My huge four month old Blue- Astrid

[AstridTheBlueTegu]

I love my girl! She is awsome! She turned four months old Novemeber 30th and is around two and a half feet long. Should I be worried about feeding her less? She looks really good walking around but when she lays down she is pudgy. The last thing I want is for her to get sick because I feed her to much! I feed Reptilinks everyday. I was told to feed her everyday until she is five months old. She definately has days where she eats alot and others that she doesn't. I figured that as long as she was pooping like it was her job it would be okay. Any thoughts?
Below are some pictures of Astrid! Most of them are recent but one is from a month ago.

 

[Zyn]

Looks more bloated than fat. Reptilinks are a good good but i wouldn’t have it be her only source of food. They are very nutrient dense but I’m not super knowledgeable on them. I’d still suggest getting Whole Foods such as mice rats and fish when possible

 

[LizardStudent]

Seeing this post makes me feel better about my four month old blue girl being two feet in length, I was also getting a bit concerned about the rapid growth. And I thought Goober was big for her age !! your girl looks happy and sweet

 

[AstridTheBlueTegu]

Looks more bloated than fat. Reptilinks are a good good but i wouldn’t have it be her only source of food. They are very nutrient dense but I’m not super knowledgeable on them. I’d still suggest getting Whole Foods such as mice rats and fish when possible

The links I have been buying her are whole quail, rabbit, Veggies, and fruits blended together. I have been trying to get her to eat fruits and veggies when not blended into the meat and she has no interest at all. She's stinking picky!

 

[AstridTheBlueTegu]

Seeing this post makes me feel better about my four month old blue girl being two feet in length, I was also getting a bit concerned about the rapid growth. And I thought Goober was big for her age !! your girl looks happy and sweetView attachment 15296

Your girl is cute! I really hope Astrid lightens up some, but I'm losing hope about that, lol! She is starting to turn really blue, though. I'm building her 8-foot cage now because she's outgrown her 4ft one already.

 

[Zyn]

The links I have been buying her are whole quail, rabbit, Veggies, and fruits blended together. I have been trying to get her to eat fruits and veggies when not blended into the meat and she has no interest at all. She's stinking picky!

That’s normal blues aren’t known to eat much fruits/veggies in my females three years of life she’s only ate blue berries I dipped in beef liver blood. Also is she by chance a blue bow hybrid my females 75% blue 25% bw and looks a lot like you’re it would be explain her size but they do grow fast to survive in the wild

 

[LizardStudent]

Your girl is cute! I really hope Astrid lightens up some, but I'm losing hope about that, lol! She is starting to turn really blue, though. I'm building her 8-foot cage now because she's outgrown her 4ft one already.

I just ordered mine some reptilinks which should be here next week sometime. I think that with the amount of fruits and vegetables blended into the links, you shouldn't have to try and mix more in to her meals, especially since younger tegus will lean more towards a diet of mostly protein. I was planning on feeding Goober the reptilinks with the occasional (perhaps once weekly) whole prey meal, such as an appropriate sized mouse. You can also order off Haretoday and get whole prey day-old quail chicks, chicken chicks, and fish in order to diversify the whole prey items. I'll probably still feed her bugs too, since I have a colony of lobster roaches and I also constantly buy large crickets for all my amphibians and inverts. Right now she mostly wants to eat bugs and mice every day, so I'm hoping the reptilinks help since she's never too interested in the human-grade meats I offer

 

[AstridTheBlueTegu]

That’s normal blues aren’t known to eat much fruits/veggies in my females three years of life she’s only ate blue berries I dipped in beef liver blood. Also is she by chance a blue bow hybrid my females 75% blue 25% bw and looks a lot like you’re it would be explain her size but they do grow fast to survive in the wild

Nope! 100% blue. I got her from Wildwood reptiles, and he produced both mom and dad.

 

[LizardStudent]

Nope! 100% blue. I got her from Wildwood reptiles, and he produced both mom and dad.

