Tegu Food List

[critterlover]

Great List... Can anyone tell me what not to feed them. I herd that avocado is poison to reptiles, bananas are not to be eaten lots and eggs have to be cooked. Anyone know of dangerous foods. Also what ages should they be eating this stuff. The place I got TAZ from was feeding him calcium powdered crickets and REPASHY VEGGIE BURGER once a day that is it. I just started feeding him fish and strawberries today. He is about 3 months old

 

[critterlover]

Great list. Does anyone know if avacado is ok to feed them?

I herd that avocado was toxic for reptiles but don't quote me on that

 

[critterlover]

Avoid Feeding these Toxic Items to your Reptile Seed from: Apples, Apricots, Cherries,Nectarines, Peaches or Pears.
Avocado, Eggplant, Rhubarb, Rosemary, or Sage.
Azalea, Buttercup, Daffodil, Lilly of the Valley, Marijuana, or Tulip.
Dr. Bogoslavsky DVM Animal Veterinary Hospital of Orlando

 

[SnakeCharmr728]

Eggs do not have to be cooked, infact I believe its better raw - no one is boiling them in the wild. The idea behind cooking the eggs is that the heating absorbs the avidin which binds biotin leading to a biotin deficiency but for a deficiency to occur, the animal would have to have a diet made up of almost only eggs for some time. So if eggs are just an every now and then thing, raw would be healthier as cooking anything kills nutrients. Mine love raw quail egg, whole with shell.

 

[laurarfl]

If I can add to Kayla's post... Avidin is an enzyme which is a protein. Heating to temperatures of approximately 106 and up (it varies depending on the type of protein) will begin to break down the protein in a process called denaturation. Cooking will break down the avidin, but it will also break down other proteins found in the egg considered to be beneficial.

 

[Michael Soto]

I know this is an on going form, what types of snails do people feed their tegus, and where do you get the snails?

 

[SnakeCharmr728]

frozen apple snails can be purchased at asian markets - feed without shell. or you can get can-0-snails at petstores made my zoomed

 

[ManlyMan7]

Great thread. I am learning what I can to gear up to get my own tegu eventually. I will eventually post this on the cage for reference.

Question about foods to avoid: someone last week told me spinach was toxic to tegus. True or no?

Also, my family and I are vegetarians and would like to know how much meats are required for good nutrition. I am committed to proper nutrition for a tegu if I get one, and if I determine that a more-or-less vegetarian diet is untenable, and I decide I am unwilling to provide any meats that ARE necessary, I won't get a tegu.

With my tarantulas, leopard geckos and beardie I currently have, I do have/breed/use crickets and mealworms, so this wouldn't be a completely vegetarian diet. I would likely get other feeder bugs too for them. I do buy superworms occasionally too at present. I know of others that would be good nutrition for a tegu that I don't use as they are not good for tarantulas.

I live in Canada, where roaches are illegal.

The next meats I am more willing to deal with are frozen (and maybe live) mice, and eggs.

Do I HAVE to bring home meats?

And finally, would dog/cat foods be an acceptable substitute to meat cuts?

I am new here and am hoping we can discuss the facts involved here without emotion or attitude. I am genuinely exploring my options here and am determined to only get a tegu if I can provide him with the nutrition he needs.

Thank you.

 

[ManlyMan7]

One more observation.

Do any of you feed your tegus kingworms/giant mealworms? I doubt I ever will.

After trying unsuccessfully to raise a colony of kingworms, I read online that they are just mealworms that are fed juvenile growth hormones (JGH). JGHs prevent the bug from maturing, allowing them to grow bigger. And for this reason, JGHs are one of the more (if not most) prevalent forms of insecticide.

I called a feeder bug breeder in my province this past year that I know on a first-name basis and asked him about it. He confirmed this is indeed the case and said that they are thus not fit for feeding to tarantulas/scorpions (which are bugs themselves).

Some have said kingworms are thus not fit for anything but fishing.

Do any of you have perspective on this?

 

[ManlyMan7]

One more feeder. Anyone ever feed there tegus Jamaican Field Crickets? How did they do?

Jamaican Field Crickets are larger than the typical domestic cricket used in the pet industry, and I have seen them a few times in the last few years as domestic crickets colonies have collapsed at times because of disease.

