# Tegu questions



## MadameButterfly (Jan 15, 2012)

Hi

I just got a new Golden Tagu and I have a few questions

It is only about 4 months old and I don't know it's gender yet so I just refer to it as female, I fed her and she was chasing an insect and got herself stuck behind the tray I use for her water bowl/bath and eventually wriggled her way out but then she was licking underneath her and it looked like some type of sack sticking out of her belly that was pink and even had veins so I thought that maybe she had cut herself and it was her intestines hanging out so I was really panicing and she was frantic so I couldn't catch her because I was afraid I'd make it worse if she was bouncing around so I left her for a while to calm down and checked on her again an hour later and managed to catch her and I checked her belly and there is no cuts, the sack was gone so I have no idea what it was unless she is a he and it was his male parts making an appearance? any ideas?

Also lights, I have a 100 watt basking lamp and a UV light but do I need to have them on 24 hours a day or is it better to cycle them to be more like real sunlight? so far I have had the UV light on about 13 hours a day but the basking light on 24 hours a day so is it better to knock them both off for a period each day to emulate night time for it?

Thanks

MB


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## TeguBuzz (Jan 15, 2012)

Sounds like she had a prolapse.

Turn all lights off at night.


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## MadameButterfly (Jan 15, 2012)

TeguBuzz said:


> Sounds like she had a prolapse.
> 
> Turn all lights off at night.





What is a prolapse when refering to tegu? is it something I should have a vet check?


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## Bubblz Calhoun (Jan 15, 2012)

_Hi,..  welcome to the site and congratulations on the new gu. Most people cycle the lights on a schedule to mimic the seasons, sun rise and set as well as your tegus schedule. Like 12 hours on and 12 off or 8 on and 16 off. Depending on where you're located, the time of year and or how much time your gu spends out. 

Like previously stated it sounds like it may have given itself a rectal prolapse from pushing too hard and struggling try to get out from behind the tray._


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## MadameButterfly (Jan 15, 2012)

Thanks bubblz, I live in Ireland so for now I think the 12 hours on and 12 off would be the best, as for the prolapse is that dangerous? Should I have her checked by a vet or is it something she can fix on her own?


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## james.w (Jan 15, 2012)

12 on 12 off should be fine. As long as the prolapse doesn't appear again everything should be fine. Just keep an eye on it. Keep her hydrated as well.


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## dragonmetalhead (Jan 15, 2012)

A prolapse is when the rectum protrudes from the cloaca. If left untreated it can cause all sorts of medical hell, so I suggest making a vet appointment. I personally have never had a reptile prolapse, but if one of mine did that's what I would do.

And best of luck/congrats on the Colombian. When this situation resolves itself please post some pics.


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## TeguBuzz (Jan 15, 2012)

Well, a prolapse is what has been stated above. I wouldn't worry too much unless it shows up again. And I forgot to say welcome, so welcome. If you have any questions, fire away, as you can see, we're quick to respond.


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## MadameButterfly (Jan 15, 2012)

Thanks James, tegubuzz and DragonMetalHead, I'll remove that tray from the tank for the moment and get one that there is less chance of it happening and I have a friend that can check her out tomorrow for me just to be sure she is OK. As for pics Dragon she is still very nervous so spends a lot of time buried in the bedding so it is hard to get a pic but I am taking my time trying to get her use to me by just sitting with my hand in the tank for half an hour 3 times a day and letting her decide when she wants to approach me, it will take a while but I don't want to stress her


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## TeguBuzz (Jan 15, 2012)

Sounds good. What's your setup like? Let's see some pics.


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## MadameButterfly (Jan 15, 2012)

TeguBuzz said:


> Sounds good. What's your setup like? Let's see some pics.



At the moment this is the tank, I own a South carolina corn snake that was living in it but moved her to a smaller tank for the moment to give the tegu the room, it (the tank) is about 2 and a half foot long but I am getting a longer one made. My brother in law works in a factory that makes stuff out of perspex so he can make make it to any size I ask. As you can see on the right the cat tray I was using as a water source is where she got stuck so I figure for now I will change that and get something like a dogs water dish and it will also free up a lot more space for her too.


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## Khoilie (Jan 15, 2012)

I have my UVB light on a digital timer ($13.00 at hardware store). ON-12:00 noon, OFF-12:00 midnight. I live in Canada and its winter right now so im using a 50w Infrared heat lamp for the basking spot which i leave on 24hrs a day. keeps his basking spot at 90F and the ambient around 75F. Reptiles cannot see the Infrared light spectrum so its fine to leave on 24/7 it wont bother them when sleeping, it also works as a nice light for viewing your terrarium at night.