A fun coincidence, I also got Goober from Steve at Wildwood Reptile! Although she is a hybrid, her parents were blue x purple making her just under 88% blue

Also, don't lose hope about your 'gu lightening up! Mine still has her days where she seems to want nothing to do with me - it is a constant process of improving on our relationship together, and I know other keepers have put up with many months, even years of having a cranky tegu to end up with a wonderfully bonded baby

 

[AstridTheBlueTegu]

I just ordered mine some reptilinks which should be here next week sometime. I think that with the amount of fruits and vegetables blended into the links, you shouldn't have to try and mix more in to her meals, especially since younger tegus will lean more towards a diet of mostly protein. I was planning on feeding Goober the reptilinks with the occasional (perhaps once weekly) whole prey meal, such as an appropriate sized mouse. You can also order off Haretoday and get whole prey day-old quail chicks, chicken chicks, and fish in order to diversify the whole prey items. I'll probably still feed her bugs too, since I have a colony of lobster roaches and I also constantly buy large crickets for all my amphibians and inverts. Right now she mostly wants to eat bugs and mice every day, so I'm hoping the reptilinks help since she's never too interested in the human-grade meats I offer

Astrid LOVES reptilinks. I know they are a good food source for her but I would like the option to mix it up and provide other things, she doesn't want anything to do with it! I did get her to eat some chopped chicken heart and gizzerd, but i'd rather her eat reptilinks since the whole prey animal is blended in it.

Small world! Steve was really great to work with! He answered many of my questions. Astrid doesn't seem to mind me much most of the time but doesn't have any interest in me either! currently I'm feeding her on a plate outside of her enclosure. I open the enclosure door she walks out and eats. She explores some then she goes back in her cage and basks. I'm thinking it might be good for our relationship if I tong feed her and make her come near me to eat. She has no issues with my petting her but I just want her to be very comfortable around me.

 

[LizardStudent]

Astrid LOVES reptilinks. I know they are a good food source for her but I would like the option to mix it up and provide other things, she doesn't want anything to do with it! I did get her to eat some chopped chicken heart and gizzerd, but i'd rather her eat reptilinks since the whole prey animal is blended in it.

Small world! Steve was really great to work with! He answered many of my questions. Astrid doesn't seem to mind me much most of the time but doesn't have any interest in me either! currently I'm feeding her on a plate outside of her enclosure. I open the enclosure door she walks out and eats. She explores some then she goes back in her cage and basks. I'm thinking it might be good for our relationship if I tong feed her and make her come near me to eat. She has no issues with my petting her but I just want her to be very comfortable around me.

Maybe you could try the occasional raw egg, especially if you are able to get any quail eggs to feed to her, that's what my girl likes to eat the most - even more than mice I think!

My Goob used to ignore me and just want to explore the room, then I got a fuzzy heated blanket... she would lay on it for awhile, then do a lap exploring the room, always circling back to the warmth of the blanket until she recognized it as belonging to her. Now if I put the blanket on my lap, she'll come up to me and lay with me while I work since she sees the blanket as comfort and security. Now, if the cats lay on "her" blanket she'll kick them off just so she can have it to herself! Even if I don't have the heated blanket on my lap, if I put her on my lap and cover her up with anything then she'll stay and relax, I think it helps her feel safe and secure

 

[AstridTheBlueTegu]

Maybe you could try the occasional raw egg, especially if you are able to get any quail eggs to feed to her, that's what my girl likes to eat the most - even more than mice I think!

My Goob used to ignore me and just want to explore the room, then I got a fuzzy heated blanket... she would lay on it for awhile, then do a lap exploring the room, always circling back to the warmth of the blanket until she recognized it as belonging to her. Now if I put the blanket on my lap, she'll come up to me and lay with me while I work since she sees the blanket as comfort and security. Now, if the cats lay on "her" blanket she'll kick them off just so she can have it to herself! Even if I don't have the heated blanket on my lap, if I put her on my lap and cover her up with anything then she'll stay and relax, I think it helps her feel safe and secure

So you let your cats around her? I have two six month old kittens and I'm afraid to let them near each other because I don't want them to bite her tail, resulting in her dropping it. How did you introduce them?

 

[LizardStudent]

So you let your cats around her? I have two six month old kittens and I'm afraid to let them near each other because I don't want them to bite her tail, resulting in her dropping it. How did you introduce them?

Very slowly over a few months. The cats always watched her eat in a plastic bin I put her in to get her out of her cage. I slowly let them sniff each other, etc, very gradually advancing overtime till she could walk around say on the couch while they were on it. Now they are all used to each other. I must say though, my cats are both old and very calm and gentle. We have 5 praying mantises and a baby snake that have all met the cats without issue, so I have introduced the cats to critters before and more or less knew how they would react. Kittens might be a bit too playful and quick - it would be awful for them to spook your tegu, or worse, and then have her be skittish for a long time after. Only you will know when, if ever, its time to introduce them; some keepers have them separated forever just to be safe. There is always a chance something could happen, and even knowing my cats are the way they are, I would still never leave them unsupervised with Goob

 

[AstridTheBlueTegu]

Very good points. They watch Astrid eat but I probably won't introduce them until they are both older. I also have a dog but I don't trust her at all. Thanks for your thoughts!