tegu pool?

[Bartman]

he wont eat leafy greens or fruits..ive given him egg and chicken an pinkies. He is still very tiny. With out his tail he is maybe 5 inches long. Ive also heard to add, dog food, snails, greens, chicken and tuna in the same dish. Havnt tried that yet but im gonna try soon.

[V.hb]

I wouldn't do dog-food either, it has stuff in it lizards really aren't meant to digest.

If you want to try tuna, substitute "smelts" you can buy them at pretty well any grocery store. it's a full fish, head eyes everything. They're about 4-5 inches long and come in pretty big bags. You get about 75 for 4$?


What kind of setup do you have, and whats the basking spot like?

[chuck911jeep]

mice, rats, fish, sea food,boiled eggs and Banana, yes they loves banana.And why you don't give him the choice to take a bath if he want. Some like bathing and some don't. Put a large bowl and let him be the judge.

[Bartman]

ok im gonna try some banana now. My parents buy large fish with everything that they eat. Could i take a piece of it and give it to the tegu?

[V.hb]

Yes you can no problem. I recommend smelts as well just because they are a full meal! but thats a start, let us know how it goes

[Bartman]

ill be sure to do that.

I just need to test something and i figured why start a new thread. I wanna see if i can upload pics from this site. This is the tegu by the way

[matrix1829]

really nice animal!!!!!!!!! congrats

[Tim and Julie B]

Hi Bartman. I provide my Tegus with a large water dish at all times and at night I have seen them soaking. In the wild they are found near water sources. Only have shoulder deep water though for a small Tegu or monitor. I do give them a bath every couple of weeks. It is neat to see them swim. My white throat loves smelts. I will have to try the Tegus.

[Scales Zoo]

Fresh fish is better than frozen fish, because freezing fish negates the vitamin B complex.

I had read that some beef heart (very high in vitamin B) can be supplemented with the frozen fish to add vitamin B.

What are the reasons to avoid beef heart. I have read other organ meat can cause cataracts (liver and kindeys) but I would like to know why beef heart is bad.

Ryan

[Steeve B]

First let me say why bathing Tegus is not recommended, simply because they are fragile, when soaking there genitals absorb water and prolapse, a problem that doesn’t affect there cousin Dracaena witch evolved to be aquatic.

As for organ meat Liver Hart yes they are rich in vitamins and have caused Avitaminosis in 100,000s of captive reptiles, as reptile kidneys are quite sensitive to overload, also organ meat are laxative therefore need roughage to counter the effect, Hart and liver have the highest cholesterol levels and cholesterol cause cataracts in varanids.

I didn’t whant to get involved in this thread in fear of not knowing how to explain without having to write a manual, hope this will be clear to all as my energy level is low tonight. Thanks
Rgds

[Scales Zoo]

Thanks Steve, that answered my question.

I think small quantities of beef heart, fed in combination with other food, may be benificial.

I would not feed a meal of heart or liver, but some heart with fish and or rodents, I think is good to some degree (for the caimen, the niloticus, and the salvator).

Ryan

[Steeve B]

A little will do no harm maybe? I only use it for Tegus cook and mashed with potatoes and milk. I don’t give organ meat to my monitors anymore, I hade 4 case of cataracts got my lesson. 3 Salvadorii and 1 Doreanus all females. I use to feed lots of red meat any red meat is useless. Cheers

[Bartman]

Do you have a tegu? Could anyone who ownes one tell me they give for there feedings, like for a week lets say?

[chuck911jeep]

my little ones eat almost everyday and my bigger ones eat once or twice a week but they spend much less energy.

[Siretsap]

I always cook the meat I give them. Especially chicken. Salmonel isn't something you want to give your reptiles. Same thing with chicks, when you feed them to your snakes, you always plys with risks of contaminating your collection.