I had the same issue with my tegu's pool. he kept wedging himself behind it and getting stuck so i took out the kitty litter box (what i use for his pool) and cleared away all the cypress mulch, I put the pool back in and pushed it into the very corner, then i built up the substrate around it, pushed mulch into all the cracks and holes around the pool and packed it all down tight. he doesnt bother trying to get behind it anymore because i guess it would be too much work lol, also u can put a rock or something heavy into ur pool to add some weight so yours cant move it either. you could even go as far as to use some industrial strength Velcro tape ($10-local hardware store) to secure it to the floor/wall then hes got no chance moving it lol

heres a few pics to show what im talking about


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## MadameButterfly (Jan 16, 2012)

Just a little update, she seems fine today, she's running around the tank like there isn't a bother on her and I managed to get her to eat 3 crickets too and I even managed to get her to stay still long enough to take a picture






Speaking of food what would be the average amount of crickets to feed her and how often? also I hear they like boiled eggs, do I just feed it whole to her or would it be better to mash it up in a bowl?

Thanks for all the advice guys


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## dragonmetalhead (Jan 16, 2012)

So pretty. The gold Colombian tegus have such great colors. When Kodo was eating crickets, he put away quite a few. The bigger tegus get, the bigger the appetite. With the eggs, as with any food items offered, it should be cut into small, bite-sized pieces.


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## Bubblz Calhoun (Jan 16, 2012)

_Glad to hear she's doing better,.. take some time to check out the tegu food list if you haven't already. Feed her as much as she wants when ever she's hungry. Some feed smaller meals more often while others feed large meals less often. Eggs should be fed every once in a while as a treat only._


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## MadameButterfly (Jan 16, 2012)

Thanks Dragon, I am just boiling an egg and am going to try her with it to see if she'll eat it, I can't imagine that she will be able to finish the whole lot but I have a little bowl that I will cut it up into and leave it in her tank for a few hours and see if she is intrested in it.


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## MadameButterfly (Jan 16, 2012)

I tried her with the egg and she wolfed it down, she obviously really likes it


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## dragonmetalhead (Jan 16, 2012)

Variety it the key to balanced nutrition. Tegus will take a wide range of insects and meats so find out what your little guy likes.


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## MadameButterfly (Jan 17, 2012)

She went burrowing last night (a while after she ate the eggs) at about 10pm and she hasn't reappeared and it is 8.30 pm here now, is that normal? I'm worried about her now but I've read that you shouldn't disturb them when they are in their burrows so I don't want to distress her by checking on her. She hasn't even been out to feed or lie in her heat spot.


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## laurarfl (Jan 17, 2012)

Make sure you add calcium supplement without vitamins to every meal without bones.


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## MadameButterfly (Jan 17, 2012)

laurarfl said:


> Make sure you add calcium supplement without vitamins to every meal without bones.



I added it to the egg and covered the crickets with it too, thay were practically white I put that much on them


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## dragonmetalhead (Jan 17, 2012)

Tegus love to burrow and if they're hunkered down and comfy, they won't budge. I wouldn't worry too much, just make sure to add fresh water if he comes up for a drink.


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## MadameButterfly (Jan 17, 2012)

dragonmetalhead said:


> Tegus love to burrow and if they're hunkered down and comfy, they won't budge. I wouldn't worry too much, just make sure to add fresh water if he comes up for a drink.



I'm more worried about her getting enough food and UV light, is she OK going a day or two without them if thats what she chooses?


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## james.w (Jan 17, 2012)

Yes she will be fine.


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## MadameButterfly (Jan 17, 2012)

Cheers James, about bedding, at the moment I am only using those dark brown wood chips (I think they are called "Mulch"? ) but they are very dry and I know she needs humidity so is there anything else I can mix and use as bedding also to incrase the moisture and humidity for her? would peat moss work too if mixed with the Mulch?

*Peat Moss*







It is available in Ireland for about €4 (about $7) for a really large bag






Sorry for all the questions but I really want her to be comfortable and happy so the more I learn the better


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## james.w (Jan 17, 2012)

Yes the moss will help. You could also add a few more inches of the substrate you are currently using and if the enclosure is watertight you can just dump water into the substrate and stir it around. What do you have as fas as ventilation goes?


