premade meals

[Scriffignano]

How do you guys handle meal planning for your tegus? I was thinking of getting a variety of ingredients and preparing meals for my tegu and then freezing them until I am ready to use them. She is still really small (100 grams and 16 inches) so meat products are a bit large for her and she never touches fruits or veggies without meat added to it. Insects are okay except she consumes them by the bucket load. Her last meal was over 30 meal worms.

thoughts?

 

[Scriffignano]

She ate a frozen pinkie mouse today so... Im happy about that.

 

[rantology]

A popular method is to buy ground turkey and anything else you want to add (fruits or veggies) and make a bunch of meatballs with them. Then you can freeze those and use as you like (and make them whatever size you like)- make sure you are adding calcium when you serve them. There is also purchasable pre-made meals like Repti-Links which are great too but also more expensive.

 

[Scriffignano]

I would rather make than buy my meals for my tegu. Call me strange, but i find personal enjoyment knowing that the food my lizards eat is made by me.

 

[Pekulior]

I've done a mix of pre-made food, insects from my own colonies, and pinkies/fuzzies/mice from a reputable supplier. Since my tegu has gotten bigger, I've gone to just mainly pre-made food. I purchase chicken breast, turkey, fish, veggies, fruit, and calcium. Then I put everything through a grinder. After that, I use a sausage press to make my own version of reptilinks. They freeze well and I know what went into the food and how much he's getting each time. He wasn't sure of the sausage links the first time, but now he LOVES them. No mess to clean up, either. He's done well on his diet and has grown so much since I got him back in May. He has gone from about 10 inches and maybe 50-60 grams to over 36 inches (not sure of his weight because my scale only went to 2 pounds and he maxed it out a while back).

 

[Lady2Lucky]

In the past, I've been able to find manual meat grinders relatively cheaply (Craigslist or restaurant supply). It is not much expense, especially near the holidays, to buy whole meats and grind them. The inclusion of the bones is good for the lizards. Adding whatever leftover veg. Then balling and freezing as suggested is convenient. I also buy canned fish and quail eggs from my local Asian market. My tegu LOVES sardines. Having healthy foods on hand helps stop me from feeding him crap. And I'm not fond of feeding frozen pinkies.

 

[Scriffignano]

In the past, I've been able to find manual meat grinders relatively cheaply (Craigslist or restaurant supply). It is not much expense, especially near the holidays, to buy whole meats and grind them. The inclusion of the bones is good for the lizards. Adding whatever leftover veg. Then balling and freezing as suggested is convenient. I also buy canned fish and quail eggs from my local Asian market. My tegu LOVES sardines. Having healthy foods on hand helps stop me from feeding him crap. And I'm not fond of feeding frozen pinkies.

What's wrong with frozen pinkies? I cant imagine that they are too bad for a growing tegu.

 

[VersacesMama]

I make my girls meat-cicles. which include small cubed whole meats, varied chopped greens/squash/ fruit, insects, the occasional mouse, and Calcium/D3. I put it in a muffin pan, freeze them and keep them in a gallon freezer bag. When its feeding time, i grab one and thaw it for her. Then i add a fresh Quail/Chicken egg (we breed both). She loves it, cleans up her plate.

 

[Zyn]

What's wrong with frozen pinkies? I cant imagine that they are too bad for a growing tegu.

Nothing but I’d move to small mice as soon as she’s ready. they can handle more than you think my adult female takes down large rats without issue. The only issue with pinks is milk bellies and lack of any real calcium or fat. Their small bones don’t offer much. Mine has been fed whole meals such as rodents or fish every other meal for the last three years

 

[Scriffignano]

fair enough. maybe I can get some small mice and use the pinkies as treats for training purposes

 

[Member1421]

Though I am newer to the tegu world, I highly encourage the inclusion of ground or mashed vegetables in the diet along with berries so they get used to them. My guy is about 4 months now and he's eating all kinds of berries, greens, you name it. If you look at the research, veggies and fruits make up a relatively large portion of their diet in the wild, and I've come to wonder what type of impact these extremely high protein or protein-only diets have on lizards that don't have the great outdoors to roam. When I feed things like shrimp, I'll take a leaf of dandelion and soak it and wrap it around the shrimp and tie it in a knot. I usually smear a bit of pumpkin on that piece and things like that so it's a compact little meal. Feeding ground turkey and mice just doesn't seem like the best option when you really think about it. Plus, it's very fun to create new meal creations and keep them interested and excited about their food. JMHO!