So i got a new Argentine Black and White Tegu today and my friend gave me some mice to feed him. But i think he froze live mice. So do i need to clean the mice before i feed it to him or is it okay? I think he bought them at a local pet shop so should i clean the mice? If so how do i?
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New tegu
- Thread starter naleme
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tegus4life
Member
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- 140
If they are frozen mice, keep them frozen until you're ready to feed your tegu. Then take the mice out of the freezer when you're ready to feed and thaw them out in warm water. You can transfer it to hot water if you want for a minute or so to get the mouse hotter (making it seem more "alive") and put it on a paper plate or something that will keep the tegu from ingesting substrate. But no, you don't normally clean mice. How old is he? What's his enclosure like? I'd love to see some pics 
I think he's about a year and 5months old. He doesn't have a enclosure because I let him free roam. I just have a basking spot set up for him so our house is his enclosure I guess? I'll upload some pics when I get home
And the mice were alive before frozen. My friend bought them live and just threw them in a freezer lol
And the mice were alive before frozen. My friend bought them live and just threw them in a freezer lol
Just curious, not trying to pecker or start anything - but how do you go about providing humidity with your house being the enclosure? I've seen Todeyius aka MacGyver's process and it looks like he gives his red baths frequently to help with shed seeing as he free roams 100% of the time.
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naleme said:
All living things are alive before they are dead. Deliver the blow quicker and avoid excess suffering to the animal. Even prey animals deserve a quick end. I am no animal rights wacko, but I don't like to see any animal suffer needlessly. Maybe ol' Dubya is getting soft in his old age.
dragonkeeperblue
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I would advise you to look through this website for more info on your tegu. There are real risks to just letting them roam. One for sure is your tegu eating something it shouldn't. Sounds funny but its not when it happens. I have never seen it myself but have had friends that it happened to. The tegu ate legos they passed but it was very hard on her. You having a basking spot is only heat, even though I provide whole prey items also, I use uvb lighting. Just a thought not trying to be a **** either the more info you have the better owner you will be. I hope you love and enjoy your Tegu.
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Re: RE: New tegu
Ugh....this again. I agree, and certainly not jumping on anyone here...please either prekill before freezing mice OR buy frozen. I bred mice and the pinkies and peach fuzzies were the only ones I froze without prekilling because they do not react the same way to the gas in the kill tank as other ages. ( don't get me wrong, i HATED doing it which is why i don't do it anymore. Well one of the reasons) . Anyway... it is very easy to build a kill tank and it uses the same thing as for paintball guns to suffocate the mice. When dead ( they really just 'fall asleep' when you do this) then you baggie them and freeze. My brother used to use a slightly different method and keep the mice alive then put in a pillow case and whack it hard against a hard surface. I could never do it, but certainly better than freezing slowly to death. Awful. Again, no disrespect intended, just would like to encourage humane practices. for my frozen mice that I feed my snakes I too thaw them in water then put them in hot water to warm them up to simulate a 'fresh kill '...
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Dubya said:
Ugh....this again. I agree, and certainly not jumping on anyone here...please either prekill before freezing mice OR buy frozen. I bred mice and the pinkies and peach fuzzies were the only ones I froze without prekilling because they do not react the same way to the gas in the kill tank as other ages. ( don't get me wrong, i HATED doing it which is why i don't do it anymore. Well one of the reasons) . Anyway... it is very easy to build a kill tank and it uses the same thing as for paintball guns to suffocate the mice. When dead ( they really just 'fall asleep' when you do this) then you baggie them and freeze. My brother used to use a slightly different method and keep the mice alive then put in a pillow case and whack it hard against a hard surface. I could never do it, but certainly better than freezing slowly to death. Awful. Again, no disrespect intended, just would like to encourage humane practices.
for my frozen mice that I feed my snakes I too thaw them in water then put them in hot water to warm them up to simulate a 'fresh kill '... Sent from my ZTE-Z990G using Tapatalk 2
I don't have any toys in my house. Also when I said basking spot I meant heat/UVB lighting also. I have a humidifier set up so its not like he has no humidity or that I'm clueless about how to raise a tegu... I've always let lizards free roam my house and never have I had any problems before. My iguana which I had for 9yrs have never been in a cage all his life an he's never eaten anything wrong because I have a set time to feed them so he realizes he doesn't need to eat anythig else.
tjohnson722
Member
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- 108
I wouldn't let different species in the same room together. Not trying to be mean, but I've just heard so many horrer stories. It's up to you how you raise your Tegu and animals, but I am just trying to prevent un necessary injuries. Good luck. We would love pics. :shy:
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Sent from my ADR6350 using Tapatalk 2
TeguBlake
Member
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That's a great picture