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## MadameButterfly (Jan 17, 2012)

Yes it is water tight to about half a foot deep (the base and sides are all sealed) as for ventilation the top is a solid peice of perspex but there are over 300 1 centimeter holes drilled in it and also there are 1 centimeter slots drilled down the front from the top to about 2 thirds of the way down and about a 1 centimeter gap between the door and the parts it locks to, ventilation isn't a problem


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## james.w (Jan 17, 2012)

Ventilation sounds like it is a problem, there is too much of it. Try adding more substrate and covering some of those holes.


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## MadameButterfly (Jan 17, 2012)

I was actually worried that there wasn't enough ventilation for her, should I try covering about 100 of the holes up?


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## james.w (Jan 17, 2012)

I have a 8'*3.5'*3' cage and it has no ventilation other than the small gap around the doors. The daily opening and closing of the doors allows for enough air exchange.


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## dragonmetalhead (Jan 17, 2012)

I have never heard of a reptile suffocating in its tank from lack of air, if that's what you're worried about.


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## MadameButterfly (Jan 18, 2012)

dragonmetalhead said:


> I have never heard of a reptile suffocating in its tank from lack of air, if that's what you're worried about.



I know I sound really paranoid but I'll try explain why, see when I got my first snake 2 yeas ago 






After 3 days she disappeared from her tank and I never found her again, the tank seemed fine so I had no idea where she went or how she escaped so I bought another one (a lavender cornsnake) and that disappeared too so I then checked the tank the petshop gave me again and realised that it was a tank for bigger animals not baby snakes and the gap in the latches on the lid were obviously big enough for the snakes to crawl through at night (this is the latches)











It was their mistake not mine, I got a new snake and the correct tank but since then I am obsessive about checking on her. I know that Kiff can't get out of her tank either and that burrowing is natural for her but that experience with my first two snakes has just put that worry in the back of my mind and it is always there if she doesn't show her face for a long time. I just worry if she is OK.


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## dragonmetalhead (Jan 18, 2012)

I can get paranoid about my pets as well, so please don't be concerned. I'm sorry about your snakes. It sounds to me like Kiff has a very devoted tegu-parent so I am sure your lizard will be just fine. I have to ask, though, is Kiff named after the character form Futurama>


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## MadameButterfly (Jan 18, 2012)

dragonmetalhead said:


> I can get paranoid about my pets as well, so please don't be concerned. I'm sorry about your snakes. It sounds to me like Kiff has a very devoted tegu-parent so I am sure your lizard will be just fine. I have to ask, though, is Kiff named after the character form Futurama>



lol yeah, I love Zapp Brannigan and Kiff, Zaph's one liners are just awesome and Kiff is just the most hard done by guy ever  I really think they should have made a spin off with just those two and made it a total parody of the original Star Trek, who ever wrote their characters was hilarious 

*Leela:* You know, Zapp, someone ought to teach you a lesson. 
*Zapp:* If it's a lesson in love, watch out. I suffer from a very sexy learning disability. What did I call it, Kiff? 
*Kiff:* Ugh... sexlexia. 

*Zapp:* there isn't an Alien in this universe I can't kill and if there is I haven't killed him yet.

And my personal favorite

*Zapp:* She looks like a steakhouse but handles like a bistro.

Best character ever on that show


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## dragonmetalhead (Jan 19, 2012)

That's awesome! Futurama kicks ass. Zoidberg is my favorite and I actually met Billy West my freshman year of college. Some of my favorite Zapp lines:
Brannigan's law is like Brannigan's love, hard and fast!
The mind is willing but the body is spongey and weak.
A littler lower, Kiff. Lower. Lower. Too low. . . . Lower.
Would you care for some champagne? (pronounced sham-pag-in)


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## Khoilie (Jan 24, 2012)

you were sayin you were worried when your tegu ate eggs then slept for a really long time, its normal. mine does the exact same thing. when i run out of ground turkey, ill boil up a few eggs for him and when hes done eating, he'll sleep for like 2 days, wake up, take a huge ****, then bask all day, then pass out in his water lol. its kinda funny come to think of it. i just think that eggs are really filling for tegus or somethin


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## MadameButterfly (Jan 27, 2012)

dragonmetalhead said:


