# Any ways to get veggies into the diet?



## SierGomez (Nov 24, 2016)

I've been trying to get more veggies into the diet of these two... but they arnt having it. I've tried offering plain veggies, various kinds, and I've tried mixing it into chicken and turkey meatballs, but they both spit it back out... 
Any ideas, aside from stuffing their whole prey with it? 

They eat a lot of whole prey items and organ meats... is it going to be an issue if they just don't take veggies for a long time?


----------



## Cody096 (Nov 24, 2016)

You can chop the veggies up into very fine pieces and mix it in, thats how I do it with my three. It's a bit tedious to get it super small but they can't help to eat it whenever they get a bite. You could also get dubias and gutload them with good fruits and veggies.


----------



## Walter1 (Nov 24, 2016)

SierGomez said:


> I've been trying to get more veggies into the diet of these two... but they arnt having it. I've tried offering plain veggies, various kinds, and I've tried mixing it into chicken and turkey meatballs, but they both spit it back out...
> Any ideas, aside from stuffing their whole prey with it?
> 
> They eat a lot of whole prey items and organ meats... is it going to be an issue if they just don't take veggies for a long time?


Don't sweat it if they refuse veggies. They'll often take blueberries and grapes but again not necessary.


----------



## Cody096 (Nov 24, 2016)

And canaloupe, my baby tried to snatch a piece out of my hand before that I was going to eat lol


----------



## dpjm (Nov 24, 2016)

You are right to include veggies, I think that is important. Fruit is ok but can be really sweet, if you can get veggies into them I think that is a better way. My tegu eats veggies no problem but it took a bit of work, actually a bit of classical conditioning.

Here's how I did it. I started feeding him with a bamboo spatula, maybe 2 inches wide and flat. I would just put the food on the end of the spatula and he would bite it, sort of like spoon feeding. At first I would use food that I knew he would be interested in, I think rats, hearts, and livers are what I used at the time, stuff that he would gladly accept on his own if it were served in a dish. What happened is that this spatula, which was previously of no value to him, became very interesting. I noticed he would grab at it even if there was no food on it. It was almost as potent a stimulus as the food itself. So I started using other foods that he was not interested in, like veggies and fruit. The result was that I can now put pretty much anything on the spatula and he will try to eat it. Another result is that he has actually developed a taste for these veggies and will eat them from a bowl as well. 

Another thing I found with veggies especially is that they have to be prepared. Most of the veggies I serve him are lightly steamed, stuff like dandelion greens, kale, broccoli, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, carrots, squash. Bell peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms, cucumber, celery, and any fruit are raw, but I limit fruit to a few pieces. I like to feed him grass sometimes too, that I would usually stir up into mashed fruit of some sort. Grass is really good for fibre, adding bulk to the feces.


----------



## SierGomez (Nov 24, 2016)

Cody096 said:


> You can chop the veggies up into very fine pieces and mix it in, thats how I do it with my three. It's a bit tedious to get it super small but they can't help to eat it whenever they get a bite. You could also get dubias and gutload them with good fruits and veggies.



That's basically what I've been doing, once they figure out its there they drop it and roll it around, then go back to napping lol. 

They won't look sideways at dubia either, Ive been breeding the roaches, but they're a 5lb female and 10lb male, I figured they might be too small for them to care much about now


----------



## SierGomez (Nov 24, 2016)

Walter1 said:


> Don't sweat it if they refuse veggies. They'll often take blueberries and grapes but again not necessary.



