How Many Mice?

[dragonmetalhead]

How many mice should I feed my tegu per sitting? He is about two feet in length. The day I got him I fed him one fuzzy, which he wolfed down, and then he didn't eat the next day but the following two days he ate a bunch of crickets. I have read that rodents can be bad if fed in bulk due to the lizards' difficulty digesting fur (but don't they eat furry things in the wild?) and their high fat content.

 

[Bubblz Calhoun]

I would feed one appropriately sized whole prey as opposed to 2, 3 or more smaller ones. Tegus don't digest the fur,.. it passes through the digestive tract but can build up and contribute to constipation, impaction and prolapses.

I feed mixed fruit and veggies with whole prey meals if they're still hungry. Maybe even some other meat like turkey, fish, chicken or something.

Also depending on what you feed, they don't have to or need to eat every day. Since some meals take longer to digest than others,.. which is why your Gu didn't eat the next day after you offered the mouse.

Get to know his habits early on and it'll help keep you from wasting time and food when he doesn't eat what you offer. Especially when he's obviously not hungry.

The easiest way to judge how hungry they are or how much they'll eat his by the skin on the sides of their belly. When they're full its round and tight as they digest their food and or after they poo a flap or fold of skin starts to develop a long each side. When its not that noticeable they may eat little to nothing at all. As it protrudes more they'll eat more.

 

[herpgirl2510]

I feed several smaller prey as opposed to one bigger one. This was the advice that was given to me. I feed twosmall mice to my extreme he is 24". I do't know if the advice is correct but he has had his tegu for 11 years.

 

[reptastic]

I do both, smaller tegus under 2' i feed smaller rodents like hopper mice or rat pup a few at a time, tegus over 2' get large mice 1 maybe 2, once they hit 36-40" i start feeding 1 appropriate small rat
and depending on what the tegu can handle i move up as they grow

 

[dragonmetalhead]

I would feed one appropriately sized whole prey as opposed to 2, 3 or more smaller ones. Tegus don't digest the fur,.. it passes through the digestive tract but can build up and contribute to constipation, impaction and prolapses.

I feed mixed fruit and veggies with whole prey meals if they're still hungry. Maybe even some other meat like turkey, fish, chicken or something.

Also depending on what you feed, they don't have to or need to eat every day. Since some meals take longer to digest than others,.. which is why your Gu didn't eat the next day after you offered the mouse.

Get to know his habits early on and it'll help keep you from wasting time and food when he doesn't eat what you offer. Especially when he's obviously not hungry.

The easiest way to judge how hungry they are or how much they'll eat his by the skin on the sides of their belly. When they're full its round and tight as they digest their food and or after they poo a flap or fold of skin starts to develop a long each side. When its not that noticeable they may eat little to nothing at all. As it protrudes more they'll eat more.

Thank you so much. It was so cool watching him eat the fuzzy. Other than crickets, what other sort of feeder insects do tegus like? He hasn't shown interest in grasshoppers, mealworms, or earthworms, which are what I feed the other reptiles at the museum I work at. I alternate out insects depending on the day, just to give the critters a little variety.

 

[reptastic]

Have you tried horn worms They are very nutritious and my tegus loved them or even roaches

 

[dragonmetalhead]

Have you tried horn worms They are very nutritious and my tegus loved them or even roaches

I haven't yet, simply because I can't find local stores that sell them. I would love to get horn worms or any of the other feeder bugs so I could phase mealworms out of the diet. The place where I bought the tegu has some, so I will pick some up. I was surprised he didn't eat the earthworms; the other lizards in my museum's collection, sans the bearded who won't touch them, and (especially) the box turtle love 'em.

 

[reptastic]

My red tegu use to love earthworms, heck there wasnt anything he would refuse though, try them most reptiles love them