> That's awesome! Futurama kicks A**. Zoidberg is my favorite and I actually met Billy West my freshman year of college. Some of my favorite Zapp lines:
> Brannigan's law is like Brannigan's love, hard and fast!
> The mind is willing but the body is spongey and weak.
> littler lower, Kiff. Lower. Lower. Too low. . . . Lower.
> Would you care for some champagne? (pronounced sham-pag-in)



Yeah he has the best oneliners ever, I love the eposide where him and Kiff go on a date with with Amy and Lela and he gets up to do karaoki and says "Let me show you why they call me the Velour Fog and then starts singing LELA, LE LE LE LELE LEEEEELAAAAAA", thats the one with "The mind is willing but the body is spongey and weak." in it. I think that was my favorite episode out of them all  


Khoilie said:


> you were sayin you were worried when your tegu ate eggs then slept for a really long time, its normal. mine does the exact same thing. when i run out of ground turkey, ill boil up a few eggs for him and when hes done eating, he'll sleep for like 2 days, wake up, take a huge Poo, then bask all day, then pass out in his water lol. its kinda funny come to think of it. i just think that eggs are really filling for tegus or somethin



Thanks for that because guess what, I fed her eggs again last night and she hasn't shown her face at all today so that must be the reason, thanks for putting my mind at ease, I'll have to keep that in mind from now on for when I give her eggs, god it's like rasing a child at times isn't it? There is so much to learn


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## Khoilie (Jan 29, 2012)

no problem, i dont have children so i have no idea what thats like but to get everything proper and make your tegu happy it does a little bit of elbow grease, some time, patients, and a lot of research... well for me anyways lol. I've spent so much time reading, asking questions and talking to different people I probably could of learned another language haha. But at the end of the day I'm happy now. I went from knowing next to nothing about these reptiles and having one that I thought hated me, to being a tegu information machine lol and having a healthy, happy tegu that i love. I've been reading and watching videos about training them so i think my next venture will be to train my tegu to attack a ball on a stick for food, then when i find a female I'll try my hand at breeding


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## MadameButterfly (Jan 29, 2012)

Khoilie said:


> no problem, i dont have children so i have no idea what thats like but to get everything proper and make your tegu happy it does a little bit of elbow grease, some time, patients, and a lot of research... well for me anyways lol. I've spent so much time reading, asking questions and talking to different people I probably could of learned another language haha. But at the end of the day I'm happy now. I went from knowing next to nothing about these reptiles and having one that I thought hated me, to being a tegu information machine lol and having a healthy, happy tegu that i love. I've been reading and watching videos about training them so i think my next venture will be to train my tegu to attack a ball on a stick for food, then when i find a female I'll try my hand at breeding



Actually I am having a problem right now that I hope some of you can help me with, her normal routein is I feed her (using a pink glove so that she doesn't associate my hand with food) and take her out (wearing a white glove because she still snaps a lot) and bring her into my bathroom and sit there for an hour with her and let her walk around and until today it was working, she seemed calm but today I tried take her out for her bathroom time and she went nuts, she bit me and then ran up my arm and jumped from my shoulder to a chair about 3 feet away all in the space of about 5 seconds and then stood on the chair hissing at me. I had to let her bite me again to distract her so that I could catch her before she did a runner. Now nothing changed, her food and light routein is still the same, I didn't dig her up from her burrow or anything, she just seems to be overly agressive all of a sudden.

What I am doing to get her to trust me obviously isn't working so has anyone any tips on how I can get her to calm down and trust me more? because I love her to bits but I can't keep her if she stays like this because at some point she will have jaws strong enough to bite my finger off if this agression keeps up


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## james.w (Jan 29, 2012)

Some days they just don't want to be bothered with. Try to read her and see what she wants.


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## RamblinRose (Jan 29, 2012)

Perhaps your movements were to quick and surprising for her at that time. It scared her, not knowing if you were going to eat her or what was happening. Just remember, slow/steady movements.


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## MadameButterfly (Jan 30, 2012)

RamblinRose said:


> Perhaps your movements were to quick and surprising for her at that time. It scared her, not knowing if you were going to eat her or what was happening. Just remember, slow/steady movements.



No I don't think it is that, I'm pretty calm around my snake and she never panics whereas Kiff on the other hand seems to be on a constant panic mode.

Actually I never posted pics of Murphy, here she is, she's about 4 foot long and is a South Carolina corn snake and is the most calm animal ever






















She has a very "unique" pattern on her head, I won't say what it looks like to me but I am sure you can figure it out


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## dragonmetalhead (Jan 30, 2012)

Look at her scarf that mouse! Awesome.


