Tegu Feeding Tips

[Nornog]

I am looking to get a baby Argentine B/W tegu. I am probably getting it in about a month. I am planning and making feeding schedules. I am going to feed it dubia roaches and crickets at first. Then as it gains weight and gets older, in about a month, start feeding it ground turkey and the fruits and vegetables. Can I mix the calcium supplement in with the ground turkey?

 

[Rhetoric]

Yes, its really easy to mix it into the turkey. I've also got a multi-vitamin I add 2-3 times a week. You can add the calcium supplement to anything, a lot of people add it to everything but whole prey. Roaches are a great thing to feed them when they are young, Guru was never interested in bugs as a baby though.. He mostly ate ground turkey, mice and eggs. As he got older he was given fish and other various foods.

Don't be surprised if your tegu doesn't show any interest in fruits and veggies until its closer to a year old. From what I've been reading its very uncommon for them to enjoy their veggies at a younger age lol, almost like people!

 

[montana]

I would start it in the ground turkey first [I would coat the turkey with the calcium just because ]

You can add the bugs as a treat as you go along ...

I can think of several things that could go wrong feeding mostly bugs none of them good ..

 

[Strange_Evil]

You can Add calcium to everything that is not whole prey like ground meat and Veggies. I read they can take ground turkey right away, so i plan to do insects and turkey until mines gets to big for insects.. As for fruits and veggies i just started a thread on that and did some research and appearnelty hatchling tegu's are strictly carniovrous and will most of the time turn there nose (we'll tongue) up at fruits and veggies up until a year of age, but its good to still and try to introduce it as early as possible. Even though it is not needed at a young age, but apparently they need it for healthy sheds, i don't agree with that, but i guess i will have to just wait and see.

This site has a great care sheet you should check out --> Tegu Care Sheet

 

[reptastic]

i wouldnt bother making roaches a staple diet for a hatchling tegu, they will be great as treats though, but dont be surprised if he isnt interested, my first tegu stopped eating bugs at about 6wks old, get him started on the turkey and some mice right away, also the multi vitamins work great as an addition to the calcium

 

[Toby_H]

Well Fed or Gut Loaded Bugs are a healthy aspect of a Tegus diet, though Tegus grow so fast and eat so much it quickly becomes impractical to continue using them.

 

[james.w]

What is the problem with roaches and crickets? My tegu is 10 months old and about 3' and I still feed roaches.

 

[reptastic]

There isnt a problem with them, i just wouldnt solely feed them to a hatchling as a staple, i have had a hatchling that wouldnt touch them and i had a tegu that ate them even at 3.5', but other food items should be offered imo

 

[Rhetoric]

Dubias are generally better nutritionally than crickets, if you have a tegu that eats them I don't see it being a problem. As they get older its much more cost effective to feed them other things. Guru was never into insects but if he were, I could easily see myself spending a fortune to keep him full on bugs lol. I agree other foods should be offered, as a hatch-ling I don't see any issues using that as a main source of food, if you want to feed them insects as adults I don't really see a huge issue as long as they get a varied diet, which IMO is more nutritionally complete.

 

[herpgirl2510]

My B&W is almost three feet and he loves roaches. I have a huge colony of dubias he likes to chase them around and eat them he also loves hissers. He would not be able to survive on insects alone and it is expensive. My guy loves the chase. You can give superworms, horn worms, silk worms, nightrawlers(not from your yard) there is alot of vaariety to give while they are still young. Seem from what I have read a diet largely consisting of ground turkey is not nutrtionally complete.