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 #1727255


Mike S
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 Acceptable Tegu Diet!

- Merricle "Turducken" (its an organic dog food, that is more or less like beef stew)
- Canteloupe
- Honeydew
- Blueberries
- Strawberries
- Apples
- Pears
- Peaches
- Grapes
- Blackberries/Raspberries
- Carrots (shredded of course)
- Apricots
- Plums
- Bananas*
- Cucumber
- Crickets
- Mealworms
- Superworms
- Earthworms
- Waxworms*
- Pinkies -> Fuzziess -> Hoppers -> Adult Mice -> Sm. Rats
- Cooked Meat (NO additives, you can feed raw meat.. i choose not to)
- Hard Boiled Eggs (you can feed raw, again i dont)
- Cockroaches
- Fish (i.e. Goldfish, Rosies, Silverbacks)
- Crayfish, Shrimp (live only)
- Feeder Frogs
- Anoles
- House Gecko’s (adults only)
- Steamed veggies (best mixed with worms)

NOTE! Anything marked with an ’*’ should be fed as a treat only!

Also, please do not feed ANYTHING wild caught to your tegu, as it may be infested with parasites or toxins ingested in its habitat.

Feel free to post any question you may have :)



05/06/08  05:58pm

 #1727444


Guido1090
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   Message To: Mike S   In reference to Message Id: 1727255


 Acceptable Tegu Diet!

wasnt this exact same thing posted a few days ago under a different name and had some posts on it? why was it removed then posted again?
05/06/08  08:28pm

 #1727871


Mike S
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   Message To: Guido1090   In reference to Message Id: 1727444


 Acceptable Tegu Diet!

excessive flaming :)
05/07/08  08:34am

 #1727890


Johelian
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   Message To: Mike S   In reference to Message Id: 1727255


 Acceptable Tegu Diet!

I still disagree with feeding goldfish myself; for fishy parts of the diet though we use whole sprats and sardines (not the canned variety), which are readily eaten, if a bit messy. Since they are deemed fit for human consumption, one would hope that they were better quality foods :) Theyre very cheap from the fresh fish counter too.

We feed pretty much everything else on the list except feeder lizards. Oh, and we feed locusts as well; adult locusts seem quite popular.

I will mention with strawberries and grapes - be careful where you buy these from, as some of the countries that these fruits are regularly imported from still use very powerful chemicals as pesticides. I have read more than one account of people whos animals (not just reptiles either) have been killed from poisons retained in the skins of grapes in particular, even after washing. As a result, I always skin the grapes and strawberries to be on the safe side. Its a pain in the butt as grapes are easily one of the favourites with all of my herps.
05/07/08  09:00am

 #1727897


Mike S
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   Message To: Johelian   In reference to Message Id: 1727890


 Acceptable Tegu Diet!

Again, my feeder goldfish are of the highest quality.. at the petstore the associates and i have our own goldfish tanks in the back taht we take care of so we know what they eat etc.

Sardines are questionable though ... im not positive how the salt content would affect herps... i would assume it would dehydrate them.

Hmm, locusts... ill have to bring that up at the next employee meeting :) see if we can get some

And yes, as for the fruits and veggies go... i didnt mention that i do, but i most definately do buy only organic fruits and veggies for my tegus, along with the store i work at, we ONLY feed organic (not grown with chemicals). Two reasons i didnt mention that... i furgot lol, and i thought i was common sense :/

haha but yea Zeke and Buddy love grapes, i gota go see if we can order up some locusts! lol
05/07/08  09:09am

 #1727961


Guido1090
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   Message To: Mike S   In reference to Message Id: 1727897


 Acceptable Tegu Diet!

we understand that you only feed organic foods and captive raised fish and everything. but you made this list to help people right? if someone new to the hobby comes here and looks at this list then goes to the local food store or petco would everything on this list still be okay?

i think this is a great idea to have a good complete food list but not everyone understands that some of these foods are only okay if they are captive raised or organically grown. you may want to specify about that.
05/07/08  10:41am

 #1727973


Mike S
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   Message To: Guido1090   In reference to Message Id: 1727961


 Acceptable Tegu Diet!

To guido1090.. i guess i can see your point, but come on people its common sense...or at least should be.
05/07/08  10:55am

 #1728141


Johelian
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   Message To: Mike S   In reference to Message Id: 1727897


 Acceptable Tegu Diet!

Yes, but that wont be the case for everyone that reads your list and goes to their local petshop thinking that its ok to feed any old goldfish now will it? Same with organic foods - if people dont feed themself organic foods, they wont automatically assume to feed them to their animals.

I already mentioned that the sardines are not canned - they are whole fresh fish. They are not salted.