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## Bubblz Calhoun (Jan 30, 2012)

_It happens,.. there will be good days or weeks as well as not so great ones. Just stick with it and she'll come around. It's part of the Colombian reputation that they usually take longer to come around than others._


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## MadameButterfly (Jan 30, 2012)

I don't plan on giving up on her because I just never give up on an animal I just need some advice on ways to calm her down really because I also don't want her to be unhappy

As and aside why do some people have things like

"
10.3.0 Carpet Pythons
0.2.1 Green Tree Pythons 
1.0.0 Tegu
2.2.0 Sphynx Cats 
"

on their signature? I get that it probably means the amount of a specific animal but what does the X.X.X mean as in why are the "." there in between the numbers? basically what does "10.3.0 Carpet Pythons" mean? what does the "10.3.0" mean?


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## dragonmetalhead (Jan 30, 2012)

The numbers have to do with the sex of the animal. The first number is male, the second is female, the third is unsexed.


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## james.w (Jan 30, 2012)

Hey you stole my signature..

How big/old is your Tegu?


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## MadameButterfly (Feb 1, 2012)

dragonmetalhead said:


> The numbers have to do with the sex of the animal. The first number is male, the second is female, the third is unsexed.



Oh I see, god some people have a lot of pets on here, in some cases it would actually class as a small farm 






james.w said:


> Hey you stole my signature..
> 
> How big/old is your Tegu?



lol sorry wasn't trying to steal it I just needed one as a good example, seriously 13 snakes? do you own a petshop? 

at the moment she is about 16 inches long and shes about 5 months old so is probably still a stroppy toddler in Tegu years lol


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## james.w (Feb 1, 2012)

I actually have 16 snakes, but no I don't have a shop. I plan on breeding in a year or two.


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## MadameButterfly (Feb 1, 2012)

Cool, you see the pictures of my South Carolina and my son got a lavender for christmas before last so I was considering breeding them both, I'd say I could get so really nice colours between them


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## MadameButterfly (Feb 1, 2012)

I want to get minced Turkey tomorrow for Kiff but do I cook it first or just feed it to her raw? if I cook it whats the best way?


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## james.w (Feb 1, 2012)

All meat is fed raw.


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## MadameButterfly (Feb 2, 2012)

Is it only minced Turkey or do they eat minced chicken/beef etc too?


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## Khoilie (Feb 2, 2012)

Sorry about the late response, about taming your tegu... I'm no expert but I can toss out a few ideas. Kinda seems like your trying too hard if that even makes sense lol. Ditch the glove and taking him to the bathroom. Make sure your temps are proper and you have the right ultraviolet requirements 1st off. Just feed him in his cage, throw the food in whether it's a mouse or ground turkey or whatever and just leave him alone. Seems like he might be stressed out so id recommend leaving him alone for a few days. U might be doing more harm than good by taking him out of his cage and taking him to another room and wearing a brightly colored glove to handle him. I'm no professional but these are things I did when mine was acting like a douche and he's fine now.

For food, your going to have to do some work yourself. You have to remember that every tegu is different just like dogs or people. Just because alot of people use ground turkey doesn't mean yours will eat it. He might hate it, you need to try different things until you find something healthy that he will gobble up as soon as u offer it. Then from there you can start looking for other things to give him a little variety. For you, from what you've said about his attitude, I bet he'd love live food like a mouse or rat pup depending on size. I think he'd love a good hunt.

Good luck


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## dragonmetalhead (Feb 2, 2012)

Here's a list of what Kodo eats, hopefully it helps: chicken gizzards, beef stew meat (it's lean), silversides, snails, shrimp, mice, rats, hard boiled eggs, liver (don't overdo with this or you'll get a vitamin A overdose), turkey. He also has a taste for my mother's lamp chops and Arby's roast beef sandwhiches


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## MadameButterfly (Feb 5, 2012)

Khoilie said:


> Sorry about the late response, about taming your tegu... I'm no expert but I can toss out a few ideas. Kinda seems like your trying too hard if that even makes sense lol. Ditch the glove and taking him to the bathroom. Make sure your temps are proper and you have the right ultraviolet requirements 1st off. Just feed him in his cage, throw the food in whether it's a mouse or ground turkey or whatever and just leave him alone. Seems like he might be stressed out so id recommend leaving him alone for a few days. U might be doing more harm than good by taking him out of his cage and taking him to another room and wearing a brightly colored glove to handle him. I'm no professional but these are things I did when mine was acting like a douche and he's fine now.
> 
> For food, your going to have to do some work yourself. You have to remember that every tegu is different just like dogs or people. Just because alot of people use ground turkey doesn't mean yours will eat it. He might hate it, you need to try different things until you find something healthy that he will gobble up as soon as u offer it. Then from there you can start looking for other things to give him a little variety. For you, from what you've said about his attitude, I bet he'd love live food like a mouse or rat pup depending on size. I think he'd love a good hunt.
> 
> Good luck



I love her but I couldn't feed her live prey, I don't mind live crickets but I couldn't feed her a live baby mouse and besides it is illegal to do that over here, mice come frozen and if you were caught feeding a live one to a snake/lizard you would be fined and most likely sent to jail for 5 years for cruelity to animals. It's a big NO NO in Ireland


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## Khoilie (Feb 5, 2012)

Oh wow holy **** thats serious lol, there's no laws here in Canada about feeders. It's just a social thing. In the exotic pet scene that i am apart of It's considered socially acceptable to feed live prey as long and the feeder animals are bred specifically for the purpose of feeding exotic pets. For example: it is fine to feed a rabbit to your snake as long as you obtain the rabbit from a breeder that specifically bred and raised the rabbits for the purpose of feeding pets higher on the foodchain. On the other hand if you were to go into a pet store and buy a rabbit being sold as a pet and feed it to your snake, that would be animal cruelty and you deserve to die in a fire. Some people will say what the hell is the difference but there is a huge difference. There's a food chain, then there's feeding your pet to another pet


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## MadameButterfly (Feb 9, 2012)

Khoilie said:


> Oh wow holy Poo thats serious lol, there's no laws here in Canada about feeders. It's just a social thing. In the exotic pet scene that i am apart of It's considered socially acceptable to feed live prey as long and the feeder animals are bred specifically for the purpose of feeding exotic pets. For example: it is fine to feed a rabbit to your snake as long as you obtain the rabbit from a breeder that specifically bred and raised the rabbits for the purpose of feeding pets higher on the foodchain. On the other hand if you were to go into a pet store and buy a rabbit being sold as a pet and feed it to your snake, that would be animal cruelty and you deserve to die in a fire. Some people will say what the hell is the difference but there is a huge difference. There's a food chain, then there's feeding your pet to another pet



http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3976106/Catch-the-sicko-who-fed-a-kitten-to-a-python.html

Thats why it is considered cruel over here, it is actually on youTube somewhere but I wouldn't watch it so I can't search for it for you 


For the record the guy was caught, his snake was taken away and he was fined about 15,000 and banned from ever owning a pet again as far as I know


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## dragonmetalhead (Feb 9, 2012)

While there is nothing inherently "wrong" feeding a reptile a live prey item—that's nature, folks—I concur with Khoilie. Feeder animals are meant to be food, pets are meant to be pets. I have met a couple people who have fed their snakes cats, however. I've also heard snakes prefer the taste of hamsters to mice/rats and can get addicted to them.


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## MadameButterfly (Feb 11, 2012)

dragonmetalhead said:


> While there is nothing inherently "wrong" feeding a reptile a live prey item—that's nature, folks—I concur with Khoilie. Feeder animals are meant to be food, pets are meant to be pets. I have met a couple people who have fed their snakes cats, however. I've also heard snakes prefer the taste of hamsters to mice/rats and can get addicted to them.



While I understand what you are saying over here there is no such thing as a "Feeder Animal", it would be totally against the law to breed animals just to feed to other animals because where would you draw the line on what is and isn't an "acceptable" live food versus pet? can I feed a live cat to a dog just because it is nature that dogs eat cats? put it this way young tegu are pray in their own habitat but if I owned an animal that was a natural predator of tegu would it be acceptable for me to buy live young tegu just to feed it? 

I realise that humans breed cattle and chickens as food but the reason we justify it is we disassociate from the animal and view Chickens, Cows, Sheep etc as stupid and that makes it easier then to digest (no pun intended) as a reason but if hotdogs where really made out of minced up dogs would you eat them? 

"that's nature" as a concept is very subjective based on what you find acceptable which is why you never see a zoo feeding a tiger a live monkey


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