Hello guest! Are you a Tegu enthusiast? If so, we invite you to join our community! Our site is specifically designed for you and it's a great place for Tegu enthusiasts to meet online. Once you join you'll be able to post messages, upload pictures of your Tegu and enclosure and have a great time with other Tegu fans. Sign up today! If you have any questions, problems, or other concerns email josh@tegutalk.com!

Reply to thread

Message

D'aww, thanks.

People usually just shrug my advice off and always argue with me. I didn't learn about raw diets for nothin' Not to mention, I'm going to college for animal care and I've learned a thing or two as to WHY there's so much scare about raw diets and the like.

I'm not an expert on Tegus but I do know a thing or two about how raw diets process in our more common carnivorous pets (dogs, cats, ferrets, etc) and I can tell you that most, if not all, healthy cats/dogs/ferrets can easily and safely eat a natural, raw diet. Heck, maybe a diet VERY similar to that of a tegu.

People will go on and on and ON about how my animals are going to get impactions from bones or salmonella or whatever but I don't think we're giving our pets much credit. Cats are still partially wild... Dogs are successful scavengers who eat the most bizarre things and live healthy lives... They weren't made to eat bowls of heavily processed food. No animal is. These animals are designed to hunt, kill and consume other animals. Raw meat, organs bones and all.

From reading one of Bobby's articles on Tegu's dietary habits in the wild... I just think we might be underestimating their ability to handle food. From what I read, they seem to be very successful scavengers. They break into beehives to eat honey, they break into chicken coops, they're unaffected by fire ants... They can swallow whole animals and digest their ENTIRE skeleton, meat and organs... They will eat carrion, pet food, insects, invertebrate.... And they also successfully digest fruits, vegetables, and leafy greens (something dogs, cats and ferrets CANNOT do naturally) I think they're well equipped to handle chicken bones, rabbit bones, quail bones, etc (Though anything larger than these animals might be pushing it. Turkey wings are more dense than chicken wings. Same goes for turkey legs.) Raw chicken bones are often recommended as the best starter raw food for cats/dogs/ferrets because their bones are the softest and easiest to digest.

Don't quote me on this (regarding tegus). I'm just merely speculating and kinda putting two-and-two together with my knowledge on raw meat/bone diets and how they're handled by the common pets that people think only eat commercial food.

I just think we under estimate our scaley (and furry!) friends sometimes. They're a lot tougher than you'd think.

[SIDE STORY regarding swallowing whole bones]:
When I was starting my boston terrier puppy (tiny dog) out on a raw diet, I brought her a chicken wing and was holding it tightly in my hand so I could get her used to the chewing of bones... Little did I know how strong she was. She RIPPED the whole wing out of my hand and swallowed it whole... I nearly had a heart attack. I worried all day about her getting an impaction... My worrying was for nothing. Later that day, she pooped and there was absolutely no trace of the chicken bone. To be sure, I waited for her to poop a few more times and same result. No evidence of bone....

Just an interesting story to share. PUPPIES can even digest whole bones. Tiny puppies too. lol