As well as locusts I would heartily recommend (clean) snails - my tegu adores them more than any other invertebrate, as do my blue tongues. Good calcium content as well if fed with the shells intact, but a bit messy! My guy also gets the occasional chick as a treat - again very messy.
05/07/08  02:35pm

 #1728234


Guido1090
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   Message To: Mike S   In reference to Message Id: 1727973


 Acceptable Tegu Diet!

exactly mike. it is common sense. but the problem is some people lack common sense. and normally those people are the ones that get the tegu not knowing how to take care of it first. then they would come here looking for food items and they find this thread. then they go get a desiesed goldfish and some grapes with pesticides on them and feed those to the tegu. and then wonder whats wrong with it.

you should also add to the list how often each thing should be fed. because the way it is someone could think the tegu doesn’t need any meat at all and just feed it alot of fruits and other stuff on your list. just make categories, "staple foods, occasional foods, rare treats" something like that.

i think you did a great job on your list but you should just specify more. everyone reading it will not be experienced in keeping reptiles and will read it and feed what it says to, using no common sense at all about what would be unhealthy for the reptile.
05/07/08  03:49pm

 #1728395


Nermie
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   Message To: Guido1090   In reference to Message Id: 1728234


 Acceptable Tegu Diet!

nightcrawlers are redily accepted as well
05/07/08  05:36pm

 #1729050


Mike S
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   Message To: Nermie   In reference to Message Id: 1728395


 Acceptable Tegu Diet!

Alright well you input is great and all but if these people dont understand that meat should be more abundant than the plant matter they shouldnt have the tegu..

Ive done my part by adding the acceptable foods ... everything ive left out is common sense, sorry if this offends any one but if someone cannot figure that out they shouldnt own animals.
05/08/08  08:40am

 #1729104


Guido1090
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   Message To: Mike S   In reference to Message Id: 1729050


 Acceptable Tegu Diet!

mike you dont get it... its the people that already dont know what they are doing that would be needing this info and they are the ones that will take it exactly how you have it and not use common sense. the people that already keep many tegus and are experienced wouldnt be needing to know what they can eat because they already know.
05/08/08  09:46am

 #1729276


KrazyKelli
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   Message To: Guido1090   In reference to Message Id: 1729104


 Acceptable Tegu Diet!

I don’t normally come around here, but I thought I’d back up Guido’s point. I don’t own a Tegu (though I do know they eat meat). Now while I don’t plan on getting one in the near future, I happened upon this thread saying ’Acceptable Tegu Diet’ the other day while browsing new threads and the first thing I see is canned dogfood and fruit. The meats are on the very bottom of the list after berries, melons, and processed mammal spam made with 90% grains in a can.

The first thought that came to my mind was, "I didn’t know they ate fruit. Is fruit supposed to be part of their diet? There’s so much fruit on this list that this guy must be feeding a ton to his tegu." and "Is meat really a secondary thing?"

I then got nervous on my Carnivore information concerning tegus and browsed the net to be sure. What would have happened if I didn’t know previously that tegus ate meat? What if I was completely new to the species without one hint of knowledge (and this is considering that I still don’t know much at all), wanted to get one, and came to this forum looking for information on feeding, keeping, and caring? The first thread I would obviously come to concerning food is the one titled ’Acceptable Tegu Diet!’, and I’m sure I’d be wondering why - in a few weeks, the imaginary tegu I bought was sick and dieing. With all the fruits and stuff on the list, the reader could have the misunderstanding that a tegu is like an iguana or bearded dragon.

Mind you, once again, I don’t plan on getting a tegu. I’m only posting in this thread to bring up the misleading information point. This is a help forum and one of the places people will go to to research a new animal they want. If stuff, even the common sense stuff, isn’t spelled out loud and clear, misunderstandings and mislead information can happen. This is also a double-edged sword because people who know nothing are told to come to these forums instead of listening to pet stores, so what will they feel if they’re told they can feed their animal something that makes them sick, or keeps their animal in a setting it shouldn’t be in, and it gets hurt because people on the forum they were told to go to told them to do it? It’s something to consider.
05/08/08  01:04pm

 #1730126


Mike S
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   Message To: KrazyKelli   In reference to Message Id: 1729276


 Acceptable Tegu Diet!

Quote:

The meats are on the very bottom of the list after berries, melons, and processed mammal spam made with 90% grains in a can.



Please point out to me where the hell you find this? I can guarantee i feed all my reptiles better quality food than you do to your family.

Quote:

With all the fruits and stuff on the list, the reader could have the misunderstanding that a tegu is like an iguana or bearded dragon.



Well, sir hypothetically speaking ... IF you knew nothing about tegus absolutely nothing ... read my list and then went out and bought a tegu without asking any questions about quantity and how often to feed... along with caging, substrate, etc... you shouldnt have purchased one.

I get your point, but the situation you presented is the most retarded thing i have ever heard. If you know nothing about tegus, come onto this site, expect to read this post and then go out and buy a tegu you need to be punched in the face.

This is WHAT a tegu can eat ... thats all... i never said how much because it varies, and if someone is unable to sum up that a tegu should have more animal matter than plant matter in their diet they should not have any pets.

Like i said most of the what you people are posting, TO ME is common sense... and if it is not to others than make your own threads.
I havent seen anyone else make a complete list of foods that are acceptable for tegus.

End of story ... if you want to post it, or someone else does be my guest.. im not wasting my time on things that should be common knowledge to those who want to have a reptile.
05/09/08  09:12am


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