do pinkies need calcium powder

[nepoez]

My tegu ate 3 pinkies and 2 horn worms today. He rejected super worms before but he loved the horn worms.. maybe I'll try supers again next time to see if he changed his mind!

But back to my question.. do I still need calcium powder when I feed pinkies?

 

[Bubblz Calhoun]

Yes, pinkies have very little if any bone structure it's more cartilage than anything else. Even though they have calcium in the form of milk in their stomach from feeding, it's not enough for animals that grow as fast as tegus do.
So we supplement pinkies with extra calcium.

 

[nepoez]

yikes.. I fed 4 pinkies today and I didn't put any powder... he's so hungry he at 2 harn worms(size of super worm) as well.. I stopped feeding him because I didn't want him to explode.. he's about 15 inches long from head to tail.. how much should he be eating? I'd really like to know some solid info on how to do this right.. I reallllllly like this guy and wanna make sure i dun kill him by over or underfeeding..

 

[Tannaros]

yikes.. I fed 4 pinkies today and I didn't put any powder... he's so hungry he at 2 harn worms(size of super worm) as well.. I stopped feeding him because I didn't want him to explode.. he's about 15 inches long from head to tail.. how much should he be eating? I'd really like to know some solid info on how to do this right.. I reallllllly like this guy and wanna make sure i dun kill him by over or underfeeding..

My experience is that they'll stop eating when they're full. I wouldn't worry too much unless he's hibernating, though even then they only eat when they want to.

I've heard a general rule that after they're a year old you can switch to feeding every other day - and some others instead just watch the weight of their 'gu and increase or decrease feelings based on that.

 

[Bubblz Calhoun]

That's okay, one missed day won't do any harm. How much to feed depends on your tegu and what you offer. It takes time to get into a routine and find out what works for them. You can start by offering food one day and letting him eat until he's full. Then continue to feed everyday and watch how much he eats if any. Sometimes they'll go a couple of days with out eating after a large meal.

Or just watch his abdomen, when they're full so is their potbelly abdomen. As the food digests and they poop, they make more room and a skin fold starts to develop on each side. The more prominent the skin fold the more they're likely to eat. Like a gas tank that's full, half or empty.

Watching that and getting them on a schedule so that you know when and how much food to prepare, can keep you from wasting much if any.

 

[nepoez]

thx.. and should i offer food throughout the day? or just 1 time?

 

[Bubblz Calhoun]

Same answer what ever works for yours. Some will take food more than once a day while others won't. There's only one way to find out. With more than one meal in a day though, it's usually smaller portions.

 

[nepoez]

Same answer what ever works for yours. Some will take food more than once a day while others won't. There's only one way to find out. With more than one meal in a day though, it's usually smaller portions.

I see.... cool.. Well my baby(i think he's a baby 15 inches at most) eats the mode food out of any reptile I've ever had haha.. today he ate 4 pinkies, and 5 hornworms. I think he could have ate more but this was from 2 feedings.