I got excited when I first saw them as they were a larger feeder for my tarantulas, but I soon learned that they BITE! they have some hefty chompers and can be considered dangerous to less aggressive tarantulas. I have read on gecko forums that they can and will kill leopard geckos, and even have a friend on a tarantula forum who shared that her bearded dragon died because of Jamaican Field Crickets. She took her beardie to a vet who confirmed the beardie had bites down its throat from the crickets.

As such, I can imagine these would not be good to feed baby tegus, but I don't know how well an adult chews its food, so I don't know if I should avoid feeding these to my future tegu.

Anyone have any experience with these?

 

[diver165]

One more feeder. Anyone ever feed there tegus Jamaican Field Crickets? How did they do?

Jamaican Field Crickets are larger than the typical domestic cricket used in the pet industry, and I have seen them a few times in the last few years as domestic crickets colonies have collapsed at times because of disease.

I got excited when I first saw them as they were a larger feeder for my tarantulas, but I soon learned that they BITE! they have some hefty chompers and can be considered dangerous to less aggressive tarantulas. I have read on gecko forums that they can and will kill leopard geckos, and even have a friend on a tarantula forum who shared that her bearded dragon died because of Jamaican Field Crickets. She took her beardie to a vet who confirmed the beardie had bites down its throat from the crickets.

As such, I can imagine these would not be good to feed baby tegus, but I don't know how well an adult chews its food, so I don't know if I should avoid feeding these to my future tegu.

Anyone have any experience with these?

I believe you've said enough to convince anyone that Jamacian Crickets aren't a very good alternative. Crickets in general suck as a feeder insect, IMHO. They smell like a sac full of buttholes, they die if looked at cross eyed and they're noisy. I switched to roaches for my beardies. I know you said you can't do roaches in Canada. (I didn't know that...I thought only certain kinds). But addressing your last few posts. Tegus eat meat. I understand that you're a vegan. But your future Tegu isn't. He needs meat. And insects won't fill the bill when he gets bigger.

 

[SnakeCharmr728]

Ground meats, meat cuts, organ parts, and other "grocery" store meats are not nessicary and are actually not recommended although still okay to offer for those that do. In your case youwould be okay not offering those if you chose not to. However whole prey is a better alternative and a MUST. this means whole rodents, chicks, quail, fish, shrimp etc that can be ordered online frozen shipped to your door. Adult argentines do eat fruits but meat/wholeprey is a must for any tegu. Dog/Cat food should not be a substitute ever.

 

[Skimba]

What a great list, I've been researching what else to feed my little man and this list is fab, he'll get so much nutrition with such a wide variety

 

[Brocey]

Whole prey
Captive raised insects
Crickets
Roaches
Mealworms
Super worms
Wax worms
Silk worms
Horn worms
Earth worms
Snails
Crayfish
Pinkie mice
Quail hatchlings
Baby chickens
Mice
Rats
Hamster
Gerbil
Feeder frogs/toads/lizards

Meat
Soft-boiled or scrambled eggs
Raw meats: turkey, lamb, venison, fowl, beef
Fresh fish filets
Organ meats: liver, hearts, gizzards
Sea food: Crab, Scallops, Shrimp

Fruits
Tropical fruits: Mango, Papaya
Melons: cantaloupe, honeydew, casaba, watermelon
Bananas- in moderation, peels can be fed if grown organic
Apples- in moderation
Cherries
Grapes- Thompson seedless; green and red
Concord grapes higher in oxalates
Tomatoes- high in oxalates**
Berries:
Strawberries- high in oxalates** and goitrogens* so in moderation
blueberries, raspberries, & blackberries
Figs -fresh or dried
Dates
Kiwi
Peaches- high in goitrogens*
Pears- high in oxalates**
Pumpkin

Veggies
Acorn squash, butternut squash
Kabocha squash
Parsnip
Alfalfa
Okra
Green beans
Green peas, snap peas
Leeks
Prickly pear cactus

Dark leafy greens like:
Chicory greens (Escarole)
Collard greens
Dandelion greens
Endive
Mustard greens
Turnip greens

