# Fish and seafood!



## Rhetoric (May 8, 2011)

I have fed my tegus talapia, salmon, tuna, shrimp and scallops.. Are these fish ok to feed as well?

Rockfish, mahi mahi, alaska pollock and flounder.. 

I just got back from the grocery store and some of these were 10/$10, I wasn't sure if they could eat these so I only got one of each. They're frozen, no additives or anything, I don't believe they're cooked.
I've got a huge bag of mahi mahi, I'm not a big fish person but the other household members are lol.


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## nicklotz (May 8, 2011)

personally im a fisherman, all those are good as well as some high oil fish, think about the streams and lakes in argentina, theres not much scallops, rockrish, pollock and flounder etc. makarel is a great oily fish as well as im not sure if you can get it where you are feeder heron, my gu's loved it completely devoured it actually, i also tried squid, only one of my gus was intrested in it but boy did she love it, ive found that they really enjoy oillly fish, tuna is a great oily fish talapia is a prime example of a freshwater good eating fish, local pond fish is the next thing im gonna try, as well as some striped bass and scup


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## Rhetoric (May 8, 2011)

I'll keep an eye out for makarel. lol, yeah I knew they don't have access to a lot of the seafoods I feed them in the wild. I don't feed them fish/seafood regularly, its just kind of a fun way to keep a varied diet. They really love the scallops but again, they're not something a tegu would just happen to run across in the wild. 
Do you know if there are any nutritional differences between the fresh and frozen? I've just gotten frozen for the convenience.. I was thinking its the about the same, there aren't any additives or anything to it. I'm sure fresh tastes better but I'm not eating it and I don't think my tegus have a preference lol. If its more nutritional I might make a splurge here and there for the fresh stuff.


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## Bubblz Calhoun (May 8, 2011)

_The main thing you have to worry about with whole and fresh Seafood is where it comes from and Parasites. Most people just worry about and remove the Organs but there are parasites that live in the flesh itself. Their digestive enzymes maybe stronger than ours but we also have access to a larger variety of foods that they hardly ever ro may never come across in the wild. 

I've tried not so common things like Scallops, Krill, Brine Shrimp and mine loved it. _


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## Rhetoric (May 8, 2011)

do you think it would be better to have an extra fecal done during the year if i keep giving them seafood? all bm's are normal but its not always a symptom. i plan to have stools checked before

My phone was having issues...
Starting over! 

Do you think it would be better to have an extra check up or fecal done if I am giving them foods more likely to have parasites? All the BM's are normal but I know they won't always change if they have parasites. I do plan to get stool checks and a check up on each of them later on, fall/winter, before brumation/hibernation.
Side question, how often should they be going to the vet? All 3 of mine have gone once. I took Guru shortly after getting him last summer. I took the 2 newer ones a week or two after I had gotten them. Should reptiles have an annual check up like cats and dogs or just when something odd is going on?
I never took my beardie to the vet.. He's never had any issues.. My savy went to the vet once when I thought it might have had worms but its stool sample was clean.


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## Bubblz Calhoun (May 8, 2011)

_Depending on where its coming from and how it's processed would answer that question. Fresh off the hook, boat, pond, stream or what ever an extra fecal here or there wouldn't hurt. 

You can also monitor their stools and weight a little closer. If anything changes one way or another for a period of time. Like eating more or less and not gaining any weight and loose stools then I would definitely do a fecal. 

Just my PO,.. reptiles aren't really a public access pet like cats and dogs where they are exposed to a lot of things, areas and ways where they can pick stuff up. More often then not if they catch something it's because we brought it in and or unknowingly gave them access to it from another animal or what ever. A clean bill of health with a Reptile Vet the first year should be fine and depending on your husbandry practices some parasite prevention here and there. Whether or not you want to do an Annual or Biannual check up is up to you._


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## nicklotz (May 8, 2011)

fresh is always best, frozen isnt bad at all tho, they dont add anything, usually to fish to make it hold or anything, as for parasites, its gonna have the same amount as an egg turkey meat any sort of rat you know its just how it is, the gus in the wild are obviously more tolerant off them then our captive raised ones, but they eat everything in the wild, so out of the norm foods shouldnt be too bad, as long as it isnt a staple food i think your good, but seafood is really good for them, mine eat it a few times a week, its pretty much a treat meal.


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## reptastic (May 8, 2011)

My last group of tegus absolutly went nuts over fish lol, especially nero, it start with telapia then i added some tuna and salmon but storm and rayne havnt showed much interest in them though(storm ate 1 med. Shrimp but thats it), although i have only tried the salmon and some shrimps. I never seen any ill effects except a large tegu will charge you if they know you got it lol


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## Rhetoric (May 9, 2011)

Bubblz-
Alright, I'll probably do another vist for each this year before they brumate, if they do.. Other than that I'll most likely end up taking them more as needed. It makes sense that they're not exposed to as much. I'm still semi-new to reptiles, my beardie was my first and hes going to be 2 this summer. I wasn't sure. Thank you!


nicklotz-
Right now I'm doing seafood or fish maybe once a week it just sort of depends on what I have around. It makes sense that the chances of picking up parasites are about the same as the other foods I'm feeding them. I read the back of the packages with the nutrition content and it seems like a great meal/treat/whatever.


Reptastic- yeah its crazy to see how excited they get for the fish lol. they enjoy the other foods I feed them but they all inhale the seafoods. My female tegu goes nuts, she gets sooo excited for feeding time, shes a faster eater than the males and she definitely out eats the smaller male, Gary. Its kind of gross but the way I got guru more interested in seafood was mixing ground turkey with fish and adding some blueberries.. A nasty combo but he quickly figured out how tasty fish is lol.


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## Jefroka (May 9, 2011)

As long as the fish is fresh frozen and hasn't been frozen for an extended period of time (several months) it should be nutritionally close to fresh. You obviously don't want anything freezer burnt.

If concerned about parasites freeze any fresh fish. 48 hours should kill any/all parasites.


...Jefroka


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