Eating Habits

[AWD247]

Hey everyone, I have a question about feeding.

I have an 09 Extreme, when I got him he was about 11-12" Ive had him for about 2.5 weeks now He's gone through a complete shed and he's just about 15" and his green is almost all gone, its mainly tan now.

Here's what Ive been feeding so far.

-Ground Turkey
-Ground Beef
-Chicken Liver/ Hearts
-Tuna,Salmon,Albacore
-Shrimp,Crab
-Egg
-Blueberries, Grapes
-Super Mealworms
Calcium supplement/ Cod Liver Oil.
(doesnt eat crickets, doesnt eat food mushed up/processed)
etc etc.

Right now with the way I go about feeding/handling, he's doing great,, not flighty, not cage agressive, whether its in his normal enclosure he walks right up to me to come out, or in his feeding bin- he walks right up to me to come out.,
When he's eating he doesnt even shake his food, he kinda just walks right up to it, bites down on a peice and gobbles it up. all in a slow calm manner.

Now I see everyone starting there GU's who are in similar age on fuzzies etc.
My question is, should I just stay away from feeding rodents (not that I would feed live) but even as a thawd food I dont want his temperment towards feeding to change. I wonder if my normal food diet will be ok as a staple diet as he grows older.

I always had monitors that were tame but VERY agressive when eating, and anyone thats had monitors know what cleanup is like after feeding, Thats another thing I dont want to go through either..lol

Basically want him to grow and keep a calm temperment.

 

[Jefroka]

Nutritionally, its a very good idea to offer whole animals now and again into the diet, as long as they are fresh killed or frozen thawed. Feeding live may spark aggressiveness in some animals.


...Jefroka

 

[AWD247]

I havent fed him anything live, or animal like..lol pinkies, fuzzies etc.
Ive noticed that his eating is SUPER calm, he hasnt shook his food once, doesnt show any cage/feeding bin agression, Theres times I can even wipe his mouth when turkey is stuck on the sides and he doesnt mind it at all.

Today I even fed him in the bin completely open, and this is a 6" deep bin which he can easily get out of, he just kept eating and when I noticed he was done (cause he was just walking around ingoring the food) I put my hand in and he just climbed right up, moved him over to the enclosure and he just walked right in.

I definately dont want to change his feeding temperment, but like was mentioned before I should feed a fuzzie atlease once/twice for more nutrition right?

Would you guys recommend I start with a fuzzy and would once a month be ok? Depending on how he takes to it (eats it calmly) Ill do twice a month.

 

[simon021]

He needs whole prey at least once or twice a week for proper nutrition. Foods like turkey don't have all the nutrients that he needs. I can tell you right now that his feeding response to a rodent will be much more violent, although I never have problems with aggression while my tegu is eating. He walks up calmly and eats everything except whole prey. He doesn't shake pinkies, but fuzzies he shakes for like 2 minutes strait before he eats them. I think this makes them easier for him to swallow after he breaks all their bones with his wild shaking. I notice before that they look much larger than after he shakes the crap out of them. Over time he will calm down to the whole prey. He just instinctively sees a mouse and thinks he has to kill it before he eats it. This is totally normal, and will pass with time. He will figure out that none of them are alive after a while. Tegus are pretty smart creatures.

Dont deprave him of whole food just cause you don't like his feeding response to it. He needs them for nutrition, and his feeding response will lesson and become much more calm over time. The tegu I had before was fed live food his entire life, and it only took about a month of feeding pre-killed before he stopped shaking them every time. After that he would just walk up and gobble them down in about 10 seconds.

It just takes time.

 

[AWD247]

:thyo

Sounds good to me, I wouldnt deprive it of rodents cause I dont like the feeding response, I actually thinkis cool and dont mind it, my main concern is being that Ive only had him for 3 weeks and basically still in the handling stages and food bin training I dont want to add anything into the mix that will maybe change his temperment in the mean time being that everything im doing up to this point is working great.
I understand the importance of the nutrients Ive worked with very large monitors all my life, I guess my main concern is the right time to introduce them without taking a step back in what im getting from him tolerance wise at such an early age,.
Looks like today Ill just go with the normal routine and have a new treat for him in the bin. Only way to find out is to just jump in and see how he reacts.

Thanks guys

 

[sherthisisit]

Apologies for the thread hijack but I didnt want to start a new thread on something that's probably already been covered!

This might sound like a silly question but just how much should a tegu be eating? My blue is probably around 12" or so, about 5 months old and will only really eat maybe 2-3 small (1/2") peices of chicken and some fruit in a day. Is this correct, because it seems very little to me! Even at that, it will only show an interest if i pretty much wave the food under its nose.

I do know that the tank temps arent as hot as they should be (I'm waiting for substrate to come in that will bring my tegu closer to the basking bulb) and this is what I think is causing the tegus lack of interest, but is there anything else I could be missing? I'd appreciate any info you guys have, thanks!

Derek

 

[kellen.watkins]

You should feed as much as your little tegu can eat, he/she should be nice and plump and feeding dead mice shouldn't change feeding response, my extreme is extremely aggressive with turkey and other meats while my hybrid is really calm, with mice they are the opposite, my extreme is calm and my hybrid is crazy lol

 

[Rhetoric]

I feed them as much as they want per meal. They're not fat yet lol. For a hatchling/juvie you can feed daily, either one bigger meal or two smaller ones. As long as your tegu isn't obviously bone-y it should be alright. Do you have any pictures of it? Are you using any supplements with the food it does eat? Don't worry about making new threads, they make it easier for us to help you specifically.

 

[dragonmetalhead]

Kodo gets fuzzies only on Sundays, but he gets 5 at a time. His dietary staples are mostly silversides and gizzards (he's apparently lost his taste for the grasshoppers, nightcrawlers, and crickets he used to enjoy). He is not an aggressive eater whatsoever. As long as the rodents are dead when you give them to your tegu, I wouldn't worry about him going aggro on you.