# Dog Chow Tegu



## Orion (Jan 7, 2011)

I let my 3 Tegus roam the house at times. I guess I really have some trust in them since I have the areas "Tegu proofed" that I let them roam....I thought. I heard some crunching over at my dogs food bowl. To my surprise I found my 38 inch Tegu "Bob" feasting on Dog Chow. He was actually chewing the food...Crunch, Chrunch, crunch, crunch. I was in awe. 5 minutes earlier he had just finished a plate of strawberries, fish, venison, and egg. I got him away from the dog food and he was none to happy. I was reading the ingredients and was not to worried but I thought some of you may have input? Is dry dog food better than wet? I know some monitor owners feed their lizards wet dog food their entire lives and the seem healthy.


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## Guest (Jan 7, 2011)

Generally tegus aren't supposed to be eating dog food. "just because they can doesn't mean its good for them". In the wild they will eat just about anything they can catch or find. I know there are a lot of high quality dog foods out there, I've recently switched my dogs to Orijen. I've sort of been wondering if it would be ok to feed a tegu, some of the higher quality food. I'm not sure if the more tegu savvy people were referring to all dog food or just stuff like alpo. I don't think you need to worry if you've checked over the ingredients. I wouldn't continue feeding the tegus dog food unless some of the more knowledgeable people on here approve.


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## Guest (Mar 1, 2011)

delete this


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## Guest (Mar 1, 2011)

I see nothing wrong with letting your Tegu [top off with dog food ] ..

As long as they get their regular diet first .....

Better than eating substrate...


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## Guest (Mar 1, 2011)

delete this post


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## Guest (Mar 1, 2011)

I have found what twists a dogs gut is raw food ... 

While working at the mink farm I feed truck load after truckload of raw food [frozen chicken and fish ] .. 

You run the fish and chicken through a grinder. Mix with crumbles and medicine or vitamins and water..

After raising hounds for thirty years I found that on kibbles my dogs did ok but just couldn`t keep weight on them the way I run them .. 

I used a mix 75% chicken 25% cereal ..

Over the ten years I fed raw I had three dogs twist a gut [not right away but after they had been on it for some time] ...

I had never had that happen before and since I quit feeding raw and cooked the chicken and topped their kibbles with the chicken I could keep weight on the dogs and not have any trouble with them twisting a gut ... 

What source do you use that says dry dog food is bad for a tegu as a treat or to top off with ???


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## chelvis (Mar 1, 2011)

Tegus love to try new foods, and that one encounter with it won't hurt anything. I would not make it part of its regular diet though. 

AS for kibble for dogs and raw diets, really it depends alot on the individual dog. I have one dog who health was terrible from complications with a gentic problems. We tried to help keep wieght off and help with joint issues with vet diets, sci diet, homemade diets and een raw diets, nothing seem to help. For four years we tried different things. Then a boss of mine gave me a freee 30lb bag of food he thought might work and sure enough in a month i noticed amazing results. 

Got a pup a few years back and putting him on raw food for 5 months resulted in gas, bloating, vomiting and just a misarable time for him. Again put him on a good quality kibble and no problem. Both dogs are beagles so they seem to do well on most foods as long as they are low in fat and no corn. 


I've seen some dogs live 18 years on dog chow and alpo with no health problems, i've seen the same with raw diets. Really the diet of a dog should be dictated the individal, same with tegus.


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## Guest (Mar 1, 2011)

delete this post


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## Guest (Mar 1, 2011)

ditto


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## Guest (Mar 1, 2011)

Here's an interesting read for anyone interested.

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://rawfed.com/myths/omnivores.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://rawfed.com/myths/omnivores.html</a><!-- m -->


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## Strange_Evil (Mar 1, 2011)

Great thread i have been wondering this for a while my self(will not feed my tegu dog food,when i get him). I just read a lot about people giving there tegus dog and cat food and wondered if that was healthy.




Little Wise Owl said:


> Here's an interesting read for anyone interesting as well.
> 
> <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://rawfed.com/myths/omnivores.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://rawfed.com/myths/omnivores.html</a><!-- m -->



Great link thanks.


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## Guest (Mar 1, 2011)

*Edit: Another thing that just popped into my head is the vitamin/mineral inclusion in commercial pet foods. You don't know if you're going to be giving more than what's needed to a tegu because these foods were designed for dogs and cats. NOT reptiles.
*




With that being said...

I would think that high quality canned cat/dog food would be fine in a pinch but not something I'd rely on. 


