar yesterday(im in the UK and its 3:30 on saturday morning here lol) 
i simply grated 1/2 carrot, 1 parsnip, half a small butternut squash and a leek.
mixed half of it with 500grams of minced turkey and the other half i mixed with a chopped up large cod fillet, put them in portion sized sandwich bags and freezed them. 
8 bags in total. should last me a month when chopping and changing every other day with inverts, verts and fruits


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## frost (Mar 23, 2012)

i think ill start using this. i still need to get a good food processor to grind it all up.


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## Compnerd7 (Mar 24, 2012)

I made your mix of Tegu food yesterday Dana, just on a smaller scale because right now I don't need 13lbs at a time and I have a small food processor. Using the same meat ratio, without pork, I whipped up about 6lbs+. I also added 2tblsp Cod liver oil. When it was all said and done it cost me $15 to make a good amount of really nutritious food. I was afraid my Tegu might not like it, but not only did he eat one serving, but came back for seconds! Thanks very much for the recipe.


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## Dana C (Mar 24, 2012)

tommyboy said:


> Thanks for the good info Dana. I did this today ( minus the pork) and it took me about an hour from start to finish. This will last me quite a while and really saves time and money in the long run. How much vitamins and calcium do you add to this amount of meat?



I used a teaspoon of reptile vitamins and quarter cup of calcium in the form of powdered egg shells. I also add a little Flukers w/D3 on top when the kids are fed. Don't forget to look for chicken pieces on sale as it is often less expensive than ground turkey. You can put chicken wings into a good processor and grind them bones and all. I you find whole chicken, do as LaurarFL does and grind the necks, backs etc. as well.


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