<blockquote data-quote="Guest" data-source="post: 71147"><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite10" alt=":oops:" title="Oops!&nbsp; &nbsp; :oops:" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":oops:" /> D'aww, thanks. People usually just shrug my advice off and always argue with me. I didn't learn about raw diets for nothin' <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite7" alt=":p" title="Stick Out Tongue&nbsp; &nbsp; :p" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":p" /> Not to mention, I'm going to college for animal care and I've learned a thing or two as to WHY there's so much scare about raw diets and the like. I'm not an expert on Tegus but I do know a thing or two about how raw diets process in our more common carnivorous pets (dogs, cats, ferrets, etc) and I can tell you that most, if not all, healthy cats/dogs/ferrets can easily and safely eat a natural, raw diet. Heck, maybe a diet VERY similar to that of a tegu.People will go on and on and ON about how my animals are going to get impactions from bones or salmonella or whatever but I don't think we're giving our pets much credit. Cats are still partially wild... Dogs are successful scavengers who eat the most bizarre things and live healthy lives... They weren't made to eat bowls of heavily processed food. No animal is. These animals are designed to hunt, kill and consume other animals. Raw meat, organs bones and all.From reading one of Bobby's articles on Tegu's dietary habits in the wild... I just think we might be underestimating their ability to handle food. From what I read, they seem to be very successful scavengers. They break into beehives to eat honey, they break into chicken coops, they're unaffected by fire ants... They can swallow whole animals and digest their ENTIRE skeleton, meat and organs... They will eat carrion, pet food, insects, invertebrate.... And they also successfully digest fruits, vegetables, and leafy greens (something dogs, cats and ferrets CANNOT do naturally) I think they're well equipped to handle chicken bones, rabbit bones, quail bones, etc (Though anything larger than these animals might be pushing it. Turkey wings are more dense than chicken wings. Same goes for turkey legs.) Raw chicken bones are often recommended as the best starter raw food for cats/dogs/ferrets because their bones are the softest and easiest to digest. Don't quote me on this (regarding tegus). I'm just merely speculating and kinda putting two-and-two together with my knowledge on raw meat/bone diets and how they're handled by the common pets that people think only eat commercial food. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile&nbsp; &nbsp; :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" />I just think we under estimate our scaley (and furry!) friends sometimes. They're a lot tougher than you'd think.[SIDE STORY regarding swallowing whole bones]:When I was starting my boston terrier puppy (tiny dog) out on a raw diet, I brought her a chicken wing and was holding it tightly in my hand so I could get her used to the chewing of bones... Little did I know how strong she was. She RIPPED the whole wing out of my hand and swallowed it whole... I nearly had a heart attack. I worried all day about her getting an impaction... My worrying was for nothing. Later that day, she pooped and there was absolutely no trace of the chicken bone. To be sure, I waited for her to poop a few more times and same result. No evidence of bone.... Just an interesting story to share. PUPPIES can even digest whole bones. Tiny puppies too. lol</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Guest, post: 71147"] :oops: D'aww, thanks. People usually just shrug my advice off and always argue with me. I didn't learn about raw diets for nothin' :P Not to mention, I'm going to college for animal care and I've learned a thing or two as to WHY there's so much scare about raw diets and the like. I'm not an expert on Tegus but I do know a thing or two about how raw diets process in our more common carnivorous pets (dogs, cats, ferrets, etc) and I can tell you that most, if not all, healthy cats/dogs/ferrets can easily and safely eat a natural, raw diet. Heck, maybe a diet VERY similar to that of a tegu. People will go on and on and ON about how my animals are going to get impactions from bones or salmonella or whatever but I don't think we're giving our pets much credit. Cats are still partially wild... Dogs are successful scavengers who eat the most bizarre things and live healthy lives... They weren't made to eat bowls of heavily processed food. No animal is. These animals are designed to hunt, kill and consume other animals. Raw meat, organs bones and all. From reading one of Bobby's articles on Tegu's dietary habits in the wild... I just think we might be underestimating their ability to handle food. From what I read, they seem to be very successful scavengers. They break into beehives to eat honey, they break into chicken coops, they're unaffected by fire ants... They can swallow whole animals and digest their ENTIRE skeleton, meat and organs... They will eat carrion, pet food, insects, invertebrate.... And they also successfully digest fruits, vegetables, and leafy greens (something dogs, cats and ferrets CANNOT do naturally) I think they're well equipped to handle chicken bones, rabbit bones, quail bones, etc (Though anything larger than these animals might be pushing it. Turkey wings are more dense than chicken wings. Same goes for turkey legs.) Raw chicken bones are often recommended as the best starter raw food for cats/dogs/ferrets because their bones are the softest and easiest to digest. Don't quote me on this (regarding tegus). I'm just merely speculating and kinda putting two-and-two together with my knowledge on raw meat/bone diets and how they're handled by the common pets that people think only eat commercial food. :) I just think we under estimate our scaley (and furry!) friends sometimes. They're a lot tougher than you'd think. [b][SIDE STORY regarding swallowing whole bones]:[/b] When I was starting my boston terrier puppy (tiny dog) out on a raw diet, I brought her a chicken wing and was holding it tightly in my hand so I could get her used to the chewing of bones... Little did I know how strong she was. She RIPPED the whole wing out of my hand and swallowed it whole... I nearly had a heart attack. I worried all day about her getting an impaction... My worrying was for nothing. Later that day, she pooped and there was absolutely no trace of the chicken bone. To be sure, I waited for her to poop a few more times and same result. No evidence of bone.... Just an interesting story to share. PUPPIES can even digest whole bones. Tiny puppies too. lol [/QUOTE]

Verification