Why Whole Prey.

[Jake lerch]

Where can i find whole animal ground up for purchase? Any online vendors that will ship?

 

[Jake lerch]

Or...just get some small chicken, quali etc...and crudely chop that up?

 

[Brittany Walsh]

I've been giving my tegu pinky mice since he is young and not very big yet, but pinkies aren't very nutritious? What would my best option be to get him the nutrition he needs? I'm not sure how much better fuzzies are.. any input would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Walter1]

I've been giving my tegu pinky mice since he is young and not very big yet, but pinkies aren't very nutritious? What would my best option be to get him the nutrition he needs? I'm not sure how much better fuzzies are.. any input would be greatly appreciated.

Dust them HEAVILY in calcium powder.

 

[Brittany Walsh]

Dust them HEAVILY in calcium powder.

I'll do that with the rest I have. I need to get new food soon anyways. Would you recommend me getting something different such as maybe larger mice/rats or quails?

 

[Walter1]

I'll do that with the rest I have. I need to get new food soon anyways. Would you recommend me getting something different such as maybe larger mice/rats or quails?

How big is the tegu? Can it take hoppers?

 

[Brittany Walsh]

How big is the tegu? Can it take hoppers?

he's about 15 inches.. give or take a few inches... he hasn't really sat still enough for me to get an exact measurement.

 

[Walter1]

Fuzzies or a while more.

 

[HelenaReptile]

Hi! I feed my adorable little guy mealworms since he's just a few weeks old, but he's beginning to eat pinkies! I agree from the research I've done. My opinion, as a new tegu owner, should not be taken into a great deal of account, though.

 

[Tyler 308]

Hi all , I have been told not to feed rodents to often because of the hair is this the case , I do give my tegu mice on a regular bassis, thanks for any advice.

 

[Tiamat]

The organs and bones are good supplements to third diet.

Im going to offend the tegu community, but I give my tegus wholr live rodents. Yes, this prey can bite, however, when the tegu shakes, the rodent dies theyre no longer a threat.... that being said my'gu may . But the way i see it, theyre natural predators and they want hunt, not be fed.

Thst being said, my gu's only get this on special occasions. Most of thr time, dinner is of crickets and that ground bison you get at giant (sprinkled with deprivation, of course).

I use bison because its the least processed meat, and 'gues seem to love the stuff.

 

[AlphaAlpha]

Tiamat....I agree with you and once alpha has grown out of his juvenile stage and is starting to slow down I'm thinking of doing the exact same to try encourage some exercise.... Although this is not a certainty as my veiws of care are changing and growing as alpha does.

 

[Lovesworth]

my tegu refuses to eat any whole prey that isnt ground up oof

 

[Guman]

Ok question Reptifiles posted her tegu guide. It had a link to a skink owner who was once a zoo keeper. (Mountian Reptiles) he claims that can dog food without any grains is good for BTS. My question is would this be acceptable as an addition to a tegus diet? In no way am I sugestion exclusively feeding can dog food.

 

[VenusAndSaturn]

Not too sure about tegus... and I somewhat doubt it would be beneficial, though it may be good for weight gain possibly if the tegu needs it.

My own blue tongue skink ate a wet dog food and cat food mixture along with insects, fruit and other veggies when I first got her for a few months because she needed to put on proper weight as she was on the verge of starvation. Which worked quite well, occasionally I mix in a bit of cat food or dog food once every two weeks as she is still a bit skinny but not starving anymore at least.

My personal opinion for BTS is you could feed dog food, as long as its a good brand. However I prefer a more healthier and natural diet, and my skink seems to enjoy it more too as she gets a chance to hunt her own food.. and try to bite my fingers off during feeding time when I put the food in her enclosure.

 

[Iron Soldier91]

new document

I feed my Tiberius dark meat chicken and chicken gizzards. I prefer not to feed them live prey. The problem of Tegus owner that their captive animal is not getting the exercise they need. Tegus are born to roam and climb. The high protein which ever u feeding the Tegu are not getting process properly. Tegus survive base on its metabolism. Like human are obese because of fattening and high protein they eat and yet they don’t have enough activities for metabolism to strived. Most captive Tegus I have witness from the owners are overly weight. U can feed them what ever you feel you think is right for your Tegus but if it’s not getting the proper activities to roam around or climb and it confined in cage all the time. The Tegu will have health issue. Tegus will eat just almost anything u provided to them. We are the one who decide what they should eat. Remember they are Carnivoure animals. I don’t feed my Tegu live prey. From my experience in the past having a Savanna Monitor. They’re behavior also depends on what u feeding the animal. It is inhumane to feed a captive animal with live prey inside the cage. It would be different if they hunt a live prey out in the forest.

 

[Iron Soldier91]

U can feed your Tegu not necessary whole prey. That is just another miss conception about feeding captive animal. If you prefer whole prey that good and if u prefer chicken, meat, fruit, veg is that is good too. I don’t personally feed my Tegu live prey just because u don’t know where it came from nor what kind of parasite and deseases may have contracted from other animal or human. It may not be deadly for human but it is for Tegus. Out in the wild is the life of Tegus is different. Their immune to survive out in the wild. But Tegu in captivity is different.

 

[Leezard]

This is a great post. And I understand the point .. which is saying "why" whole prey would be good. I understand this is the best way to go .. I mean it's just common sense.

But on the other hand, I really don't understand why some people ONLY feed whole prey and their fruits, (and then put others down that don't). We only have x number of species of whole prey that we buy. It is really bad for any animal, us included, to limit a diet that much. You don't see a tegu in the wild only eating mice, chicks, and fish that are readily available. They eat everything they see virtually. So, for me, I'm a strong believer in variety. Why not both (a mad mixture of everything you can think of with meats, innards, etc AND whole prey)?

Not to mention it takes longer for their digestive tracts to pass hair and fur than any other organ meat. Altogether you want VARIETY not a steady diet of two or three things.

 

[Leezard]

Hi all , I have been told not to feed rodents to often because of the hair is this the case , I do give my tegu mice on a regular bassis, thanks for any advice.

This is true advice, their digestive system takes on average 12 hours longer to digest hair and fur which can cause impaction if fed too frequently without proper conditions.