I keep offering lol. they're really picky. Won't take new foods at all right now. female tends to skip every other meal but they're gaining weight great overall


----------



## SierGomez (Nov 24, 2016)

dpjm said:


> You are right to include veggies, I think that is important. Fruit is ok but can be really sweet, if you can get veggies into them I think that is a better way. My tegu eats veggies no problem but it took a bit of work, actually a bit of classical conditioning.
> 
> Here's how I did it. I started feeding him with a bamboo spatula, maybe 2 inches wide and flat. I would just put the food on the end of the spatula and he would bite it, sort of like spoon feeding. At first I would use food that I knew he would be interested in, I think rats, hearts, and livers are what I used at the time, stuff that he would gladly accept on his own if it were served in a dish. What happened is that this spatula, which was previously of no value to him, became very interesting. I noticed he would grab at it even if there was no food on it. It was almost as potent a stimulus as the food itself. So I started using other foods that he was not interested in, like veggies and fruit. The result was that I can now put pretty much anything on the spatula and he will try to eat it. Another result is that he has actually developed a taste for these veggies and will eat them from a bowl as well.
> 
> Another thing I found with veggies especially is that they have to be prepared. Most of the veggies I serve him are lightly steamed, stuff like dandelion greens, kale, broccoli, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, carrots, squash. Bell peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms, cucumber, celery, and any fruit are raw, but I limit fruit to a few pieces. I like to feed him grass sometimes too, that I would usually stir up into mashed fruit of some sort. Grass is really good for fibre, adding bulk to the feces.



I'll try with a spoon, my male knows the food bowl very well now, he will run me over to get to it. I'm sure he can be trained pretty easily. my female hasn't recognized food time yet though, she is an extremely cautious eater.


----------



## Walter1 (Nov 24, 2016)

SierGomez said:


> I'll try with a spoon, my male knows the food bowl very well now, he will run me over to get to it. I'm sure he can be trained pretty easily. my female hasn't recognized food time yet though, she is an extremely cautious eater.


SierGomez- you're well on your way. Correct. The male can treat the bowl as if it were the spatula. Female still figuring it out. They prefer meat BUT will take other thingsthat are also good for them in lessper amounts.


----------



## dpjm (Nov 25, 2016)

> I'll try with a spoon



It would work, but the spoon's raised edges could cause a jaw injury. Go to any store that has kitchen supplies and get something flat. I use something like this:


----------



## dpjm (Nov 25, 2016)

> The male can treat the bowl as if it were the spatula



Maybe, but I think the spatula is a better conditioned stimulus than the bowl, at least in my case it was. Before this training with Ripper, he would respond well to the food bowl but would not necessarily accept anything that was in the bowl, he was just excited to see it. If there was anything in there was he liked he'd eat it and leave the rest. 

If the bowl works so well that your tegu will eat anything that is in it, then it would be equivalent to the spatula. But if he's still picky about the food in the bowl then it is not working as well, at least not in terms of getting him to eat different foods that he doesn't already like.


----------



## thatoneguy (Nov 25, 2016)

I used to blend up greens and veggies and mix them with meat or scrambled eggs, to get some into my tegus diet.

Now I mix in the Mazuri tortise diet with his meat which has a good amount of nutrients that he wasn't getting when he would only eat meat. Some people don't like the idea of feeding kibble type food though.


----------



## SierGomez (Nov 25, 2016)

dpjm said:


> Maybe, but I think the spatula is a better conditioned stimulus than the bowl, at least in my case it was. Before this training with Ripper, he would respond well to the food bowl but would not necessarily accept anything that was in the bowl, he was just excited to see it. If there was anything in there was he liked he'd eat it and leave the rest.
> 
> If the bowl works so well that your tegu will eat anything that is in it, then it would be equivalent to the spatula. But if he's still picky about the food in the bowl then it is not working as well, at least not in terms of getting him to eat different foods that he doesn't already like.



He definitely picks and chooses what he wants out of his bowl. I've tried cutting back on the foods he likes and adding more new foods, he might pick up a piece but always drops it, takes what he wants and leaves the rest. His weight gain is great though and his old injuries have healed pretty nicely so I'm not overly concerned, yet. 
the female runs off with one or two pieces, but she doesnt trust me at all yet. she has maybe 3 food items she will actually eat and a tendancy to over drink.


----------



## Dee-Dee Idrais (Nov 27, 2016)

So my tegus love veggies. I gently steam them a bit before serving. They eat carrots, broccoli, whole peas and beans.....


----------

