Food

[ThomasR]

I have been recently wanting a Tegu but it will be a over half a year till I get one so I'm still doing a lot of research. I have looked on different places and people say a lot of different things about their eating(although I do know every Tegu is different)
Now I've seen many things on this, how often do you feed babies, sub adults (thats 1-3 years right?), and adults? When you feed the sub-adults and adults its mainly just turkey, eggs, fish, beef liver with cod oil, mice or rats, and fruit, right? And I'm pretty sure you only feed the rodent once a week. And do you have to cook the meats (I know you have to do with eggs)?

Thanks a lot

 

[Strange_Evil]

Meats are all feed raw, like said eggs are the only thing you cook. But eggs should be feed rarely, like once a week i think. I have yet to try fish, but most offer fresh tilapia fillets and i read it makes the poo more stinky but the tegu's love the fish. The turkey and beef can be feed as a staple.

Hatchlings or baby tegu's are feed everyday up until a yr of age. After that most either offer a few small meals a few or one or two large meals with a rodent once a week.

they are juvies at like a yr and at 3yrs they are considered adults.

We'll that's what i know. Soon some more experienced owners will chime in and i am sure they will correct me or add on to what i had said.

 

[james.w]

Babies up to a year are generally fed everyday. After that you should feed when your tegu wants to eat, but isn't overweight. Mine just hit a year and I feed about 5 times a week. You can feed every other day if your tegu eats better that way. I offer rodents/chicks at least 3 times a week, 5-6 per meal.

 

[ThomasR]

So feeding an adult every other day would most likely work? When its young where do you feed it?

 

[james.w]

Most likely every other day will work, but he may want more food. Mine will charge the glass mouth open if the kids or cats go by the cage when he is hungry.

Young tegus can be fed in their enclosure, in a feeding bin or bathtub whichever you feel the most comfortable with.

 

[tora]

Yeah, I'd feed eggs even less than that unless they are full grown, then it's not as bad.
Beef also shouldn't be a staple, even lean beef is really fatty. Stick with poultry and organ meats.
I feed my tegus in the bathtub, no matter the size.

 

[ThomasR]

For the enclosure can plexi glass be used for the little "window" to look in or do I have to use real glass.

Thanks

 

[james.w]

Plexi glass will work it just scratches easily.

 

[Rhetoric]

I have plexi glass on one of my enclosures, the only nice thing is that its light weight. It has really gotten scratched up since I got it (and gary/rango) in April. I'm also having to replace the plexi glass doors because the tegus have started to bend some of them from pushing on it. I would go for true glass, I have tempered on Gurus enclosure and its been great. Easy to clean, no scratching. I did chip a corner of it but its not too expensive to replace.

Guru is fed every other day, he is only a year old but he will refuse food if I try to offer it every day. Gary and Rango are 2 yrs and eating every day, they can get a little food aggressive if I try to feed them every other day. It's not their fault, they're just hungry boys lol. I've been doing quite a bit of fish and a fair amount of rodents. I do ground turkey as well. I avoid eggs, they make their BMs really stinky and I've read it can cause issues with absorbing calcium. I feed Guru in his enclosure, he has never shown food aggression. Gary and Rango are fed outside of the enclosure because they will either be nippy when putting the food in or they will fight each other for food.

Tegus will generally let you know of often they should be fed, sometimes they will refuse if they are not hungry, other times they can get too excited if they are too hungry. As you raise your tegu you will start to recognize their behaviors and learn what they like and don't like.

 

[dragonmetalhead]

I have Kodo on a diet of mice, silversides, crickets, grasshoppers, snails, and nightcrawlers, with more to be added as I offer him new foods. I try not to give him the same thing two days in a row, just for variety. He gets fed daily and always eats. Since Sunday is the day I feed my snakes, that is official mouse day and he only gets one. Everything else, I let him eat until he decides he's full. Kodo has a voracious appetite; he ate over half a bag of silversides this afternoon (they're his favorite). I don't feed him in his enclosure, but I don't use a feeding bin. Kodo eats out of a dish. I simply take him out of his tank, place the dish near him, and he dives right in. Sometimes I let him eat the canned feeder insects strait form the tin. The only live prey he gets are the nightcralwers, everything else is either prekilled or canned.

