Diet

[siz]

Hey I'm new to tegutalk and to Tegus!
I was just wondering about a rounded diet. My boyfriend and I have a Columbian that is probably about 10" or 11" long..So far we have just fed him crickets, a pinkie, and leftovers of (fresh) iguana salad. (Butternut squash, green beans, endive etc) What does a rounded diet consist of?

Thanks.

 

[VARNYARD]

Welcome to the TeguTalk community, glad you joined us!! Colombian tegus are not too keen on veggies and friut, they are meat eaters, here is some information that will help you:

<!-- l --><a class="postlink-local" href="http://www.tegutalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=20" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">viewtopic.php?t=20</a><!-- l -->

 

[siz]

Is the egg good for Columbians?
And regarding meat; can you feed them things other than ground turkey to vary their diet? Should this meat be cooked or no?
Also, what kind of schedule do you use to feed a juvi?

 

[VARNYARD]

I don't cook anything but the egg, and cooked eggs are fine for Colombians.

Food:
All Tegus are carnivores as hatchlings, which means they only eat meat. Crickets dusted with vitamins dust , Captive raised roaches, Mealworms, Super mealworms, ground turkey dusted with vitamin dust, Pinkie mice and cooked egg (Not raw) scrambled or hard boiled.
Please remember to remove any food that is not eaten right after your tegu has eaten his/her fill. Insects are well known for stressing reptiles. This also will help keep their cage cleaner.
Adult tegus, For the Argentine Black and White and the Argentine red Tegu. They will take ground turkey, cooked egg (Not raw) scrambled or hard boiled, rodents, fresh fish (Not from a pet shop, due to the chemicals used in these tanks), baby chickens, grapes, tomatoes, strawberries, melons, and just about any other soft fruit. s can be given as well, but not as a staple diet, only in moderation. This is due to the high content of potassium (Known for not binding with calcium). Not more than once every couple of weeks. They also tend to have a very high phosphorous levels.
The Blue Tegu, and the Colombian Black and White, or (Gold Tegu) will take all of the above, except fruit. Also I suggest feeding only killed rodents. Live rodents can bite your animal. Dead do not, it is just not worth the chance.
My choice of vitamin dust is Herpitive or Fluker's.
A side note on feeding: Tegus can get cage aggressive. They can get to where they will associate their keeper with food. There are a couple of ways to keep this from happening. The first is to feed your tegu in a separate cage or area than his home. Have the food there when you put him with it.
Another way, would be to feed him at night or when he is in his hide. Then he will not see you with food. The first suggestion is the best for a few reasons. One you handle him every day, which helps with the taming process. Another reason would be to remove all chances of him ingesting substrate. And last, but not least, the food would be fresher than feeding at night.

 

[Cricket]

I give my Columbian either ground Turkey or Ground Chicken as well as other foods but am wondering about things like Chicken Hearts and Gizzards? Has anyone ever attempted to add that to the diet as well? Is there a reason not too? I haven't tried either but while I was shopping the other day I saw the packs of organs and wondered. My last dog was on a raw diet and I used to sometimes get these and mix it in with his usual diet but haven't seen any literature in respect to carnivorous reptiles.

Thanks