Jericho eats....

[baby621]

So far we have been feeding Jericho crickets and canned cat food. I was a bit confused about the cat food cause he's/she's not a cat. But pet store employees will say just about anything to make a sale. Anyway is the cat food ok to give him/her? And aside from that we plan on adding super worms, scrambled or hb eggs. Other than that what else can we give him that would be a great verity? Also we're not sure about giving him the pinky mice due to something called power feeding? Any suggestions will be approved by Jericho him/her self.

 

[Bk101]

Hmmm... I can't say I have ever given my tegu any canned food. I try to balance it... For instance this last week I got 1/4 lb of chicken, 1/4 lb of lean beef, and 1/4 lb of pork (not lean). I ground these up and add calcium before separating them into baggeys and freezing them. I also add pinkeys 1x a week (then skip feeding the next day), and add eggs every once in a while. This last week was the first time I got chicken and my baby has definatly let me know it's one thing that he isn't into. You can feed them anything pretty much (as they are scavengers)... They will let you know what they like and what they don't If yours likes cat food thats ok. I just like feeding mine different stuff that I make up myself and know how much calcium and other nutrients he's getting hope this helps!!

 

[Riplee]

Never give your tegu canned food either dogs or cats.

there are lot of food better than them in the market.

 

[Bubblz Calhoun]

There's nothing wrong with feeding high quality pet food as a treat every so often just not as a staple food. Just like table scraps there are too many fillers and additives in it that tegus don't need.

At the same time if it's truly high quality pet food, then you're better off using it just as a treat if that because of the price. The key word is treat, as far as I'm concerned if it's offered every two weeks or even once a month it's a staple. But I feel the same way about eggs, bananas and things like that.

 

[TeguBuzz]

Feed him/her ground turkey, and as stated above, save the high quality canned foods for a treat only. Feed him/her fresh fish filets, organ meats such as liver, gizzards, and hearts. You could also feed shrimp, crabs, or scallops.

You don't have to feed all of these but providing a varied diet is always best. I personally prefer to feed ground turkey as a staple, he loves it. I'll also feed him tilapia filets or catch of the day filets from the market. I toss some crayfish in too whenever it's being sold. You could mix and match and figure out what your tegu likes, but I wouldn't used canned foods as staple diets.

Here's a thread posted by PuffDragon a couple years back which lists all the possible foods which could be fed:

http://www.tegutalk.com/showthread.php?tid=6452#axzz1aI2lK466

 

[dragonmetalhead]

Power feeding seems to be a greater issue with snakes. With tegus you need to worry more about hair and larger bones blocking up the intestines. If you're worried about how many rodents Jericho is getting, only offer them once a week. I started off giving Kodo only one rodent a week; now he's big enough to devour at least four in a sitting, but he only gets mice on Sundays. It's better to feed slightly higher numbers of slightly smaller mice, which is why Kodo gets fuzzies enough though he can down an adult mouse no problemo. His primary diet staple is silversides, which he adores. Try experimenting with different foods to see what Jericho likes. Variety is the key to good nutrition.

 

[Bubblz Calhoun]

Whether or not it's better to feed more smaller prey than one appropriate sized is debatable. For most it's just preference. Feeding canned or live insects has it's pros, cons and is also preference since insects are usually gut loaded then processed. The only difference between the two is you knowing for sure that they are gut loaded and with what. It may not be worth it to breed your own unless you have more than one animal that eats them since tegus pretty much grow out of it.

 

[baby621]

Wow so much info, thank you everyone for the great suggestions. We will take them back to Jericho and see what he thinks after all it's about him.
TeguBuzz: I saw that post of the foods by PuffDragon and I was under the impression that the list was more for an Argentine tegu. It seems that the forum is basically saying that the Colombian is more of a meat eater for the lack of a better word.

 

[TeguBuzz]

TeguBuzz: I saw that post of the foods by PuffDragon and I was under the impression that the list was more for an Argentine tegu. It seems that the forum is basically saying that the Colombian is more of a meat eater for the lack of a better word.

That's right. I posted the link to help somewhat, and yeah, colombians are almost completely carnivorous. Looks like you got it covered, let us know what happens!

 

[Bubblz Calhoun]

The list still applies, Colombian, Red, Hybrid or what ever they pretty much eat the same things. Some like and readily take more fruit and veggies than others. Both of my Colombians have taken fruit from day one, veggies not so much but I sneak it in every once in a while anyway.