diet for older tegu

[yulyani]

hello friends,
I want to discuss about the best care for the older tegu. My tegu gogon is about 8 years old. I notice him not soo interested with the live whole prey again, and now mainly his diet is the mixing between protein, like chicken, beef, boiled eggs, and fruit and veggies. Do you have any input about this,...many thanks

 

[chelvis]

my older tegu is about 6 but with tegus life expectancy being anything from 10 to 20yrs you could have an old man tegu or one only half way through its life. My tegu stop wanting live pray long before this, my male will not kill a mouse, but a already dead mouse is eaten with no problem. That being said a diet can be made for a tegu that does not include whole prey items, its not my favorite route but really with any animal their diet has to be tailored for them.

With that you are feeding you need somthing with more calcium in it, simply adding chicken necks will really help make this a well rounded diet.

 

[laurarfl]

Ditto. I have a female that is turning 10yo this year. I would only echo Chelvis in that adding calcium is key. The older animal (over 10-12) can be less active and need food that is lower in fat. I would keep the diet the same and make sure hydration is maintained since all of our kidneys work harder as we age.

 

[Dana C]

I think chicken necks are fine but supplementing with the same amount of calcium as one would do during a early growth phase is not a good idea. While excess calcium is excreted very large and hard urates are hard to get out.

 

[dragonmetalhead]

Where does one purchase chicken necks? I can never find them at the supermarket.

 

[JohnMatthew]

Where does one purchase chicken necks? I can never find them at the supermarket.

Some of the larger venues don't like to put them out with the other meats and if they don't butcher their own might not stock them altogether. You can ask or call some smaller stores/marts in the more rural parts of town if you're having trouble finding them.

 

[yulyani]

thank you. for all the answers and really appreciate it. Yes I think as with human when we are getting old, the organ like kidney is getting also old. My tegu gogon don't really like drinking, that's why i am concern about the hydration status and give him alot of fruits. I usually mix between papaya, apples, orange, sometimes strawberry on the top of the chicken. I use mostly the chicken wings, also the necks, and the breast.

When he was younger and before he lost the tail, his weight is 6,7 kg. Now he is 5,7 kg. I am wondering if the muscles getting smaller when he is older eventhough from the photo he is still a robust male.

I give the Calsium without D3 from Zoomed, since Gogon is mostly outdoor and get the sunshine everyday. This supplement I give every 2 feeding ( i give him meal every 4 days) plus snack like fruits only or snails every 2 days.

I wonder about the other lean protein source we can give, since I give him chicken, beef liver, and also the boiled eggs, and minced beef.

 

[laurarfl]

Regardless of age, the dietary proportion is 1.5-2 parts calcium to 1 part phosphorous. If the food lists the amount of mineral, you can figure out the ratio. For instance 21mg Ca and 60mg P is backwards at 1 part Ca to 3 parts P and should be supplemented.

 

[chelvis]

You can try to add fish to the diet. Fish is a lean meat and has oils in it that help with inflammation which in turn help with muscle soreness and kidney function. We had a wolf here with kidney failure and she did really well on a fish and chicken diet. I also have started my older tegus on a exercise program to keep up the muscle mass. For Bosco its simply taking him into the living room after Sport has run around for a bit, he goes looking all over for her. For Kiska I make her work for her food, she is a fatty so she has to do a lot to get it now. Some may say its cruel but in the long run its much better for her health.

 

[yulyani]

thank you. I will try to add whole goldfish for gogon, he used to love them, but sometimes he gets bored of it. Laura your female 10 years Tegu, is it correct she could grow the 11 cm tail after she lost it when she was 8 years? How long it takes to achieve that long, probably gogon can do the same hehehehehe. I agree tegu needs much exercise, because in nature they are very active and foraging a lot. I keep Gogon only in the indoor cage with Mercury lamp if it is rainy. Mostly he is free at the home garden, and I can see him happier with the way like that....especially he likes digging the soil and hide at the garden corner. If we keep him at the cage usually he just spend many times sleeping at the hiding cave.