Feeding Question

[pfournier]

Hi All,

I have an extreme giant who will be 1 on June 28th. Right now I am feeding it ground turkey balls with cod liver oil, fruit and kale mixed in as well as beef liver once a week and scrambled eggs daily. He loves his eggs more then anything but will also eat 2 or 3 turkey balls.
I'm reading he should have frozen thawed rodents. Whats my best choice for his size and how many and how often?
Thanks a bunch.

I'll attach a picture of Hercules so you can see him.

 

[Ujarak]

Its hard to tell how big he is in the pics but hopper sized mice will probably do and i usually feed a rodents once to twice a week.

 

[pfournier]

Its hard to tell how big he is in the pics but hopper sized mice will probably do and i usually feed a rodents once to twice a week.

Do I feed the rodent in place of his liver or ground turkey?

 

[james.w]

He looks really small, but I would try rat pups. Cut back on the eggs as well.

 

[KSTAR]

yes hoppers and rat pups should be great according to the size of him in the pic...also i always fed my tegus in variety i never fed them the same thing on a daily basis...i always do make sure to ad half a teaspoon for they're ground turkey and i also mix some in with they're chicken...i fed mine ground turkey,thin cut chicken cutlet boneless,eggs boiled,scrambled or just raw once in a while along with the shell....also whole prey meaning mice according to the size of the tegu for example if they're hatchlings you'll be offering them pinkies and etc..i also do try fruits and they seem to like grapes a lot more then anything and i also dust they're foods with calcium powder and multi-vitamin powder and as babies i over them gut load insects in the mornings as little breakfasts being that i feed my guys from 2-3 times a day Breakfast,Lunch and Dinner if they're up by the time i get home from work...talapia fish they seem to enjoy as well as chicken gizzards and liver and a few others i have to think of at the moment lol....

 

[Bubblz Calhoun]

At a year old he should be and looks big enough to take adult mice or weaned rats. When it comes to whole prey I feed size appropriate when possible. He looks like he could eat quite a few rat pups (min of 4) compared to one or two weaned rats or adult mice. Depending on where you get your feeders from one appropriate sized feeder would be cheaper than 3 or 4 smaller sizes.

When feeding whole prey as long as they're not bigger than the width of your tegus head then you should be fine. He could eat it with out tearing it apart and making a mess.

You can offer whole prey separate or with meaty meals, doesn't matter.

 

[Thelegendofcharlie]

Nothing bigger than the width of his head as stated above is a good rule. Mice would be better than pups and hoppers as they will have much higher calcium and a better Calcium to phosphorus ratio.

 

[larissalurid]

He looks really small, but I would try rat pups. Cut back on the eggs as well.

I agree, rat pups are healthier than mice. Also too much egg is not healthy for them at all.

 

[pfournier]

Thank you everyone for all the advice

 

[TheTeguGurl]

You can also try baby chicks.. they love them

 

[JohnMatthew]

If you don't add rodents to the diet I'd at least increase calcium supplements. That ought to set straight the minor kinking you have going on in that GU's tail.

 

[pfournier]

If you don't add rodents to the diet I'd at least increase calcium supplements. That ought to set straight the minor kinking you have going on in that GU's tail.

He actually came to me like that. If I'm feeding rodents once or twice a week should that take care of it? Or should I be adding calcium powder to his diet?

 

[JohnMatthew]

You can do either, or both and it should straighten out after a while.