Feeding Confusion

[EdwardtheTegu]

I have been reading that Tegus should get some meat in their diet through things like mice or rats, but that they are hard to digest. I also read that live animals are more dangerous to the lizard and may lead to more aggression towards the human handler. The tegu I am getting is currently being fed live mice (even though he is still small, about a foot long) and refuses to eat anything dead. When I get him, will it be too much of a shock to stop feeding him these mice until he is older? And once he is big enough, what exactly should I be giving him?

 

[DaveDragon]

I would stop the live feeding (mice). It will be a shock for him with the change of scenery. He can eat crickets, superworms and ground turkey and an occasional pinkie. He won't starve himself. Keep offering and in a few days he will eat.

As he gets older he will eat bigger mice and more worms & turkey. You can try mixing in a some finely cut soft fruits (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries. etc.). He may learn to pick them out but around a year old he should start to eat some fruit & veggies. Our male Blue will sometimes pick pieces of strawberry out of his turkey and eat them first!

 

[EdwardtheTegu]

Ok that makes sense... I like offering all of my animals a large variety in their diet... Thanks!

 

[jor71]

I am kind of lucky as mine started eating fruits when he first arrived here at about a month old. He enjoys blackberries, strawberries, seedles grapes and blueberries. You should try to introduce it to them early and mixed in with other food as Davedragon suggested

I think it is important to get them to eat fruits and veggies, as well as meat, at an early stage. I always add fruit to his meal, including mice day

I put the fruit and mice together in a baggie while defrosting; that will get the mice scent on the fruit.

Just my two cents

 

[mr.king]

My tegu is a picky eater yet easy to feed. As far as fruit goes he only eats green grapes for some strange reason, digging through a pile of different fruit just to get at them,sometimes I get him to eat the occasional orange. Then he also loves pinkys, usually he'll eat up to 4 pinkys, I dont think i should be feeding him more than that at a time. So i usually just put a pile of grapes next to about 2 or 3 pinkys and he usually eats it all. He's only a yearling about 8 months old but he groes like a weed.

 

[EdwardtheTegu]

I have a feeling this one will grow fast too. I will put a lot of different fruit in there and see what he likes. As for the mice, I dont mind the dead ones so that should work out fine... Thanks for all your help! Please keep me updated if you find your tegus like some new or unusual things...

 

[i0r]

Best way to stop feeding him live mice would be offer him ground turkey, beef liver or other lean meats and sweet fruits combined with super worms in the same bowl.

When i got my Tegu she didn't eat anything that wasn't alive. But by putting super worms in the food bowl she got interested and at first only ate the worms.....but later on she started to eat everything in it.
There will be a transition time before it starts to eat the food you want it to eat, but as DaveDragon says.....it wont starve itself. Just be patient. Tegu's are great eaters(and pooper's).....that's what they do best

 

[DaveDragon]

Tegu's are great eaters(and pooper's).....that's what they do best

Put 11 hatchlings in a tank and you'll know what good poopers they are!!! If I was home I'd change the newspaper twice a day!

 

[i0r]

Tegu's are great eaters(and pooper's).....that's what they do best

Put 11 hatchlings in a tank and you'll know what good poopers they are!!! If I was home I'd change the newspaper twice a day!

Hehe....nice! Maybe there's some value in it....like guano?

 

[EdwardtheTegu]

lol thanks for the advice everyone!