# Aargh, how to get him to LIKE fruit



## reptileszz (Jan 30, 2008)

Hi all, I am trying to get my black and white tegu to eat more fruit to no avail. I would prefer it if he actually liked to eat it but thats not happening. I have been hiding it in ground turkey so he is getting some at least. 

What fruits have people had good luck with them liking? I have tried banana (which is the only one he actually took on his own with no meat around), peach, pear, grape, blueberry and raspberry.

Thank you,
Carole


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## snakehandler (Jan 30, 2008)

tegus are not very vegetarian. they prefer fresh killed mice.


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## reptileszz (Jan 30, 2008)

Um, when reading all the care sheets out there and from this forum I have gathered that tegus need a bit more than just mice. Anyone else have any suggestions?

Thanks
Carole


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## tegulevi (Jan 30, 2008)

most of the care sheets are wrong. there has only been one gut examination of tegus documented. and it was from a skinning station in one region. not even close to accurate IMO. im sure you framiliar with possums. think of tegus like we have raccoons and possums. they eat what is available. if given a choice they will take animal prey. but when it comes down to it they eat what they can find even in its rummaging through garbage. i dont have much luck even getting my reds to "like" fruit. i feed mostly a whole prey diet to all of my tegus and use absolutely no turkey as it has no real signifigance other than hiding fruit in to trick them. for that extra vitamin boost i make a big batch of tegu slop lol. throw some smal mice, fruit,veggies and sweet potato baby food in a bowl and mix it up. they will pick at it and get a nice load of vitamins from the fruit and potato. 

good luck


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## COWHER (Jan 30, 2008)

I didnt have luck with any fruit for the longest time. :roll: but this week Barbossa actually took some mango with out any meat around it :woot . I dont agree 100% with the comments made above (mostly meat diets) yet I do agree that they are opportunity hunters and scavengers I don't agree that they eat mostly meat because there has been studies on the amount of seed spreading done by tegu's eating fruit and then passing the seeds some where else and they are very valuable because of this.. I have done the same thing as you and used ground turkey along with chopped grapes, broccoli, mango, and calf liver to make little meat balls uke and he seems to like it. and he just recently took mango alone so I dont know if he is starting to like fruit and veggies now but as long as he is eating it I'm happy :app :fc :app


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## ApriliaRufo (Jan 30, 2008)

Hey rock on. I agree with tegulevi, but I do believe that some fruit should be offered. I don't offer chunks of fruit as they are not interested. I cut up mango and papaya and mix it with hunks of shark steak. Apollo loves shark steak and the strong smell covers up fruit and he eats em with reckless abandon.


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## tegulevi (Jan 30, 2008)

to clarify, i do offer fruit. it just rots and doesnt get eaten most of the time lol.


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## redtail2426 (Jan 30, 2008)

Dosnt shark have alot of mercury in it?? Any way how old is your tegu because I have a black and white and he would never take fruit on his own so I stopped offering it for a couple months and then when I offered it again at about six months of age he eats any kind of fruit I can throw at him and he usually eats it before his meats. So I think it mostly has to do with age but I know there are some gu's out there that just wont take it.


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## ApriliaRufo (Jan 30, 2008)

yes shark does have a lot of mercury in it, depending on where it comes from. One of the perks to living in CA is that there is a CHinese friend of mine, who has a farm. The sharks are raised like pets in his home. Unfortunately 20$ a lb is a pricy bit to pay, but it's a rare treat. I try to give my tegus a lot more variety than zophobas and mice. They get rats, mice, gerbils, hamsters, worms, grasshoppers, fish (many different kinds), mantids, non-poisonous scorpions, non-poisonous spiders. There are a lot of different food items to offer. I've never successfully bred scorpions so that is one expensive meal... Although I've heard a friend feeds adult wolf spiders and successfully breeds them. Never tried those though.


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## PuffDragon (Jan 30, 2008)

I guess my tegu is an exception to the case. I have a roughly 4-5 month old tegu and he absolutely loves fruits. So far I have giving him/her grapes, rasperries, cantaloupe, honeydew, watermelon (not much nutrition), and blueberries. He/she eats them all straight up with out a hitch. Cantaloupe seems to be his favorite. I have also tried strawberries but he ignored them.


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## PuffDragon (Jan 30, 2008)

Oops forgot to answer your question. I really am not sure. The turkey method seems to be best. Maybe just slowly wean him off the turkey by adding more fruit each serving? I never had a problem with fruit like I said. Try some cantaloupe.


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## Aranha (Jan 30, 2008)

I say start rubbing fruit with something meaty and then do it alittle less everytime and finally they'll eat fruit without and mixing or anything. The trick is to get them to start eating it. Mine eats plain salads and he seems to like it


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## KoreanDeathKid (Jan 30, 2008)

you can try cutting opening the skin of a mouse, and stuff some fruit in there


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## nat (Jan 30, 2008)

i usually just give my tegus a bowl of fruit with a mouse on top and they seem to really enjoy following up their mouse with fruit desert.


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## COWHER (Jan 30, 2008)

nat said:


> i usually just give my tegus a bowl of fruit with a mouse on top and they seem to really enjoy following up their mouse with fruit desert.



lol nice.. I think I'll try that


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## playlboi (Jan 30, 2008)

i have a few month old tegu and he loves certain types of fruits. i cut it up in chunks and feed it together with the turkey and whatever else and he'll choose to eat the fruits by itself.


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## reptileszz (Jan 31, 2008)

Thanks guys for all the responses. What I have learned here is just mix it in and hope for the best. I wont sweat it tho. I was on my 3rd attempt at getting him to eat plain fruit yesterday and he ate nothing so... back to mixing it in.







Thanks!
Carole


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## rebeccaej (Feb 11, 2008)

Try different fruits and vegetables, too. Mine wouldn't eat any of the stuff I was offering her, but as soon as I sliced open a blueberry so she could smell the juice inside, she started eating those. Now she'll eat those just as readily as meat. I find that if it has a lot of juice and a strong flavor, she is more likely to eat it. Bell peppers are another one of her favorites, again, because of the juice. Try cut berries, bell pepper, mango, kiwi, banana, or anything else that is very juicy.


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## COWHER (Feb 11, 2008)

COWHER said:


> nat said:
> 
> 
> > i usually just give my tegus a bowl of fruit with a mouse on top and they seem to really enjoy following up their mouse with fruit desert.
> ...



this works i have had awesome success with it!!! thanks Nat!


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## DZLife (Feb 11, 2008)

Ok, I have believed we have established that Tegus eat fruits and veggies alongside meat, but just how much fruit is neccesary?


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## gebris353 (Feb 11, 2008)

Mine likes every juicy and sweet fruit as said but I dont need to open it so he eats them, some of them I have to do it to take out the seeds. Try banana, cherries, plum, watermelon, melon, grapes, kiwi... and if he doesnt like it try mixing it in raw egg, so he will eat it. And about how much, I give him meat once or twice a week, the rest fruits, everyday a different one. :-D


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