Some brands that I personally would choose if one NEEDED to feed dog/cat food (for God knows what reason) lol

Innova EVO's canned variety:
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.evopet.com/products/default.asp?id=1489" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.evopet.com/products/default.asp?id=1489</a><!-- m -->
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.evopet.com/products/default.asp?id=1494" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.evopet.com/products/default.asp?id=1494</a><!-- m -->

Before Grain's canned line:
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.beforegrain.com/pdfs/BG-Dog-Can.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.beforegrain.com/pdfs/BG-Dog-Can.pdf</a><!-- m -->
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.beforegrain.com/pdfs/BG-Cat-Can.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.beforegrain.com/pdfs/BG-Cat-Can.pdf</a><!-- m -->

Wellness' canned Mixers & Toppers and Grain-Free cans:
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/recipes.aspx?pet=dog&ft=2" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/recipes. ... t=dog&ft=2</a><!-- m -->

Most of the food in the cans is something that most of us can feed raw and in a more natural form so again, I don't see the point in ever needing to feed canned food. Unless in a pinch, I suppose.







*These are dog/cat RAW commercial foods. I WOULD rely on these more than any other processed food. I use some of these for my ferrets when I don't have time to thaw various chunks of meat.

Nature's Variety:
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.naturesvariety.com/InstinctRaw/cat/all" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.naturesvariety.com/InstinctRaw/cat/all</a><!-- m -->
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.naturesvariety.com/InstinctRaw/dog/all" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.naturesvariety.com/InstinctRaw/dog/all</a><!-- m -->

Totally Raw:
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.totallyrawdogfood.com/Products.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.totallyrawdogfood.com/Products.aspx</a><!-- m -->

Amore Pet Foods (Canadian Only):
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.amorepetfoods.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.amorepetfoods.com/</a><!-- m -->

Carnivora (Canadian):
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.carnivora.ca/html/featured_products/index.cfm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.carnivora.ca/html/featured_p ... /index.cfm</a><!-- m -->


Pets 4 Life:
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.pets4life.com/products/raw-pet-food/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.pets4life.com/products/raw-pet-food/</a><!-- m -->

This brand's ingredients are good for a tegu, I'd think.

This is the Turkey formula for cats/ferrets:

Ingredients
Turkey (Contains Turkey and Turkey Bones), Turkey Giblets(Contains Turkey Heart, Turkey Liver and Turkey Gizzard), Mustard Greens, Turnip Greens, Green Beans, Alfalfa Sprouts, Papaya, Cranberry, Sunflower Seeds, Almond Meal, Walnut Meal, Grapefruit Seed Extract.

MUCH better than ANY canned/dry commercial pet food in my opinion.*


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## Guest (Mar 1, 2011)

delete please


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## Draco D Tegu (Mar 2, 2011)

You know, I went through your source link, and what is being provided is anecdotal evidence by someone who prefers holistic methodology.

Having worked in a veterinary clinic, I have seen more dogs come in with complications from the BARF diet than market brand dog chow. Statistically I have seen NO unbiased data to indicate that animals fare better on a kibble versus holistic foods.

I really do not think there is an answer to this other than that which makes the owner happiest.


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## Draco D Tegu (Mar 2, 2011)

"They're funded by pet food companies and unless they're doubled as vet Nutritionists, I doubt they have the proper nutrition knowledge outside of what they're taught from whichever pet food company is supporting their schooling."


Really? Could you please elaborate where you read the information to make the blanket assessment that any pet food company supported my schooling? Or that of my boss? Please? Because if they supported my schooling, I would LOVE to send them my student loan bill to make your statement true.

:-D


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## Guest (Mar 2, 2011)

...........


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## Draco D Tegu (Mar 2, 2011)

No one is disputing the fact that dog food is for dogs.....however all the information you gave you gave as it pertains to DOGS.

I'm just debating the validity / unbiasedness of the sources, much as you expressed YOUR dislike for commercial dog food. Why the hostility to someone discussing the merits of your sources, when I exhibited no such hostility towards you?


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## Guest (Mar 2, 2011)

Your last comment before mine was taken in a sarcastic and snarky nature. 


I'm sorry I put my input in at all. I don't recommend feeding dog food to tegus.

I'm outty.


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## Draco D Tegu (Mar 2, 2011)

Wow....LOL so much for using the smiley face to show HUMOR. LOL Peace.


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## Guest (Mar 2, 2011)

I agree ....

Don`t feed your tegu dog food if not for any other reason than there is something better for him to eat ..


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## Draco D Tegu (Mar 2, 2011)

....like dogs!


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## Guest (Mar 8, 2011)

I didn't want to get into this thread again but I found this little tid-bit reguarding dog and cat food being fed to tegus.

"Breeders have reported that a diet of strictly high-quality canned dog and cat foods may lead to liver, skin, and eye problems because of too much vitamin D3."

- <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.reptilia.net/articulos_ing/027.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.reptilia.net/articulos_ing/027.pdf</a><!-- m -->


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