 

[jdpFL]

Curious, rhetoricx....do you happen to remember where you read that about the eggs? I'd like to read it. We give ours eggs ask the time...soft boiled, shells on.

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Funny...Severus' fave food period, is mandarin oranges out of the can. We have to limit them because he will go for those first and spend twenty minutes patiently licking up the juice. Yes, we have a big bad dino-lizard who loves orange juice. Embarrassing. Lmao!

 

[james.w]

It is only raw eggs that are a problem. They contain avidin which decreases the absorption of biotin.

hard/soft boiled or scrambled eggs are fine.

 

[Rhetoric]

I had read it on a few other threads on this site and then looked it up. I do not remember which websites specifically but I've linked a couple that popped up from a google search. Kind of a bummer that you never really know where info comes from online. I'm not overly worried about feeding eggs, it's just not something I would do on a regular basis. I think the last time I fed eggs was a month or so ago, scrambled lol. I tried feeding Guru raw eggs once or twice (on some greens) and he wasn't interested. After reading up on raw eggs it was not something I wanted to continue doing.

My bad by the way, after reading these two sites I don't think it was the calcium as I previously stated but raw eggs do effect a couple other things. The second link is more for "people" but I don't think there would be much of a variance, if any, between us and other animals. I'm not too into this kind of science so if I'm wrong feel free to correct anything or post whatever. Hopefully its not taking the thread too off topic.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avidin
I'm not too big of a wikipedia fan, but there is this link which kind of goes into what avidin is. It also says it is something that is produced in the ovaries of reptiles and deposited into their eggs as well. Wikipedia says that:
"Functional avidin is found only in raw egg, as the biotin avidity of the protein is destroyed by cooking."
"Complete inactivation of avidin's biotin binding capacity required boiling for over 4 minutes."


http://www.cholesterol-and-health.com/Egg_Yolk.html
^^The part I quoted was towards the bottom of the page. They also have something on cod liver oil, I haven't read it yet though.

"To Cook, or Not to Cook? The Benefits of Raw Egg Yolks
Many people believe that the health benefits of egg yolks are greater when the yolks are consumed raw. Heat destroys enzymes, reduces the amounts of certain nutrients, and may make the amino acid cysteine less available, which is needed to synthesize the master antioxidant of the cell, glutathione.
Those who eat raw egg yolks report easier digestion, increased stamina, and resistance to illness — not to mention a quicker snack if they're on-the-go.
That said, there is little evidence beyond such anecdotes that egg yolks are truly more beneficial when consumed raw.
There is also little evidence to support the common belief that consuming raw egg yolks is dangerous. Please see Dr. Mercola's article on the safety of eating raw egg yolks if you are concerned about this.

Raw Egg Whites Contain Digestive Enzyme Inhibitors and Anti-Nutrients
Raw egg whites should not be consumed. They contain inhibitors of the digestive enzyme trypsin, which are destroyed by heat. Consuming 100 grams of raw egg white with one egg yolk compared to consuming the same food cooked was shown in one study to reduce protein digestion from 90 percent down to 50 percent.
Raw egg whites also contain an anti-nutrient called avidin. Avidin is a glycoprotein that binds to the B vitamin biotin, preventing its absorption. Biotin is necessary for fatty acid synthesis and the maintenance of blood sugar, and is especially important during pregnancy when biotin status declines.

Residual Egg White Avidin — Cooking Does Not Fully Destroy the Anti-Nutrients
It is a myth that light cooking completely destroys the avidin.
According to this study, poaching eggs only destroys one third of the avidin while even frying leaves 30 percent of it behind.
This raises the question of whether there is a net nutritional advantage to eating any egg whites at all. Most likely, it depends on the individual person. There is controversy over whether biotin produced in the intestinal tract is absorbed — if intenstinal biotin production is indeed nutritionally important, then people whose intestinal flora are less avid producers of biotin probably need to be more concerned about the potential adverse effects of consuming egg white."

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Way more than I cared to know about eggs...

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http://www.cholesterol-and-health.com/Benefit-Of-Cod-Liver-Oil.html
If anyone is interested, heres the link for cod and cod liver oil.

 

[jdpFL]

Wow....thanks rhetoricx! Great info and links....I appreciate it!

 

[kevinandrew]

Food is provide nutritional support for the body. It is usually of plant or animal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals. The organism's cells in an effort to produce energy, maintain life, and or stimulate growth.