# Argentine black and white tegu diet



## earstafford (May 26, 2021)

I have been wanting a tegu and done lots of research. but i cant find anyone that says there specific diet. can i feed my tegu only dog food(for an adult) and fruits and veggies. i wouldnt be comfortable with using things such as turkey or something like that.


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## Budak77 (May 26, 2021)

Here's a good list of foods


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## Josh (May 26, 2021)

No do not feed only dog food, fruits and veggies. If you have specific questions we can answer them. It doesn't appear evident that your research has resulted in much yet though.


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## Dragon392 (Jun 2, 2021)

_Can_ you feed a tegu nothing but dog food, fruits, and veggies? I guess you technically _could. _

Will your tegu be healthy, and live a good life? No. No, it will not. It will die relatively young, and in pain.

Tegus need meat—preferably, whole prey. Turkey is one of the “tamer” meats you can feed them; if you’re not comfortable with turkey, will you be able to feed them mice, rats, and chicks? They need the bones, fur, and feathers in their diets, as even feeding too much ground turkey results in runny stool. 

I would only ever feed mine dog food if I was out of other proteins to give him—for instance, I came close to losing my stockpile of Reptilinks, mice, and quail chicks in the freezer during the long power outages of the recent TX Snowpocalypse, and would have had to feed him some of my dogs’ food then, to get him by until I could safely replace the meat. We feed our dogs a high-quality, grain-free kibble, so it would have been an acceptable short-term solution. Dog food should not be a staple of a tegu’s diet, though—not ever.

I highly recommend going on YouTube, and watching Clint’s Reptile’s video on tegus, and anything and everything by Rose City Reptiles TX. The latter does videos on many aspects of tegu care, including two or more on diet and feeding, even going so far as to walk you through his process as he makes a batch of tegu food in a meat grinder. It’s very informative. 

If you’re squeamish about raw meat, but really want a tegu, I would look into Reptilinks. They’re one of my guy’s staple foods. They do the “dirty work” of feeding whole prey into a meat grinder, along with fruits and vegetables, and you get nice, clean, nutritionally complete sausage links to feed your tegu. I have a subscription, and get a bulk delivery every few months. I highly recommend the “Megablend with fruits and veggies”, which contains all prey items, and the blend with meat (I forget if it’s rabbit or quail), insects (because they would eat some in the wild), fruits, and veggies. However, Reptilinks are not cheap, and a diet of only Reptilinks would be rather expensive.

Bottom line: get comfortable with raw meat, raw eggs, frozen-thawed whole prey, and the like, or please don’t get a tegu.


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## timemeddler (Jun 2, 2021)

There's a youtube breeder who uses dog food to feed his tegus on youtube.


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## Carra (Jun 2, 2021)

earstafford said:


> I have been wanting a tegu and done lots of research. but i cant find anyone that says there specific diet. can i feed my tegu only dog food(for an adult) and fruits and veggies. i wouldnt be comfortable with using things such as turkey or something like that.


They can’t process cooked meat. Keep that in mind when considering feeding dog food. It is not recommended as a staple in their diet. Fresh fruits and veggies. Red meat!! RAW! Chicken, mice etc. I buy steak and chicken, fresh fish etc from an organic butcher. Don’t go with a cheap easy diet. They will be happy and healthy with a balanced diet of FRESH MEAT, FRUIT AND VEGGIES.


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## Rperdue (Jun 2, 2021)

earstafford said:


> I have been wanting a tegu and done lots of research. but i cant find anyone that says there specific diet. can i feed my tegu only dog food(for an adult) and fruits and veggies. i wouldnt be comfortable with using things such as


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## ToadHallBetty (Jun 3, 2021)

earstafford said:


> I have been wanting a tegu and done lots of research. but i cant find anyone that says there specific diet. can i feed my tegu only dog food(for an adult) and fruits and veggies. i wouldnt be comfortable with using things such as turkey or something like that.


Try Reptilinks. They make specific blends for tegus. They look like little sausages but have whole prey ground into them along with fruit, vegetables and insects. My tegu loves them. You could order a selection, keep in your freezer and it would make a pretty goodstaple along with fruit and vegetables.


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## Debita (Jun 14, 2021)

You've gotten good info here - honestly Tegus might not be for you. Their diet is not an easy one, and don't forget to supplement with calcium, etc. Nothing against you, but it's not fair to the Tegu to force him to try and survive a diet that isn't typical for his health. Raw meat is VERY typical - raw fish, raw ground turkey, they love it. Frozen thawed prey is generally thought of as a must. I like the Reptilinks too, for ease of use, and they have gotten good reviews from a lot of members here, so that could be your path. Just know you'll have to pay for a lot more than dog food.


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