Spaghetti squash
Bell peppers
Rapini
Zucchini
Yellow squash
Radish
Yucca root- cassava- tough, should be shredded
Asparagus
Broccoli in moderation, high in oxalates**
Beets and Beet greens in moderation, high in oxalates**
Carrots and tops in moderation, high in oxalates**
Bok choy - in moderation, high in goitrogens*
Brussels sprouts- high in goitrogens*
Parsley- good source of calcium
Cabbage- in moderation, high in goitrogens*
Cauliflower- in moderation, high in goitrogens*
Coriander- in moderation, high in oxalates**
Rutabaga
Sweet potato- feed rarely
Corn- feed rarely or never, low in Ca and high in Phosphorus
Spinach- feed rarely or never, high in oxalates and goitrogens
Swiss chard- feed rarely or never, high in oxalates**
Lettuces -low in nutrition
Celery- low in nutrition
Cucumber- low in nutrition
Flowering plants like- Nasturtiums, Dahlia or hibiscus, just be careful of pesticides and herbicides
Lentils-cooked
Cooked pasta or rice
Whole wheat bread


Lets make this thread never ending. Got a suggestion? Add it. Don't agree with an item listed above? Tell us.






Top Healthiest Fish
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Can I feed my young tegu ground whole salmon for his staple diet? (Supplemented by fruits and other things) will the fish bones provide enough calcium?

 

[Jackie & Hellboy]

Can I feed my young tegu ground whole salmon for his staple diet? (Supplemented by fruits and other things) will the fish bones provide enough calcium?

I wouldn't use it as a staple, using ground meat with no skin, bones, hair, and guts as an everyday staple will not give him enough diversity in his diet. His digestive tract needs that odd stuff in there for a proper meal. However using the ground salmon as a twice a month/ once a week meal I wouldn't see any problem with it. Try to stick with mostly insects for a young tegu's meat portions, with properly sized rodents (avoid pinkie mice and rats as their nutritional buildup is not very good yet, bones are still soft and they're extremely fatty) hopper mice with fur developed will make much better meals (chop them up if your tegu is too small to eat whole).

 

[Brocey]

Whole salmon has bones and guts in it.

 

[Jackie & Hellboy]

Ok I thought it just said ground salmon. Not a bad food to give, again I would not use as a staple, I would stick to a rodent, insect, chick, quail, and when they're bigger I give guinea pigs (all frozen thawed except insects). Then maybe weekly use the ground whole salmon. I have heard that a high fish diet causes runny stools.

 

[Brocey]

Awesome thanks!

 

[Jomatty]

Great thread. I am learning what I can to gear up to get my own tegu eventually. I will eventually post this on the cage for reference.

Question about foods to avoid: someone last week told me spinach was toxic to tegus. True or no?

Also, my family and I are vegetarians and would like to know how much meats are required for good nutrition. I am committed to proper nutrition for a tegu if I get one, and if I determine that a more-or-less vegetarian diet is untenable, and I decide I am unwilling to provide any meats that ARE necessary, I won't get a tegu.

With my tarantulas, leopard geckos and beardie I currently have, I do have/breed/use crickets and mealworms, so this wouldn't be a completely vegetarian diet. I would likely get other feeder bugs too for them. I do buy superworms occasionally too at present. I know of others that would be good nutrition for a tegu that I don't use as they are not good for tarantulas.

I live in Canada, where roaches are illegal.

The next meats I am more willing to deal with are frozen (and maybe live) mice, and eggs.

Do I HAVE to bring home meats?

And finally, would dog/cat foods be an acceptable substitute to meat cuts?

I am new here and am hoping we can discuss the facts involved here without emotion or attitude. I am genuinely exploring my options here and am determined to only get a tegu if I can provide him with the nutrition he needs.

Thank you.

You are not going to be able to raise a tegu in a healthy manner sing a vegetarian diet. One thing I would look into if I wanted to not bring meats home is the mizuri crocodilians diet. I have read about people having success with that as a staple, although I have not tried it and I have heard that some tegu owners have reported difficulty getting their gu's to accept it. Even if you got your gu to accept it you would still want to add in some whole prey at least occasionally. While most will eat some fruit, many will not eat vegetables at all, and even if they do, they are mostly carnivorous. Frozen mice and rats are an easy way to go and you would not have to have meats in the fridge, just in the freezer, and it doesn't look like anything people eat. Check out the croc diet, but be prepared to do the right thing if your gu is not accepting it readily (I can tell by the tone of your post that you definitely would). Personally if I wanted something vegetarian I'd get a uromastyx or a blue tongue skink (not veggie but can do well on cat dried cat food)

 

[Walter1]

Or a green iggy. Otherwise this is a species that leans heavily towards carnivory, especially when growing up. Thereafter, still a meat-eater but will take some fruits/veggies I think because some thing is better than nothing in the wild.